Benefit, Bahrains leading fintech company, has hosted a delegation from Singapores Grow Digital Bank with the aim of exploring joint initiatives between the two nations, forging stronger ties and exchanging knowledge.

This visit marks an important milestone in the mutual efforts undertaken by parties to facilitate the exchange of information highlighting milestones and achievements when it comes to fintech solutions and services.

This is in line with the kingdoms ongoing initiative to foster innovation within the financial sector, further solidifying Bahrain's prime position as a financial hub and expanding opportunities for financial institutions and fintech terms in the kingdom and Singapore.

Global competitiveness

The visit follows the significant growth of local financial services, which necessitates the development of new plans, initiatives, strategies to increase the efficiency of the sector, drive substantial growth, and boost Bahrains global competitiveness.

Over the past few years, Financial Technology has created vast opportunities and linkages between the Middle East and South East Asian markets. Bahrain and Singapore have been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to the financial services sector allowing for this partnership to grow stronger through collective efforts to provide right regulatory requirements and enhance the quality and competitiveness of services in the financial sector.

Benefit CE Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented: The Benefit team looks forward to constructive exchanges that will lead to successful financial business fruition. This delegation represents a significant and meaningful milestone in the rapidly emerging cooperation between our two markets, particularly in the financial and banking sector. The visit highlighted the breadth of expertise and ambition in Singapores corporate environment, and it has bolstered our belief in the reciprocal ties that our cooperation will offer.-- TradeArabia News Service
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Japan will raise its mandatory employment rate of people with disabilities to 2.7 per cent from 2.3 per cent.

This marked the largest increase since the current system was introduced, local media has reported.

The government plans to increase the rate in two stages, first to 2.5 per cent in April next year and then to 2.7 per cent by the end of fiscal 2026, according to the Mainichi Shimbun on Saturday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Prefectural education boards are required to increase the ratio to 2.9 per cent, while national and local governments, whose current employment rate of individuals with disabilities is higher than that of the private sector, will raise the percentage to 3 percent.

Companies with 43.5 or more employees are currently required under the Act to Facilitate the Employment of Persons with Disabilities to have an employment rate of at least 2.3 per cent for individuals with disabilities, amid efforts to give such people more work opportunities.

About 614,000 people with disabilities have been employed by businesses as of June 1, 2022, setting a record for 19 years in a row. Only 48.3 per cent of businesses overall, however, have met the legally required employment rate.

Also Read Education & jobs for autistics: Laws exist but is there enough compassion? Army personnel entitled to disability pension if disability due to military DE&I in India Inc: Finding a job gets tougher for persons with disabilities DU to start centre for disabilities studies to make education inclusive Even as overall hiring slows down, no dearth of jobs for senior execs: Rpt E-recruitment activities decline marginally by 1% in Dec 2022, shows report US hiring stays brisk as employers add 223,000 jobs in Dec: Labor dept US moves to ban non-compete agreements in labour contracts: Reports Focus on job-creating textile sector: MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan For tech industry, 2022 was a year of mass layoffs; 2023 likely to be worse

--IANS

int/svn/
Confirming the development, a senior government official said, India is one of the largest mobile device markets in the globe. Our objective is to create a secure Indian mobile operating system that could also create choices and competition for Androids dominance in the Indian market and a smaller share of iOS. The move to build IndOS is significant as it comes at a time when Google is under scrutiny in the country and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has already slapped a fine for allegedly a

Top sources in the government say the objective is to create competition for Googles Android in the mobile operating system market (accounting for over 97 per cent share) along with the Apples iOS, which comprises a smaller share.


Some duty structures, according to industry groups and stakeholders, need to be revised because they are now burdening the industry. Ahead of the Union Budget 2023-24, the electronic companies have urged the government to lower the tariffs on parts and components including printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), connectors, and mobile phone camera modules, reported Livemint.



For instance, the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), an industry group backed by Foxconn and Apple among others, recommended that the existing tariffs of 2.75 per cent on parts, mobile phone components, and sub-assemblies be eliminated because they increase the burden on manufacturers and jeopardise the domestic industry. They asserted that these expenses are having an adverse effect on the industry's capacity to reach production goals, which are necessary for the government's "Make in India" push.



Due to increased demand for larger displays and premium features in TVs, the average price of TVs in India increased 27 per cent from the year earlier in the first quarter of 2022, according to a Livemint report from June of last year. The ICEA also pushed for lower import taxes on components used to make open cell panels for television production. Open cells are a crucial part of LCD panels, which are used to make TVs. Open cell components currently incur a 5 per cent basic customs tax in India.

Also Read Budget 2023: A look back at some major announcements in previous Budget TVS Electronics up 18% on heavy volumes, hits 52-week high in weak market IPL 2023: Updated squad list of all teams after the mini-auction in Kochi Central government to begin Budget 2023-24 preparations from October 10 Hockey World Cup 2023: Teams, schedule, venues and everything one must know Budget 2023: I belong to middle class, understand their pressures, says FM Budget session: Govt likely to propose amendments to competition law PLI scheme to defence allocation, here's space industry's Budget wishlist Hand-hold the industry till animal spirits are out, says Sanjiv Bajaj PM Modi meets economists as govt gets ready to present Union Budget 2023
Faced with the possibility of being left behind in the shift towards EVs, Toyota has announced a radical shift in company policy and directi...
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The dialogue in Gilmore Girls can get pretty intense. Stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel got used to it. Guest stars struggled a little bit more. Peter Klausner only did two episodes of Gilmore Girls in its fourth season, but theres one scene he still doesnt understand to this day, and hes tried to.

L-R: Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham | Michael Haddad/The WB via Getty Images

Klausner was a guest on Scott Pattersons I Am All In podcast on Dec. 21. Klausner played the Laundry Room Guy Rory (Bledel) met while at Yale. She later learned his name was William and had an argument with him about Israel, which now seems timely as ever. Klausner got all his lines out, but didnt learn anything about international politics.

Gilmore Girls guest star Peter Klausner tackled the Israel/Palestine issue

When Rory attended the International Relations Club, she ran into William. Rory suspected William had been spreading rumors about their laundry room encounter. She confronts him later in the dining hall, but acts out in a debate over Israel and Palestine.

Its just a power struggle, nothing mysterious, William says. Who wins in this game? In whose best interest is it to keep the kids fighting?

Rory rebuts about the power of propaganda and spreading heinous lies. She really means the rumors she suspects William spread but hes unaware.

Personally, if Im in an alley with Osama, Id rather he was armed with a blatant, heinous lie than an uzi, William says.

Peter Klausner still doesnt understand his Gilmore Girls lines

Patterson read Klausner a question from a fan, Amanda in Knoxville, who asked how many takes of his pencil twirling he had to do in the scene. This prompted the memory in Klausner.

By the way, for what its worth, I dont think I ever understood what I was saying in that scene, Klausner said on I Am All In. I think Ive even gone back and listened to the dialogue more carefully and I still dont even know if I know what it was I was really ultimately saying.

As for the pencil

I was obviously very, very conscious of the pencil twirling at the time, Klausner said. As far as the pencil goes I dont think there were many takes. I think I was such a good pencil twirler at that point already that it was natural. That was second nature.

Why we didnt see more of William

That was Klausners last episode of Gilmore Girls. Hes since retired from acting to practice law. Klausner said Gilmore Girls was considering making William a potential love interest, but decided against it. Take heart, Peter, Rory didnt stay at Yale either.

Battle of the boyfriends. Sound off below! pic.twitter.com/kTZy8soc2k  Gilmore Girls (@GilmoreGirls) July 27, 2022
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Biden likens MLK to Moses and Joseph in speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church

President Joe Biden compared the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Moses and Joseph in the Bible as he spoke at a worship service celebrating the life of the famous civil rights leader at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the historic Georgia church where King once served as lead pastor.

He followed their path of Moses, a leader of inspiration, calling on people not to be afraid and always  keep the faith, Biden told the congregation at the 11 a.m. service on Sunday, the day before the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

He followed the path of Joseph, a believer in dreams and the divinity they carry and the promise they hold, he continued. And like John the Baptist, he prepared us for a greater hope ahead, one who came to bear witness to the light.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a non-violent warrior for justice, the president said, adding that he followed the word and the way of His Lord and His Savior.

We need to commit to his path, Biden declared.

The president also paid tribute to the wife of Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King. My view [is] that this is her day as well, he said.

Im God-fearing thanks to my parents and the nuns and priests who taught me at school, but Im no preacher, Biden added. But Ive tried to walk my faith as all of you have.

He continued, I stand here inspired by a preacher who was one of my only political heroes  Dr. King.

His message was spiritual, it was moral  to redeem the soul of America  that we are all created equal in the image of God, he said.

Biden also said its a critical juncture for the United States and the world. "Just as after World War II, the world is changing and its direction will depend on the decisions the country makes."

Biden told the congregation it was humbling for him to be the first sitting president to speak at the historic church.

In his proclamation on the holiday, Biden said Friday, From the pulpit to the podium to the streets, Dr. King devoted his life to the quest for this Beloved Community in our Nation. His activism and moral authority helped usher in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He gave a voice to the restless spirit of millions yearning for change. He gave us a roadmap to unify, to heal, and to sustain the blessings of the Nation to all of its people.

Ebenezer Baptist Church was founded in 1886 and is best known for being the pulpit of the Rev. King Jr., who served as the churchs co-pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. also served in the leadership of Ebenezer Baptist Church, having overseen various roles from 1927 until his retirement in 1975.

At the 9 a.m. service on Sunday, the message was delivered by the churchs pastor, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

The church, which boasts approximately 6,000 members, garnered renewed national attention in 2021 when Warnock was elected to the U.S. Senate in a special runoff election.

The other day, because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton went to the polls and picked her youngest son to be a United States senator, said Warnock in his victory speech at the time. The improbable journey that led me to this place in this historic moment in America could only happen here.

As Biden campaigned for president ahead of the 2020 presidential election, a priest in South Carolina refused to serve him communion due to his abortion advocacy.

Supporters of withholding communion from pro-abortion Catholic politicians, both inside and outside the Church hierarchy, point to the Churchs Code of Canon Law as the justification for their position. The Code of Canon Law states that those who are obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.

However, in November 2021, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a document on communion that didnt overtly call for a ban on pro-choice politicians receiving the sacrament.

At a general meeting at the time, bishops overwhelmingly approved a document from the USCCBs Committee on Doctrine known as "The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church." Eight bishops voted against the document, while 222 bishops voted in favor. Three abstained.

The document also stated that Catholic laity who exercise some form of public authority have a special responsibility to form their consciences in accord with the Churchs faith and the moral law, and to serve the human family by upholding human life and dignity.

It read, As Christians, we bear the responsibility to promote the life and dignity of the human person, and to love and to protect the most vulnerable in our midst: the unborn, migrants and refugees, victims of racial injustice, the sick and the elderly.
Kentucky church ministry builds 1,000th ramp for those in need

A Kentucky church's ministry founded in the 1990s to build handicap-accessible ramps has just completed the construction of its 1,000th ramp.

The Reidland United Methodist Men Ramp Ministry, based in Paducah, built the 1,000th ramp on Wednesday, having built ramps for people in need in the western Kentucky area since they launched in 1995.

Joe Burkhead, the head of the ramp-building ministry who has been a volunteer with them since its inception, told The Christian Post that the group started out as an extension of Reidland UMCs Helping Hands ministry work.

Our UMM group did a lot of help projects for our older church members, Burkhead explained. Our then-President Bill Thistlewood fielded a request from a community asking if we could build a handicap ramp for a person in need. Billy came to me and asked if I would take charge of that request, which I gladly did.

Although they did not originally intend to have the ramps be a ministry unto itself, soon after finishing the first one, the UMM chapter began receiving requests from others who needed ramps.

The first year they completed five ramps, the following year they built 10, and by the eighth or so years after, they were averaging as many as 50 ramps built annually.

We completed 60 this past year  more than Id prefer asking our guys to do, but weve been swamped with requests the past year-plus, and until recently have been running three to four months behind, Burkhead said.

Burkhead told CP that while there has been a lot of turnover with volunteers over the past 27 years and he is the last original member, he felt that right now, we have perhaps the best core group of builders weve ever had.

We had an extended period of low numbers about three or four years ago, and I was personally really struggling to keep the ministry going. God answered some prayers, and suddenly we were up to a very solid crew again, he said, noting that people from outside Reidland UMC are now part of the ministry.

Our core group now includes a Roman Catholic, two Baptists, and an Independent, and we have at least three other part-timers who are not members of our church.

Nearly all of the ramps have been built within 25 miles of the church property, although on one occasion, Burkhead recalled, they built one in Mississippi that stretched for over 100 feet and, at one point, was nearly 7 feet off the ground.

We always hope that recipients and their relatives take away the realization that God has hands and feet at work here on Earth, and that they are the beneficiary of His love and grace, not our carpentry, said Burkhead.

I often tell my fellow building brothers that they deserve the privilege of heading up the ministry for a few months, just so they can experience the joy and satisfaction of recipients appreciation and initial reaction.
Canadians to Face Hate Crimes Charges, Prison for Anti-Transgender Speech

Canada's Senate has passed a law against the use of wrong gender pronouns which critics say would allow authorities to charge those who deny gender theory with hate crimes leading to imprisonment, fines or "anti-bias" training.

Bill C-16 passed by a vote of 6711 this week, more than a year after being introduced, according to Global News, which said it adds protection of gender identity and expression to the Canadian Human Rights Code and includes them within the protections provided by the hate-speech and hate-crime provisions of the criminal law.

The measure now awaits royal assent from the House of Commons.

"In Canada we celebrate inclusion and diversity, and all Canadians should feel safe to be themselves," Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said in a statement. "Trans and gender diverse persons must be granted equal status in Canadian society, and this bill makes that status explicit in Canadian law.  The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that everyone can live according to their gender identity and express their gender as they choose. It will protect people from discrimination, hate propaganda and hate crimes."

University of Toronto psychology professor Dr. Jordan Peterson, an invitee to the Senate committee, had earlier told the committee that the bill was an unprecedented threat to freedom of expression. "We will seriously regret this," he tweeted after the bill was passed.

Canada's Campaign Life Coalition group also criticized the passage of the bill. "This tyrannical bill is nothing but social engineering to the nth degree, all in the name of political correctness," its vice president, Jeff Gunnarson, told LifeSiteNews.

"Mark my words, this law will not be used as some sort of 'shield' to defend vulnerable transsexuals, but rather as a weapon with which to bludgeon people of faith and free-thinking Canadians who refuse to deny truth," the group's senior political strategist Jack Fonseca was quoted as saying.

Conservative Senator Don Plett, who voted against the bill, told the Senate committee last month that "ideologues" are "using unsuspecting and sometimes complicit members of the so-called transgender community to push their ideological vanguard forward."

Ontario Human Rights Code guidelines "mandate" the use of genderless pronouns on request, lawyer D. Jared Brown, also an appointee to the committee, pointed out as an example. "Mandating use of pronouns requires one to use words that are not their own that imply a belief in or agreement with a certain theory on gender," he was quoted as saying. "If you try to disavow that theory, you can be brought before the Human Rights Commission for misgendering or potentially find yourself guilty of a hate crime. To sum up, on the subject of gender, we're going to have government-mandated speech."

Ontario province recently passed legislation that allows the government to seize children from families that refuse to accept their child's chosen "gender identity" or "gender expression."

The so-called Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act of 2017, or Bill 89, requires child protection, foster, adoption service providers, and judges to take into account and respect a child's "race, ancestry, place of origin, color, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, disability, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression."

Fonseca had earlier commented, "With the passage of Bill 89, we've entered an era of totalitarian power by the state, such as never witnessed before in Canada's history. Make no mistake, Bill 89 is a grave threat to Christians and all people of faith who have children, or who hope to grow their family through adoption."

Religion freedom of Canadian Christians has come under threat.

In April, a Canadian Christian couple filed a lawsuit against Hamilton Children's Aid Society for removing two foster children from their home because they refused to lie to the girls by saying that the Easter bunny is real.
Priest burned to death by assailants who set fire to his home Militants were unable to break in 'so they decided to set the house ablaze'

ABUJA, Nigeria  A Roman Catholic priest in northwest Nigeria was burned to death before dawn today when assailants set his parish living quarters ablaze and wounded an assistant priest, sources said.

Police said the assailants tried to enter the home of the Rev. Fr. Isaac Achi, on the premises of the St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Kafin-Koro, Paikoro County, Niger state, and set it on fire before fleeing when security forces arrived.

The bandits reportedly attempted to gain entrance into the residence, but it seemed difficult, and they decided to set the house ablaze while the said Rev. Father was burned to death, Niger State Command spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said in a press statement. A police tactical team attached to Kafin-Koro Division were immediately drafted to the area, but unfortunately the bandits had completed their evil acts and escaped before their arrival.

An assistant priest, the Rev. Collins Omeh, was shot in the shoulder during the attack and rushed to a hospital for treatment, Abiodun said.

Area resident David Ndukwe said in a text message to Morning Star News that Achi was dean of the Kafin-Koro Deanery of the Minna Diocese and chairman of the Paikoro County Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

His assistant, the Rev. Fr. Collins Omeh, was shot by the bandits and wounded, while the rectory, the churchs residence, was burned down.

Area resident Israel Bitrus grieved the attack.

Its a black Sunday for the Catholic Diocese of Minna, Bitrus said in a text message to Morning Star News.

Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith in 2021 (Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021) at 4,650, up from 3,530 the previous year, according to Open Doors 2022 World Watch List report. The number of kidnapped Christians was also highest in Nigeria, at more than 2,500, up from 990 the previous year, according to the WWL report.

Nigeria trailed only China in the number of churches attacked, with 470 cases, according to the report.

In the 2022 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to seventh place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 9 the previous year.
Shooting at London church leaves 7-year-old girl fighting for her life

Police in London are on the lookout for the gunman who opened fire on mourners gathered outside a church for a memorial service. The mass shooting left a 7-year-old girl fighting for her life and five others wounded.

The shooting occurred outside St. Aloysius Roman Catholic church in Phoenix Road during a Saturday afternoon memorial for 50-year-old Fresia Calderon and her 20-year-old daughter, Sara Sanchez, who died within days of each other last November, according to The Sunday Times. Sanchez has been battling leukemia and died three weeks after her mother died from a pulmonary embolism on a flight from Colombia to London.

At least four women  aged 21, 41, 48 and 54  and a 12-year-old girl were also injured in the shooting outside Euston railway station in central London, The Sunday Times reported, adding that the 7-year-old girl was in a life-threatening condition.

The 12-year-old girl sustained a minor leg injury and the adult victims have been treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The 48-year-olds injuries could be life-changing, according to reports.

Police said on Sunday they are looking for the suspects' vehicle, which is believed to be a black Toyota. Hundreds of people were attending the memorial service when shots were fired from the vehicle.

"We believe the suspects discharged a shotgun from a moving vehicle, which was a black Toyota C-HR, likely a 2019 model or similar," said Superintendent Jack Rowlands of the Metropolitan Police.

An area resident told The Daily Mail that an emergency services helicopter had made an aborted landing near the railway station before flying off and eventually landing in a nearby school playground.

When the service finished, we were outside to see the flying of doves [released as part of the memorial service]. A black car came and started to shoot bullets. It was chaotic, a witness was quoted as saying.

Another witness said, according to MyLondon, No one knew if it was a bomb or gunman. We were looking for places to hide. We all just snuggled into corners where we could. We left after about 10 minutes, I did not dare [leave before].

A police source told the Mail that the gunman jumped out of the car and started firing into the crowd.

Police Superintendent Ed Wells was quoted as saying that while any shooting incident is unacceptable, it is shocking when multiple people, including two children, are injured.

Our thoughts are with all the victims, but in particular with the 7-year-old girl who is in a life-threatening condition and with her family, Wells said, adding that officers and specialist detectives were investigating the case.

I can assure the communities of Camden and beyond that we will do everything we possibly can to identify and bring to justice those who were responsible.

The Mail suggested that the gunman may have been targeting a particular guest at the memorial service to seek revenge.

People are saying the intended target of the shooting was a man who attended the service, a woman who attended the service was quoted as saying. Theres speculation that it was some sort of revenge attack.
This week in Christian history: Missionary bids farewell, English bishop martyred

Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance.

Each week brings anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births and notable deaths.

Some of the events drawn from over 2,000 years of history might be familiar, while others might be previously unknown by most people.

The following pages highlight anniversaries of memorable events that occurred this week  Jan. 15-21 in Christian history. They include a missionary to China writing a farewell letter, an influential American Baptist minister founding a church, and the martyrdom of Saint Henry.

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Transgender Politician in England Called 'He' Instead of 'She' Files 'Hate Crime' Complaint With Police

A transgender politician from Bolton, England, who was born a male but transitioned into a female, has complained to police about a "hate crime" in which a fellow councilor used the wrong pronoun when addressing the politician.

"For someone in the highest public forum of the town to feel transphobia was acceptable is shocking. It is not acceptable in Bolton  it shouldn't be acceptable anywhere," said the politician, Zoe Kirk-Robinson, after the town's former mayor Guy Harkin used the word "he" instead of "she."

Kirk-Robinson added: "Bolton has a problem with hate crime and for Harkin to engage in a personal attack against me in this matter only serves to legitimise transphobia in the eyes of the average bigot  which makes life harder for all LGBT people."

Breitbart News reported that Harkin has apologized and explained that he committed only an accidental "slip" in using the wrong pronoun, but Greater Manchester Police are investigating it as a potential hate crime.

"Hate incidents will not be tolerated in Greater Manchester," a GMP spokeswoman said, according to BBC News.

Harkin rejected the accusation that he used the "he" pronoun as a means of personal insult toward Kirk-Robinson.

"I was utterly unaware of this slip of the tongue until it was pointed out to me the day after the meeting," the former mayor told Pink News.

"I offered immediately to apologise as there is not a homophobic or any kind of phobic bone in my body."

Kirk-Robinson insisted, however, that Harkin had no base on which to make the mistake.

"If I'm truthful, it hurt a lot. The guy had no reasons to ever suggest that I was male, he has never met me as a male," the Bolton politician said.

"I transitioned over 10 years ago and I have lived in Bolton for seven, going on eight years, he never met me before I transitioned."

Harkin told Manchester Evening News on Tuesday that he had not yet been contacted by police over the matter.

"I understand from the leader of the council that the police have not accepted Coun Kirk-Robinson's view that a slip of the tongue followed by a prompt apology constitutes a 'hate crime,' they have not been in contact with me," he said.

Several Western governments have been cracking down hard on allegedly transphobic remarks, with Canada's Liberal Party government making news in May by introducing a bill that would make anti-transgender speech punishable by up to two years in prison.

"As a society, we have taken many important steps toward recognizing and protecting the legal rights for the LGBTQ2 community  from enshrining equality rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to the passage of the Civil Marriage Act," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a speech earlier this year.

"There remains much to be done, though. Far too many people still face harassment, discrimination, and violence for being who they are. This is unacceptable."
Democrat cites Jeremiah 1:5 to defend abortion: 'It doesnt say the governments womb'

A freshman Democratic congresswoman who identifies as Evangelical cited a Bible verse often used by pro-lifers when speaking this week against a Republican-sponsored measure mandating medical care for infants born alive after an abortion.

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act passed by a vote of 220 to 210 Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. Over 200 Democrats voted against the measure, but Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was the only House Democrat to vote in favor of the measure, while Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, voted present.

During remarks on the House floor Wednesday, Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., said that as a "pro-choice Christian" and a mother who lost a daughter to a "complex miscarriage," the abortion issue is "personal" to her.

The 40-year-old civil rights attorney-turned-lawmaker who became the first Democrat to represent Grand Rapids since the 1970s said that as a Christian, she allows faith to dictate her stance.

"Further, when I read the Scripture, I turn to passages, and I'm guided by passages like Jeremiah 1:5, which states, 'I knew you before I formed you and placed you in your mother's womb,'" Scholten said. "It doesn't say the government's womb or the speaker's womb. It says the mother's womb. I believe life is precious, but I reject the idea that if I embrace the sanctity of life, I also must be forced to invite the federal government in to regulate it."

Michael New, an associate scholar at the pro-life research organization Charlotte Lozier Institute, found it strange that Scholten cited Jeremiah 1:5.

New stated that Christians typically cite this passage "to make theological or scriptural arguments in favor of legal protections for preborn children."

"However, the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, which Congresswoman Scholten voted against on Wednesday, involves protecting children after they are born," New stated. "Regardless of one's faith tradition or one's stance on abortion, protecting infants is something that everyone should enthusiastically support."

"The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would ensure that future infants born after failed abortions get the legal protection they deserve," he continued.

New said it's "disappointing" that over 200 Democrats voted against what he views as a "common sense" piece of legislation and noted that the law is "unclear" in many states regarding the required level of care for infants who survive an abortion attempt.

New cited a January Charlotte Lozier Institute report, which found that only 18 states have "robust protections" for infants born alive after an abortion. The report also explains that states with little or no restrictions on late-term abortions  New Mexico, Vermont, Colorado, Oregon  in which an infant being born alive is more likely, do not provide them with legal protections.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2003 and 2014, at least 143 babies died after being born alive during abortions. The CDC acknowledged that the figure could be an underestimate.

Other opponents of the bill, such as Rep. Jerold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., believe that the legislation "endangers" born-alive infants by mandating that practitioners must transfer the child to the hospital.

Speaking against the bill Wednesday, Nadler argued that, depending on the circumstances, transferring an abortion survivor to the hospital may not be the right thing for the "health and survival of that infant." He added that he opposes the bill not because "we don't think that babies born alive must be saved, but because we do think that babies born alive must be saved."

Schakowsky made similar arguments, claiming that the bill requires taking a struggling baby to a hospital, which, she argued, "could be hours away and could be detrimental to the life of that baby."

New, who also serves as assistant professor of social research at the Catholic University of America, told CP that both lawmakers are incorrect, noting that the bill's text states that providers must first "preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would."

After providing care, the practitioner must ensure the baby is transferred to the hospital.

"As such, it is clear that if a long ambulance ride would be inconsistent with diligent or conscientious health care  the infant would not have to be transferred to a hospital," he concluded.

In 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, recognizing abortion survivors as legal persons. However, the bill doesn't include penalties for practitioners who don't provide care for infants that survived an attempted abortion.

Although it is unlikely to pass in the Democrat-controlled Senate, the latest bill would subject healthcare providers who fail to administer appropriate medical care and transfer a born-alive infant to a hospital to criminal penalties. Healthcare providers or other employees must also report violations of the law to the authorities.

Practitioners who fail to comply with these requirements could face fines, up to five years in prison, or both. Any individual who deliberately attempts or kills a baby born alive after an abortion would be subject to prosecution for murder.

The legislation bars criminal prosecution of the mother of a child born alive, however, and grants women the power to bring a civil action against a practitioner who violates the law.

As The Christian Post reported, the Republican-led House also passed a resolution Wednesday condemning the wave of vandalism against pro-life pregnancy resource centers and churches. The resolution passed with a vote of 222-219, with three Democrats crossing the aisle and voting with Republicans.
Christian colleges can receive Title IX funds and uphold religious beliefs on LGBT issues, judge rules

A federal court has ruled that Christian colleges and universities with traditional views on sexuality and marriage can continue to receive funding through Title IX, rejecting LGBT students' efforts to strike down a religious exemption to federal discrimination law.

In a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Oregon dismissed the case filed by a group of LGBT Christian college students and former students who sued the U.S. Department of Education in 2021 for providing religious exemption to Title IX discrimination laws to Christian higher education institutions.

Aiken, a Clinton appointee, concluded that plaintiffs failed to show that the original religious exemption granted by Congress decades ago for Title IX has a discriminatory purpose.

"Plaintiffs have submitted no allegations of discriminatory motivation on the part of those enacting the religious exemption. To the contrary, Plaintiffs argue that when Congress enacted Title IX, protections for  or discrimination against sexual and gender minorities  were 'of no concern,'" wrote Aiken.

"Plaintiffs provide no evidence and supply no allegations involving the above-listed factors for the Court to consider and evaluate whether Congress was motivated in part by a discriminatory purpose when it enacted the religious exemption."

Title IX of the Civil Rights Act forbids sex-based discrimination in education, but colleges upholding traditional definitions for marriage and sexuality can request exemptions that allow them to adhere to scriptural beliefs on matters of sexuality.

The court rejected the plaintiff's claim that religious exemptions violate the First Amendment of the Constitution, noting that "the Supreme Court has interpreted it to allow, and sometimes require, the accommodation of religious practices."

"Plaintiffs' allegations do not plausibly demonstrate how the relief they seek in enforcing Title IX in religious schools is not the very excessive entanglement Plaintiffs argue is impermissible," continued the opinion.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal nonprofit representing three Christian higher education institutions, celebrated the ruling.

"Title IX, which applies to schools receiving federal financial assistance, explicitly protects the freedom of religious schools to live out their deeply and sincerely held convictions," said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman in a statement.

"A group of activists asked the court to strip that protection away from schools that educate the next generation and advance the common good. The court correctly concluded that Title IX's religious liberty exemption doesn't violate any of the plaintiffs' claimed rights."

In March 2021, an advocacy organization called Religious Exemption Accountability Project filed the lawsuit on behalf of 33 LGBT former and current students who believe they were discriminated against at 25 religious colleges.

The plaintiffs claim they unexperienced mistreatment and harassment due to their LGBT identities.

Elizabeth Hunter, the lead plaintiff in the case, was a former student at Bob Jones University in South Carolina who claimed that school officials harassed her because of her sexual orientation. She took issue with the student handbook detailing behavioral rules prohibiting same-sex romantic relationships, saying the school created a "scary, harsh environment for me."

Other schools attended by plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Liberty University, Baylor University, Oral Roberts University, Azusa Pacific University, Regent University School of Law, George Fox University, Cedarville University, and Brigham Young University, among others.

REAP Director Paul Southwick stated in 2021 that the Title IX religious exemption was an "unconstitutional" government endorsement of religion.

"Our lawsuit asks a federal court to declare that the religious exemption to Title IX, as applied to a class of LGBTQ+ students attending the more than 200 religiously affiliated colleges in the United States that openly discriminate against them, using taxpayer dollars, is unconstitutional," stated Southwick.

"It is a violation of the First Amendment's prohibition on the establishment of religion and a violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments' guarantee of Equal Protection under the law for LGBTQ+ Americans."

In May 2021, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, an advocacy organization claiming about 140 member schools across the U.S., filed a motion to intervene in the case and called the lawsuit "frivolous." In October 2021, the CCCU's request to intervene was granted.

"Faith-based higher education has always been an essential element of the diversity of higher education in the United States  many of the first colleges and universities in the country were religious  and it is crucial that students continue to be given the opportunity to choose and access the college of their choice in a diverse educational landscape," the CCCU argued.
Library to hold 'Pastor Story Hour' on same day as pro-LGBT 'Inclusive Story Hour'

An Arkansas pastor will host a biblical story hour for children at a local library the same day another group plans to hold a separate story hour promoting gender identity and diversity, which may or may not feature a drag queen.

Owen Strachan, an author and pastor at Grace Bible Theological Seminary in Arkansas, will read a picture book to children about "God's design of the sexes" at the Conway Public Library on Saturday, according to a post on his Facebook page.

The event is not sponsored by any organization or church, and the pastor invited all children and families in the area to attend.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Strachan said that the purpose of the pastor story hour is to share Christ's love at a time when many libraries throughout the country invite drag queens to read to children.

"We're the ones who are called to be like Christ, and Christ is the one who welcomes the little children to him," Strachan told CP.

"So we simply want to do that in a small way by having a story hour at a public building, a building the taxpayers like us pay for, and to welcome people and give them an opportunity, especially in a confused climate like ours, to hear the truth about boys and girls and the truth about the Gospel of Christ."

The pastor estimates that 50 to 75 people will attend since he has promoted the event on his Facebook page and received a flurry of responses.

"I think there's a real hunger for the compassionate but clear witness on the part of God's people," the pastor said, pointing to Christian actor Kirk Cameron hosting Christian-themed story hours for children.

"I'm not the pioneer of this and don't want to be represented as thinking that I am. I know others have done this as well, and I anticipate many other pastors and godly men will stand up and do this in days ahead," he said. "I certainly pray that will be the case."

Shortly after Strachan announced the event, the Faulkner County Coalition for Social Justice revealed in a Sunday tweet that it would have an "Inclusive Story Hour" on the same day at the same library to "drown out the hate of the 'Pastor Story Hour.'"

FCCSJ will be hosting an Inclusive Story Hour to drown out the hate of the "Pastor Story Hour" this Saturday (1/14) from 10-11:30 at the library in Meeting Room 2.



We are looking for volunteers to read/lead activities and bring supplies. Please reach out to volunteer! pic.twitter.com/eNPaudwpQ3  Coalition for Social Justice (@fc_csj) January 8, 2023

The group objects to Strachan's biblical view of the sexes and his opposition to female preachers.

In addition, the group pointed to Strachan's book Christianity & Wokeness: How the Social Justice Movement Is Hijacking the Gospel, which criticizes critical race theory and argues that the concept compromises church unity.

Leah Bilokury, a coalition member, said in a public statement that the group will read books featuring "Black, Brown, Queer, Trans, GNC, and Disabled People," admitting that she did not know whether drag queens would appear at the event.

John McGraw, director of the Faulkner County Library System, told The Christian Post that the library offers "public meeting room spaces for the public but do not have any role in what the public [does] with those rooms provided that the activity is legal and noncommercial."

"The rooms have been used for church services and concealed carry classes and I do not know what all," he wrote in an email. "If I learned tomorrow that the concealed carry class was taught by a drag queen, it would be news to me. The Library does not make decisions about the use of the room that have been determined to be unconstitutional by the courts."

McGraw stated in an email to The Arkansas Times that the library allows anyone that can abide by its room policies to conduct events in its public spaces. He emphasized that these are outside groups holding events at the library, not the library putting them on.

The Faulkner County Coalition for Social Justice did not immediately respond to CP's request for comment.

Strachan said the Pastor Story Hour is not intended to be a match between him and the other group. He also clarified that he responded to the coalition in a Monday Facebook post to clarify that the story hour is not about promoting hate.

"We're holding this event because it's of love," Strachan said. "Love for fellow sinners like us, whether they agree with us or not, and all are welcome."

As CP reported, Cameron, a Christian actor and children's book author, was told by multiple libraries that he could not host a reading of his new faith-based children's book, As You Grow. The actor threatened legal action.

Cameron recently hosted the story hour at libraries that he claims previously denied his request and have hosted drag queen story hours.

The Indianapolis Public Library in Indianapolis, Indiana, claims it never told Cameron and his publisher, Brave Books, that they couldn't rent a room but that the library wouldn't be an official sponsor of the program. Cameron held the event at the library on Dec. 29, attended by hundreds.

"I'm happy that the two libraries changed their decision and will allow my voice to be heard and my book to be read," Cameron told Fox News last month.

"I hope they realized that their position of denying me a story hour reading was not only unfair and illegal but that we would all be better off if we listened to each other's perspectives."
South Carolina police warn of gift cards scam that targeted church

Authorities in South Carolina have warned about a fraudulent scheme in which scammers targeted members of an unnamed congregation to buy gift cards.

The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office posted a press release on Facebook Thursday, issuing an alert about a scam that targeted a local church, trying to get members to buy $200 in gift cards.

Members of a county church have received emails, purportedly from the pastor, asking them to buy a series of $200 gift cards and send pictures of the cards displaying the serial numbers, explained the sheriffs office.

Gift cards are a popular tool of scammers. Once they have the serial numbers, the buyer cannot recover his money. Never agree to buy gift cards and share the serial numbers with people you don't know.

The sheriffs office added that any other victims of the scam should contact authorities at 843-546-5102.

This is not the first time that a scam involving someone posing as a congregations pastor to solicit donations has taken place in recent years.

In February 2019, the Greenville, North Carolina-based WITN reported on a scam in which members of multiple local churches received scam emails asking for donations.

I urgently need to get a Google play gift card for a cancer patient that I promised her as a birthday gift, but I can't do this right now. Can you get it from any store around you? I'll make sure it's refunded tomorrow, read the scammers request, as quoted by WITN.

Pastor Chris Hopkins of Reimage Church in Winterville, one of the clergy impersonated by the scammers, told WITN at the time that he felt churches are a pretty prime target for something like this because members have a heart to give.

If you are going to give to your church the ways to do that are the ways your church communicates to you on a regular basis, said Hopkins back in 2019. If they have something set up on their website, online or in a dedicated app, that you can use. Or just by giving by being here on Sunday morning. Really those are the best ways.

In May 2019, a fraudulent Joel Osteen Ministries account on Facebook offered prayers in return for large monthly donations. Lakewood Church had to issue a statement informing people that it was fake.

Joel Osteen Ministries never requests money for prayer. You can post your prayer requests here as well as pray for others: c.osteen.co/prayers, stated the Texas megachurch.

Citizens who have been scammed by similar fraud crimes or received an email requesting money or the purchase of gift cards are also encouraged to contact the Justice Department.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center also provides an online complaint form to report online scams, such as get-rich-quick schemes or online auction fraud.
Christian investors celebrate win against debanking trend

I love it when I have good news to share, and today I have some excellent news. By Gods grace, we have pounded another nail into the coffin of the discriminatory trend of big banks canceling accounts and financing relationships of conservative Christian organizations and individuals. We have been negotiating with M&T Bank, a large financial institution with over 17,000 employees, regarding a shareholder proposal that we filed with them regarding their religious and other discrimination policies that could be invoked to debank Christians or anyone else with viewpoints the bank disagreed with, for that matter.

After initial resistance, M&T has wisely agreed to our request to publish critical information about their discrimination policies to allow for the public accountability necessary to safeguard bank customers from hateful discrimination and harassment based on their religious or political viewpoints. Here is the decisive memo we received from the management of M&T:

M&T is actively working to increase its transparency and enhance its disclosures based on what is important to our shareholders. In addition to the Survey responses, we would ask that you also take the following information into consideration in determining whether to withdraw your shareholder proposal: In 2023, we will include enhancements to certain disclosures included within M&Ts ESG Report (that will be published this spring) that would allow us to complete additional questions in the Survey, including for example: o Expanding information regarding our commitment to fair lending. Currently, we note that we treat customers consistently and equitably, in compliance with consumer protection laws and regulations, and without regard to any specific characteristics or basis as prohibited by law. However, we do not describe specifically all the characteristics protected by M&Ts fair lending policies, which include religion, creed and political affiliation, among other protected classes. o Disclosing new information regarding the M&T Diversity Councils Mission Statement; and o Providing additional details regarding the subjects/topics covered in M&Ts diversity training.

Praise God for His blessing! And thank you, M&T Bank, for respecting the voice of your Christian shareholders and making this critically important change to protect the well-being of all your customers, Christian or otherwise!

This debanking problem has steadily grown over the past few years, recently including JP Morgan Chase Bank canceling the bank account of a religious non-profit led by former Senator and U.S. Ambassador Sam Brownback. Earlier this year, My Pillow CEO and conservative political activist Mike Lindell had his bank accounts closed at Minnesota Bank and Trust. And the list goes on.

Even if you dont like Mike Lindell or Ambassador Brownback or what they stand for, is it right to cut them off from essential financial services? What happens when a society denies banking services based on political or religious viewpoints?

Today its Lindell or Brownback; tomorrow, it is you and me. Today its conservatives, tomorrow, its moderates and liberals. Today its Christians, tomorrow, its anybody who disagrees with the regime. You get the picture; this has to stop.

That is why we at Inspire Investing are leaning into the effort to crush the debanking trend before it goes any further. This is why we are celebrating this victory with M&T Bank and their decision to heed the voice of their Christian shareholders.

Do you want to join this good fight? When you invest with Inspire Investing, you give us the opportunity to make your voice heard as we speak biblical truth to corporate power. Together we are inspiring transformation for Gods glory throughout the world with the biblically responsible investing movement!

Will you join us?
ADF Int'l seeks justice for Mexican politician convicted of 'misgendering' male colleague who identifies as a woman

WASHINGTON, D.C.  ADF International, a legal nonprofit specializing in religious freedom cases, is seeking justice for a Mexican politician who has been censored because he purportedly misgendered a trans-identified member of the national legislature.

ADF International spoke to The Christian Post and other media outlets Thursday about several of their cases, including one involving Mexican Congressman Gabriel Quadri who's been labeled a gender-based political violator for opposing trans-identified men being identified as women for the purpose of assigning congressional seats based on gender.

On Dec. 19, ADF International filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of Quadri after Mexican courts repeatedly ruled against him. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is a project of the Organization of American States that works to promote and protect human rights in the American hemisphere.

Tomas Henriquez, who serves as senior counsel for the Organization of American States and Latin America with ADF International, said Thursday that Quadri, whom he described as an avowed liberal, has been convicted by the highest electoral court in Mexico of what they deem to be a gender-based political offense of having misgendered a [trans-identified] lawmaker that is currently sitting in the Mexican legislature.

Noting that Mexico has passed legislation requiring a 50/50 split between men and women in Congress in Mexico, Henriquez said Quadri is opposed to allowing trans-identified men to occupy seats reserved for women. The case against Quadri centers around 11 Twitter posts the lawmaker sent in December 2021, and a tweet posted on Feb. 16, 2022, declaring that In the Chamber of Deputies of the 65th legislature, there is no parity between men and women because we have 252 men and 248 women, thanks to trans ideology.

Additional tweets sent out by Quadri in February 2022, obtained by The Christian Post, took issue with trans-identified male swimmer Lia [Will] Thomas competing on the womens swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania.

Because he said these things, his colleague in the legislature who is a transgender individual  filed a complaint against him and he was censored, Henriquez said. The courts forced him to take down everything that he had said in his tweets and slapped a gag order on him.

The Specialized Regional Chamber of the Superior Chamber of the Federal Electoral Tribunal concluded on April 21, 2022, in a decision that said the expressions analyzed were intended to deny the identity of trans women, thus they violate the right to identity, which is in turn a form of denial of equal dignity, thus the tweets are discriminatory.

The court determined that the tweets in question had the intention of undermining the exercise of the political-electoral rights of trans women, especially Salma Lavueno, the member of Congress who filed the complaint against Quadri.

Henriquez attributed Quadris adverse treatment to a treaty passed in 2013 at the Organization of American States titled the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance. Henriquez explained that while the treaty purports to fight back against intolerance, it has a provision defining intolerance as any manifestation of disrespect, rejection, or contempt for the dignity, characteristics, convictions, or opinions of persons for being different or contrary, which he characterized as overly broad.

Any sort of debate that you might have, whether it be in politics, religion, morality, even sports, can qualify as a form of intolerance, he warned. It legitimizes efforts of states to try to control legitimate discourse within their own countries. Henriquez condemned the treaty, which has been ratified by Uruguay and Mexico, as a fundamental threat to freedom of expression in our whole sub-region.

According to Henriquez, the treaty creates a new human right to be protected from intolerance so you as an individual  under this treaty being applied in your country, have a positive claim against the state in saying that you have a duty to protect me from anybody that disagrees with me on whatever issue it is that were discussing. It is really the death knell for freedom of expression and also freedom of religion.

The gag order issued by the Mexican court prevents Quadri from speaking on transgender issues as a result of its finding that the lawmakers comments amount to impeding Salma Luevano from peacefully enjoying his political rights to exercising 'her' office as a lawmaker.

Quadri sees the courts decision, which also required him to issue a public apology on Twitter twice a day for more than two weeks and register as a gender-based political violator as an affront to his fundamental human rights.

In standing up for my right to free speech, I am fighting for the free speech rights of my constituents, and that of every Mexican, Quadri declared in a statement. My career has been dedicated to a prosperous and free Mexico for all, and that demands that our country abide by its human rights obligations. I am committed to safeguarding our precious democratic values, and for this reason will seek justice at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Quadri added, We cannot shut down the conversation about womens rights and speaking about these important issues falls firmly within my free speech rights, protected under national and international human rights law. Anyone is free to challenge my assertions, and I would wholeheartedly defend their free speech right to do so.

Everyone should be free to speak without fear of punishment, ADF International Attorney Julio Pohl asserted in a statement shared with CP. The silencing and sanctioning of Gabriel Quadri  including forcing him to issue an apology on Twitter several times a day  is not an isolated incident and represents one of the most dangerous threats in Mexico today.

Pohl expressed hope that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will admit this case and call on Mexico to comply with its international human rights obligations, respecting freedom for all.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15)  United States bet R'Bonney Gabriel clinched the Miss Universe 2022 crown on Sunday morning (Manila time), making history as the first Filipino-American to claim the title.

Gabriel is also the first Filipino-American to become Miss USA.

The 28-year-old stunner bested 83 candidates during the finals night of the 71st Miss Universe held at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in Louisiana, United States. This is USA's ninth crown in the pageant.

Amanda Dudamel (Venezuela) and Andreina Martinez (Dominican Republican) were named first and second runners-up, respectively.

On the other hand, Philippines representative Celeste Cortesi finished her journey early as she failed to get into the Top 16, which ended the countrys 12-year streak in entering the semi-finals.

During the final question and answer portion of the pageant, Houston-native Gabriel  a model, fashion designer, and sewing instructor who advocates for the environment  said she would be a transformational leader if crowned Miss Universe.

We all have something special, and when we plant those seeds to other people in our lives, we transform them and we use that as a vehicle for change, she said.

The beauty queen also donned a black velvety gown embellished with black onyx and glass mirror drops, fully handcrafted by Filipino designer Rian Fernandez.

The 71st Miss Universe pageant is the first edition under the franchises new owner Anne Jakrajutatip, who is a trans woman and a Thai media mogul.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15)  About 4,000 metric tons (MTs) of sugar valued at over a quarter of a billion pesos was seized at the Port of Batangas (POB) on Saturday.

The shipment, 80,000 bags of Thailand White Refined Sugar worth 261 million, was found aboard the vessel MV Sunward, according to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

The agency said the vessel arrived at the port without a Notice of Arrival for its cargo, which is against customs laws and regulations. The BOC also found that there was no import permit for the sugar.

Upon discovery of the cargo, POB District Collector Atty. Rhea Gregorio issued a Warrant of Seizure of Detention citing violations against the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, and the Food Safety Act of 2013.

Just a few days prior, another shipment of smuggled sugar worth 19 million was seized at the Manila International Container Port.

READ: 19-million worth of sugar shipment seized
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15)  The death toll from heavy rains and floods caused by various weather systems climbed to 27, disaster response officials reported on Sunday.

In its 6 a.m. situational report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) validated 14 of the 27 deaths. The agency said six fatalities were recorded in Eastern Visayas, five in Zamboanga peninsula, two in Northern Mindanao, and one in Davao Region.

The NDRRMC also reported 11 injured people and three missing individuals.

The combined effects of the low pressure areas (LPAs), northeast monsoon or amihan, and shear line have affected 151,365 families or 614,159 people in 898 barangays in the country.

At least 20,056 families or 83,649 people are still in evacuation centers, the agency added.

The estimated cost of damage to agriculture and infrastructure was pegged at 258.3 million and 171.4 million, respectively.

On Saturday, Malacanang said the national government shelled out 88 million in aid for affected families in Visayas and Mindanao.

Areas that have declared a state of calamity are Eastern Samar; San Miguel, Leyte; towns of Gandara, Basey, and San Jorge in Samar; Laoang, Northern Samar; Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte; and Tubod, Lanao del Norte.

In its 4 a.m. weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the LPA was last located 80 kilometers northeast of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte or 125 kilometers east of Maasin City, Southern Leyte.

The state weather bureau also said the LPA will bring moderate to heavy with at times intense rains over Bicol region, Eastern Visayas, and Quezon.

The agency forecasted moderate to heavy rains over Metro Manila, Mindanao, the rest of Visayas, Mimaropa, the rest of Calabarzon, and Aurora.

Localized thunderstorms are likely throughout the rest of Luzon that could trigger flash floods and landslides during severe thunderstorms, it added.

PAGASA earlier said the LPA would not develop into a tropical cyclone, but it still warned local authorities to be ready for possible flooding and rain-induced landslides.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15)  Senator Grace Poe wants the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to inhibit from the probe into the New Year's day air traffic mess at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to make sure the investigation remains impartial.

Poe, chairperson of the Committee on Public Services, on Sunday said CAAP should not be investigating itself.

She also said she hopes an independent body would conduct the probe, adding Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista could hopefully appoint those who would look into the issues.

Thousands of passengers were stranded last Jan. 1 after technical issues affected NAIA's communication, radio, radar, and internet functions.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives said they would launch investigations into the incident.

Meanwhile, officials of CAAP and the Manila International Airport Authority have been urged to resign following the fiasco. Poe said it might be good to appoint another person to head CAAP while the investigation is ongoing.

CAAP Director General Manuel Tamayo earlier said he was willing to file a leave of absence if his continued leadership would cast doubts on the investigation.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday said he will highlight the country's economic gains and preparedness to be a driver of growth in the Asia-Pacific region during the World Economic Forum (WEF).

"The World Economic Forum is hosting a Country Strategy Dialogue for us where we are given the opportunity to promote the Philippines as leader and driver of growth and a gateway to the Asia-Pacific regionone that is open for business, ever ready to complement regional and global expansion plans of both foreign and Philippine-based enterprises anchored on the competent and well-educated Filipino workers," Marcos said before he flew to Switzerland to attend the WEF.

In his speech at the Villamor Air Base, Marcos also said he would highlight the country's efforts to develop infrastructure, which he said would bolster efforts "to reinforce robust and resilient change, ensure food security, including critical interlinkages with health and nutrition while furthering climate-friendly clean and green energy to power the Philippine economy."

He would also meet with other government leaders, policy makers, entrepreneurs, civic society advocates, and experts to discuss matters concerning rising food prices, climate action, and the country's experience in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

RELATED: Marcos to discuss Maharlika fund in World Economic Forum

The president is also expected to meet with members of the Filipino community from all over Europe.

Last November, WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab invited Marcos to attend the forum, which will be held from Jan. 16 to 20 in Davos.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15)  The Marikina Bridge is set to fully reopen on Monday after a lane was closed off for the repair of cracks discovered along a side of the bridge, Mayor Marcelino "Marcy" Teodoro announced Sunday.

"Inaasahan natin ay bukas mabubuksan na natin ito Makikita natin, madami pa rin tayong traffic enforcers sa area. Mino-monitor ng mabuti yung integrity ng tulay lalo na kapag ginamit na ito ng madaming sasakyan," Teodoro said in an interview with DZRH.

[Translation: We hope that tomorrow we will be able to open it... Well see, well have a lot of traffic enforcers in the area. The integrity of the bridge will be carefully monitored, especially when its being used by many vehicles."

The Marikina Bridge underwent construction after the local government reported a meters-long crack allegedly caused by an ongoing project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Teodoro called on the DPWH to immediately repair the structural damage and release the geotechnical survey report so that the government will know its cause, the condition of the bridge, and the needed repair works.

READ: Mayor tells DPWH: Repair cracked Marikina Bridge immediately or face raps

The long crack found last Jan. 6 was reportedly caused by digging for the deep foundation required by the Sumulong Flood Interceptor project of the DPWH.

According to Teodoro, around 250,000 vehicles pass through bridge daily, which connects some parts of Rizal and Quezon City.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15)  Progressive groups are up in arms about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s appointment of former Interior secretary Eduardo Ano as National Security Adviser (NSA).

READ: Marcos names Eduardo Ano as new National Security Adviser

"The human rights violations of these generals such as Eduardo Ano go back for decades and placing him as the NSA would mean that he would continue and escalate these human rights violations like red tagging, harassment, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings against ordinary citizens and critics of the Marcos administration," Bayan Muna Chairperson Neri Colmenares said on Sunday.

Colmenares pointed out that it was under Anos stint as Interior secretary that former President Rodrigo Duterte waged his bloody drug war. This period saw record numbers of extra-judicial killings and the harassment of critics of the administration.

Meanwhile, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) issued a challenge to the new NSA.

Hinahamon namin si Ano na agad niyang ilatag ang plano sa usaping pang-seguridad ng ating teritoryo sa harap ng nagpapatuloy na banta ng China sa mga Pilipinong mangingisda, the group said. Walang ibang dapat atupagin si Ano sa kaniyang posisyon kundi ang magbalangkas ng mga estratehikong polisiya ng administrasyong Marcos para sa ating pambansang soberanya.

[Translate: We challenge Ano to immediately reveal his plans on security issues in our territory in the face of continuous abuses of Filipino fisherfolk by China. He shall do nothing else in his position but to establish a strategic policy framework for our national sovereignty.]

A game of generals

ACT-Teachers Rep. France Castro described Anos appointment as the latest in a game of generals.

"The supposed game of the generals happening now at the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and even the NSA seems to be instigated by a widespread ongoing purge of appointees linked to former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez," the lawmaker said.

Colmenares expressed similar sentiments: The purge of AFP and PNP [Philippine National Police] officers is not intended to take out the corrupt or those involved in drugs but is intended to take out what the Marcos administration considers as undesirable."

Just last week, Marcos unexpectedly reappointed Gen. Andres Centino as AFP Chief of Staff (CS), a position he was booted from in August 2022.

READ: Returning chief Centino: Strong, capable leaders needed for AFP unity, modernization

Castro speculated that the infighting among the defense sector was linked to Dutertes enactment of Republic Act 11709 which set a fixed term for eight of the most senior AFP officers.

Such political maneuverings involving the security and armed forces is very dangerous because such activities highlight the patronage system in the military and may lead to tensions within their ranks or even military adventurism if worse comes to worst," the teacher-solon added.

Prior to his NSA stint, Ano served as the AFP CS, Commanding General of the Philippine Army, and the Duterte administrations Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

His 2017 appointment to the Interior department also drew flak from progressives.
(CNN)  At least 68 people were killed Sunday when an aircraft went down near the city of Pokhara in central Nepal, a government official said, the country's deadliest plane crash in more than 30 years.

Seventy-two people -- four crew members and 68 passengers -- were on board the ATR-72 plane operated by Nepal's Yeti Airlines when it crashed, Yeti Airlines spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula said. Thirty-seven were men, 25 were women, three were children and three were infants, Nepal's civil aviation authority reported

First responders were still working to locate the last eight passengers, but they were "losing hope" of finding them alive, Fanindra Mani Pokharel, the joint secretary of Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs, told CNN. A local official had previously expressed hope that some survivors might be found.

Among the dead is at least one infant, according to the Nepal's civil aviation authority.

Sunday's incident was the third-deadliest crash in Himalayan nation's history, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network. The only incidents in which more people were killed took place in July and September 1992. Those crashes involved aircraft run by Thai Airways and Pakistan International airlines and left 113 and 167 people dead, respectively.

The civil aviation authority said that 53 of the passengers and all four crew members were Nepali. Fifteen foreign nationals were on the plane as well: five were Indian, four were Russian and two were Korean. The rest were individual citizens of Australia, Argentina, France and Ireland.

The aircraft had been flying from the capital of Kathmandu to Pokhara, the country's second-most populous city, the country's state media The Rising Nepal reported. Pokahara is located some 129 kilometers (80 miles) west of Kathmandu.

The plane was last in contact with Pokhara airport at about 10:50 a.m. local time, about 18 minutes after takeoff. It then went down in the nearby Seti River Gorge. First responders from the Nepal Army and various police departments have been deployed to the crash site and are carrying out a rescue operation, the civil aviation authorities said in a statement.

Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was "deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident."

"I sincerely appeal to the security personnel, all agencies of the Nepal government and the general public to start an effective rescue," Dahal said on Twitter.

The Himalayan country of Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest, has a record of air accidents. Its weather can change suddenly and airstrips are typically sited in difficult-to-reach mountainous areas.

Last May, a Tara Air flight carrying 22 people crashed into a Himalayan mountain at an altitude of about 14,500 feet. That was the country's 19th plane crash in 10 years and its 10th fatal one during the same period, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.

The aircraft involved in Sunday's crash was an ATR 72-500, a twin-prop turbojet often used in the Asia-Pacific region, especially among low-cost carriers. Planes made by ATR, a joint partnership between European aeronautics companies Airbus and Leonardo, typically have a good reputation.

However, they have been involved in crashes before. Two ATR 72s operated by the now-defunct Taiwanese airline Transasia were involved in deadly crashes in July 2014 and February 2015. The second prompted Taiwanese authorities to temporarily ground all ATR 72's registered on the island.

In total, the ATR 72's various models had been involved in 11 fatal incidents before Sunday's crash in Nepal, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

This story was first published on CNN. "At least 68 killed in Nepals worst airplane crash in 30 years"
(CNN)  Air raid sirens rang out across Ukraine on Saturday as Russia carried out another series of missile attacks across the country, including one in Dnipro that hit a nine-story apartment building and killed at least five people.

Missiles and explosions were heard everywhere from Lviv in the west; Kharkiv in the northeast; Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro in the southeast; Myokaliv in the south; and Kharkiv in the northeast, officials said.

In Dnipro, another 27 people, including six children, were hospitalized after being wounded in the apartment building strike, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.

Local authorities are now working to dig people from the rubble. So far, at least 15 have been rescued, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"We are fighting for every person, every life," Zelensky said on social media.

Authorities in Kyiv said there was an "attack on the capital." Blasts were heard as early as 6 a.m. local time, according to the head of Kyiv region military administration, Oleksiy Kuleba. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said strikes hit the city's east bank, where several power facilities were located. The exact locations of the blasts could not be immediately verified by CNN. A thick fog blanketed much of the city.

However, Oleksandr Pavliuk, a Kyiv-based commander in the Ukrainian army, said the explosions in Kyiv were not caused by Russian attacks.

"The explosions are not connected with the threat from the air or air defense, as well as with any military actions," Pavliuk wrote on the encrypted social media app Telegram. "If there was a threat  you would have heard the alarm. The cause of the explosions will be reported separately."

Russia's latest nationwide salvo appeared to target critical infrastructure across Ukraine, as the Kremlin continues its efforts to limit the country's ability to heat and power itself in the middle of winter.

On the battlefield, all eyes are fixed on Soledar, a town of little strategic value that Russia is attempting to retake in the hopes that it will provide Russian President Vladimir Putin a symbolic victory. Various units of the Ukrainian military said that Soledar remains the scene of "fierce fighting." Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed that its forces took control of the town, although Kyiv has denied it.

After a broad assessment regarding the situation on the ground in Ukraine, several Western governments have decided to answer Zelensky's longstanding call to supply modern battle tanks to Kyiv.

France, Poland and the United Kingdom have pledged to soon send tanks for the Ukrainian military to use in its efforts to protect itself from Russia. Finland is considering following suit. Britain said it plans to send a dozen Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems. Poland plans to send a company of German-built Leopard tanks while France will deliver its domestically built AMX 10-RCs.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "5 killed as Russian airstrikes hit targets across Ukraine"
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Two of the migrants If these villagers get proper agricultural support, if BSF does not put any restriction on the agricultural activities, and if the villages have proper implementation of the welfare schemes, these people would never migrate to other states. BSFs intervention in the workings of the farmers, making arbitrary rules not to cultivate any profitable crops within 200 meter distance from the border fencing paralyzes the villagers economically. This incident also violates Articles 2, 12, 13 and 16 of the United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) in whose favor the Government of India voted. When these villagers migrate to different states for earning, they are subjected to ill treatment which is also in violation of the provision of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. Where will these people go to run their lives better? Life in Article 21 of the Constitution is not merely the physical act of breathing. It is much wider, including the right to live with human dignity and the right to livelihood. Due to such de facto forced migration these people are losing this very right.

BSF should not put any restriction on the cultivation of profitable crops in the village Gobra.

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families Adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/158 of 18 December 1990, must be followed to letters.

Security and safety of these migrant workers must be ensured, and legal safeguards such as ISMW-1979 must be implemented properly.

Ensure the implementation of government welfare schemes such as MGNREGA at Gobra.

The line departments of government and respective Panchayat / Municipality must maintain a detailed register of the migrant labourers (outgoing and incoming) and provide them with a government welfare scheme when they are out-station.

The government must ensure basic facilities such as proper housing, healthcare etc. for the migrants at their work-stations.

Government must implement schemes to provide the migrants with rations in the non-home States.

There must be government monitoring to protect the migrants from the ill-treatment of the contractor. Therefore I request your urgent intervention in this case to help these villagers find respite and humane life. On this note, I am putting forth the following demands of the villagers: If these villagers get proper agricultural support, if BSF does not put any restriction on the agricultural activities, and if the villages have proper implementation of the welfare schemes, these people would never migrate to other states. BSFs intervention in the workings of the farmers, making arbitrary rules not to cultivate any profitable crops within 200 meter distance from the border fencing paralyzes the villagers economically.

In a representation to the National Human Rights Commission chairperson, a senior West Bengal based activist has complained that villagers living near the border with Bangladesh are forced to migrate to as far away as Mumbai and Kerala because of lack of government sensitivity towards their welfare in original villages.Giving specific instances, Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), said, if the Border Security Force (BSF) had not put any restriction on agricultural activities, and if villages had properly implemented welfare schemes, these people would never migrate to other States.I want to attract your immediate attention to the inhumane condition of the migrated workers of Gobra village, Swarupnagar Block in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal to seek your urgent intervention to protect the rights of these people.Gobra is a village situated near the Indo-Bangladesh Border where the border fencing is about 500 meters inland. In our fact-finding we have found that the village lacks basic facilities such as basic health facilities, Ration shops, proper road network etc. The land in the village is fertile, but, in the lands which are situated beyond the fencing, the villagers cannot cultivate due to BSF restrictions. The primary profession of the villagers is agricultural work, but the villagers don't recover sufficient income from this profession. The works under MGNREGA are in a terrible state, and moreover everybody in the village doesnt possess a job card under the scheme. The people who have job cards, find jobs for around 20-40 days a year. This horrendous situation forces the villagers to undertake unsafe migration to the other parts of the country.The situation under which the villagers are undertaking migration is extremely unsafe. Nor the local panchayat or the administration keep any record related to it, neither are they provided with a Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) card. During their stay out-station they are forced to live in slum-like and unhealthy situations where basic sanitation, clean and regular water supply is lacking. Due to the absence of data, the safety and security of their life and livelihood are always at risk.The daily wages they earn vary, in Mumbai it is between Rs 350-500, and in Kerala it is between Rs 500-800, as there are no general guidelines about the wage amount.The following is the list of the villagers of Gobra who migrated to the different states:The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, 1979 (ISMW) Act provides that the labor contractors recruiting migrants are required to: (i) be licensed, (ii) register migrant workers with the government authorities, and (iii) arrange for the worker to be issued passbook recording their identity. Guidelines regarding wages and protections (including accommodation, free medical facilities, and protective clothing) to be provided by the labor contractor are also outlined in the law. In this case the workers dont even have BOCW cards. Nor do they get any legal safety net from various violations.In our fact finding related to this complaint, we have found that at least two of these workers are minors. They are living in the lack of all sorts of recreational activities and chances to attain quality education. At the same time, the conditions they are living in violates several Articles of Convention on the Rights of the Child, to be named, Articles 27, 28 and 32. The protection of children is of utmost importance for anybody sworn to protect human rights. Thus, giving them a proper childhood must be taken care of by the State at any cost.
For too long, the NHS has been 'in crisis'. For too long, cowardly politicians of all parties, like ostriches with their heads in the sand, have failed to tackle the issue or admit that the NHS is not sustainable in its present form. This abrogation of responsibility is a betrayal of everyone who pays taxes in the expectation of being treated when ill.

It is shameful that in 2023, patients wait more than 11 hours to see a doctor and emergency waiting times are at their worst for a decade. How risible to claim the NHS is 'the envy of the world'.

Labour politicians peddle the myth that heartless Tories are hell-bent on destroying the health service. But what about the striking unions? Or Labour itself, which refuses to countenance reform?

These issues aren't new. In May 1991, Daily Mail columnist Paul Johnson, who died last week, wrote this trenchant analysis of the NHS. Read his words which we reprint below and weep that three decades on, so little has been done to make the NHS fit for modern times and the seemingly endless demands put upon it.

For more than two decades Paul Johnson, who has died aged 94, was a regular columnist on the Daily Mail, where he displayed the extraordinary breadth of his knowledge, as well as trenchant opinion, on all manner of subjects

The NHS is the sacred cow of British politics. Everyone has to say how marvellous it is. No one dare attack it, except by stealth.

Many of those who work in it are dedicated and industrious. Others are under-employed.

In many ways, the NHS is an old-fashioned nationalised industry: inefficient, overmanned, over-unionised and a staggering financial burden. It employs well over a million people, only two-thirds of whom are directly involved, as doctors and nurses, in tending the sick.

The only other institution in Britain which has a longer payroll is local government, itself a byword for profligate use of manpower.

The supposedly niggardly Tory Government raised spending on the NHS by a third in real terms.

Most of the new cash was instantly swallowed by union demands for higher pay and shorter hours.

Now fundamental reforms are beginning to bite. The abler, more intelligent doctors are taking financial charge of their own practices.

The result was foreseeable: they are slashing their payrolls. The move has been highlighted by the decision of Guys Hospital in London to put its finances on a sound basis.

Equally foreseeable was Labours reaction: screams of outrage and accusations that the NHS is being assassinated.

Sensible people will shut their ears and wait for results.

The NHS is the sacred cow of British politics. Everyone has to say how marvellous it is. No one dare attack it, except by stealth

We ought to have learned by now that mere numbers do not guarantee efficiency, especially in a state-owned concern.

Fewer employees and greater efficiency often go hand-in-hand.

Theres no need to protest that the NHS is not an ordinary industry. Everyone knows that. But it is significant that some of the cleverest people in the business, including the best of the consultant doctors, are enthusiastically in favour of the reforms because they believe the service will benefit.

One consultant surgeon has said: For years the health service has been a vehicle of employment rather than a provider of health care. He said it ran efficiently only during the Winter of Discontent when non-essential staff were on strike. A reduction in the number of administrators, social workers and counsellors could only be beneficial. This would leave doctors and nurses free to get on with their job of looking after patients.

This kind of criticism of NHS over-manning  shared by many more doctors and senior nursing staff than dare to speak out  is confirmed by the figures.

In the past 30 years or so, the number of people employed by NHS hospitals has risen. Yet the number of patients treated has gone up by only a half.

The impression that something is seriously wrong is confirmed by a physical comparison of NHS and private hospitals. The NHS variety, however excellent the health care actually provided, gives the impression that they are run by the unions.

British author, historian and journalist Paul Johnson, who shifted his allegiances from the left to support Margaret Thatcher and Conservative causes, died on January 13

Meanwhile, large numbers of patients sit around waiting  often for hours, sometimes much longer.

One of the first things the unions did was to get rid of the matron, that symbol of old-style industry, cleanliness and discipline. With her elimination, a certain scruffiness began to take over, even in the high prestige teaching hospitals.

But even more lacking than matronly order is the financial discipline of making ends meet.

Private hospitals have no bottomless taxpayers purse to draw on and must get value for money to survive. On their premises there are no queues, either, no waiting. Appointments are kept on time. The working assumption is that the time of everyone  doctors, nurses, staff and patients  is valuable.

Britain is a country in recession and after years of surplus, the public finances are running into serious deficit. Private firms of every kind are being forced to make painful economies to survive.

It is simply not right that the NHS should escape the efficiency drive.

Of course the Labour Party will rant. Some NHS hospitals seem to operate as a giant system of outdoor relief for party supporters. Many of those who will lose their jobs are party militants. The unions, which will see their power eroded, help to form the hard core of the Labour establishment.

All this is bad news for Labour and excellent news for the rest of us. And especially for the patients.

There is an iron law of nationalisation from which the NHS is by no means exempt: public-sector industries are run in the interests of those who work for them, instead of those who use them.

The Government is on course for replacing the iron law with a new one: the patient comes first. The transformation will take time.

Labour will set up the most almighty emotional caterwauling to deafen the elector into believing the NHS is being starved to death.

In fact, subjecting public hospitals to a rigorous slimming cure will eventually release huge sums of money for new equipment, new research, better facilities and higher standards of health care.

Moreover, it will allow harassed hospital managements, many being driven to actual insolvency by inflated wage bills, to think positively about the new medical science of health promotion, and begin to invest in it.

Therein lies the future for Britains NHS. The Tories are prepared to take serious political risks in accelerating it. And once again, Labour is revealed as the reactionary party.

The patient should beware.
Better late than never. I am delighted the Government has finally declared war on woke, but having waited this long, it has an awful lot of ground to make up.

Despite the country having been led by Conservative Prime Ministers for 13 years, the public sector has been totally captured by this quasi-religious cult.

According to a report by the Conservative Way Forward campaign group, the British taxpayer is funding 10,000 equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) jobs at a cost of 557 million a year.

So, well done Rishi Sunak. Declaring war on woke is more than your four Conservative predecessors have done writes TOBY YOUNG

The NHS, for instance, employs 800 EDI officers at a cost of 40 million.

Arif Ahmed would be a terrific appointment as 'free speech tsar'. But he'll be one man facing an army of woke warriors. Britain's 175 universities employ on average four EDI officers each, at a cost of 30.2 million. The same goes for the Rev Philip North, the new Bishop of Blackburn. Great choice, but he'll be one dove in a field full of crows.

At the Free Speech Union, we are part of what might be called the 'anti-woke coalition' but by my calculations this little force numbers fewer than 500 people and has a yearly budget of under 25 million.

That means we're outgunned by a ratio of 20 to one  and I haven't factored in the huge number of diversity specialists in the private and charity sectors. If Rishi Sunak is serious about wanting to take on the mass ranks of highly motivated, highly organised campaigners, he needs to provide more money and manpower.

The Free Speech Union gets about 25 cries for help a week, nearly all from people who've said something perfectly lawful but which someone  usually a junior colleague  has found offensive.

Whitehall sources say that the favourite is Arif Ahmed (pictured), a Cambridge professor who has spoken out against the 'cancel culture' on campuses

These are things which five years ago wouldn't have raised an eyebrow, like saying you don't think a woman can have a penis or the British Empire wasn't all bad. We do our best to help, but every time we rescue one, another two get into difficulty. It's like fighting a multi-headed hydra.

So, well done Rishi Sunak. Declaring war on woke is more than your four Conservative predecessors have done. It's fantastic that you're committed to a free speech general to fight the cause. Now give him an army.
Lisa Marie Presley and Sarah Ferguson forged a sister-like friendship through the shared experience of their former partners being embroiled in sex scandals, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The Duchess of York is planning to fly to the US to attend the funeral of Elvis Presleys only child at his Graceland estate in Tennessee.

Lisa Marie, who died aged 54 on Thursday after multiple heart attacks, had comforted Fergie, 63, as she dealt with the fallout over Prince Andrews relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

From 1994 to 1996, Lisa Marie was married to pop superstar Michael Jackson, who was the subject of allegations of child abuse.

SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP: The picture with Lisa Marie that Fergie posted, along with a poignant message From the moment they met there was an instant bond

Lisa Marie Presley and Sarah Ferguson forged a sister-like friendship through the shared experience of their former partners being embroiled in sex scandals, The Mail on Sunday can reveal

Last night a friend of the Duchess said: Lisa Marie adored Fergie. From the moment they met there was an instant bond. She had been through so many scandals, as had Sarah. Sarah was there for her when Michael [Jackson] died [in 2009].

Lisa Marie had been through all the accusations that he was a paedophile but she went to her grave believing Michael was innocent. She was a rock for Sarah when the sex allegations against Prince Andrew were made.

Lisa Maries eldest daughter, actress Riley Keough, 33, is close to Fergies daughters Beatrice and Eugenie. The friend said of Fergie: Shes utterly heartbroken. They were as close as sisters. Sarah is planning to fly over to attend the funeral.

They spoke almost daily on the phone. This was a precious friendship to both of them, which is why they kept it so private. Lisa Marie didnt trust many people outside her family but loved Sarah.

The 54-year-old was pictured at the Golden Globes on Tuesday, had been rushed to a hospital after EMTs responded to her home for a 'full cardiac arrest'. She was pronounced dead a few hours later

In an Instagram post after Lisa Maries death, the Duchess posted a picture of the pair together, writing: I say hello to you every day, and I love you, my sissy, and I will continue to say hello to you every day. You were my sissy, an amazing mother to Ben, Riley, Harper and Finley and a superbly loving daughter to Priscilla.

You have been my devoted friend for many years, and I am here for your family to support and love them. I am deeply saddened, my sissy, you are in my heart.

Lisa Marie, Elvis Presleys only child with wife Priscilla, first met the Duchess in 2007.

When Lisa Maries son Ben died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2020 aged 27, Fergie wrote on social media: You stayed with me in my darkest moment and I am here in yours.

Lisa Marie, who battled cocaine and opioid addiction and was married four times, including to actor Nicolas Cage, had twin 14-year-old daughters Finley and Harper with musician Michael Lockwood. They divorced in 2021.

At the time of her death, he was claiming $40,000 a month in child support, which she said she could not afford. In court documents she claimed the $100 million fortune she inherited had all gone.

Lisa Maries funeral is expected to take place in a couple of weeks. The results of toxicology tests are due in four to six weeks.

Epstein sex slave Virginia Giuffre alleged she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times, including when she was 17. He has constantly and vehemently denied all claims.

Last year, he settled a US civil suit brought by Ms Giuffre for a reported 12 million without admitting any wrongdoing.

Michael Jackson was twice accused of being a paedophile and went through two high-profile legal cases.

He settled the first case out of court for $20 million and was acquitted by a jury in the second.
Iran's leaders have been hanging dissidents since the start of the year, as they battle to quell the wave of street protests against the countrys repressive system. But yesterdays execution of the joint British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari is a brutal step beyond. And it raises the spectre of an international crisis pitting the Islamic republics hardliners against the West.

Britain has been targeted as a threat by the Ayatollahs regime ever since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. We are the Little Satan in their demonology. America is the Great Satan, said to be co-ordinating diabolic plots against Iran with its London allies.

Paranoid they might well be, but such fantasies can have catastrophic consequences.

Iranian-British dual citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe spent more than five years in jail as a result of the flimsy claim that any Iranian who shows dissent from the regime is a Western spy.

Yesterdays execution of the joint British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari (pictured) is a brutal step beyond

After 40 years, and in the face of mass urban protests, the plausibility of those accusations is waning. But far from backing off, the Ayatollahs are doubling down. Iran has developed a growing range of sophisticated weapons, such as ballistic missiles, to the alarm of its neighbours. The fear is that Tehrans renewed enrichment of uranium means it could soon have both a nuclear warhead and a delivery system capable of hitting its enemies in Israel  and reach deep into Western Europe.

Sadly, it is possible that Britains decision to bring sanctions against the regimes Revolutionary Guards for backing terrorist groups across the Middle East could have triggered the hanging of Akbari.

Tehran had accused him of being the key informant for Israeli agents alleged to have assassinated a nuclear scientist in Iran.

More damning, it was claimed he had helped Donald Trump target and kill the Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, a military hero, in Baghdad three years ago.

It is hardly creditable that Akbari, who left Irans government 15 years ago, could have had access to hour-by-hour information on the whereabouts of these people.

Blaming the failures of their security services on a scapegoat such as Akbari wont wash in the outside world. But what it is doing is stoking international tension. Cynically, the Ayatollahs need a foreign crisis to distract from their failure to stifle the populist protest movement, which was sparked by the death in police custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, who had not worn her headscarf properly.

Britains attempt to use quiet diplomacy to save Akbari failed, but Tehran probably saw such an approach as a sign of weakness.

Iranian-British dual citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (pictured) spent more than five years in jail as a result of the flimsy claim that any Iranian who shows dissent from the regime is a Western spy

This episode recalls Saddam Husseins execution of Observer journalist Farzad Bazoft as a spy in 1990 in order to try to show that a Middle Eastern leader could defy a former imperial master.

That brutality in Iraq began the downward slide to the first Gulf War later that year.

Today, Irans rulers seem to think that extending their brutality by executing someone with a British passport will rally their people around them. But with the possibility that the regime might be nearing its death throes, this is a very dangerous moment, because Tehran could still wreak havoc.

Its decision to supply Russia with kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine shows that Iran has the weapons to target the Wests energy allies across the Persian Gulf.

Irans desperate hardliners see a crisis with the West as the best hope of finding themselves a lifeline. Their support of Russia suggests this could be part of a chain reaction of East-West conflicts that Moscow has deliberately created.

Most chillingly, I fear there is more to come.

Mark Almond is director of the Crisis Research Institute, Oxford.
At a recent private dinner for friends hosted by Charles and Camilla at Clarence House, the Kings guests were taken aback by his obvious reluctance to confront his son Harry over his disloyalty.

In the face of multiple smears, indiscretions and provocations, Charles betrayed one of his cardinal weaknesses: a constitutional unwillingness to confront personal problems head-on.

Rather than fight for an important principle, Charles disclosed to his guests, he preferred to shy away from a bitter battle.

And so it came as no surprise to read yesterdays newspaper account of proposals for a mooted peace summit, with Palace sources quoted as saying that the King might ignore Harrys treachery and deceit over the past week and seek reconciliation by admitting his errors.

At a recent private dinner for friends hosted by Charles and Camilla at Clarence House, the Kings guests were taken aback by his obvious reluctance to confront his son Harry over his disloyalty

In the face of multiple smears, indiscretions and provocations, Charles betrayed one of his cardinal weaknesses: a constitutional unwillingness to confront personal problems head-on

Such a suggestion must have truly shocked Britains monarchists, a constituency that makes up the vast majority of King Charles subjects.

The very idea that he might succumb to pressure from his younger son shows that Buckingham Palaces officials fear they are losing control of the narrative.

The revelation that may well have given them most pause was Harrys claim that he had junked half the final manuscript because of its length  the clear implication being that another 400 pages of embarrassing revelations and vitriolic accusations could be published in the near future.

No one knows better than Charles that Harry has barely scratched the surface when it comes to his tumultuous marriage to Diana, his difficult relationship with his own parents and his adulterous relationship with Camilla. The embattled King knows he has good reason to fear his son.

Charles resolve is also weakened by guilt. He is sufficiently self-aware to realise that, in the wake of Dianas death, he was anything but the supportive father he should have been.

All too often, at weekends and during school holidays, Harry was left in the care of his nanny at Highgrove while his father pursued his own interests or nestled in another home with Camilla. The chickens, Harry might say, have now come home to roost.

One of the most poignant  and revealing  quotes attributed to Charles in Harrys book is the Kings plea to his sons following Prince Philips funeral: Please boys, dont make my final years a misery.

In that one sentence, Charles exposed his vulnerability. His reign, he feared, could be wrecked by Harry and Meghan.

Rather than fight for an important principle, Charles disclosed to his guests, he preferred to shy away from a bitter battle

Prince Harry's book, Spare, was released on January 10 and quickly became one of the fastest selling non-fiction books ever

And homing in on any human weakness seems to me to be Meghans speciality. Just as she humiliated her own father and dumped her family and many friends, she appears vengeful against Harrys family for perceived slights.

Hence Harry saying last week that his family should apologise.

As someone who has climbed the very greasy pole that leads to success in the dog-eat-dog world of American television, Meghan can smell weakness a mile off and Charles positively reeks of it.

Finding himself between a rock and a hard place his first instinct is to sue for peace  he would not last even one minute as a studio executive.

But Charles should be aware that he could jeopardise his status and popularity with the British people if he caves in to the demands of the Sussexes.

Former head of royal protection brands Prince Harry a 'fool' for detailing palace layouts in his tell-all memoir Advertisement

Not only would the majority of his subjects, outraged by Harrys perfidy, deplore any concessions to the Montecito hucksters, but William and Kate would surely not co-operate in any humiliating apology.

For the Cambridges have borne the brunt of the Sussexes attacks. In all their interviews, Meghan and Harry have  perhaps unconsciously  revealed their breath-taking jealousy of the heirs to the throne.

Even before her glittering marriage, Meghan appears to have been outraged by the fact that Kate outranked her, both in the hierarchy and when it came to privileges.

Which is why the Cambridges have good reason to suspect the genuineness of Harrys desire for reconciliation. The fact is that William can sense his fathers temptation to surrender. Thats the obstacle to Charless peace-making endeavours.

In the interests of the monarchy, William and Charles have been only recently reconciled. As an eyewitness to his mothers distress over Charless adultery, William has always found it difficult to warm to his stepmother entirely.

Now, its hard to believe that he or Kate can see any advantage in bowing to Harrys demands. Concessions, they believe, will only lead to further accusations.

The King and his advisers, William knows, are treading a dangerous path. Talk of reconciliation is a mirage. Harry and Meghan will settle for nothing less than total capitulation and victory.
Im writing this just before Christmas. Its freezing, so cold even the water in the stables has frozen. The horses poo is frozen to the ground, so you have to chip away at it. I feel like a miner at a coalface; I even have a head torch. Gracie is wearing her fluoro warm coat; she looks like a policewoman: I half expect her to start directing traffic. Im facing Christmas on my own. Until

Him. The writer. What are you doing at Christmas?

Bear in mind that we havent been on a single date. I think this is a little bit forward, like meeting someone for dinner wearing no knickers, brandishing a condom.

Me. Also a writer. Um. The usual. [The following list is the dating equivalent of turning up with hairy armpits.] Feeding the horses, changing their rugs, poo picking [mining], putting hay out, turning out, mucking out, changing water, getting them all in without being murdered by Swirly [she is way more excited about coming in than she is about going out for some reason], changing rugs, feeding, skipping. Walking my dogs. Trying to squeeze in Top of the Pops [is that even still a thing?]. Eating nut roast made by my local deli, as they feel sorry for me.

Im writing this just before Christmas. Its freezing, so cold even the water in the stables has frozen. The horses poo is frozen to the ground, so you have to chip away at it.

Him: Do you fancy Christmas lunch somewhere festive? Claridges? Locanda Locatelli? Moro? He has been googling.

Me, swooning with nostalgia: I would love that more than anything. To be warm and have someone bring me food! To wear something other than wellies and a jerkin. I simply cant. I have four dogs, really naughty horses.

I will weaponise my misery because I have a right to express my feelings

Even though he didnt reply, I could feel his thoughts in the ether: her bloody animals. Shes not normal. A day later, he sent this: I could come to you. I could bring a Daylesford hamper.

Im too ashamed of where I live, and so I say its too soon. I dont even know if I fancy him, as his face is a blur. Plus, its awkward given I write about my life. Even though hes a writer, he wont enjoy it. Im reminded of a piece that went viral a month or so ago, entitled: My boyfriend, a writer, broke up with me because I am a writer. The author Isabel Kaplan wrote: I promised I wouldnt exploit our childs privacy; he worried I would someday change my mind. He wanted more than a verbal promise, which I didnt know how to provide. I asked him to trust me. Flowers from my British publisher arrived later that morning; my book was published the day before in the UK. I didnt ask my boyfriend to celebrate that publication. I thought I had already asked for too much.

What a wimp! If a man cant deal with your success, dump the chippy bastard! Her boyfriend joked that if she wrote about him, it would be the end. He brought up Nora Ephron, author of When Harry Met Sally. The woman who came up with the phrase Everything is copy.

I will weaponise my misery because I have a right to express my feelings

Nora hurt people with her writing, you know, her boyfriend, a writer, said. All of which makes me want to stab him, and wonder what on earth he writes about. Perhaps hes a biographer, writing about Meghan Markle, whom he has never met. Or he pens fantasy novels set in outer space. He is so disparaging of women writing about their feelings he calls it militarised vulnerability. Why not tell the brave women of #MeToo about your small-penised treatise. See what their response is.

Then she writes the most apposite sentence in the whole essay. In any relationship, there is an expectation of privacy. There is also an expectation of respect. Violate the latter and you relinquish your right to the former.

EXACTLY! THANK YOU! All the anger Ive faced for decades over my writing  from family, friends, partners, the chubby husband who was a novelist  has been because they failed to show respect. Not me. I am but a mirror. I will weaponise my misery because I have a right to express my own feelings, my own hurt.

I email him the viral essay as background reading. He replies: Im not jealous of your success, your talent. Im in awe of it. And I wont do anything to piss you off.

Well. He would say that, wouldnt he?
After British scientsts spectacularly failed to launch a rocket into orbit this week... MailOnline is asking readers to challenge themselves with a series of science questions from a recent SATs exam for Year Nine pupils.

Pupils aged 14 take tests in chemistry, biology and physics to track their progress in the chemistry, biology and physics before they head on to do their GCSEs in Year 10 - and in the week that Virgin Orbit failed to launch the first satellite into orbit from UK soil, we could use some scientific minds.

Adults shared maths tests online this week after Rishi Sunak pledged to make the subject compulsory for all children until they turn 18, but we want to ensure you have a well-rounded education, so we are also testing your science knowledge.

So, MailOnline asks... can you solve these Year Nine science exam questions and prove that you can know your blackheads from your black holes? (Answers at the bottom of the page)

MailOnline is challenging you to solve these Year Nine science exam questions and prove that you can know your blackheads from your black holes

Rishi Sunak announced plans last week for every pupil in England to study some form of maths until they are aged 18, to beat high rates of innumeracy in the UK.

Pupils will have to take 'some form' of mathematics course delivered either through new or existing qualifications such as A-levels, T-levels and Core Maths.

Mr Sunak promised to equip children for the 'jobs of the future' by ensuring they had good maths skills when they leave school.

For most the drive is likely to involve practical skills rather than algebra.

Around eight million adults in England only have the numeracy skills expected of primary school children, according to Government figures.

And in science news this week, the failure of the first ever orbital space launch from British soil was caused by a premature shutdown in the rocket, operator Virgin Orbit has revealed.

It had been deployed from under the wing of a specially-adapted 747 jumbo jet, which took off from Cornwall Spaceport, flew to a designated launch zone above the Atlantic and jettisoned a booster containing nine satellites towards space.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared this week his new plan for every pupil in England will study some form of maths until they're 18. He is pictured during a visit to Harris Academy at Battersea in south-west London today

However, organisers of the Start Me Up mission soon identified an 'anomaly' and said Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket had failed to reach its target orbit.

The rocket was lost, with footage later showing it burning or breaking up in the atmosphere as it fell back to Earth off the coast of Lanzarote.

In a statement released on Thursday, Virgin Orbit said initial data indicated that the first stage of the rocket performed as expected, that it reached space altitudes, and that stage separation and ignition of the upper stage occurred in line with the mission plan.

LauncherOne never reached its target altitude to release a payload of nine satellites into orbit and was ultimately lost  either burning up in the Earth's atmosphere or breaking apart over the north Atlantic

Devastating: Britain's historic first ever orbital space launch on UK soil dramatically failed on Monday night, after Virgin Orbit revealed that an 'anomaly' had prevented its rocket from reaching orbit. Pictured is the moment the rocket ignited

Later in the mission, at an altitude of approximately 111 miles (180 km), the upper stage experienced an anomaly which prematurely ended the first burn.

Virgin Orbit said this ended the mission, with the rocket components and payload falling back to Earth within the approved safety corridor without ever achieving orbit.

Sir Richard Branson's company has launched a formal investigation into the source of the second stage failure, but said it hoped to return to Spaceport Cornwall for additional launches as early as later this year.

Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, said: 'We are all disappointed that we were not able to achieve full mission success and provide the launch service that our customers deserve.

'Upon identifying the anomaly, our team immediately moved into a pre-planned investigation mode.'

He added that Virgin Orbit had begun an internal investigation into the root causes of the failure.

The plane, dubbed Cosmic Girl, took off on Monday night from Cornwall Airport with hundreds of members of the public watching and more than 75,000 viewing a live stream of the event.

Named in tribute to the Rolling Stones' 1981 hit, the mission involved a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft and Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket.

WHAT ARE THE ANSWERS?
If this is more self-improvement advice for 2023, I swear Ill

Calm down.

Calming down is already on my list.

You have made resolutions, then?

Yes, standard stuff: lose a stone, be kinder to friends about their cold-shower obsessions, stop hating people with paddleboards.

And hows that going for you?

Badly.

Youre not alone. According to a new YouGov survey, while more Britons made New Years resolutions this year (21 per cent, up from 14 per cent last year) that also means record numbers (one in six last year) will break them all.

Why do we even bother?

Excellent question. Theres a growing movement claiming we shouldnt.

Resolution rebels. I like it. Tell me more

The Washington Post advised readers to ditch the resolutions in favour of a nudge word.

A what?

A word that reflects something you want for yourself in 2023.

Cash.

Something more nourishing.

Cake.

OK, moving on. Another transatlantic initiative advises people to forget yearly goals and try a Monday reset instead.

Great, Ill do that tomorrow.

On 16 January? Are you mad?

But I thought you just said that I should reset my goals on a Monday?

Well, yes  provided it isnt the third Monday in January.

Because

Its Blue Monday. Officially the years most depressing day.

I shouldnt commit to a gym membership, then?

We wouldnt commit to getting out of bed.

Actually, didnt I read that Equinox gyms banned people from joining up in January?

Youre not a New Years resolution said its website as 2023 dawned.

What was their point?

Russell crowes 2023 resolution? To do only high-quality hangover

That the luxury fitness chain  membership costs from around 200 a month  isnt about token gestures.

Bold move to drop revenue for a month.

They didnt. The ban only lasted one day  business as usual on 2 January.

Who else has resolution fatigue?

Surprisingly, Gwyneth Paltrow (right), who says resolutions set us up to fail. She admits, however, that she hasnt actually got any vices left.

Anyone less perfect?

Russell Crowe. Instead of joining the growing ranks of Dry January observers (including nine million in the UK this year), on New Years Eve he tweeted that hes only allowing high quality, thoroughly deserved hangovers.

And for those of us hanging on to sobriety by our fingernails?

Loose leaf tea.

Really?

Its one of countryliving.coms resolutions for a slower-paced life. It also advises pouring it [the tea] into a mug, catching the leaves with a strainer and adding milk.

More a packet instruction than a resolution

Then how about its advice for a slow-paced physical activity?

Hit me

Learn to stand up.

Not much of a challenge.

Sorry, we didnt scroll down  learn to stand-up paddleboard.

You know how I feel about paddleboards.

Then how about The Wall Street Journals advice to switch your New Year focus from learning new things to worrying less.

About what?

Friendships, for example. If your New Years resolution is to reach out to more people then dont bother.

Why not?

Because, say psychologists, as we age we experience socioemotional selectivity.

Come again?

We ditch annoying people and give less of a toss.

So those friends who bang on about lasting seven minutes under a freezing shower after watching Wim Hof on YouTube?

Dead to you.

WORDS: ANNA PURSGLOVE
R'Bonney Gabriel, a fashion designer, model and sewing instructor from Texas was crowned Miss Universe last night.

Almost 90 women took part in the competition at New Orleans Morial Convention Center in Louisiana this week, battling it out in rounds including swimwear and national costume.

Ms Gabriel, who officials said is the first Filipino American to win Miss USA, closed her eyes and clasped hands with runner-up Miss Venezuela, Amanda Dudamel, at the moment of the dramatic reveal of the winner, then beamed after her name was announced.

Thumping music rang out, and she was handed a bouquet of flowers, draped in the winner's sash and crowned with a tiara on stage at the 71st Miss Universe Competition.

Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel (pictured) was crowned Miss Universe during the final round of the 71st Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, in New Orleans last night

The second runner-up was Miss Dominican Republic, Andreina Martinez.

In the Q&A at the last stage of the competition for the three finalists, Ms Gabriel was asked how she would work to demonstrate Miss Universe is 'an empowering and progressive organisation' if she was to win.

'I would use it to be a transformational leader,' she responded, citing her work using recycled materials in her fashion design and teaching sewing to survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence.

'It is so important to invest in others, invest in our community and use your unique talent to make a difference.

R'Bonney Gabriel (pictured at the competition at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center last night) has been crowned Miss Universe

Miss USA R' Bonney Gabriel (left) and Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel (right) wait to see who will be crowned Miss Universe

Contestants applaud R'bonney Gabriel (centre) as she is crowned Miss Universe at the 71st competition in Louisiana last night

Some 90 women battled it out for the title of Miss Universe at the pageant's 71st outing last night (pictured L-R: Miss Puerto Rico Ashley Carino, Miss Haiti Mideline Phelizor, Miss Australia Monique Rile, Miss Dominican Republic Andreana Martanez and Miss Lasos Payengxa Lor)

Contestants take to the stage in glitzy gowns as they attend the 71st Miss Universe Competition at New Orleans Morial Convention Center (pictured L-R: Miss Puerto Rico Ashley Carino, Miss Croatia Arijana Podgajski)

Miss South Africa Ndavi Nokeri dons a sparkling purple frock as she waves at the crowd during the Miss Universe competition

'We all have something special, and when we plant those seeds to other people in our life, we transform them and we use that as a vehicle for change.'

According to Miss Universe, Ms Gabriel is a former high school volleyball player and graduate of the University of North Texas.

A short biography posted on the organisation's website said she is also chief executive of her own sustainable clothing line.

Miss Curacao, Gabriela Dos Santos, and Miss Puerto Rico, Ashley Carino, rounded out the top five finalists.

Miss Portugal Telma Madeira (pictured) takes part in the swimwear round of the 71st Miss Universe competition this week

During the competition this week, which was held at New Orleans Morial Convention Center in Louisiana, entrants took part in various rounds, including the swimwear segment

Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel (pictured) attends The 71st Miss Universe Competition in Louisiana

Nearly 90 contestants from around the world took part in the competition, organisers said, with attendees taking part in swimwear and evening gowns among other rounds

Miss Puerto Rico Ashley Carino beams as she walks the runway during the swimwear round, donning a fuchsia one-piece and lilac robe

Speaking about the event, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said: 'The City of New Orleans and the Miss Universe Organization share common values of celebrating inclusion, culture and the empowerment of women.

'Former Miss Universe delegates and winners have gone on to become surgeons, diplomats, politicians and business leaders, and they all champion social causes that are important to them.

'Hosting this event demonstrates the significant global impact an international city like New Orleans has on the worlds tourism and cultural stages.

'We are honoured to host the 71st annual Miss Universe pageant and show people around the globe why New Orleans is the best in the world at executing major events, festivals, conferences and conventions with a culture that is absolutely unmatched.'

Miss Curacao Gabriela Dos Santos (pictured) participates in the evening gown competition during the final round of the 71st Miss Universe Beauty Pageant

The evening gown round saw competitors show off glitzy gowns as they took to the stage at the event (pictured L-R: Miss Spain Alicia Faubel, Miss Canada Amelia Tu)

Miss South Africa Ndavi Nokeri (pictured) dazzles in a sparkling frock, featuring a deep V neckline and cape-style sleeves

The evening gown category of the competition gave the almost 90 competitors an opportunity to show off lavish frocks (pictured L-R: Miss Peru Alessia Rovegno, Miss Trinidad and Tobago Tya Jane Ramey)

Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel (who was crowned Miss Universe) showcases a glittering black and sheer gown at the Louisiana competition

Nearly 90 contestants from around the world took part in the competition, organisers said, involving 'personal statements, in-depth interviews and various categories including evening gown and swimwear'.

As ever, one of the most popular categories was the national costume round, which saw contestants take to the stage in outfits representing their home nations.

Miss Great Britain, Noky Simbani wore an elegant white and gown with silver and sapphire diamante detailing and lavish velvet emerald cape with fur trim.

The 26-year-old from Derbyshire also wore a small silver crown, which looked like it could have been referencing the late Queen Elizabeth II as she represented Great Britain to the world.

Last year's winner was Harnaaz Sandhu of India.
She quickly issued an apology video and went back to Tesco to 'redeem herself'

Her final choice of flavoured water, a duck wrap and eggs didn't go down well

An Australian tourist has been mocked after a video of her choosing a selection of odd items for a 3.40 Tesco meal deal went viral.

Katie Treasure, 23, originally from Sydney, sparked a massive backlash online after filming herself excitedly making her first ever meal deal selection in the UK.

The video showed Katie, who says meal deals are not offered in her native country, bemused by the vast array of food and drink items on offer.

But her final choice of lemon-flavoured water, a duck wrap and eggs from the shelves of a Tesco in Portsmouth, unleased a torrent of criticism on TikTok.

Katie Treasure, 23, originally from Sydney, has been forced to 'apologise' after a video of her choosing a selection of odd items for a 3.40 Tesco meal deal went viral

One commented: 'All the hype for the meal deal to get water and eggs, you need to get the expensive smoothies to make it worth it.'

Another said: 'That is a rogue meal deal selection.'

As the comments from furious Brits, who take meal deals very seriously, kept rolling in, Katie had to issue an apology in her following video.

Katie, who works as an English language assistant in a school in Valencia, Spain was visiting the UK as she was spending time with her boyfriend's family over Christmas.

Her final choice of lemon-flavoured water, a duck wrap and eggs from the shelves of a Tesco in Portsmouth, unleased a torrent of criticism on TikTok

Katie, who works as an English Language Assistant in a school in Valencia, Spain, was mocked for her choice of wrap

She explained: 'I was going round the corner to the local Tesco to pick up a meal deal for my boyfriend and I for a quick lunch.

'I thought I would film the experience as my TikTok page is all about the new experiences I have while traveling abroad.

'I'd never tried a meal deal prior to this but I had heard lots great things about them from my British friends so I was keen to give them a go.

'I filmed exploring the selection of options they had in the supermarket, and my experience discovering out how it all worked.

According to Katie, meal deals like this don't exist in Australia and anything similar is few and far between

The video she posted on TikTok was viewed over 1,000,000 times, getting nearly 90,000 likes and hundreds of comments

'Then finally at the end, I showed the choice I made for myself!'

According to Katie, meal deals like this don't exist in Australia and anything similar is few and far between.

'I was excited to try it because I had heard a lot about them from my friends who are from the UK, and my boyfriend who lives in the UK too.' She said.

The video she posted on TikTok was viewed over 1,000,000 times, getting nearly 90,000 likes and hundreds of comments.

Katie posted a follow-up video of herself issuing an apology to those who took her meal deal choices quite seriously

'I did not expect the video to pick up so much traction, for me, it was just another novel experience travelling.

'But I realised after posting it that meal deals clearly are a bit of a unique hallmark of British culture and that people have some strong opinions about how it should and shouldn't be done.

'In fairness, when I got home my boyfriend did point out that eggs were a bit of a weird choice, but I didn't expect it to blow up quite as it did.'

After posting a follow-up video of herself issuing an apology to those who took her meal deal choices quite seriously, she went back to the same shop to 'redeem herself' and get a proper selection.

Katie went back to the same shop to 'redeem herself' and get a proper selection which included 'the expensive smoothie' to get the best value

'I didn't realize my choices would elicit such strong reactions from people.

'I also didn't realise there was a bit of a formula to finessing the meal deal - ie. trying to purchase the most expensive items.

'So I felt if my intention was to properly get the experience of trying a British meal deal, I should likely do it their way.'

Unfortunately, Katie's meal deal adventures will have to be put on hold for the foreseeable future as she has now returned to Spain.

But to appease the UK TikTok community, she made sure to get a meal deal while in the airport.

'I started my meal deal journey right at the end of my trip to the UK.

'However, I did manage to purchase one at Boots at the airport right before getting on my plane back to Spain.

'I also have plans to be back in England later this year, and will for sure be trying more meal deal combinations.'
A newlywed who sold her wedding dress the day after she tied the knot has set up an online platform for buying and selling second-hand clothes.

Isabel Gleeson, 29, from Foxrock in Dublin, sold her 4,400 (5,000) ruffled organza Halfpenny London bridal gown for 2,500 (2,800), more than half of what she paid when it was brand new,the day after marrying Gary Byrne in September 2021 when she received an Instagram message from someone who wanted to nab it.

Now the fashion buyer, who spent much of her career in London, has launched her own platform so other brides can follow suit, and has listed 40 wedding dresses on the reselling site in the past week.

As business picks up for the platform, ReBride, she said she believes selling wedding dresses will soon become 'normal' for brides.

Isabel Gleeson (pictured right on her wedding day) paid approximately 4,400 for her Halfpenny London bridal gown and sold it for 2,500 the day after her wedding in Ireland in September 2021

Isabel told Independent.ie: 'On average, a bride will only wear her dress for 13 hours and the likelihood for most brides is that they'll spend longer searching for the right dress than they will wearing it.'

She added that more and more brides are looking for sustainability, as well as a good deal, on their dream dress.

Isabel also revealed she sold her Olivia Rubin dress which she had worn for a registry office wedding with her husband, Gary Byrne

Isabel, who has worked in fashion buying for nearly a decade, has set up the ReBride platform for other newlyweds to follow her lead (pictured on her wedding day)

Each bride using Isabel's platform pays a fee of 20 to sign up and then lists their wedding dress for potential buyers

While many women may want to hang onto their bridal gowns for nostalgic reasons, Isabel argued the photos of herself in the dress are all the memories she needs - and she also revealed she had always intended to sell it after the big day.

However, Isabel didn't expect someone would want to take it off her hands quite so quickly.

Now managing ReBride, Isabel explained each seller is charged 17 (20) to place their second-hand dress on the platform. Once the dress is listed, the seller can connect with buyers who are interested in purchasing the dress and when the sale is complete, the seller keeps all of the proceeds.

She said: 'I definitely feel like it's just spreading joy, not bad luck.'

Isabel added that the average price of a wedding dress in Ireland is between 1,500 and 2,000 (1,700 and 2,300), which is a huge expense for a bride.

Overall, she thinks most people should be able to sell their dresses on for up to 60% of the price they paid when it was brand new.

As for the brands that are most likely to sell, Isabel listed Pronovias, Temperley London and Suzanne Neville.

Isabel, who celebrated her wedding twice as she officially married Gary during the pandemic, revealed she is also selling the dress she wore to the registry office.

The businesswoman wore a white Olivia Rubin shift dress with rainbow-coloured bows down the back.

After originally paying 660 (750), she is now selling the dress for 350 (400).

She said: 'I paid full price but now that dress is part of circular fashion and I am happy about that.'
Duke of Sussex accused his stepmother of 'trading information' with the press

The royal couple made their first joint appearance since Harry's accusations

The King, 74, and Queen Consort, 75, drove to Crathie Kirk Church this morning

The King and Queen Consort beamed as they arrived at Crathie Kirk Church in Balmoral this morning to attend Sunday service after a week of turbulence for the royal family following explosive accusations from Prince Harry as his bombshell memoir, Spare, was released.

The royals, who were wrapped up for the cold winter weather from behind the wheel of the car, put on a smile as they were seen together in public for the first time since Prince Harry, 38, referred to his stepmother as a 'villain' and accused her of leaking stories to the press about private conversations with Prince William.

The Duke of Sussex accused the Queen Consort of 'trading information' with the Press in an attempt to get more positive stories written about herself, while claiming his did not make his wife Meghan Markle feel welcome in the family and demanding an apology from them.

However Camilla, 75, put on a brave face today as she went to church despite royal sources reportedly claiming she has been 'left astounded' by her stepson's accusations.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla arrived at Crathie Kirk church in their first public appearance since Prince Harry demanded they apologise to Meghan

Vanity Fair reported the royals had been shocked by Harry's allegations, with one source saying: 'He is on a path of self-destruction. There is so much vengeance. The late Queen would have been absolutely devastated.'

Elsewhere, insiders detailed how the duke 'fails to see the irony' in his behaviour, accusing him of being the one leaking private conversations to the media.

Yesterday, Harry told the Telegraph he wanted his family to apologise to Meghan, sending them the message: 'You know what you did.'

The King was caught in a moment of looking a little serious as he drove his car to the church this morning

Camilla, 75, was wrapped up for the cold weather as she arrived at church with the King, who was behind the wheel

Harry has discussed, in depth, his relationship with Camilla in both his book and his publicity tour to promote it.

Harry told journalist Anderson Cooper in a CBS interview that the Queen Consort was content with bodies - including his own - being 'left in the street' as she tried to rehabilitate her image after her long affair with King Charles while he was married to Princess Diana.

Referring to a 1995 interview in which his mother, Princess Diana, famously referred to Camilla as the 'third person in her marriage', Harry said that this admission turned the now-Queen Consort into a 'villain', adding: 'She needed to rehabilitate her image.'

Harry's memoir levels even more accusations at Camilla, including claims that she 'eavesdropped' on a conversation between Meghan Markle, 41, and King Charles, 74.

After Camilla and Meghan bonded over their shared love of animals during afternoon tea at Clarence House in 2016, the Duke said his father and girlfriend fell into a 'quiet conversation', which intrigued his stepmother.

Describing how Camilla was 'stuck' with him, Harry recalls how she seemed 'keener on eavesdropping' on Meghan and Charles' discussion.

Harry says the couples then ended the engagement by discussing Meghan's career.

The Duke also claimed that, in Novembwe 2017, his stepmother had suggested he assume a royal role that would take him away from London, as governor general of Bermuda.

Harry alleged that the then Duchess of Cornwall put forward the suggestion as it would take the Sussexes out of the 'red-hot centre of the maelstrom' as they struggled with the limelight.

However, he pointed out that this would conveniently 'take them out of the picture' as well.

After telling Anderson Cooper that Camilla had been a 'villain' who needed to 'rehabilitate her public image', the Duke clarified in a later interview that he does not view her as his 'evil stepmother'.

Speaking to Good Morning America on Monday morning, he said: 'I have a huge amount of compassion for her, you know, being the third person within my parents' marriage. She had a reputation, or an image, to rehabilitate.

'Whatever conversations happened, whatever deals or trading was made right at the beginning, she was led to believe that that would be the best way of doing it.'
Bahraini developer Diyar Al Muharraq said it has begun secondary infrastructure works at the key B3 residential building plots within its integrated city project in the kingdom.

The B3 project comprises 38 housing plots with sizes ranging between 454 sq m and 979 sq m, thus offering the ideal investment opportunity with an array of benefits and features in line with its strategic location in proximity to Diyar Al Muharraqs main entrance, Marassi Al Bahrain, and Al Naseem, said a statement from the developer.

Moreover, the project offers close access to hotels, mosques, community centres, stores and malls, it stated.

The scope of work includes construction of the inner road as well as key services such as road lighting, sewage and rainwater networks, electricity and water networks, as well as setting up of telecommunications networks in partnership with BNET, it added.

On the strategic deal, CEO Engineer Ahmed Ali Alammadi said: "We are pleased to announce the start of secondary infrastructure works on our B3 plots, with an expected completion date during the third quarter. The landmark project will provide potential owners with plots that meet all their needs and requirements."

"At Diyar Al Muharraq, we maintain the highest quality standards on all blueprints and projects within the Masterplan. We also aim to offer a wide and extensive range of residential and commercial investment opportunities," he noted.

It is a modern-day urban city in Bahrain, which is characterized by a luxurious lifestyle and preservation of the traditional family values of the local community, in addition to a balanced mix of residential and commercial facilities, thus making it the ultimate investment opportunity.-TradeArabia News Service
A grieving father has opened up about the horrifying night his six-year-old daughter died unexpectedly, falling gravely ill just hours before her death.

David Hutton, of Bury, Greater Manchester, knew almost immediately that there was something wrong with his six-year-old daughter Isla as he put her to bed one night.

The pair had enjoyed a busy day out, and the youngster was exhausted as she went to bed, but the 38-year-old could tell that something wasn't right with his daughter.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, David said: 'She climbed into bed but wouldn't settle down. It was just desperation because I knew something wasn't right.'

David Hutton, pictured here with his late daughter Isla, says he knew something was wrong with the six-year-old one night as he put her to bed

Despite Isla being rushed to a nearby hospital, she tragically died on October 8, 2022, with the cause of death still unclear.

It is thought that she may have suffered from cardiac arrest, or a seizure, as a result of a pre-existing condition she was diagnosed when when she was born in 2015.

The condition, long QT syndrome, or LQTS, is a heart signalling disorder. Affecting around one in every 2,000 people, it can cause arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).

Isla's heart problems were discovered by doctors very quickly, and the youngster was fitted with a pacemaker at just two-days-old.

It is believed that Isla's tragic death may be connected to her heart condition LQTS, which she was diagnosed with at birth

After spending almost a whole year in hospital, Isla was discharged, and prescribed a medication called Mexiletine, which caused seizures due to the high dosage.

David, who became a full-time carer for Isla, has noted how different life feels since her death.

The former primary school teacher said: 'It feels like yesterday that she would come and climb on my knee, yet it feels like a lifetime ago. I can see the impact she had on other people and it's been comforting.'

He added that he was constantly by her side when she was in hospital, during which period he says time simultaneously felt like it was passing slowly, but also 'flashing by'.

According to David (pictured here with his daughter Isla) the youngster was 'the happiest little girl' you would meet

Speaking about his daughter, who was the mascot for biopharmaceutical company Thryv Therapeutics which is working on medications for LQTS among other conditions, he described her as 'the happiest little girl' you would meet.

During her time as Thryv Therapeutics, the six-year-old helped the company secure some $15million for its work in the US, as the driving force behind the team's research.

And David too has been raising awareness and money around the condition, co-founding a charity called Team 1C which supports children with cardiac conditions, and their families.

David (pictured here with Isla) says it is 'bittersweet' that his daughter's short life may in turn save others

The organisation is currently running projects to honour Isla's life, including funding an EPIC centre with Love The One charity.

It is also running events - a Summer festival for children and their families and a fun day for Team 1C families, as well as setting up a cardiac camp in India.

David says that knowing Isla's story is helping to fund research to fight against LQT is 'bittersweet', and that she 'may go on to save countless lives'.

He now plans to raise more cash for organisations that helped the youngster throughout her life.

He has so far reached 4,200 for Great Ormond Street Hospital and Children's Charity via JanuRun, an initiative that will see him rack up 31 miles throughout January.
The owner of Miss Universe has said the world famous beauty pageant has entered a 'new era' after 70 years of being run by men as she takes over as the first transgender woman to own the competition.

Thai businesswoman and CEO of the JKN Global Group Anne Jakrajutatip told the audience at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans in New Orleans that 'time [was up]' on the old order of the pageant.

Jakrajutatip said: 'From now on its gonna be run by women, owned by a trans woman, for all women around the world to celebrate the power of feminism.'

The 43-year-old said: 'It's the moment, really, for women to take the lead' as the roaring audience gave a standing ovation.

Anne Jakrajutatip, 43, the owner of Miss Universe, gave a rousing speech last night's competition to a standing ovation from the audience

The businesswoman, who became the owner of the pageant this year, wore a stunning floor-length cocktail dress embellished with gems as she addressed the audience.

She wore her blonde locks in a slicked-back low ponytail, parted in the centre, and accessorised her gem-encrusted gown with an equally sparkling butterfly pendant necklace and dangling diamond earrings.

Anne Jakrajutatip, the new owner of Miss Universe, delivered an empowering speech yesterday: Welcome to the new era. From now on its gonna be run by women, owned by a trans woman, for all women around the world. pic.twitter.com/TJXV8EPkAv  Dan Hastings- (@notdanhastings) January 15, 2023

Jakrajutatip continued that the pageant would stand for: 'Diverse cultures, social inclusion, gender equality, creativity, a force for good and of course, the beauty of humanity.'

She went on to describe her own experiences as a transgender woman and how it has affected her path in life.

'When I was born, as a trans woman, who got bullied and sexually harassed by my own teacher when I was young, plus I was not accepted by society because they did not want to embrace my differences,' she said.

'But guess what? I chose not to surrender.

'I turned pain into power. And I turned life lessons into wisdom.'

Jakrajutatip, a media entrepreneur and mother-of-two, bought out the company which owns the Miss Universe pageant this year for $20 million (16.6 million).

The businesswoman, also a mother-of-two, gave a rousing speech about a 'new era' of the Miss Universe pageant as she takes over as the first transgender woman to own the competition

The businesswoman, originally from Thailand, revealed how she struggled with her gender identity as a child

She has previously revealed that, as a child feeling like she was born in the wrong body, she was inspired by Oprah Winfrey to aspire to a career in the media.

The Guardian reports she wanted to become a chat show host after hearing Winfrey's story as a survivor of child abuse.

She said: 'In order to gain respect, you need to have success.'

As she takes over the Miss Universe pageant, the competition's rules have been relaxed to allow married and divorced women to enter.

When challenged on how some people view Miss Universe as a sexist institution, Jakrajutatip hit back, arguing it is about 'uplifting people' and 'empowering women'.

She said the swimsuit competition was about showing other people 'how you look after yourself'.

The businesswoman added she wants to see opportunities opened up for more women as she oversees the pageant from now on.

She said: 'You can build everything by yourself, like I have done before I started the business from scratch. I never had a golden spoon in my mouth.'

While she runs the competition in the US, Jakrajutatip remains an advocate for transgender rights in her home country Thailand.
Women who are interested in fashion divide up into two broad camps.

There are the peacocks who change their jewellery twice a day, mismatch prints, layer colours, do their hair one of four different ways depending on their mood and love to dress up.

And then there are the rest of us  the 'hawks'  who prefer to keep things simple but effective. We like glamour, we love clothes but we have no use for anything you can't put on faster than you can brush your teeth, and we love a one-step fix.

A hawk (me, in case you hadn't guessed) approaches every dressing opportunity with three clear goals: look as good as you can, look a bit different, take no trouble. Taking no trouble shows: we'd rather wear a blazer and trousers than a floaty button-up dress.

It's not that we're lazy, we just prefer to find a formula that works and adapt that according to what's new.

And now to the point: right now, the secret to making your clothes look new and interesting, with minimal effort, is a switch of footwear. Pictured: Actress Katie Holmes

Peacocks love to parade in front of the mirror, trying on this with that, scrabbling for the belt at the back of the drawer that might be the perfect finishing touch, seeing what surprising thing works on the day.

Hawks know roughly what they're going to wear, the only question is how they're going to tweak it to make it look better and more contemporary. We're looking in the mirror but only to see if the boots or the shoes look better.

And now to the point: right now, the secret to making your clothes look new and interesting, with minimal effort, is a switch of footwear. It's no great secret that shoes and boots will bounce your look from one year into the next faster than any other item in your wardrobe, but some seasons there is a distinct shoe shift. Spring 2023 is one of them.

As of now, the shoe shape that will make your trousers (any trousers so long as they're not tight) look like you bought them yesterday is a lowish, kitten heel slingback.

Me+Em's are not cheap (250, meandem.com) but if you want to get maximum wearability out of this style, you can't do better than these  in either black glossy patent or snake-print. Wear with a relaxed, ankle bone-grazing pair of trousers and a blouse and blazer and you've got yourself a smart work outfit or an easy cocktails option.

They'll give a dress Holly Golightly spark, too  though this year looks like being all about dressing up trousers.

As of now, the shoe shape that will make your trousers (any trousers so long as they're not tight) look like you bought them yesterday is a lowish, kitten heel slingback. Pictured: Model on the catwalk Chanel show at Paris Fashion Weekm, Spring Summer 2023

By substituting your trainers or loafers or chunky ankle boots for a smart pair of kitten heels  try & Other Stories for shiny black (85, stories.com) or Zara for leopard-print (59.99, zara.com)  you're adding the sharp dash of ladylike that makes everything look new this spring. And by ladylike I mean polished and feminine, not prim or pretty.

It's surprising the difference that they make: in one easy step you're slicker, higher off the ground and looking a lot more dressed.

Otherwise the ballet flat is back, which also works well in leopard (35, marksand spencer.com). With ballet flats it's best to stick to the three classics: snake, leopard and black (89, hush-uk.com).

Accessories: the new rules A kitten heel is back

Try patent or snake print

Go for pointy-toe boots

Get a ladylike chain bag Advertisement

The ones you want are higher cut on the foot, so they look less ballerina, and the plainer the better. You're wearing these with tailored trousers or jeans, never a dress. Too girly.

And then there are the new sharper boots. I've dug out some old pointy black Zara ankle boots that look a bit Acne; high polish, a longer length, a close fit and a pointed toe are what you're looking for in an ankle boot to show off under cropped trousers or to wear with midi dresses.

For something similar try H&M's good-looking block-heeled pair (34.99, 2.hm.com) or Hush's Tallis boots (169).

Otherwise, cowboy boots are still having a moment. Sadly, they're on my personal list of items that make me look like I have a bad case of age denial (along with tulle, sheer, biker jackets and slogan T-shirts); but if you want to give them a go, Arket has a plain pair that's only cowboy in that it has a Cuban heel (199, arket.com).

All you need then is a ladylike bag. I like Mango's leather sack with a chain strap (89.99, shop.mango.com) because it's got room for an ipad and a spare pair of shoes, but the rectangular smart chain bag, also from Mango (22.99, johnlewis.com) is the classic 'can't go wrong' shape.
Her favourite part was the cheese room filled with shelves of gourmet cheeses

A young woman travelling around the country has shared her shock at how fancy South Australian supermarkets are.

Greta Gercovich posted a video to TikTok of her visit to the Barossa Fresh supermarket in Nuriootpa, an hour north of Adelaide, and was wowed by how 'bougie' it was.

The keen traveller said the store was 'so pretty and genuinely enormous' with neat rows of juice bottles, gourmet bakery and delicatessen ranges as well as a cheese room.

Greta Gercovich, who is travelling around the country, has been wowed by the 'bougie' supermarkets in South Australia

'Something that is not discussed enough is South Australian supermarkets. Coles and Woolies who?' Greta said in the clip.

'This is Barossa fresh and have at look what they have - they have a cheese room, I'm here for it.'

A glass door has a sign that reads 'Please come in and discover our cheese room' and leads into a small room filled with shelves of high-end cheeses.

Greta then took a tour of the rest of the store and was impressed with what she found.

posted a video to TikTok of her visit to the Barossa Fresh supermarket in Nuriootpa, an hour north of Adelaide, and was wowed by how nice it was

The keen traveller said the store was 'so pretty and genuinely enormous' with neat rows of juice bottles, gourmet bakery and delicatessen ranges as well as a cheese room

'It's so pretty and genuinely enormous - look at the aesthetics of this place,' she said.

'Can confirm on the list of things I thought I'd be impressed by while travelling supermarkets was not on there but here we are.'

Greta's clip was captioned: 'One consistent finding thus far: SA supermarkets are in their own league entirely'.

'Brb going food shopping,' one viewer wrote while another said: 'Bro South Australia KNOWS WHAT'S UP'.

Greta then took a tour of the rest of the store and was impressed with what she found. She said: 'One consistent funding thus far: SA supermarkets are in their own league entirely'

South Australians were recommending Greta pay a visit to Pasadena Foodland, another gourmet supermarket while another said their local food shop has won awards

'Yeah the rest of Australia needs to look into this,' a third replied.

'Omg I live in the Barossa and I had NO idea there was a cheese room,' a fourth said.

South Australians were recommending Greta pay a visit to Pasadena Foodland, another gourmet supermarket while another said their local food shop has won awards.

'We have a supermarket that has been awarded best in the world multiple times, it has a piano player,' they said referring to Frewville Foodland.
An American foodie travelling in Australia has pointed out the difference between chips in the US and Down Under.

Food blogger Daniella Shaba was surprised by Smith's chips in the supermarket which she claims are the same as the Lay's brand in America.

She shared her observation in a TikTok clip with many Aussies claiming Smith's chips are 'superior' to American Lay's.

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American tourist, Daniella Shaba (pictured) pointed out the difference between chips in the US and Down Under. She said Lay's chips have been rebranded as Smith's in Australia

Are Smith's chips the same as Lay's? PepsiCo acquired The Smith's Snackfood Company in 1998 and marketed Frito-Lay products under that label, using the name Thins. After Thin's was sold to Snack Brands Australia (owned by Arnotts), Smith's produced a line of potato chips under the Lay's brand for a brief period of time. The Lay's line was eventually rebranded in 2004 as Smith's Crisps, while the traditional Smith's line was renamed Smith's Crinkles. This is still sold in Australia as a direct competitor to Smith's chips. Since 2009, Lay's have been available in Australia exclusively at Costco, where they are available in a single flavour and size (500g plain). They continue to be manufactured in Australia by Smith's. Source: Wikipedia Advertisement

'I'm in Australia right now and something cool that they have here are these chips called Smith's. They're basically like Lay's but they're called Smith's,' Danielle said.

'They have every single flavour that Lay's has but they're just called Smith's and I think it's the cutest thing ever.'

She also noted Aussie vending machines only sell Smith's saying: 'Lay's chips does not exist here.'

Smith's produced a line of chips under the Lay's name until 2004 when they rebranded to Smith's crisps.

The chips differ as Lay's are thin potato crisps while Smith's are thicker and crinkle cut.

Lay's still exist and can be purchased in Australia however they are only available at Costco stores and select Aldi stores.

More than 496,600 users viewed the video and Aussies in the comments disagreed that Smith's chips were like Lay's.

'We have Lay's but no one buys them because Smith's is better,' one viewer wrote.

'Smith's chips and Red Rock Deli don't compare to any other chip brand,' a second claimed.

'Smith's are just more superior,' a third agreed.

'Could be wrong but Smith's and Lay's are the same company in Australia,' a forth pointed out.

'I am currently travelling and miss my Smith's and other Aussie chips. Our chips and NZ are the best. Lay's is bland and average,' another replied.
Coles is re-introducing buying limits for packs of frozen products as the nation grapples with a shortage of potatoes.

Heavy rainfall and major flooding has impacted the country's potato production causing a 25 per cent spike in the wholesale potato price.

The knock-on effect means you'll now be limited to a maximum of two frozen potato products from Coles' freezers for the foreseeable future.

The policy came into effect on Tuesday.

The knock-on effect means you'll now be limited to a maximum of two frozen potato products from Coles' freezers for the foreseeable future

'Poor weather in the eastern states has affected supply of some frozen potato products across the industry,' said a Coles spokesperson.

'We thank customers for their patience while we work hard with suppliers to minimise disruption and return stock to normal levels in the coming months.'

The chain's fresh potato supply, however, will be unaffected.

A similar restriction was put in place mid-December, forcing families to re-evaluate Christmas meal plans.

Main competitor Woolworths, however, will continue with no limits to purchases of potato products.

They're weathering the storm and expect the supply issues to normalise by mid-February.

The shortage is also affecting the commercial sector, with restaurants forced to either try hand-cut chips, or close their doors altogether.

One such business was Roy's Fish & Chips Takeaway Cafe in the NSW tourist town of Batemans Bay, which was forced to close its doors twice in a week over the New Year holiday due to the shortage.

One such business was Roy's Fish & Chips Takeaway Cafe in the NSW tourist town of Batemans Bay, which was forced to close its doors twice in a week over the New Year holiday due to the shortage

Has your local Woolies been affected by the potato shortage? #potatoshortage #woolies #woolworths pic.twitter.com/9mlT0KcWsy  UGC Creator Australia | Angeli Yuson (@AngeliYuson) December 29, 2022

'We have ran out of potato's once again and will have to close our shop for trading tomorrow and we will reopen once we source and receive more potato's,' said a post on Roy's Facebook page from New Year's Day.

The Oven is a self-described pizza establishment in Strathalbyn, southeast of Adelaide, where the spud shortage has also caused problems.

'Attention all chip lovers! Due to a potato shortage in Australia, we regret to inform you that we are currently unable to supply our normal chips,' reads a post on their Facebook page from January 12.

'We have found a temporary substitute but will not have sweet potato for the time being.'

And in the Victorian border town of Rutherglen, the GRACE. bar + eatery is facing a similar situation.

The Oven is a self-described pizza establishment in Strathalbyn, southeast of Adelaide, where the spud shortage has also caused problems

'HOT CHIPS IN CRISIS,' they declare in a Facebook post uploaded on Friday.

'Due to the great Australian potato shortage of 2022-23, at some stage, over the weekend, we will run out of our incredibly popular "truffle fries".

'But have no fear, we are now stocked with crinkle cut chips,' said the post, before controversially adding 'And let's face it, they are undeniably the superior chip for crunch to fluffy centre ratio.'
A popular makeup brand has sold out of its new 'bronzing' palette after launching into Mecca stores just two weeks ago.

UK brand Ciate released its $49 Brazilian Glow Bronzing Palettes in Australia just after the new year began, and they've proven to be one of the brand's best-sellers.

'Build effortless multidimensional radiance using a blend of the bronzing powder, blusher, highlighter and finish with the sheer glow face powder,' the Mecca website reads.

'Complete the glow bronzed look using the three complementary richly pigmented eyeshadows.'

UK brand Ciate released its $49 Brazilian Glow Bronzing Palettes in Australia just after the new year began, and they've proven to be one of the brand's best-sellers

The all-in-one face palette comes in two shades - light/medium and medium/dark - to suit all manner of skin tones

It features a sheer blurring finishing powder, glow-boosting bronzer, tonal matte blush and shimmering highlighter

Each shade is enriched with Ciate's proprietary Brazilian Glow Complex; a mix of Cupuacu Extract alongside Hyaluronic Acid and a Vitamin C derivative to deliver skin softening, hydration and brightening benefits for natural luminosity.

While it's currently sold out on Mecca the brand will be restocking in the coming days for those who missed out on the first drop.

Those that have already tried the palette are in love with the pigments.

Each shade is enriched with Ciate's proprietary Brazilian Glow Complex; a mix of Cupuacu Extract alongside Hyaluronic Acid and a Vitamin C derivative to deliver skin softening, hydration and brightening benefits for natural luminosity

'Absolutely beautiful. Would like to of tried the medium/dark as the colours looked so beautiful but as I'm so fair skinned I went for the fair/light palette instead and was not disappointed,' one woman said.

'The colours are more muted but just ideal for my skin tone. I would like to purchase the darker palette and perhaps use for evening only. Highly recommend, I also have the shimmering bronze lip oil and they look gorgeous together.'

'I desperately need this product in my life,' said another.

A third added: 'The colours are so intense so a little goes far. Really like this little palette'.
Mia had to hit back at cruel trolls who said her body looked 'horrible'

She said she's getting used to her new body but wouldn't change being a mum

Mia then lifted her shirt to reveal the loose skin around her belly button

The Canberra mum showed what her body looked like pre pregnancy on TikTok

A young mum has revealed the toll pregnancy and giving birth took on my her body and slammed cruel trolls who tried to body-shame her.

Mia Somerville, from Canberra, shared what her body looked like before pregnancy compared to now showing the loose skin around her stomach in a viral TikTok video.

She told news.com.au she thought her stomach would 'bounce back' after giving birth but, despite having to 'get used to' her new body, said she wouldn't change being a mum 'for the world'.

The 24-year-old also had to hit back at body-shamers who commented on her video calling her stomach 'horrible'.

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Mia Somerville (pictured) has inspired millions after sharing the physical tolls pregnancy had on her after admitting she thought her body would 'bounce back' post-partum

Before and after: In a viral TikTok clip, the 24-year-old showed what her body looked like pre-pregnancy (left) then revealed what her stomach looks like three months post-partum (right)

'So this was my body when I was four weeks pregnant,' Mia said in the clip pointing to an image of her in a bikini with a flat stomach just days after she found out she was pregnant.

'I had a great stomach, loved my body, was very body confident and pregnancy changes things, obviously I have this beautiful little girl now and I would not change anything for the world,' the mum said.

Since giving birth to her daughter Pippa in September, Mia said two physios have told her if she wants to get her pre-pregnancy stomach back she would need plastic surgery.

'I want to put this on the record, I am not saying that my new body is bad, it's just different,' the mum said before lifting her shirt to show the loose skin around her stomach.

'I got to forty plus six, a lot of stretching happens in those last few weeks, I have a three-finger ab separation, mild, mild prolapse and a belly button that will probably never look the same,' she explained.

'This is just what I'm getting used to and what things look like after you give birth.'

Many of the clip's 2.4million viewers found Mia's message inspiring with one saying: 'It's so relieving seeing someone else with the same stomach as mine before pregnancy and then the same after!'.

'So refreshing to see a realistic postpartum body!' another agreed.

Many of the clip's 2.4million viewers found Mia's message inspiring But not all the comments were kind as one troll said her stomach 'looks horrible'

But not all the comments were kind as one troll said her stomach 'looks horrible' and another wrote her video made them 'scared to have children'.

Mia clapped back at the body shaming bullies saying: 'I look amazing - shut up!'

'It's come to my attention that we don't know what post-partum bodies can look like,' she said in another video response.

'It looks like stretch marks, loose skin, things not looking the way they did before hand, this is what can happen,' she said.

She said she was baffled by how many people were so concerned with their looks, they would 'forgo' starting a family.'

Mia admitted she wasn't prepared for the 'mental and physical' changes of motherhood and said she shared the video to try and 'normalise' post-partum bodies

'We are so obsessed with perfection as a society that we are so pressed about a woman's body looking this way. It is mind boggling, I'm not worried about it, why are you?,' she said.

Mia admitted she wasn't prepared for the 'mental and physical' changes of motherhood and said she shared the video to try and 'normalise' post-partum bodies.

'We're not exposed to real bodies in the mainstream media. All the celebrities and influencers you see appear to just 'bounce back' days after giving birth,' she told news.com.au.

'Tammy Hembrow was in her gym gear literally the next day after having her third child. I'm still young and was always quite slim. So I just assumed that I'd just 'bounce back' too, and that I'd look exactly the same.'

Mia said the online trolls didn't bother her but she worries about other mums reading the nasty messages and feeling bad about themselves but added she was overwhelmed by the positive responses.

'It meant everything to me when others said my video helped them feel seen and validated. We're all in this together. At the end of the day, you get a beautiful child out of it,' she said.
Against all odds, she fell pregnant naturally and gave birth to a baby boy

She had several rounds of IVF to preserve her fertility in 2018 and 2020

Doctors warned she likely won't be able conceive a baby after chemotherapy

The Melbourne woman chose to have a double mastectomy to protect herself

Nicole Loft had always wanted to be a mum, but a diagnosis of breast cancer at just 30 left her fearing her dream of having a family would never become a reality.

The life-changing diagnosis meant she needed chemotherapy and had IVF twice to harvest her eggs.

Nicole, now 35 from Melbourne, always wanted to become a mum but doctors warned her chances of conceiving a baby were slim after treatment.

'At that point I didn't think there was any hope and I put it to the back of my mind,' she told FEMAIL.

But to her surprise she managed to fall pregnant after dating a man she met online who she's still with today and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Kiaan, last year.

'He's my everything, I'm so grateful,' she said.

Nicole Loft (pictured in 2018) was diagnosed with breast cancer at 30 after being told she tested positive for the BRCA1 gene at 25. The treatment required to kill the cancer meant her chances of falling pregnant decreased

The now 35-year-old told FEMAIL she didn't take the news lightly as she's always wanted ot be a mum and start a family (pictured at 25)

But against all odds she fell pregnant naturally and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy (pictured, left) last year

Flashback to when she was 25, a blood test confirmed she had the BRCA1 gene mutation, which meant she had a 72 per cent chance of developing breast cancer - instead of the average lifetime risk of 12 per cent for Australian women.

'I found out we may have the gene when I was about 23 but I decided to wait until I was 25 to get tested,' she told FEMAIL, adding that she wasn't ready to hear the news yet.

'I had a feeling I was going to be positive. My sister and brother were both negative and I figured there was no way all three of us could get away with it.

'I was incredibly anxious. I suffered quite severely from mental health issues and got sick because of that - it had quite an impact.'

Nicole first had a double mucosectomy followed by two rounds of IVF to preserve her fertility then six months of chemotherapy in 2018 (Pictured during chemotherapy)

When Nicole and her husband divorced in 2020 it meant the embryo couldn't be used. She had IVF again to further preserve her fertility, but this was unsuccessful and her specialist said there's 'no point' trying again

For the next five years she had bi-annual breast cancer checks when an MRI detected six lumps in her left breast.

'It was an extremely stressful time that I started to have "scanxiety",' Nicole said.

On Valentine's Day in 2018 doctors told her the devastating news that the lumps were confirmed cancerous.

'They found it early, and I am so lucky because I had a very aggressive type of breast cancer - it's called triple negative,' she said.

A few month passed when she decided to try online dating and matched with a lovely man named Vijay (pictured left). 'I took a pregnancy test and saw a very faint second line, so I had to go out and buy a second test... I was utterly shocked when that tested positive too,' she said

Nicole opted to have a double mucosectomy as the cancer had a 40 per cent chance of returning in the other breast if only one was removed.

She endured a gruelling 12-hour surgery that involved moving some of her stomach tissue to replace where the breasts were.

She then had two rounds of IVF - the first collected five eggs and one embryo was formed but the second round didn't collect any.

'I didn't want to know what my statistics and chances were of having a baby. I was already going through enough mentally,' she said.

Nicole says becoming a mum has 'completely changed her life' and she's a 'different person to who she was before' having a baby. 'I could never imagine not being there for Kiaan. I feel incredibly lucky,' she said

She started chemotherapy on March 2018 for six months then needed to see the doctors every three to six months.

Nicole and her husband of nine years divorced in 2020 and the embryo formed from IVF could no longer be used.

She had IVF again to further preserve her fertility, but this was unsuccessful and her specialist said there's 'no point' trying again.

'Going through IVF again was so traumatic and stressful. My hormones were all over the place which didn't help my mental health,' she said.

What are the BCRA1 and BCRA2 genes? BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that produce tumor suppressor proteins. These proteins help repair damaged DNA and, therefore, play a role in ensuring the stability of each cell's genetic material. When either of these genes is mutated, or altered, such that its protein product is not made or does not function correctly, DNA damage may not be repaired properly. As a result, cells are more likely to develop additional genetic alterations that can lead to cancer. In 2013 actress Angelina Jolie had a preventative double mastectomy. She had this because she too had the BRCA gene inherited from her mother who died from the disease. Source: Cancer.org Advertisement

A few month passed when she decided to try online dating and matched with a man named Vijay.

'I took a pregnancy test and saw a very faint second line, so I had to go out and buy a second test... I was utterly shocked when that tested positive too,' she said.

Nicole says becoming a mum has 'completely changed her life' and she's a 'different person to who she was before' having a baby.

'I could never imagine not being there for Kiaan. I feel incredibly lucky,' she said.

One of the most important lessons Nicole has learnt throughout the entire ordeal is how strong the body can be. 'You feel like a different person on the other side of cancer treatment - you're stronger and more resilient,' she said (Pictured with her mother, who also has the BRCA1 gene)

One of the most important lessons Nicole has learnt throughout the entire ordeal is how strong the body can be.

'You feel like a different person on the other side of cancer treatment - you're stronger and more resilient,' she said.

'Since the beginning I've been supported by Pink Hope which I'm so grateful for.'

You can find out your potential risk of having the BRCA gene through Pink Hope's Know Your Risk test here.

For more information about triple negative breast cancer, visit ourTNBC.com.au.
'Doctors said I would've died that night if I didn't go to the hospital,' she said

The 31-year-old LA mum didn't know it but she was suffering from a stroke

But due to concerns with her newborn she didn't see a doctor for four days

After giving birth she was in excruciating pain, had swelling and headaches

A young mum-of-three who suffered a stroke after giving birth has shared the warning signs all women should be aware of.

Stephanie Gallegos welcomed her third child, Dahlia, into the world on October 8 2021. She was on top of the world but also in agonising pain.

Mrs Gallegos told FEMAIL she ignored her symptoms and didn't return to hospital for four days because she was concerned about her premature baby.

'At that time I was just focusing on my baby because she was more important. I was ignoring my headaches, my blurred vision, and the swelling in my feet - but as a mum you always put your kids first,' the 31-year-old from Los Angeles said.

'When I finally decided to go to the hospital they said "we think you're having a stroke" and I didn't believe it at first.'

The stoke was caused by a serious medical condition called preeclampsia - which can occur after 20 weeks of pregnancy - and Mrs Gallegos needed urgent surgery to reduce the swelling of her brain.

Stephanie Gallegos (pictured) welcomed her third child into the world on October 8, 2021. But at the time the 31-year-old was in excruciating pain, had swelling and headaches

Mrs Gallegos told FEMAIL she ignored her symptoms and didn't return to hospital for four days due to frightening concerns with her newborn (pictured with oldest daughter Alayna, eight)

She suffered from preeclampsia during all three pregnancies and gave birth at 37 weeks last year.

At the time Mrs Gallegos also had cholestasis - a liver condition that occurs in late pregnancy.

During her third pregnancy she said she complained to a GP about headaches and swelling but 'nothing was done'. She then saw another doctor who monitored her symptoms.

'After my daughter was born I noticed she wasn't breathing right and when we got home she turned blue. I was so worried and we rushed straight back to the hospital,' she said.

Thankfully everything was fine and the premature baby was draining fluid but remained in hospital to be monitored for a couple days.

During that time Mrs Gallegos was suppressing her symptoms until it became too much.

Little did she know she was suffering from a stroke.

'We took Dahlia home and my mum took me to the hospital even though I was being stubborn about it. I kept telling myself "it's nothing, I'm fine",' she said.

She didn't know it at the time but she was having a stroke caused by preeclampsia - a serious medical condition that can occur after 20 weeks of pregnancy (pictured left before surgery). Mrs Gallegos gave birth to daughter Dahlia (pictured right) at 37 weeks

'When I finally decided to go to the hospital they said "we think you're having a stroke" and I didn't believe it at first',' she said. Mrs Gallegos then had an MRI on her head and doctors noticed a blood vessel in her brain had 'ripped' (pictured with her family)

Mrs Gallegos then had an MRI and doctors noticed a blood vessel in her brain had 'ripped'.

She had emergency brain surgery the following day to reduce the swelling of her brain.

'They ended up removing a chunk of my skull and placed it in my abdomen to preserve it, but I have scars on both my head and stomach,' she said.

The medical strategy helps with preserving the bone and keeping it sterile.

Straight after the surgery she was placed in an induced coma for 10 days to give the body time to heal. At home her fiance and in-laws were looking after the kids.

Research has found there's a correlation between strokes and women who have been on the pill, but Mrs Gallegos said she's never taken birth control.

What is preeclampsia in pregnancy and what are the symptoms? Preeclampsia is a serious medical condition that can occur after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It typically causes high blood pressure and can affect several of your body organs, including the liver, kidney and brain. If left untreated, it can lead to serious problems for you or your baby. Mild preeclampsia can occur in up to 1 in 10 pregnancies, and severe pre-eclampsia in up to 1 in 100 pregnancies. Early detection and treatment are important to prevent life-threatening complications. What are the symptoms? Most women with pre-eclampsia do not have any symptoms. It is usually diagnosed during a routine antenatal appointment. But symptoms can include: sudden or rapid swelling of hands, face and feet

dizziness

headaches that don't go away with simple pain killers

vision problems like flashing lights or spots in your eyes

severe pain below the ribs

heartburn that doesn't go away with antacids

generally feel very unwell Source: pregnancybirthbaby.org.au Advertisement

'When I finally woke up I thought that I was still there after having my baby. I was so confused and the nurses had to explain what happened,' Mrs Gallegos said.

'I went to the bathroom and saw all my hair was gone, and I had the longest hair ever. Instantly I started balling my eyes out.

'I always ask myself "Why me? Why did this have to happen?"'

Since the brain surgery was on her right side, her left side was paralysed when she woke up and she couldn't walk.

Mrs Gallegos had mobility rehabilitation for one week along with speech therapy for two months.

'During therapy my dad came with me and said: "Isn't this crazy, it's the second time I'm teaching you how to walk",' she said with a laugh.

For three months she continued therapy at home because her left hand wasn't working properly and her face was 'droopy'.

Mrs Gallegos had to stop breastfeeding because of the high blood pressure medication she was on, but she couldn't even make bottled formula milk because it would 'fall from her hand'.

'There were so many things I couldn't do myself, I even needed help showering, I felt like a toddler again,' she said.

She later had another surgery to insert the bone back into her skull.

Mrs Gallegos had surgery to reduce the swelling on her brain and part of her skull was removed and stored in her abdomen. Weeks later she had another surgery to insert the bone back into her skull. After the ordeal doctors said she cannot have any more children because the risk of death is too high

After the ordeal, doctors said she cannot have any more children because the risk of death is too high.

'Because of the preeclampsia, the stroke, everything that happened.. the doctor said that maybe next time I won't make it,' she said.

'I know I already have three kids but I did want more.'

Mrs Gallegos has also been left with a number of side effects, including short term memory loss, anxiety, PTSD, migraines, numbing in her hand and left side of her face. Her vision has also been impaired but she's able to drive.

'Life has changed a lot and I worry I'll have a stroke again,' she said.

More than anything Mrs Gallegos hopes her story will raise awareness and how young people can suffer from strokes too

More than anything Mrs Gallegos hopes her story will raise awareness and how young people can suffer from strokes too.

'Pregnancy is a beautiful thing but it's also serious - you could die like I almost did if you're not careful,' she said.

'You have to make sure you are heard by your doctors and don't let symptoms go unnoticed.'
Scrub Lab made $400,000 in 18 months and is set to bring in $4million in 2023

They came up with the idea after Linh said Van looked 'hideous' in her scrubs

Two sisters are set to make $4million in 2023 with their business offering healthcare and veterinary workers stylish and comfortable scrubs.

Linh and Van Nguyen are the brains behind Scrub Lab which makes comfortable, breathable and flattering scrubs that don't look like a 'potato sack' so those in the medical field don't have to sacrifice style at work.

The idea came to the siblings when Linh said nurse Van looked 'hideous' after a shift when they were at their mother's house for dinner in 2019.

'I said, "what are you wearing?" I didn't even know they were scrubs, they were hideous looking. Van never dresses like that,' Linh told 9Honey.

Sisters Van and Lihn (pictured) are set to make $4million in 2023 with their business Scrub Lab which offers comfortable and stylish scrubs for healthcare worker

Fashion lover Linh thought Van, who is normally very stylish, didn't look good or comfortable and wondered how scrubs could be changed.

The comment planted the seed for Scrub Lab and the sisters noticed there was nowhere in Australia that offered scrubs that weren't 'ugly' or 'impractical'.

'They're hot, you are sweaty, you're putting on extra PPE (personal protective equipment)... and you're on your feet running around for a 16 hour shift,' Van said.

'It was very uncomfortable and you would smell, no matter how much deodorant you put on.'

The nurse said her old scrubs would be stained with sweat patches within hours while her co-workers complained they would appear see-through after a few wash cycles.

The idea came to the siblings when Linh said nurse Van looked 'hideous' after a shift when they were at their mother's house for dinner in 2019

The nurse said her old scrubs would be stained with sweat patches after only a few hours while her co-workers complained they were appear see-through after a few wash cycles

Their mother, who had worked as a seamstress for more than 30 years, helped her daughters hatch the plan and create the first 'prototype' the very night of Linh's offhand comment.

After a trip to Spotlight to buy fabric, they designed and created the first set of scrubs which they admitted 'weren't great'.

However, they knew they were onto something when Van wore them to the hospital and had other nurses asking where she got her new scrubs from.

Linh converted her living room into an office where the sisters started Scrub Lab using money their own savings, but with no business experience they were met with 'challenges' and felt like 'fish out of water'.

Despite friends in the health industry calling their idea 'crazy', and after months of trial and error and choosing a manufacturer - Linh and Van copped their first costly blow.

With healthcare workers strained throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and scrubs were harder to come by so the sisters launched the business four months ahead of schedule in June 2020

The first 800 sets of scrubs they received were 'completely see-through' sending the sisters into a 'panic' and they wondered if they were cut out for business.

Shortly after, they accidentally ordered a huge supply of hot pink pants in the men's style rather than women's.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars were sunk into the business and Linh and Van had many moments of doubts and tears but they persisted.

With healthcare workers strained and pulling long, strenuous shifts throughout the Covid-19 pandemic scrubs were getting harder to come by so the sisters launched the business four months ahead of schedule in June 2020.

Scrub Lab took off as doctors, nurses, vets and vet nurses scrambled to get their hands on the workwear and Linh and Van were suddenly struggling to keep up with demand

Scrub Lab took off as doctors, nurses, vets and vet nurses scrambled to get their hands on the workwear and Linh and Van were suddenly struggling to keep up with demand.

Van was still working as a nurse and would return from 16-hour hospital shifts to work on the business 'looking like a zombie' while Linh said she had constant 'anxiety' trying to run Scrub Lab when her sister was at work.

Their hard work paid off and in the first 18 months Scrub Lab made $400,000.

Linh and Van are dedicating their lives to making the lives of healthcare worker easier saying they deserve recognition after a challenging few years

Three years later, Linh and Van now work on the business full-time but say they're putting most of the revenue back into Scrub Labs and are paying themselves a 'minimum wage'.

Linh and Van, who still picks up occasional casual nursing shifts, are dedicating their lives to making the lives of healthcare workers easier, saying they deserve recognition after a challenging few years.

They have been flooded with messages and emails from customers thanking them for developing practical and fashionable scrubs.
An Australian luggage brand has debuted the 'perfect' everyday tote bag for going to work, the gym, or on a short-haul flight - with plenty of hidden special features.

July, which has three physical stores in Victoria and one in Sydney, was founded in 2018 by Richard Li and Athan Didaskalou, who made it their mission to reinvent 'the wheel'.

'The name is quite simple. Everyone always has fun in July when travelling! July is a fun time of year for all to move around, and we wanted that experience to resonate with our products,' the founders said.

And if you're planning a jaunt to Europe or Bali to escape Australia's winter come July, the Everyday Tote is a game-changer

And if you're planning a jaunt to Europe or Bali to escape Australia's winter come July, the Everyday Tote is a game-changer.

Described as a 'form-holding 100 per cent cotton canvas' bag designed to carry everything you'll need for your journey out.

It has a dedicated laptop sleeve, drink bottle holder, and luggage pass-through band, means you can go anywhere your day takes you.

It's machine washable so you don't have to worry about spills, comes in a number of luxe colourways and two sizes - $125 for the small and $165 for the large - depending on what you'll use it for.

Described as a 'form-holding 100 per cent cotton canvas' bag designed to carry everything you'll need for your journey out

The bag was revealed to the public on January 10 who were highly receptive to the new design.

'Just purchased! Obsessed. Can't wait to take it on my upcoming trip,' one woman said.

'This is so cute I can't wait to take it on an adventure,' said another.

July is well known in the travel industry for producing the world's lightest double-wheeled suitcase.

July is well known in the travel industry for producing the world's lightest double-wheeled suitcase

The $245 'Carry On Light' from July weighs 1.8kg, half the weight of the average empty carry-on bag.

The lightness of the case - less than two 1-litre bottles of water - allows travellers to pack more and avoid hefty fees for overweight baggage at the airport.

The Everyday Tote is designed to slip over the top of the handles of any larger suitcase so you can walk through the airport with ease.
Most NHS doctors are currently dealing with an unprecedented crisis hitting them from all angles.

But there's one team of medics volunteering what few spare hours they have for a cause equally close to their heart  Ukraine.

Children who have escaped the barbaric invasion of their home country are being treated for their illnesses by the doctors in the UK.

Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a paediatrician at University College London, set up the British Ukrainian Refugee Children's Clinic in September.

Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a paediatrician at University College London, set up the British Ukrainian Refugee Children's Clinic because he was hearing how difficult it was for refugees to get treatment in Britain

Other volunteers include Dr Sanjay Suri (right), a community paediatrician whose day job is at the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, and Dr Jane Marshall (left), who usually works as a consultant paediatrician in North Yorkshire

Professor Sutcliffe said: 'When I saw these children last year in these little hats, in the freezing cold being ripped out of their homes, I felt compassion for them'

Putin buzzes Big Lizzie: Dramatic moment squadron of Russian SU-24 fighter bombers roar past HMS Queen Elizabeth in 'threatening' manoeuvre as 3.2bn warship heads towards Suez Canal HMS Queen Elizabeth was on her first operation deployment and had been using her embarked airwing of F-35 stealth jets to carry out strike missions against ISIS terrorists in the Middle East when the drama with the Russians unfolded Advertisement

So far, it has approximately 50 kids on its books, whose ailments range from thyroid problems to congenital heart disease. The young refugees, scattered across the UK, are seen in online consultations.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Professor Sutcliffe told how the idea to set up the clinic came last spring, when he heard how difficult it was for those fleeing Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion to get treatment in Britain.

He said: 'When I saw these children last year in these little hats, in the freezing cold being ripped out of their homes, I felt compassion for them.'

Professor Sutcliffe added: 'These poor kids are coming with just the clothes on their back.

'They come with various packages of concerns. So each case is different.

'And each personal journey for that family is different from where they've come from in Ukraine.'

Discussing the difficulties refugees had faced, he pointed to one example of a child whose mother 'didn't understand' what her NHS number meant.

He revealed how she had no idea her child would be eligible for free treatment, like all refugees are.

'Some of the children are missing their fathers,' he added. 'Some of the ones that I've met have been divorced mums with children, others, their dads are in Ukraine.

'Some have got some level of trauma [from the war]. And, obviously, they are now challenged by having to learn English.'

Since the country was invaded by Russian forces on February 24, more than 100,000 Ukrainians have fled to Britain.

Around a third of these are thought to be children.

In total, around 2million under-18s have fled, travelling to nations including Poland, Germany and the Netherlands. Other have managed to get as far as New Zealand and the Philippines.

Most escaped via the western border of Ukraine at the start of the crisis.

Tens of thousands came to Britain on the Government's Ukraine Family Scheme.

The clinic is run by Professor Sutcliffe, who triages all of the patients himself, as well as Dr Jane Hoddes, a consultant paediatrician who also works at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in North London.

Other volunteers include Dr Sanjay Suri, a community paediatrician whose day job is at the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, and Dr Jane Marshall, who usually works as a consultant paediatrician in North Yorkshire.

Pictured: Ukrainian children at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, in March after Putin first invaded

Pictured: A man holds a child as he flees the city of Irpin, west of Kyiv, on March 7, 2022

Consultants include experts in paediatric gastroenterology, allergic disease, cardiology, rheumatology and nephrology, allowing the clinic to cover a wide range of bases to help the children.

Ukrainian families can book a 30-minute consultation online, where they are seen by one of the general paediatricians.

They discuss whatever medical issues are affecting them and decide on the best course of action, whether referring to a specialist or getting help with dealing with the NHS or receiving prescriptions.

Many children had pre-existing conditions or were already being treated for illnesses, with medical practices in their home country often very different to the UK.

Professor Sutcliffe said: 'What I am seeing is that there's clearly some aspects of practice in Ukraine, which would not be supported in Britain, because it's frankly bad practice.

'So when I hear these things in the consultations I've done, then I have to kind of negotiate and navigate that this isn't a good plan.'

He said dexamethasone  a steroid used for treating severe allergies and sometimes Covid  is widely misused in Ukraine for mild chest infections because it is sold over the counter.

In Britain, it is only sold with a prescription and requires a doctor's attention when given to children because it can slow height growth when taken over long periods.

Creon, another treatment that is a pancreatic enzyme given to cystic fibrosis patients who develop problems with the organ, was also being given to two children prior to him seeing them  against common medical practice.

'To my alarm, I was told a paediatrician out in Ukraine in the private practice said "oh well he's got digestive issues, we'll give him this Creon",' Professor Sutcliffe said. 'This isn't right.'

Creon can cause blood sugar levels to swing too high or low, stomach pain, abnormal bowl movements, vomiting and a sore throat.

It should only be given to patients suffering with pancreatic problems, rather than for general digestive problems.

In cases like this, where a child has been prescribed potentially dangerous medication, the on-call doctor will switch the child's treatment to something more appropriate.

One child who suffers with a goitre  a swelling of the thyroid gland  had vital treatment suspended for half a year because of difficulties accessing the British medical system.

Pictured: Ukrainian refugees arrive at Amsterdam Central station by train from Berlin, on March 28

Pictured: Two young girls look out from in back of a barrier as they wait in a queue after fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine, at the border crossing in Medyka, southeastern Poland, on Tuesday, March 29, 2022

He was being given yearly scans to check the swelling in his home country but was not able to get the same level of care in Britain.

The lumps are not normally serious but should be checked by a GP, especially if new symptoms of a continuous cough, hoarse voice or wheezing start to appear.

Professor Sutcliffe said: 'He's been in the UK for more time than average, [he] probably came at the very beginning of crisis.

'And he was having annual scans in Ukraine, just to make sure it wasn't turning malignant, which is a rare but possible complication.

'He was also was having thyroid function tests on an annual basis, and since he'd come to the UK, that care... had been neglected.'

He got in contact with a doctor in the city near to where the boy was living to immediately arrange a thyroid function test so his care could be resumed before it was too late.

Professor Sutcliffe added: 'If his thyroid is underactive, for whatever reason, he's going to be in trouble.'

As a volunteer organisation, the clinic relies on doctors giving up their own time and is limited by the amount of hours they can put in to see patients.

Professor Sutcliffe said he didn't want it to become a practice that has long waiting lists or is not able to quickly see children who need care.

He is hoping to recruit more volunteers to run it and have it officially registered with the Care Quality Commission, a Government body that regulates and inspect health and social care services in England.

And in the long term, he aims to use the clinic as a model for more global volunteer programmes to offer refugees from all over the world care from local experts.

He said: 'The broader vision is that one day, we set up a clinic like this for many different countries.

The idea is that if there's a lot of goodwill in the profession, we could set up a clinic or clinics, which will allow free access to a specialist worldwide.

'You could say it's a test case in a way to see if we can get this to work. The key thing is that the doctors are working for nothing.

'So because of that, then costs are fairly minimal.'
From HIIT to shaking it out in a dance class, exercise has long been known to work wonders for the mind.

But researchers have now discovered another way to boost your mood  through deep breathing exercises.

And they might be even better than mindfulness, which is already proven to help us 'enjoy life more', according to the NHS.

Experts based at Stanford University found people who spent five minutes on deep breathing exercises every day for a month saw their anxious feelings ease and mood improve more than those who only meditated.

A group of researchers at Stanford University in the US found that undertaking simple breathing exercises for just five minutes every day could boost your mood more than mindfulness meditation

The experiment asked 108 participants to practice one of three breathing exercises or mindfulness meditation for 5 minutes per day at home, at a time that suited them best.

The first exercise  cyclic sighing  was undertaken by 30 people. It involved them inhaling slowly, before taking another shorter breath to fully inflate their lungs and then breathing out for as long as possible.

Some 21 participants trialed box breathing instead. This meant inhaling, holding the breath, exhaling and holding the exhaled breath again.

The final exercise  cyclic hyperventilation  saw 33 people asked to inhale deeply and take shorter exhales 30 times before exhaling fully.

Simple 5-minute breathing exercises To reap the benefits of mindfulness, the study's participants trialled three simple breathing practices which proved to help relax the body and mind and help reduce stress. Cyclic Sighing: Inhale slowly, before taking another shorter breath to fully inflate their lungs. Then breathing out for as long as possible. Ideally, both inhale via your nose and exhale via your mouth. Box Breathing: Take four breaths before another deeper breath. Once your lungs are full, exhale as slowly as possible through your nose or mouth. Cyclic Hyperventilation: Inhale deeply and take shorter exhales 30 times before exhaling fully. After 30 breaths, exhale to completely empty lungs for 15 seconds, before re-starting. Advertisement

The final 24 participants were enrolled in bog-standard mindfulness. They didn't practice any specific breath control, but observed their breathing to help focus their awareness on the present.

After a month, participants completed two questionnaires to assess the impact of the exercises on their anxiety levels.

Results were compared against two questionnaires they all took before the 28-day trial.

Writing in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, researchers said the effects were 'notably higher' in the breathwork groups.

The NHS describes mindfulness as 'paying more attention to the present moment  to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you'.

Deep-breathing exercises can be one type of practice adopted.

Anxiety is intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. It often leads to a rapid heart rate, fast breathing, sweating, and feeling exhausted.

According to mental health charity Mind, six per cent of people in the UK experience generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Some 6.8million adults in the US  or 3.1 per cent of the population  are also estimated to have GAD.

Responding to the results of the study, Stanford researcher, Dr Melis Yilmaz Balban, said: 'Our understanding of the effects of breathing on the brain and body ought to allow specific science-supported breath practices to be designed in order to improve stress tolerance and sleep, enhance energy, focus, and creativity, and regulate emotional and cognitive states.'

Breathing practices that emphasize the exhale over the inhale portion of each breath are 'more effective in reducing anxiety and improving well-being', she added.

Researchers also assessed whether study participants saw any changes to their sleeping patterns.

But after investigating the number of hours they all slept, their sleep efficiency and overall sleep score, the team at Stanford University saw no significant changes in any of the groups.

In other health news...

NHS emergency care crisis laid bare: Heart attack patients face staggering waits of up to six-and-a-half hours with 999 response times worse than ever - as record 1,800 patients spend 12 hours in A&E every day

Now ANYONE over 18 can get statins! Huge shake-up of NHS drug guidelines could see doctors give millions more Brits the cheap cholesterol-busting pills

Is YOUR area a scarlet fever hotspot? Cases of illness caused by Strep A bug soared to highest level since the 1950s last year, data shows - as map reveals worst-hit regions
The dire state of the NHS's ambulance service was today laid bare by a fascinating graphic and interactive tool.

Response times in England nose-dived in December, with 999 crews being slower than ever to attend heart attack and stroke victims. Paramedics took over 90m, on average, to arrive at category two calls. The target is 18 mins.

But in the worst-affected parts of the country, such patients were left waiting up to six-and-a-half hours before medics arrived.

Ambulances also took longer than ever to deal with the most life-threatening calls, such as cardiac arrests. Across England, average response times were nearly 11m  compared to the NHS target of 7m.

MailOnline has now crunched the NHS data into a handy tool and graphic, letting you see exactly how slow ambulances were in your area. App users can use the tool by clicking here.

Category One: Where are ambulance response times the worst? In December 2022, the national average response time for a category one call - for people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries, such as cardiac arrest sufferers - was 10 minutes, 57 seconds. The average category one response times per region were: South Western: 13 minutes, 11 seconds East of England: 11 minutes, 54 seconds Yorkshire: 11 minutes, 19 seconds South East coast: 11 minutes, 2 seconds South Central: 10 minutes, 55 seconds Isle of Wight: 10 minutes, 55 seconds East Midlands: 10 minutes, 54 seconds London: 10 minutes, 34 seconds North West: 9 minutes, 58 seconds West Midlands: 9 minutes, 14 seconds North East: 8 minutes, 51 seconds Advertisement

The South West recorded the slowest average response times for both category one and category two calls.

Crews took 13m 11s and 2h 29m on average, respectively.

One in 10 category two calls also took at least 6h 39m in the South West, the NHS England monthly performance data revealed.

The Isle of Wight came at the other end of the scale, with a category two response time average of 39m 45s. Yet this was still double the target.

Meanwhile, patients in the North East and West Midlands faced the shortest average waiting times for category one calls, at 8m 51s and 9m 14s, respectively.

Not a single area in England achieved the target response time for either category one or two calls.

The figures reflect the entirety of December, a month in which NHS paramedics began striking.

Sluggish response times are fueled by a catalogue of factors, although handover delays are one of the biggest issues.

Under NHS targets, ambulance crews arriving into A&E are meant to complete all patient handovers within 15 minutes.

But growing numbers of handover delays of half an hour or longer are being recorded across all hospital trusts.

December saw the NHS's worst week ever for ambulance handovers, with a third of patients force to wait at least half an hour.

Delays can occur due to A&E units being overwhelmed by a lot of ambulances at once, as well as a lack of space inside hospitals, partly down to record levels of bed-blockers.

An average of 14,000 beds are currently taken up every day by patients who are medically-fit enough to be discharged.

The category one ambulance wait figure for December is the longest response time ever reported, at 10m and 57s.

It is 1m more than the previous record of 9m and 56s in October 2022.

However, almost 1.3million 999 calls were made nationally in December  the largest monthly number for 2022.

The monthly data also shows that 999 callers classed as category three  which includes suspected broken hips and abdominal pain  took an average of 4h and 19m, more than double the two hour target.

The British Heart Foundation's associate medical director, Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, said: 'Extreme delays to emergency heart and stroke care cannot become a new normal.

A poll shows Brits faith that ambulances and the NHS will be able to treat them is low but it also revealed that over half of those surveyed blamed the Government for NHS staff strikes

Armed Forces personnel have been called in to drive ambulances and stand in for frontline hospital workers during the NHS ambulance strikes. Pictured, army personnel outside Wellington Barracks in London on Wednesday

Up to 25,000 paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians joined the picket lines in a row over pay and conditions on Wednesday. Pictured above, workers on the picket lines at London's main ambulance call centre in Newham, East London

It comes as up to 25,000 paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians joined picket lines on Wednesday in a row over pay and conditions.

Strikes across the health service are expected to pile further pressure on the NHS in the coming weeks, with ambulance staff set to walk out again later this month on January 23.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay is believed to be considering fast-tracking an NHS pay rise in a bid to resolve the dispute but has so far ruled out any movement on current wages.

But when asked on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland, earlier today, whether he could provide a one-off increase in health spending, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said there is 'record funding already going into the NHS'.

Pictured above, Unison's leader Christina McAnea joined ambulance workers on the picket line outside Longley Ambulance Station in Sheffield on Wednesday. Ambulance staff are set to walk out again later this month on January 23

The GMB union, one of two behind the ambulance strikes, said lives were put at risk in the NHS 'every single day' by current staffing levels and not just as a result of strike action.

Meanwhile, the Royal College of Nursing is also set to stage its second phase of strike action over two days next week after the government 'failed to act' following two days of action last month.

The action - the first in the RCN's 106-year history  saw picket lines drawn at 63 NHS hospital trusts in England, as well as all trusts in Northern Ireland and all but one health board  the Aneurin Bevan  in Wales.

Junior doctors could also join the action later in the year with the British Medical Association currently balloting its members on strike action.

In other health news...

'Twindemic' and Strep A crises may have PEAKED: 'Flu-nami' admissions fall for first time this winter, scarlet fever cases plunge 5-fold and Covid numbers drop 40% post-Xmas - amid warnings 'Kraken' will trigger fresh virus surge

How old is YOUR heart? As GPs are told anyone who wants statins can get them in bid to prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes, take the NHS test which calculates your risk of being struck down

Make-shift MORGUES built during Covid crisis are being reopened to house dead bodies amid surge in fatalities over festive period
An anti-stroke drug touted as more effective than older blood thinners may be riskier than doctors and patients have been led to believe.

Data has shown that the drug rivaroxaban may be significantly more likely to cause certain types of internal bleeding than initially thought.

While a considerable majority of patients will take the medication without issue, one US doctor has said she is advising her patients to switch to alternatives that appear to have a better safety profile.

Last week The Mail on Sunday reported on official US documents that suggested research into rivaroxaban, also sold under the brand name Xarelto, published in 2009, may have failed to flag up side effects.

Last week The Mail on Sunday reported on official US documents that suggested research into rivaroxaban, also sold under the brand name Xarelto, published in 2009, may have failed to flag up side effects

The anti-stroke drug was touted as being far more effective than other blood thinners

Our article triggered a wave of emails from readers who claimed to have suffered bleeding problems while on the drug, which is prescribed to thousands of Britons every year for stroke prevention.

A 77-year-old woman from Gloucestershire said she was told by a doctor to stop taking rivaroxaban after severe bleeding in her bladder. The problem cleared up pretty quickly after that, she added.

Another reader, a 76-year-old man, reported losing a large amount of blood from his back passage and collapsing ten days after being prescribed rivaroxaban. And an 80-year-old woman became terrified by almost constant blood in her urine during the two years she took the drug.

Dr Tim Chico, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and honorary consultant cardiologist at the University of Sheffield, said it was vital that concerned patients who had been prescribed blood thinners, including rivaroxaban, did not stop taking them without consulting their doctor.

He added: These drugs are effective for preventing potentially life-threatening blood clots, which cause strokes. For the majority of patients, this life-saving benefit outweighs any risks of side effects.

But in a very small number, the side effects can cause serious problems, and it is essential that these are investigated thoroughly to help protect others.

It may be the case that a different blood thinner can be considered, but this can be done only in consultation with your doctor.

Although newer blood thinners require less monitoring than older types, regular blood tests every few months still need to be carried out to check the risk of bleeding.

Drug giant Bayer, which developed rivaroxaban, said: Patients and healthcare professionals should be reassured by the established safety profile of Xarelto, which has been confirmed by health authorities across the globe and observed in clinical trials.

Patients should not stop Xarelto without consulting their doctor as this could put them at risk of the consequences of blood clots such as stroke and pulmonary embolism.

A 77-year-old woman from Gloucestershire said she was told by a doctor to stop taking rivaroxaban after severe bleeding in her bladder. The problem cleared up pretty quickly after that, she added

An 80-year-old woman became terrified by almost constant blood in her urine during the two years she took the drug (picture posed by model)

Concerns were raised earlier this month when the medical journal The Lancet attached a warning to one of the early rivaroxaban studies, dating back to 2009.

This followed pressure from the British Medical Journal, which had highlighted inaccuracies in the trial data, as noted in reports by US health watchdog the Food and Drug Administration. The Lancet said that it would investigate the research further. Now medical campaigners have raised doubts over other key trials that contributed to the approval of the medicine by UK and US medical authorities between 2008 and 2011.

I was surprised by errors in three more studies that contributed to approval of the drug, says Dr Peter Wilmshurst, a cardiologist based at the Royal Stoke University Hospital. We cant be certain about the exact risk of severe bleeding because there are significant holes in the research.

Bayer insists that multiple studies over more than a decade confirm that the benefits of the medicine outweigh any potential harms. So whats going on?

Rivaroxaban is part of a family of blood thinners called direct oral anticoagulants, or DOACs. These are approved by the UK health watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), for preventing blood clots which can lead to strokes in at-risk patients. They work by blocking the effect of two of the bloods clotting proteins.

Over the past two years there has been a drive to switch NHS patients taking the older blood thinner warfarin, which has been in use since the 1950s, to the newer tablets. Part of the appeal is that DOACs dont require patients to attend appointments for blood tests and dose-adjustment every six weeks, like warfarin does.

In November 2021, NHS England vowed to prevent 20,000 extra strokes by procuring hundreds of thousands of extra doses of the drugs, as they were more effective than other anticoagulants.

Another reader, a 76-year-old man, reported losing a large amount of blood from his back passage and collapsing ten days after being prescribed rivaroxaban

Patients tend to struggle with taking warfarin because they get fed up of constant hospital visits and blood tests, says Prof Pier Lambiase, Professor of Cardiology at University College London and Barts Health NHS Trust.

According to a series of early trials involving thousands of patients, the new tablets were at least as effective as warfarin for preventing blood clots and stroke.

However, in 2019 a safety warning from UK drug regulator the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) highlighted a small number of reports of blood clots in patients who took pills on an empty stomach. If the drug is taken without food, it is less well absorbed by the body, raising the risk of a clot.

Three cardiologists who spoke to The Mail on Sunday said they were unaware of this complication. But what about the other risks?

It is important to note that the majority of patients on rivaroxaban take it with no issue.

But Dr Wilmshurst says: Any blood thinner carries a significant risk of bleeding simply because of the way the drug works to prevent it clotting.

This includes excessive bleeding from a small wound as well as internal bleeding.

In their own words: Our readers' experiences My husband was prescribed rivaroxaban to prevent a stroke in 2015, as he suffered with an irregular heart rhythm. In February 2017 he had a major bleed on the brain, which doctors couldnt stop. He ended up losing his speech and language, and he now relies on me for 24/7 care. Vivien Quick, 78, Bath I was put on rivaroxaban in March 2020 for my erratic heartbeat. It caused severe bleeding in my bladder. Eventually an emergency doctor told me to stop taking it immediately and the problem cleared up pretty quickly. My GP has since put me on apixaban instead  fingers crossed I have no complications. Ellen Hale, 77, Gloucestershire Three months after I started taking rivaroxaban in 2018, I began bleeding from my mouth almost daily. I often had to leave work and go home as the bleeding took such a long time to stop. I also suffered sleepless nights, having to sit up in bed to stop me choking on the blood. I am not normally one to complain about side effects, but the rivaroxaban experience was absolutely horrendous, one which I could not cope with. Diane Smart, 67, North Devon I am sure that the rivaroxaban I was prescribed six years ago was the cause of a massive bleed behind my right eye. I had an operation to try to save my sight but the surgeon was unable to preserve it, and I have lost the central vision in my right eye. It has been a big loss which impacts on my quality of life every day. Name and address supplied Five years ago I started taking rivaroxaban after suffering a blood clot in my thigh. Two years ago I started to notice blood in my urine every fortnight, which was always assumed to be a water infection, but tests kept coming back clear. I then had a check of my bladder, and that was healthy too. At the end of October I suffered a major bleed while going to the toilet, which made me feel faint. I went to A&E and doctors put me on a saline drip and kept me in overnight. Afterwards, I stopped taking rivaroxaban and the problem resolved almost instantly. Suzanne Ellis, 80, Orpington While in hospital in 2020, a nurse mistakenly gave my husband his daily dose of rivaroxaban twice. Shortly after taking the second pill, he started bleeding from his bladder. The doctors struggled to stop the bleeding and he ended up going back and forth to the hospital over five weeks to fix the problem. Eventually, they swapped rivaroxaban for another blood thinner. I am convinced that this drug caused his problems. Patricia Williams, 70, Leicestershire Advertisement

Experts have long been aware of the risk of internal bleeding with new drugs such as rivaroxaban because, unlike warfarin, it is not easy to reverse its effect.

In the event of a bleed, antidotes can halt the anti-clotting effect of warfarin, but a highly effective antidote is not yet available for rivaroxaban and some other new blood thinners. According to early studies, major bleeding is said to be seen in between 1.6 and 3.6 per cent of rivaroxaban patients, versus 3.1 and 3.6 per cent of warfarin patients. However, in 2019 a review by doctors at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York concluded that rivaroxaban may be linked to a significantly higher risk of bleeds.

So-called gastrointestinal bleeds, affecting the stomach and bowel, appear to be the most common. Trials found 45 per cent more gastrointestinal bleeds with rivaroxaban compared with warfarin.

Dr Arnar Ingason, cardiology researcher at the University of Iceland, explains one reason why: Rivaroxaban has a very short half-life and is only taken once daily  meaning its activity peaks and then drops very quickly. Fluctuations can make patients much more susceptible to bleeding.

Worryingly, experts suggest many of these cases may be missed. If one of my patients does get a bleed, I wouldnt necessarily know about it, admits Prof Lambiase. They would usually go straight to A&E or their GP, and cardiologists tend to be a bit removed from that sort of thing unless a GP updates them.

It means some non-fatal bleeds may be missed from monitoring studies that track safety concerns. One patient who understands the trauma of internal bleeding is 76-year-old Mike Alford, a former IT teacher from Cornwall.

In July he underwent major surgery to fix a faulty heart valve and a blocked artery. His consultant sent him home from hospital with a course of rivaroxaban, to prevent blood clots.

Ten days after the operation he went to the toilet and a flood of blood exited his body. I didnt realise at first. I thought it must have been an upset stomach, says the father-of-three.

Then I saw the colour of the toilet bowl.

He went straight to A&E: By the time we got to the hospital the bleeding had stopped, so the doctor sent me home and said, if it starts again, call 999.

The following morning, it happened again. He says: It felt as though my insides had exploded. Mike collapsed and was rushed to hospital again where it was discovered that he had suffered a major bleed in his lower bowel. Written on Mikes medical notes  and seen by the MoS  is: Admission with anaemia and rectal bleeding while on rivaroxaban.

I had a fragile blood vessel which was at risk of bleeding, but it had been stable until I started taking rivaroxaban, says Mike, adding that he was then switched on to another medication.

For the past few years, researchers have been comparing the safety of rivaroxaban with other new blood thinners. In 2021, Dr Ingason and his colleagues published the results of a five-year study in which they tracked more than 5,000 patients who were taking either rivaroxaban or two other direct oral anticoagulents  dabigatran and apixaban. They found that patients on rivaroxaban were 46 per cent more likely to suffer internal bleeding in the gut compared with those taking apixaban. Rivaroxaban also carried a higher risk of stomach bleeding than dabigatran, but the difference was not statistically significant. Rivaroxaban was not found to carry a higher risk of stroke, embolism, bleeds in the brain or death.

Apixaban might be preferable because of a lower rate of gastrointestinal bleeding and similar rates of stroke, concluded Dr Wallis Lau, drug safety expert at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Both Dr Ingason and Dr Neena Abraham, Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in the US, who studied the drugs safety, agree.

It is time for cardiologists to [make] a better choice when prescribing a direct oral anticoagulant, Dr Abraham told cardiology magazine TCT in 2021. And that choice is not rivaroxaban.
After years of writing about fraudsters, I thought I'd be good at spotting them. But, when one turned up on my doorstep, I could not tell if he was bogus or genuine.

Do you think you could spot a fraudster if one showed up at your home? I'll tell you the details and see how you would have fared in my position. Please let me know.

It was an afternoon just before Christmas when there was an unexpected, jaunty knock on the door.

Pushing the wrong buttons: Do you think you could spot a fraudster if one showed up at your home?

I cautiously opened it to find a middle-aged man dressed in a black jacket and smart pair of jeans with a friendly smile on his face. He was holding a large plastic tray of cleaning equipment  dusters, sponges, detergents. 'Hello, madam,' he said brightly. 'Would you like to buy something to support the homelessness charity St Mungo's?'

He proceeded to go through his wares while explaining that he was homeless and staying at a St Mungo's hostel. 'I've been given these items to sell to make some money for the charity,' he said.

No doubt he could see I was wary, so he swiftly held up the lanyard around his neck to prove that he was fundraising legitimately. He also reassured me that if I paid by card, I could have an email receipt.

So what did I do?

I'll tell you, but on one condition. Do not try this at home. I have spoken to many scam victims who have tried to test or outwit a scammer, and it has not ended well. Some have lost thousands of pounds.

If you think you are being scammed, hang up the phone, shut the door or don't click on the email.

Then report it to Action Fraud (www.actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040.)

Against my own advice, I decided to buy a duster for 8.99 to see how it would play out. A bendy one caught my eye  I thought it could be useful to get behind the radiators to make them more efficient.

'Good choice, madam,' the seller said. No doubt reading me like a book, he added: 'These were donated to us by John Lewis. They retail there at 15.99 each.' Once he was gone, I got on the phone to St Mungo's. Predictably, they said they do not send people to sell door-to-door.

Then I phoned the Fundraising Regulator to see if such activity could ever be legitimate. It told me that it is permitted, but unusual. To sell door-to-door, charities need a licence from the local authority  or from the Metropolitan Police if in London. They also need a separate pedlar's licence. It's bureaucratic; few charities bother.

Next, I spoke to Katherine Hart, lead officer for doorstep crime and scams at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. 'The problem is that it is very hard to tell if a doorstep seller is legitimate or out to fleece you,' she said.

'Our advice, therefore, is not to engage. If you want to support a charity, do it through other means.'

She added that if you want to support someone from a charity at your door, make sure you ask lots of questions, ask for identification, and you can always phone the charity to check.

'Don't phone the number on the back of the seller's lanyard though,' she cautions. 'That too could be made up.'

Next, I looked at the receipt that I had been emailed. At the top is the registered address of the vendor. I looked it up on Google maps  it is a block of flats in Essex.

So, was he a scammer?

Well, I did end up with a useful duster. And to be honest, just before Christmas, I didn't mind helping this man earn a bit of income.

However, what does seem wrong is that he benefits by using the name of St Mungo's. People may buy from him because they think they are supporting the charity. The charity itself could be missing out as a result.

Finally, I looked up dusters on the John Lewis website. They do not sell the bendy one I bought.

You can buy them from wholesale suppliers online, though, for 1.79 a piece.
The lender sardonically known as the 'Totally Shambolic Bank' is set to block a controversial bonus for the former boss who presided over a disastrous IT meltdown.

Millions of TSB customers were locked out of their accounts for weeks in 2018 after a botched IT upgrade.

Former chief executive Paul Pester quit with a 1.7million pay-off the same year but an extra amount was deferred pending the outcome of both a Slaughter & May investigation in 2019 and a probe by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority.

Signing off: Millions of TSB customers were locked out of their accounts for weeks in 2018 after a botched IT upgrade

The TSB board will decide in the next few weeks what, if anything, Pester and other executives who have since left the bank will receive.

But sources say that, in the wake of a 49million fine by the FCA last month and the damning verdict by both probes, any payment could be seen as a 'reward for failure'.

Burberry resisting pressure over director

Burberry is resisting shareholder pressure to remove the boss of Danone from his role as an independent director at the luxury fashion house.

The trench coat maestros got a bloody nose at July's annual meeting when a third of votes were cast against reelecting Antoine de Saint-Affrique.

Irked investors were concerned he did not have enough time for Burberry alongside his day job at the French food giant turning around the Actimel and Alpro owner.

But Burberry isn't budging.

In a statement last week, it said it had spoken to shareholders but believes he has 'capacity to devote sufficient time' to his duties.

Those thinking 'quelle surprise' can at least turn their attention to a third-quarter trading update, due on Wednesday.

Has Hoyle missed out on The Works deal?

Could Dean Hoyle, former chairman of The Works, have missed out on a cracking deal at the discount retailer?

The Card Factory founder and Huddersfield Town FC chairman sold out of the firm last week, having owned 16.75 per cent of it with his wife Janet until October when they began selling off their stake.

In December alone, the pair flogged 5 per cent of the group. But did they move too quickly, with all but one deal coming before a 36 per cent rally that began in January?

Ouch.

Fresnillo marked down on climate policy

Silver may be a critical material for the green revolution, but one of the London Stock Exchange's biggest miners has been marked down for its climate change policies.

Fresnillo was booted out of the FTSE4Good index  a list of the bourse's most environmentally and socially robust firms  at a review last month.

Housebuilder Galliford Try was also deleted  though it appears this was a technicality and it is set to rejoin.

Fresnillo and Galliford were replaced by Tyman and Plus500. But Fresnillo was still boasting of the stamp of approval on its website this weekend.

It has been alerted by this column...

Contributor: Patrick Tooher
Triumph Motorcycles has reported record sales as the iconic British manufacturer shrugged off the effects of the pandemic.

Turnover at the business, based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, leapt by a quarter to 774million and profits doubled to 93million, according to results for the year ending June 2022.

The company  responsible for putting Hollywood legends Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando and Daniel Craig on two wheels  sold 89,143 motorcycles globally.

Classic: Steve McQueen in the 1963 Second World War epic The Great Escape

Triumph is owned by the British billionaire John Bloor and is part of his 2.2billion housebuilding to construction services group Bloor Investments.

Bloor, who donated 150,000 to the Conservative party in 2021, rescued the celebrated Triumph brand four decades ago.

He has since poured more than 80million into the firm. His son, Nick, now runs Triumph.

The motorcycle firm's latest accounts revealed that almost 90 per cent of its bikes were shipped overseas, with Triumph enjoying growing popularity in Asia.

Triumph's most expensive motorcycle, the Rocket 3 GT Chrome, costs 23,595 and can reach 60mph in less than three seconds.

In the 1963 Second World War epic The Great Escape, McQueen's motorcycle  used for the famous attempted jump over the German border into Switzerland  was a Triumph with minor modifications aimed at making it look a little more like a BMW.
Boasting more than 25million customers in over 200 countries and a valuation of 27billion, online bank Revolut has been the toast of the fintech scene in recent years.

With celebrity promotions involving heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua and YouTube stars Sidemen, it has grown quickly since its launch in 2015.

But the City is on alert after the London-based financial 'super app' failed to file its latest annual accounts on time.

Promotion: Heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua is one of the celebrities backing Revolut

Revolut became the UK's most valuable privately-owned tech firm in a 650million funding round in 2021  winning backing from top investor Masayoshi Son's Softbank and New York's Tiger Global.

That put its valuation on a similar level to that of established banks such as Barclays and NatWest.

Moscow-born founder Nikolay Storonsky, 38, was last year estimated to have a net worth of 5.2billion.

High-profile names brought on board include City grandee Martin Gilbert, who is chairman, and ex-Labour Minister Kitty Ussher, who is chief economist at the Institute of Directors.

Revolut started life as an app to cut the cost of sending money abroad. But, even then, Storonsky made clear he had far grander ambitions.

Today, it offers payments services, crypto trading, savings accounts and stock trading services. In November, it announced plans to move into Brazil, India and New Zealand.

But the prize still just out of Revolut's grasp is a UK banking licence  two years after it applied for one through a process involving intense scrutiny. Its smaller peers, Starling and Monzo, acquired a licence in 18 months.

At the moment, Revolut has a licence in Lithuania, opening access to the European Union. A UK licence would mean deposits are covered by Britain's Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which protects sums up to 85,000. It would also assist its efforts to gain similar accreditations in other markets, such as the US.

Last autumn, Storonsky said the application was 'going very well', adding, 'We're almost there'.

The fact that auditors BDO have not signed off on its accounts is likely to be a source of frustration at what could be a critical juncture.

Revolut last filed accounts  for the year ending 2020  in June 2021.

There have been hints that the greater scrutiny of audit firms is causing the hold-up rather than any major concern about Revolut.

But as Gary Greenwood, banking analyst at Shore Capital, put it: 'You have to be very concerned about the prospects of any company that fails to file accounts on time. It certainly won't help their hopes of being granted a UK banking licence.'

BDO said it did not comment on specific audits, but added: 'Delays can happen for a number of reasons and, as part of our public interest duty to provide an appropriate level of challenge to the companies we audit, we do not sign off accounts until we're fully satisfied with the information and evidence provided.'

The accounts are expected to be filed by the end of January. Revolut said: 'Our accounts are finalised and we expect to confirm the previously reported news we are profitable.'
Role: David Hynam says mutuals have never been more relevant

David Hynam, who became chief executive of insurance company LV in September, is promising to lead the 180-year-old mutual into 'a new era'  as well he might, considering the shambles he inherited.

In his first interview since taking over, Hynam presents himself as a champion of mutuality. That is a marked contrast with his predecessor, an ex-Army colonel with an eye for the main chance called Mark Hartigan.

The latter tried to sacrifice LV's mutual status on the altar of a 530million sale to US private equity barons at Bain Capital.

Following a campaign by the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, the deal failed to win sufficient support from LV's 1.2million members and collapsed in late 2021.

Understandably, Hynam would prefer not to dwell on the disaster of the recent past, but there is no denying that he has some major damage to repair. He and the chairman Simon Moore 'are absolutely committed to being part of the mutual sector'.

Hynam is backing a bill going through Parliament to protect mutuals from asset strippers, carpet-baggers and predators. The Co-operatives, Mutuals and Friendly Societies Bill, tabled by Labour MP Sir Mark Hendrick, has the support of the Treasury and will offer safeguards to LV and other mutuals. The sector is bigger than many would think, with around 7,000 organisations serving roughly 30million people.

Currently, organisations can come under pressure to demutualise because it is difficult for them to raise capital from big investors. There will also be protection so that assets built up over generations are used for the long-term benefit of members.

'We are a big supporter of the Bill,' says Hynam.

His motto, according to his entry on LinkedIn, is always to leave things better than you found them, which a cynic might say would not be hard at LV.

Having been brought in to clean up the mess left by previous bosses, he faces some tough questions.

As the Bain debacle unfolded, various confusing and contradictory claims were made. Members were first told that 'business as usual does not work' and that LV therefore needed to be taken over by a deep-pocketed new owner.

Then, when the Bain deal was voted down, Hartigan and co performed a U-turn and claimed it had a great future as a mutual after all. So which is it? Is LV sustainable as an independent mutual, or not?

'All I can talk about is how I see it now, and I do think it is sustainable. We see ourselves in the mutual sector and have no intention of being anywhere else.'

In the immediate aftermath of the failed bid, LV entered merger talks with fellow mutual insurer Royal London. Hynam says these have not been resurrected, and he has no plans to merge with anyone.

As for the solidity of LV's finances, he says: 'Somebody once said to me many years ago; it is more important for mutuals to have good financial discipline than it is for listed companies. It is members' money, and you should look after it as if it were your own.

'I don't personally think the debt is the biggest story from the past; I think investment is the bigger challenge. There will be a big strategic investment spend over the next five years. We are putting a lot into data, service and IT,' he says.

LV's capital, as measured under the so-called Solvency II rules, has weakened a bit. Is he comfortable with it? 'Yes, I am. The big question on capital is whether you can withstand shocks and have you got early warning indicators. They are not things I am sitting here worrying about. The volatility on markets has been an issue, not just for us but for everyone. We are not exactly a high-risk firm, but we have had a bouncy year.'

LV has, he says, 'no exposure' to the pensions meltdown that followed the Kwarteng-Truss mini-Budget. 'We shouldn't beat about the bush. It has been a difficult time at LV over the past year or two, but we are now on a nice stable footing.' If the deal had gone through, it would have meant an abrupt break with more than a century of tradition since the company was founded in 1843 to help the poor of Liverpool pay for funerals.

Saving LV from the clutches of private equity came at a heavy price. More than 30million of members' money was squandered on the deal, with millions of it going on fees to advisers.

Mark Hartigan came out of it significantly the richer. He was awarded a 511,000 bonus on top of his 435,000 salary in 2021, and he may bag another fat payout for 2022. Does Hynam think it is right for the members of LV to have paid these sums  and should the board try to claw some back?

'I have no views on those things because I don't know Mark apart from the handover,' he says. 'I had a very good and constructive handover with Mark, so that is all I can judge him on. I am very confident our remuneration committee is all over the pay and rewards and bonuses of executives. It is a matter of judgment for them.'

Does he understand why people find the payouts jarring?

'I have always had a strong opinion that I don't want to comment on a predecessor because I wouldn't want someone to do it to me.'

Is it more important for a mutual than a plc to show sensitivity around executive pay, given it is members' money? 'Yes, it is members' money,' he agrees, adding any increases above 'normal pay rations' in future 'would be aligned with members' interests'.

'I want the organisation to move forward. There is a risk that a transaction that never happened is stuck on a permanent cycle, and that is not good for members or the organisation,' he adds.

Hynam, 51, dislikes being described as an industry veteran  'it makes me sound so old'. His previous roles included chairman of domestic insurance group Homeserve and chief executive of healthcare cover company Bupa, where he achieved record levels of growth and launched a range of digital services. He has won accolades for being one of the UK's leading LGBT chief executives and is a champion of diversity.

Although the failed deal was expensive and traumatic, there were also positive aspects on which he can build. It has reminded people of the value of mutuality, and it demonstrated to bosses that member power is a real force that they must respect.

What does Hynam think mutuals can offer at this point, in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis? 'We can genuinely take a longer-term view because we don't have shareholders breathing down our neck.

'The second thing is that most mutuals are very focused. We don't try to do everything for everyone, and we don't have a lot of products out there. We are not trying to stretch the envelope all over the place. With so many distractions, that is actually really helpful.

'Our members told us clearly in a vote they wanted to be a mutual. That is the mandate they have given me. I think there is an opportunity to revitalise. We want a modern mutual sector.'

He adds: 'I would like a new age of mutuality. It has never been more relevant than it is today because if we are not reaching out to one another at the moment, then when will we?'
Matalan founder John Hargreaves is poised to lose control of the clothing giant he set up almost 40 years ago.

Invesco, Man GLG, Napier Park and Tresidor will seize the chain tomorrow.

They have agreed to wipe 250million off the company's debt and inject up to 100 million in funds, securing its future.

Struggle: Matalan has 230 stores in the UK and still attracts more than 1billion sales a year

The weight of debt had already forced the former market stall trader to step down as chairman last year.

He has since battled to maintain his ownership of the business.

It has 230 stores in the UK and still attracts more than 1billion sales a year despite fierce competition from Primark, Asda and Tesco.

The Hargreaves family took a 250million dividend in 2010 after saddling the business with a 500million loan. By 2015, there were already warnings signs it had taken on too much debt.

Monaco-based mogul Hargreaves opened his first Matalan in 1985. He had a stint on the stock market before taking it private again in 2006.
Warning: UK Hospitality boss Kate Nicholls

Unscrupulous firms are using the Government's 18billion energy bill support scheme as a 'cash cow', the boss of UK Hospitality has warned.

Kate Nicholls, who lobbies for pubs and restaurants, said some energy companies had been 'disgraceful'.

She accused suppliers of charging 'extortionate rates', demanding 'eye-watering' deposits and cancelling contracts. And Nicholls said businesses had been hit with huge increases in their standing charges, which are not impacted by higher wholesale gas prices.

She told the Daily Mail: 'Despite energy prices coming down dramatically, members are being quoted increases of up to 400 per cent.

'You can see some justification for putting up gas prices because of Ukraine. But why is the standing charge going up by 400 per cent to 500 per cent?'

Some hospitality firms are being charged up to 15 a day to be connected to the network, she said.

Nicholls called on Ofgem to penalise price-gouging behaviour and 'name and shame' energy companies that have acted 'in bad faith'. She also called for the most expensive deals to be renegotiated.

In a letter to Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley, reported by Sky News, she said: 'To avoid mass business failure we need to see rapid and dynamic intervention from Ofgem.'

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has told firms that the 18billion package protecting them from the winter energy price surge would not continue at the current level.
Sainsbury's has partnered with Just Eat to offer grocery deliveries in less than half an hour.

The UK's second biggest supermarket will roll out the service at 175 of its stores by the end of February.

It will give Just Eat users access to more than 3,000 products including milk, fresh fruit and vegetables, and household essentials.

Food for thought: Sainsbury's joins Tesco, Asda and Morrisons in partnering with Just Eat, whose adverts feature pop star Katy Perry (pictured)

The tie-up comes amid booming demand for rapid grocery delivery.

A slew of firms including Gorillas, Getir and Zapp have popped up offering to deliver thousands of products to shoppers in as little as ten minutes.

Sainsbury's joins Tesco, Asda and Morrisons in partnering with Just Eat, whose adverts feature pop star Katy Perry, as it bolsters its rapid delivery offering.

Sainsbury's is also available on Deliveroo and Uber Eats and has its own Chop Chop service, which offers delivery in an hour.

Siobhan McMullan, online sales director at Sainsbury's, said: 'We are always on the lookout for more ways to make our customers' lives easier.'

The partnership will initially be available in London, Edinburgh and Bristol, with plans to reach 'many more' cities by the end of the year.
A leading UK pension provider is launching a new plan that will allow customers to invest their retirement funds exclusively in companies that have a positive impact on the planet and society.

PensionBee's new Impact Plan, launching tomorrow, will invest in companies tackling challenges such as better healthcare, education and cleaner energy.

The fund's top holdings include US biopharmaceutical firm Royalty Pharma, energy management firm Schneider Electric and Danish sustainable energy company Vestas.

Exclusive: PensionBee's new Impact Plan will invest in companies tackling challenges such as better healthcare, education and cleaner energy

Investments will be picked by fund managers at BlackRock, based on PensionBee's strict criteria. The fund will comprise around 200 to 300 investments, which PensionBee hopes will be sufficient to provide a globally diversified portfolio. Annual fees are 0.95 per cent.

Once existing customers have pledged to invest 50million in the fund, it will be made available to the wider public.

Interest in investing to make a positive impact has been growing rapidly in recent years, but still only accounts for under one per cent of UK investors' funds.

Most pension providers now offer fund options badged as 'ethical', 'green', 'sustainable' or which have a focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.

However, in practice, many of these funds simply screen out companies that they consider do harm  such as those that profit from gambling, alcohol or weapons manufacturing. Few offer funds packed with companies that actively seek to do good.

Clare Reilly, chief engagement officer of PensionBee, says: 'Our customers told us that the planet and society they retire into is as important as their pension pot.

'They want to invest beyond the same set of stocks, in the companies of tomorrow, which already have a measurable and tangible positive impact on the planet.'

As many as 68 per cent of UK savers say they want their investments to consider people and planet alongside profit.
Convicted pervert and Sydney slumlord Masaaki Imaeda is being sued for millions of dollars allegedly transferred to his companies after a fire engulfed his illegal shanty town almost killing 13 young backpackers.

Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal the Japanese property mogul - who was jailed for spying on tenants having sex via an elaborate secret camera network hooked up to his backyard lair - and his ex-wife have been ordered to pay millions.

Documents filed in the NSW Supreme Court's Equity Division allege money that was transferred to Imaeda family companies after the fire, and his sale of property for $4.4million, be paid up.

An application in liquidation proceedings of Masaaki's insolvent company Shinji, seeks orders of Masaaki and Mariko Imaeda paying respectively $2.07million and $2.41million.

Masaaki Imaeda first made news in July 2014 when his massive Alexandria industrial lot in inner Sydney that was rented as makeshift housing with caravans, a shipping containers and one shared portable toilet was engulfed by fire.

The mostly Japanese, Korean and New Zealand students who escaped with their lives from 20m high flames at 1.40am had paid $160 a week to live in deplorable conditions in four decrepit caravans, a pan-tech truck, a dingy office and a rundown bus.

Investigators found the massive blaze at the Burrows Road property likely started from an electrical fault. The Land & Environment Court later prosecuted and fined Imaeda $215,000, with $17,000 costs.

Pervert slumlord Masaaki Imaeda (above) is being sued for million years after his illegal shanty town burnt down and he was caught spying on his tenants having sex via a labyrinth of cables connected to his backyard lair

Masaaki Imaeda, now aged 72, set up a secret network of cameras and watched his tenants having sex from a recliner chair with a foot massager in a shed

Imaeda's inner Sydney shanty town of squalid caravans, a bus and shipping container ignited at 1.40am with 20m flames almost killing young students who escaped only with firefighters' help

Neighbours reported the multi-millionaire property developer owned several other properties around Sydney that were occupied by students and low-income workers.

In 2016, Daily Mail Australia revealed the Japanese property mogul was a pervert who had rigged up a secret camera network in one of his Sydney properties located in the southwestern suburb of Ingleburn to spy on tenants for his sexual pleasure.

The shantytown in Alexandria of shipping containers, an old bus and caravans

The shanty town in Alexandria contained shipping containers, an old bus and caravans

In April 2016, police were called to the house by a young married couple tenants who found a hidden camera in the ceiling of their room while Imaeda was away in Japan on business.

NSW police uncovered a labyrinth network of cables, hidden cameras, and mirrors which connected to a remote secret room where he viewed his tenants' intimate moments.

The couple had answered one of Imaeda's advertisements on the Japanese website cheers.com.au, and agreed to pay $240 a week for the master bedroom in the six-bedroom house.

Arriving from overseas, the Japanese woman and her husband deposited two weeks' rent in one of Imaeda's bank accounts, but five days later, the wife found a Japanese website with a warning about Imaeda.

Firefights fought 20m flames to rescue 13 young backpackers renting on the squalid site with the fire boss later saying 'Had the firefighters not realised they were there, they well could have lost their lives'

The young found a hole and a tiny camera in the ceiling of the room with, which the wall of mirrors, gave pervert Imaeda a direct view of their bed in the rented house

Astonished police found a camera in the ceiling and then uncovered a labyrinth network of cables, hidden cameras, and mirrors connected to a remote secret room where he viewed his tenants' intimate moments

The warning stated that Imaeda owned multiple Australian properties rented to Japanese students and had been installing hidden cameras in the bedrooms.

That evening, the husband checked the ceiling of their room and, near the light fitting, found a hole and a small camera.

Police examining the secret camera found it was attached to a cable through the roof, and set up to face wardrobe mirrors which took up one whole wall, from the floor to the ceiling.

The view from the camera was of the entire master bedroom and in an adjoining bedroom, which had just been vacated by a young female student, officers found a camera inside a television on top of the wardrobe facing the bed in which the girl had slept.

Police found numerous other cameras around the property and a dome camera inside the garage and outside the front door.

The shed in the back yard where Japanese property mogul Imaeda set up a leather recliner chair and foot massager to watch footage of his tenants having sex for his own arousal

One of the decrepit caravans on the illegal site (left) which was a squalid shanty town and Masaaki Imaeda (right) at the site in the days following the fire which tore through the property

A young female student had recently moved out of another bedroom in the house. In that bedroom, there was a camera hidden in a television and another disguised as a smoke alarm

The tenants told police that Imaeda had a small bedroom separate from the house and next to the garage.

Inside that room, police found a monitor and a hard drive which had numerous attached cables which ran through holes cut into the wall and the floor.

Under the house, they found cables running through the floor up into the room recently vacated by the young woman, and a further hidden camera disguised as a smoke detector in the wall .

The cables ran through the wall from Imaeda's bedroom and connected through the roof to the master bedroom occupied by the couple.

Police went to a converted shed at the rear of the property, which was used only by Imaeda, and inside found a large television set up with an Ethernet cable running to it from the house modem.

A black leather recliner chair was set up facing the television with a foot massager sitting on a milk crate and nearby, clothes, a hairdryer and other personal items.

Laptops, cameras, recording equipment, USB sticks and SD cards were also found in the shed, with Imaeda's leather recliner and foot massager positioned opposite the big TV

A network of cables and wires and an Ethernet connection linked the bedrooms to Imaeda's back yard shed where he was set up comfortably to view the footage

Police found laptops, cameras, recording equipment, USB drives and SD cards and another hidden camera disguised as a smoke detector.

Imaeda was arrested on his return from Japan, and charged with using an optical device without consent and observing a person in private without consent to obtain sexual arousal.

He pleaded guilty and begged to be spared prison, but was sentenced to a maximum 17 months with a non-parole period of 10 months.

The NSW Supreme Court action over monies from the sale of the Alexandria shanty town relate to alleged transfer to three companies, Masaaki Enterprises, Shinji Family Trust and Moumoko Pty Ltd.

The blaze which broke out in the illegal camp, which had no fire exits and no proper sanitation, was so intense that plastic on trucks parked across the laneway melted.

Imaeda served a minimum ten months in prison and was released but is now being pursued in the NSW Supreme Court over millions allegedly owed after the sale of his shanty town

There was a camera hidden in a television and a camera disguised as a smoke alarm in the wall of the room in which a young woman had only just moved out from

About 75 firefighters on 15 trucks helped rescue the students, whose risky living conditions outraged then NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner, Greg Mullins.

'They were living in squalor. There were beds in old minibuses, a shipping container and an old caravan with a massive fire moving towards them,' he said.

'The firefighters had to shield the people from the heat to get them to safety. They were too frightened to move. Had the firefighters not realised they were there, they well could have lost their lives.'

The property was uninsured but Imaeda, who owned it through his family company Shinji Pty Ltd, sold it six months later to European Kitchen Appliances for $4.24m.

The NSW Equity Court application claims proceeds of the funds derived from the Alexandria property's sale held in trust for Shinji Pty Ltd, since in liquidation, and says transfers of large sums to Masaaki companies were 'uncommercial transactions'.

The sharehouse Imaeda rented out to young tenants who he spied on with secret cameras attached to an elaborate set of cables connected to his secret sex den in the back yard

Pictured is a kitchen in the Alexandria shanty town that burnt down in 2014, sending 20m flams into the air and forcing the evacuation of 13 young people at 1.40am who just escaped with their lives

T
When sharing a prison cell the first thing you need to work out is who goes to the toilet and when.

There is no privacy in a small concrete room where the stainless steel toilet and sink are next to the bunk beds.

Doug, who is serving six months in Canberra's Alexander Maconochie Centre on charges of domestic violence, said when getting a new cellmate 'it doesn't take long before a routine establishes'.

Doug is an inmate of the Canberra's Alexander Maconochie Centre, one of Australia's newest prisons and one that was set up to be a model of rehabilitation rather than punishment

A group of inmates pace the corridor of the Alexander Maconochie Centre's Specialist Care unit

'At unlock in the morning I will come out and make a coffee and that will give my cellmate an opportunity to go to the toilet and then leave,' Doug says.

'He goes and works in the laundry for the whole day. Then I get my time to go to the toilet.'

The 400 detainees in Alexander Maconochie typically spend around 16 hours out of every 24 locked in their cells.

Doug is in the Centre's Specialist Care Unit, which Clinical Governance Senior Director Jack Powsey described as a 'mixed bag of inmates' who 'can be a little bit hard to please'.

When Daily Mail Australia visited, there were about 10 detainees milling about the predominantly white and grey coloured common area with about half the cell doors lining the corridors either side opened.

Three men were exercising by walking the short corridor back and forth, turning on their heels like soldiers on parade.

Prison officers mixed casually with the detainees or sat in the thickly glassed observation room.

Inside a cell at the Alexander Maconochie Centre

A single occupant cell within the Specialist Care Unit

Mr Powsey said the Specialist Care Unit caters for detainees with 'complex needs' which can include disability, age or physical and mental health issues.

Doug said the detainees in the unit 'get on very well'.

'In this particular unit everybody has a wide variety of charges,' he said.

'They interview everyone to see if you are compatible.

'There's also mentoring roles, there's two mentors in here. People who are struggling with social anxiety or grief, or whatever it may be, they get help.

'They are encouraged not to sleep in, encouraged to participate in the yard activities and get further education.'

The Alexander Maconochie Centre is one of Australia's newest major adult prisons and was built to accommodate prisoners from the nation's capital who previously went to NSW jails.

It is located next to a highway about 10 minutes drive from Canberra airport with the dozen or so buildings double-fenced beside a highway in an otherwise windswept open-grassed area.

Named after a prominent 19th century prison reformer, the Centre can lay claim to being 'Australia's wokest prison', the sort of jail Scandinavian countries famously design to break cycles of incarceration rather than punish.

The notice board area where inmates post messages of personal significance in the Specialist Care Unit

A detainee enjoys a cigarette inside the jail, which is planning to go 'smoke free'

The new jail is the brainchild of former Labor ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, who was forced to defend the cost of the $130million facility which didn't accept its first prisoners until 2009 despite being opened six months earlier in 2008.

Mr Stanhope described the Centre as 'the most human rights-compliant, rehabilitation-focused prison in the world'.

The jail is the first in Australia purpose-built to meet human rights obligations and is also environmentally sustainable using recycled water, solar power and energy efficient insulation.

With such noble aims can come a hefty price tag, in early 2010 it was reported the cost of housing an inmate at the centre was $504 per day, which was twice the amount NSW was charging the ACT to take prisoners.

The interior of the Alexander Maconochie Centre's Specialist Care Unit

Sadly the days of rosy hope have largely given way to disappointment, especially for Mr Stanhope who has become one of the jail's harshest critics calling it 'an appalling failure' and 'an embarrassment', which he blames on successive governments.

In 2019 Mr Stanhope lamented that the Productivity Commission had found that the over the last two years the Centre had 'established a reputation as the most violent prison in Australia'.

The more recent Health Prisons Report into the Centre found little evidence of improvement.

'We heard several anecdotal reports of sexual coercion and violence in the AMC,' the report said.

'We have been told that sexual coercion and violence happens but is rarely reported.'

Perhaps most galling for a jail that has the express purpose of rehabilitation are the high rates of reoffending, causing some to label it a 'revolving door' prison with the same cohort of inmates repeatedly entering and leaving.

Corrections officer Damien Veal says dealing with the unexpected is the most challenging part of his job

This is especially so for Indigenous prisoners, which the jail was set up to be culturally appropriate for, with 94 per cent of released Aboriginal detainees ending up back in the cells, according to a recent report.

Mr Powsey said the prison reflects what happens in the comparatively small community of Canberra.

'In the ACT, there are relatively low crimes rates but relatively higher recidivism rates. This means that a significant proportion of the offending occurs within a smaller cohort of people,' he said.

'Those in the AMC are a smaller cohort still, meaning relationships can be very complex. It is likely that our detainees know each other.'

They could be co-offenders, victims, have engaged in problematic behaviour together, such as substance use, and have had other kinds of relationships.

'This can create challenges in managing associations, but also for the detainees in establishing new and pro social connections that enable them to reduce reoffending.'

A detainee makes his way between buildings along the caged walkways

A major failing at the jail, according to the Healthy Prisons Report, was boredom with many inmates having largely unstructured days and sometimes not getting out of bed until lunchtime.

The report was also critical of a lack of meaningful employment activities within the prison.

Doug said that everyone in the Specialist Care Unit was employed but 'in most of the other units that doesn't happen'.

His job was head sweeper while others emptied bins, cleaned windows, served food or were on kitchen or laundry duty.

'We all get different pay rates,' Doug said.

'So you can work towards being head sweeper that's $50 a week and these other jobs are $30.

'It's no more than 15 minutes each day, we all participate in it.

'Part of that promotes work ethic, and work opportunities because some people don't have support from the outside.

'It's a very minimum wage and in two weeks you can afford a patch of tobacco which is normally the target.'

Asst Commissioner Jack Powsey said the centre faces a number of unique challenges

A female guard walks through the connecting fenced in pathways of Alexander Maconochie Centre, which unusually has a women's prison also on the site

There's plenty of open areas for inmates to get some fresh air

Doug outlined his daily schedule after the morning routine of taking turns on the toilet.

'We are locked in for an hour at lunch time, we are locked in again 6.30pm,' he said.

Each cell has a computer supplied by the jail.

'I can access ABC media online, SBS media online, educational programs, there's even games on there,' Doug said.

'Then we got the TV as well so we can watch two things at once.'

An inmate makes his way through the caged walkways

Doug said he was studying a foundation course, which he said 'gives you an idea of who you were and who you want to be'.

'Initially I thought everybody knew the difference between right and wrong and everyone is making bad choices but some people don't know,' Doug said.

'Culture, religion all these factors determine the belief systems.

'Although we have to abide by the law unfortunately not everyone understands or believes in that.'

Doug said his particular interest was politics and he had pinned a 'Free Julian (Assange)' poster on the common area notice board.

The Alexander Maconochie Centre is designed as sprawling campus of connected buildings

'The next one is going to be free Coco (environmental protester Deanna 'Violet' Coco), she got four months for holding up the Sydney Harbour Bridge,' Doug said.

'I just think I like people who rock the boat.'

Almost since its beginning, the prison has been plagued by negative stories including earlier this year when a newly admitted prisoner hanged himself in a supposedly safe cell.

Correction officers are also accused of having drink and drug-fuelled parties with inmates.

There were serious riots November 2020 and May 2021 where inmates started fires that caused damage worth millions and in 2019 the centre was declared Australia's most violent jail by a Productivity Report.

An inmate makes use of the exercise equipment

Corrections officer Damien Veal said the most challenging part of his role was the 'unexpected nature of the job'.

'We are always living under the threat of incident, that's the nature of the beast,' he said.

'I have been in circumstances where I have thought "if this happens then this situation could be bad".

'It's in the back of your mind because it is our reality.

'We are in a great place in the ACT where we have good rapport with our detainees because we are with them so much but it's still in the back of your mind that there a lot of unknowns.'

CO Veal said incidents tended to go 'in cycles'.

'A couple of detainees will get in and it will go up for a spike and they'll get bail and it will go right down,' he said.

Some the outside exercise equipment at the Alexander Maconochie Centre

'We get a couple in a row and then have months between them.

'I've been involved in some fights where we are kind of just separating people.

'We need to get other detainees away, clear the scene, isolate and contain those fighting.

'Incident response officers are allocated every day, and they are the ones expected to respond but we often find other staff will respond anyway.'

CO Veal said that dealing with incidents had created a bond with other officers.

'Coming out of that is the comraderies among staff, there are fantastic core staff here and we all get on really well,' he said.

'We all support each other really effectively in my experience.'

Correction officers carry concealed capsicum spray on them at all times and also have radios with 'duress' buttons in case of emergency.

Jim Taylor-Dayus is a veteran of prison work having spent 37 years in UK, New Zealand and Australian jails

Senior Director Accommodation Jim Taylor-Dayus, who has a 37-year career working in UK, New Zealand and Australian prisons, said incidents were to be expected in a jail environment.

'You've potentially got 400 people who don't want to be here and they need the officers to get things, and sometimes the officer can't do it straight away or they may not be entitled to it  so, of course that causes a frustration,' he said.

'As long as you are able to sit down and say there's a reason you can't have this, whatever it is, most people accept that reason - eventually.

'Sometimes the officer will say, "I can see you are getting pretty upset, maybe I will come back in five minutes".

'I think there is a really good working relationship here between staff and detainees.'

The main administration centre where visitors can enter the Alexander Maconochie Centre

Trouble inside the jail was often a reflection of trouble outside it, according to Mr Powsey.

'It's Canberra, they might have shared a sexual partner,' he said.

Mr Taylor-Dayus agreed.

'They will come in with a lot of external baggage and they know each other from outside so some trouble may spill inside,' he said.

'We generally get to know about it pretty quick and we can keep them separate. The most we can do to help is to settle the situation.'

Both CO Veal and Mr Taylor-Dayus worked during the riot in November where 27 detainees refused to go back to their cells, leading to standoff where fires were lit and considerable damage was caused.

'It was intense, we were here for 18 hours,' CO Veal said.

Eventually the situation was resolved through negotiation.

Unusually for an Australian jail, the Alexander Maconochie Centre performs multiple functions - housing minimum to maximum security inmates, those on remand and in protection.

It also has a women's prison within the larger men's one.

'We've got high risk, we've got low risk and we've got everything in between and within our small cohort of women we're got all that again,' Mr Powsey said.

'We've got unique opportunities but we've got unique challenges around managing everything in one centre.'

Mr Taylor-Davis also said this posed particular challenges.

A shot of an outside area at Alexander Maconochie Centre, which will be used for a family and cultural day

'We don't have the luxury of saying, "Damien doesn't behave himself, so we are going to move Damien to another prison".

'We just have to manage that and it's challenging in this environment as we soon run out of spaces to put people.

'We try not to put people into segregation because that's the easy option, we want them back in the general population.'

Segregation is the solitary confinement unit, which has 14 cells.

The prevalence of drugs and other contraband, such as mobile phones, has also been an issue highlighted by official reports.

Because of the jail's relative approachability, people have been filmed throwing banned substances over the fences and deliveries have been attempted by drones.

Mr Taylor-Dayus said he did not believe there were more drugs in Alexander Maconochie than any other jail he had worked in and there had been some recent success is stopping the flow.

During a riot in November Co Veal says he was onsite for 18 hours before the tense situation was resolved

'We have disrupted it in major ways, they don't have access to that kind of thing,' he said.

However, he admitted it was always a game of cat and mouse with inmates and their suppliers who were constantly shifting their strategies.

'Drugs get in a combination of ways, sometimes it's over the fence and when we focus our intention on that they will shift to some other means,' he said.

The centre staff admitted that the coming ban on smoking inside, which complies with ACT law, would be a particular challenge.

Doug said he was part of a drug and alcohol program in the jail but 'due to a dirty urine analysis they cancelled my order'.

Although it was his first time imprisoned in the ACT, Doug has previously served time in NSW jails for the commercial supply of prohibited drugs.

Doug said he was working through the issues that had derailed his life.

Mr Powsey and CO Veal say the staff at the centre work well together and share a sense of camaraderie

'I have been diagnosed with co-morbid PTSD,' he said.

'I was bitten by a dog and I spent a month in a hospital in 2017. The lady pulled the dog off me and killed her in front of me.

'For a few years I didn't leave the house because I got bitten by a dog but hopefully I will get back on top of things.

'I am making the most of my time in here in this specialist community.'

Christmas might seem a particularly glum time to be in jail but a family day and cultural day was being organised as a special treat for inmates.

'It's not all bars and doom and gloom,' Mr Taylor-Dayus said.

'Two years I have worked in other jurisdictions (in Australia), I don't think it's much different to any other centres I have worked in.

The jail has struggled to stop the flow of drugs into the site, which have even been delivered by drone

'We want to make it a great jail, we want to make it a place people want to work. We'd rather the place was empty but this is how it is.'

He admitted for many prisoners, jail had become a second home.

'A high percentage of people we have in here are career (offenders), this is their chosen career to be quite honest with you,' he said.

'Prison to them becomes an occupational hazard so they do accept things like "well it's my birthday in here, so be it".
These are some of the

And in Scotland, you could face jail time if you ride a cow while intoxicated

In Alaska, it is illegal to give alcoholic drinks to a moose, while in parts of Spain it is illegal to make sandcastles on the beach

You might not think that flushing the toilet after 10pm in Switzerland, giving alcohol to a moose in Alaska or swearing in the United Arab Emirates have anything in common.

But, in fact, they make up some some of the world's most bizarre laws that could land you with a hefty fine, or even jail time in some countries.

In some parts of Spain, for instance, it is illegal to make sandcastles, while in Scotland it is illegal to ride a cow while drunk.

Here, MailOnline highlights 21 of the world's most baffling laws.

1. You cannot give alcoholic drinks to moose in Alaska

In a bizarre law, it is illegal to serve alcohol to moose in Fairbanks, Alaska. Moose can become aggressive if they drink alcohol or fermented fruits.

In 2007, a moose, who was later named by locals as Buzzwinkle, went on a drunken rampage after drinking a local brewery's supply.

Buzzwinkle became tangled in Christmas lights and was found in a drunken stupor by locals in the town square and officials later introduced a law to try to prevent the moose's drunken escapades.

In a bizarre law, it is illegal to serve alcohol to moose in Fairbanks, Alaska. Moose can become aggressive if they drink alcohol or fermented fruits (file image of a moose)

2. Flushing the toilet after 10pm is illegal in Switzerland.

It is illegal to flush the toilet after 10pm in an apartment building in Switzerland as the government considers it noise pollution.

It is common for landlords to impose house rules whereby residents are not allowed to flush their toilet between the hours of 10pm and 7am as it may disturb their neighbours.

It is illegal to flush the toilet after 10pm in an apartment building in Switzerland as the government considers it noise pollution (file image)

3. Illegal to fall asleep in a meeting with Kim Jong Un

If you dare to fall asleep while the North Korean dictator is speaking, the consequences could be fatal.

General Hyon Yong Chol, a defence minister, was reportedly executed with an anti-aircraft gun in 2014 after he fell asleep during a meeting with Kim.

Meanwhile, in 2016, a North Korean firing squad shot and killed Kim Yong-Jin, a vice premier for education, for falling asleep during a meeting with the dictator.

Kim Yong-Jin was interrogated by investigators and labelled an 'anti-party, anti-revolutionary agitator' and sentenced to death.

If you dare to fall asleep while the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (pictured) is speaking, the consequences could be fatal.

4. You cannot drunkenly ride a cow in Scotland

It is an offence in Scotland to be drunkenly in charge of a cow and horse, according to the Licensing Act 1872, which means riding a cow while intoxicated is out of the question.

If found guilty, one could be jailed for up to 51 weeks.

5. Illegal to swear in UAE

In the United Arab Emirates, if you are caught swearing, you could face a fine, jail or deportation.

The country's penal code states that 'swearing disgraces the honour or the modesty of a person'.

The law does not just include a spoken word, it extends to text messages and social media, including 'indecent' emojis.

In the United Arab Emirates, if you are caught swearing, you could face a fine, jail or deportation (file image)

6. Illegal to pass wind in a public place in Florida after 6pm

In Florida, US, it is illegal to pass wind in a public place after 6pm as you would be deemed to be causing a public nuisance.

It's not clear how this law would be enforced - but it might be best to rush home to avoid passing wind in public.

7. Illegal to build sandcastles on some beaches in Spain

In some areas of Spain, it is illegal for children and adults alike to build sandcastles on beaches in a bizarre law.

In 2016, Benidorm's Town Hall voted to ban sandcastles from Levante beach - and if you are caught building them, you could face a fine of up to 150 (130).

The same rule applies for Arona and Arica in Tenerife, with members of the public being required to apply for a municipal permit before building a sand castle.

In some areas of Spain, it is illegal for children and adults alike to build sandcastles on beaches in a bizarre law (file image)

8. Illegal for women to wear a bikini or for men to go topless in Barcelona

In Barcelona, it is illegal to go bare-chested or wear a bikini except at the city's beaches.

Walking along the city's streets while wearing only swimwear could land you with a 250 fine.

Locals have become frustrated in recent years with tourists and they are often outnumbered by the throngs of foreign visitors that flood Spain's top tourist destination each summer.

Officials introduced the ban on the public wearing swimwear in Barcelona's streets in 2011 after becoming frustrated with the number of tourists walking around restaurants and shops while in bikinis or topless.

In Barcelona, it is illegal to go bare-chested or wear a bikini except at the city's beaches (file image)

9. Setting off fireworks in Norway is illegal - apart from New Year's Eve

In Norway, it is illegal to set off fireworks - apart from on New Year's Eve from 6pm to 3am on January 1 each year.

Any fireworks that are lit at any other time are illegal under Norwegian law.

There are also strict laws about when and where the public can buy fireworks from in Norway. They can only be bought in the days running up to New Year's Eve.

10. Dog owners must walk their dogs at least three times a day in Turin, Italy

Dog owners in Turin, Italy, will be fined up to 500 euros if they don't walk their dogs at least three times a day under a law from the city's council.

Italians can already be fined up to 10,000 euros and spend a year in prison if found guilty of torturing or abandoning their pets.

Dog owners in Turin, Italy, will be fined up to 500 euros if they don't walk their dogs at least three times a day under a new law from the city's council (file image)

11. Russia makes it illegal for shops to sell lacy underwear for women

In Russia, lacy underwear is effectively banned in Russia under regulations that were introduced in 2014.

A customs union made up of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan introduced a regulation which requires clothing to contain at least 6% cotton for 'health and safety' reasons.

Underwear that does not meet this requirement - which includes lacy lingerie - is not available in those countries. The production and importation of the underwear has also stopped.

12. Illegal for married women to have more than glass of wine at restaurants in La Paz, Bolivia

In La Paz, Bolivia, a bizarre law makes it illegal for restaurants or bars to serve married women more than one glass of wine.

The law is to reportedly to prevent women from getting 'morally and sexually lax' and flirting with other men while under the influence of alcohol. The law does not apply to married men.

13. People are not allowed to mow their lawns on a Sunday in Norway

In Norway, Sunday is a day of rest and by law, you are not allowed to carry out any activity that makes a lot of noise - and that includes mowing your lawn.

If your neighbours do call the police after they catch you mowing your lawn on a Sunday, officers could tell you stop. And if you don't they could visit your home and hand out a fine.

In Norway, Sunday is a day of rest and by law, you are not allowed to carry out any activity that makes a lot of noise - and that includes mowing your lawn (file image)

14. Illegal to litter in Singapore

In Singapore, it is illegal to litter and first time-offenders can be fined up to 1,000 Singaporean dollars (640).

Repeat offenders will be fined 2,000 Singaporean dollars (1,241) and have to carry out community work.

The litterers, by law, must spend a few hours cleaning a public place, such as a public park, while wearing bright jackets. On occasion, local media are invited to cover the event.

15. Illegal to be overweight in Japan

Save for Sumo wrestlers, people in Japan will be fined if their waistline is too big in a national attempt to slim down citizens.

Under the 'Metabo' law, people between the ages of 40 and 74, have their waistlines measured against state-prescribed limits.

Those exceeding government limits - 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women - may face fines.

Save for Sumo wrestlers, people in Japan will be fined if their waistline is too big in a national attempt to slim down citizens (file image)

16. Illegal to neuter dogs in Norway

Pet owners are not allowed to neuter their dogs without a good medical reason is illegal in Norway.

Vets in the country will not neuter the pets unless there is a cause to - including tumours in the reproductive organs - as part of an animal welfare law which stipulates that no animal can undergo the risk of surgery unless for medical reasons.

Regular neutering is also illegal in Norway, meaning that dogs are given a hormone implant that acts as a chemical neutering.

17. Illegal for chickens to cross the road in Georgia

If you own any chickens in Quitman, a city in Georgia, it is illegal to let them cross the road.

The law stipulates that owners must have their chickens under control at all times.

18. Illegal to leave your house in Thailand if you are not wearing underwear

In Thailand, it is illegal to leave the house without any underwear on as part of a law on public indecency. It is not clear how the police enforce this law.

In Thailand, it is illegal to leave the house without any underwear on as part of a law on public indecency. It is not clear how the police enforce this law (file image)

19. Illegal to eat or drink on public transport in UAE

Eating and drinking is banned on all forms of public transport and their stations in the UAE.

If you are caught doing either on the train or bus, you will be fined 21 (Dhs 100).

20. Illegal to spit in public in Singapore

In Singapore, it is illegal to spit in a public place. Those who are caught spitting can be fined 1,000 Singaporean dollars (640) for the first offence.

If you are caught a second time, you can be fined up to 2,000 Singaporean dollars (1,241). For a third time and subsequent offences, you can be fined up to 5,000 Singaporean dollars (3,100).

21. You are not allowed to kiss on train platforms in France

It is illegal for couples to kiss in French train stations on a platform.

The bizarre law was introduced in 1910 in attempt to avoid costly delays to train services and overcrowding in stations. But since 1910, the law has become more lax and people do not face a formal penalty today.
It looks like the abandoned set of a James Bond movie: two giant rocket test pads connected by an arcing service road cut into the cliffs high above the waves of the English Channel.

Beneath it, a blast-proof control room.

The top-secret site was at the heart of Britain's lost rocket programme, abandoned by politicians fifty years ago and only now set to blast off again.

On Monday, the first mission to launch satellites into orbit from UK soil - at a spaceport in Cornwall - failed after an 'anomaly' prevented the rocket from reaching its destination height.

But the first British 'rocket men' worked five decades ago, toiling for 15 years at the High Down test site perched above the The Needles on the western edge of the Isle of Wight.

Still lean and nimble at 79, rocket engineer Mike Kelleway squeezes past the rusting bomb-proof door into the old observation room, just a few feet from where the flaring rocket engines once were. Above: Mr Kelleway with a model of the Black Arrow rocket

The High Down rocket research facility above The Needles on the Isle of Wight was once the hub of Britain's rocket research programme. Above: A Black Arrow rocket is seen mounted vertically inside the engine test stand at the site in 1969

Still lean and nimble at 79, rocket engineer Mike Kelleway squeezes past the rusting bomb-proof door into the old observation room, just a few feet from where the flaring rocket engines once were.

The armoured glass in the spy hole has long disappeared and a south-westerly wind whistles round the tiny room.

'The last time I set foot in here was more than 50 years ago', he says as he ponders an engineering and scientific triumph that could have catapulted Britain into a commanding place in the space race,' Mr Kelleway said.

Britain's rocket programme was scrapped in 1971 for being too expensive. Just days before the announcment, a British-built Black Arrow rocket - tested at High Down - had successfully launched the UK's first and only satellite into space from the Woomera rocket range in South Australia. Above: The Black Arrow rocket lifts off in Woomera

All that was lost in 1971 when the rocket programme was ended for being too expensive and unable to compete against the Americans.

The Daily Mail's report about the scrapping of the rocket programme

Just days before the official announcement, a British-built Black Arrow rocket  tested at High Down - had successfully launched the UK's first and only satellite into space from the Woomera rocket range in South Australia.

It was originally developed by Saunders Roe, an Isle of Wight-based company, and it was powered by Bristol Siddeley/Rolls Royce engines.

'There was a celebration back here on the island base, but it was also a sort of wake because we knew it was all over,' said Mike, who still lives a 20-minute drive from the old test site.

The satellite, Prospero, which was originally designed to collect data on micro-meteorites, remained fully functioning until 1973 and still orbits the earth today.

It remained in radio contact until 1996, but since then, nothing has been heard from the satellite.

In 2011, experts announced plans to try to contact the satellite once again, but it proved to be a difficult task.

The ground station at Lasham, in Hampshire, had long been decommissioned, whilst the command codes of the satellite had been lost.

But the team from University College London were eventually able to track down the commanding codes, with help from the National Aerospace Library in Farnborough.

Still lean and nimble at 79, rocket engineer Mike Kelleway

Mr Kelleway is seen inside the former rocket research facility at the Isle of Wight, which still contains its original machines

The team also built an entirely new set of equipment to communicate with the satellite, although the experts in the end were not able to make contact.

Britain was the only country to successfully develop satellite rocket technology and then abandon it.

The latest ill-fated satellite launch in Newquay was from an American-built rocket, slung under the wing of Virgin Orbit's Boeing 747.

Despite its failure, it was a relatively clinical process compared to the rocket tests on the Isle of Wight.

Mr Kelleway shows visitors round the old site - now owned by the National Trust - where there are models of the Black Arrow and Prospero

Workmen in white overalls and thick gloves are seen at the Isle of Wight High Down site

Mr Kelleway (pictured outside the site) said: 'It's sad when you think of all that scientific and engineering expertise that was lost to America and other countries. People felt they had been axed unfairly

The research facility on the Isle of Wight is seen in its heyday - before the project was cancelled in 1971

Great clouds of steam would billow out over the sea as the tethered red-hot rockets were cooled by thousands of gallons of water.

The only thing that prevented them shooting skyward were hydraulic clamps keeping them earthbound.

If they passed the test, they were shipped to Australia for launch.

Mr Kelleway shows visitors round the old site - now owned by the National Trust - where there are models of the Black Arrow and Prospero.

He said: 'It's sad when you think of all that scientific and engineering expertise that was lost to America and other countries. People felt they had been axed unfairly.

'Children visit here and they're amazed that Britain had a thriving space programme when their grandparents were kids.'
Gangs drug punters so they rinse all their cards using scam from eastern Europe

A security expert has revealed how criminal gangs are spiking the drinks of unwitting strip club punters to rinse their bank accounts for tens of thousands of pounds.

His comments come after a Soho strip club Vanity had its licence revoked for three months this week after allegations that 10 patrons woke up after being 'spiked' to find a total of 250,000 missing from their accounts.

One man even said he had 98,000 taken in a series of fraudulent transactions after his drink was spiked - and others claimed they had no memory of the night and woke to find payments of thousands of pounds had been made from their banks accounts.

But this is not an isolated incident, according to one of the UK's leading digital fraud experts Professor of security engineering Ross Anderson, who said these scams could end in a 'murder trial' after a decade of inaction by banks and the police against fraudsters.

How strip club spikers operate to steal thousands from patrons using 'pre-play attacks' after they enter their pin into a hacked chip & pin terminal

Westminster City Council suspended the licence of Vanity strip club (CCTV pictured) in Soho after the Met Police submitted evidence of breaches of its conditions to trade

Vanity Bar and Nightclub (pictured) in Soho, London has had its licence suspended for three months amid a Metropolitan Police probe into allegations that customers were fleeced of some 250,000

Prof Anderson, of the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh, told MailOnline that some strip clubs - often with gang connections - are drugging and defrauding customers for tens of thousands of pounds using hacked chip & pin terminals.

Digital security expert Professor Ross Anderson (pictured) said strip club spikings will lead to a 'murder trial'

'This has been going on for about ten years now and we've tried to get both police and banks to pay more attention, as it's eventually going to lead to a murder,' Prof Anderson warned.

'If you anaesthetise drunken punters and leave them to sleep it off on a sofa in a brothel with full stomachs and no medical monitoring, then eventually one of them will vomit, inhale it and die.'

As many as 43,000 people may have been spiked by drink or drugs in 2021, according to campaigners.

While spiking is more commonly used as a means to sexually exploit victims with 'date rape' drugs - they are also used by thieves and fraudsters to subdue their victims.

One alleged victim said he woke up in a brothel after a trip to the Vanity in Soho and discovered that 98,000 had been transferred from his bank accounts.

Another man said he woke up on a street near his home after after he blacked out during a visit to the strip club in the most recent incident on November 26 last year.

He bought a drink but could not remember anything else until he woke up the next day  and found he had transferred more than 19,000 to several unknown bank accounts.

Prof Anderson, Professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge and Edinburgh universities, first saw alleged strip club scams in the UK, after the Spearmint Rhino in Bournemouth was accused of 'exploiting' customers in 2013 and 2014 by charging them large sums they could not remember spending.

The professor told MailOnline he believes the 'modus operandi' was imported from eastern Europe - mostly Poland and the Baltic states based on reports he has received.

Some 10 men have claimed they have lost 250,000 during visits to Vanity in central London. Pictured: CCTV of a stripper and a patron in Vanity included in Westminster City Council's report on Vanity

Gil David, a man visiting from Northern Ireland for a friend's stag do ended up spending 7,500 - a third of his annual salary - in one night at the venue after drinking 30 drinks in 12 hours.

He woke up - barely remembering the night before - after finding the credit card bills in his hotel room for the lavish night, which included tips to the girls totalling 1,800.

But two years later, Mr David received a settlement from Spearmint Rhino after he tried to sue the club.

Other claims were made at the club - which Prof Anderson looked into for a local councillor David Smith, who was dealing with the case after reports from constituents.

These included: a mentally disabled man who lost his 7,000 life savings; a man claiming his drink was spiked and lost over 3,000 in four hours; and a student who lost 2,000 - most of his student loan, the Bournemouth Echo reported at the time.

The local council's licencing committee allowed the venue to continue operating, returning their licence after a six-month probation period - leaving Cllr Smith incredibly frustrated at his colleagues for not taking strong enough action.

Spearmint Rhino in Bournemouth continued to trade until it was bought out by a new investor in October 2021 and renamed Temptation, the Bournemouth Echo reports. There is no suggestion that the new club or other Spearmint Rhino venues is involved in any criminality mentioned.

Similar cases have been reported in the UK and abroad since 2014, but as far as Prof Anderson is aware, no one has ever been charged by the police for fraud or spiking patrons and no clubs have been permanently shut down after the reports.

Gil David said he stayed at the Bournemouth branch of Spearmint Rhino (pictured) until 5am, racking up a bill that included 1,800 in tips to the girls in 2013

'Pre-play attacks': How strip clubs spikers fleece you for 1000s with hacked chip & pin terminals Strip club patrons buy a drink with their card on a hacked chip & pin terminal - this could be for 100 times what customer thinks they're paying Card machine harvests authentication codes which is how banks verify a transaction is genuine Terminal 'pre-plays' multiple transactions of up to several thousands of pounds - which will be cashed at intervals over the night Patron is spiked - possibly via the drink they have just bought The incognisant customer is kept at the club while money is bled from their account Scammers get the customer to use their other cards in the hacked chip & pin terminal Customer wakes up with no memory of the previous night, but finds they have lost thousands of pounds Advertisement

And Prof Anderson has said victims have contacted him after they were rinsed for thousands in similar schemes after heading to Europe mostly Poland and the Baltics but also Spain - and several people in Spain for stag nights.

He said that one way the scam is perpetrated is through a hacked chip & pin terminal in a 'pre-play attack'.

He said that before chip & pin was introduced, fraudsters could mostly only steal smaller amounts from lots of people by cloning magnetic strips on cards.

But as chip & pin transactions have high limits - or sometimes none at all - they 'bad guys', as Prof Anderson calls them, can target fewer victims for larger amounts.

He said: 'Since chip & pin came along I can now spend 20,000 to buy my wife a Mini,' something which he did on card last month.

'The fact is that you can now scam large amounts of money from a small number of people,' lowering the barrier to entry for potential card fraudsters.

A pre-play attack works by harvesting autorisation codes - how banks verify a card transaction is legitimate - after the customer uses their card and enters their pin to pay for something.

But the the hacked terminal can show a customer is buying a drink for 20, but in reality be charging them 2,000 - and scammers then use the saved authorisation codes to queue up multiple cashouts throughout the night.

Scammers will not put through one massive transaction at once as they have clued onto the fact that banks block single large transactions as a fraud check - calling the customer to ensure it is legitimate before allowing it to go through.

So fraudsters will 'pre-play' multiple smaller transactions using the harvest authorisation codes.

But banks also perform 'velocity checks' which flag possible fraud if multiple transactions are performed in quick succession from the same card.

To counter this, scammers will queue up the transactions over the course of a few hours, rather than in quick succession. But this makes it easier for customers to make a successful fraud claims to the bank - as they can't have paid a 2,000 tip to a stripper if they were tucked away in bed at the time the payment took place.

So to stop patrons leaving, someone at the club will spike them with drugs such as chloral hydrate or Rohypnol.

'If you store up ten transactions and plan to replay them over the next ten hours, then you don't want the punter to go to the bar next door and break the time series,' said Prof Anderson.

Before chip & pin was introduced, fraudsters could mostly only steal smaller amounts from lots of people by cloning magnetic strips on cards, says Prof Anderson (stock photo)

Drugging patrons also gives the venue the opportunity to rinse bank accounts connected to the other cards in their wallets, so victims can be taken for everything they are worth - or more if they have an overdraft facility.

And victims will often face barricades to being refunded, firstly because 'most punters don't complain as they are too embarrassed,' Prof Anderson said.

But even if a victim decides to report the scam through the proper channels, to the banks and the police, they still have their work cut out for them if they intend on getting their money refunded.

Regulations state that if a customer hasn't authorised a payment, the bank should refund the money  so long as the customer hasn't acted fraudulently, or with intent or 'gross negligence', the Financial Ombudsman Service says.

Therefore genuine victims of strip club scammers should be able to tell their bank at the earliest opportunity and have their money refunded.

But Prof Anderson says that banks will almost always initially refuse to reimburse fraud victims. 'The banks almost always say it wasn't fraud,' he says. If banks do not accept the fraud was genuine then they will not repay the customer their stolen money.

He also said that police across the country have not put enough resources into fighting this scam for the last decade as it is a difficult crime to fully investigate and it is easier to focus on other crimes.

'Police should be investigating these allegations more vigorously, by seizing terminals that may have been tampered with,' Prof Anderson said.

'Investigations like this should be led by the police and supported by the banks - and that means when someone reports fraud police should get transaction data from the banks.

'If the banks get lots of complaints from one establishment they should inform the police and if evidence of fraud is found they should remove them from the Visa and Mastercard payment networks.'

He said banks were enabling fraudulent merchants, effectively allowing them to rip off customers by refusing accept fraud has taken place.

Prof Anderson said the Payment Services Regulator should put more pressure on banks to refund victims of fraud where they haven't consciously made those transactions either 'because that terminal was doctored or the victim was administered a sedative'.

He said that police should invite complainants to take drug tests if they believe they have been spiked and defrauded - and if something is found in their system officers should raid the premises.

Prof Anderson suspects the practice is fairly widespread across the country but added that it was impossible to know how prevalent it is because little to no data is kept by banks and police on incidents like this.

He said that not all strip club scams use the pre-play attack, with some using a SIM card like device in a 'man-in-the-middle attack' to change details of the payment before it goes out - and sometimes 'girls watch men enter their pin and use their card when they're sedated'.

Prof Anderson did have a recommendation for anyone intending to visit one of Britain's strip clubs.

He said: 'If you feel the need to visit red-light establishments rather than using your dating app of choice, leave your cards at home and only bring the cash with you are intending to spend.

'That way the most they can fleece you for is what is in your pants.'

A Met Police spokesperson confirmed there is an ongoing investigation linked to Vanity nightclub.

They said there are currently there are ongoing investigations into three allegations of theft or robbery. The force said there have been no arrests and enquiries continue.

Vanity Bar and Nightclub in Soho has been contacted for comment. Spearmint Rhino has been contacted regarding the historic allegations at the Bournemouth venue.

A government spokesperson said: 'This government is absolutely committed to cracking down on fraud and economic crime, spending an additional 400 million over the next three years to bolster law enforcements response.

'We will shortly publish our Fraud Strategy, which will establish a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public.'
A woman who was killed after she crashed an allegedly stolen car into a tree has been remembered as a kind and passionate person.

Jemmah Lorraine Cole-Crighton was driving the 2009 Toyota Camry before it crashed along the Warrego Highway, in southern Queensland, at 2am on Friday.

The car burst into flames leaving her with burns to most of her body.

Ms Cole-Crighton, from Toowoomba, was flown to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital but she died a short time later.

Her male passenger, a man in his 20s, was also rushed to hospital with a serious head injury and extensive burns.

A woman who was killed after she crashed an allegedly stolen car into a tree has been remembered as a kind and passionate person

A Queensland Police spokesperson alleged the car had been stolen earlier in the week from Hooper Centre car park, in Toowoomba, around 6.30am on Tuesday.

Devastated friends and family paid tribute to the late Ms Cole-Crighton and her 'wild side'.

'Beautiful to the eyes but girl .. You always had a wild side,' one person wrote on Facebook.

'Kindness, passion, confidence, faithfulness, loyalty, intelligence, independence and love are the qualities that we all admired about you!

'My sincere condolences to your family and I am so sorry to hear this tragic loss!'

A second added: 'Rest in peace Jemmah sending love to the Cole and Crighton Family love yous'.

'R.i.p #Jemmahcrighton so young to soon. Will have a drink for you tonight sister!' another wrote.

Ms Cole-Crighton's friends remembered the woman she was

Jemmah Lorraine Cole-Crighton was driving the 2009 Toyota Camry before it crashed along the Warrego Highway, in southern Queensland, at 2am on Friday

Devastated friends and family have paid tribute to the late Ms Cole-Crighton

A truck driver travelling along the highway at the time of the crash said they noticed the Camry driving into oncoming traffic moments earlier.

'It scared the crap out of me,' he told The Gatton, Lockyer and Brisbane Valley Star.

'I was hauling a loaded road train to Brisbane and all of a sudden a car veered onto your side of the highway heading straight towards me.

'I hit the brakes and moved as safely as I could as it flew past.'

Police allege the car had been stolen when the driver of the Camry briefly left her vehicle with her keys and handbag still inside.

The owner of the Camry said she was 'angry' about the car allegedly being taken.

'We feel sick literally and because the keys were left in the car by accident and Im not sure that insurance is going to help us,' she said.

The Forensic Crash Unit has urged drivers to come forward if they have footage of the car in the lead-up to the crash.
Millions of pounds are being spent by councils to allow their officials to moonlight as trade union activists, new Government figures have shown.

At a time when strikes are crippling services including transport and the Health Service, an astonishing 30 million was spent by local authorities to cover the cost of their workers engaging in trade union work.

The data from the Cabinet Office showed that out of the ten authorities which spent the most on union activity  a total of 5.2 million of taxpayers cash  nine of them are Labour-run. This included Birmingham City Council, which spent 1.2 million while being criticised for severe maladministration by the housing watchdog.

Transport for London  run by Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan, who added 40 to Londoners council tax to fund TfL  spent 6.4 million on union facility time as a series of strikes by well-paid Tube drivers brought the capital to a standstill.

At a time when strikes are crippling services including transport and the Health Service, an astonishing 30 million was spent by local authorities to cover the cost of their workers engaging in trade union work. Pictured: UNISON strike over pay for Ambulance call centre staff

Facility time cash represents wages paid to public servants while they carry out trade union activity, including handing out leaflets or planning strike action. Militant trade unions including Unite, Unison and GMB represent many local authority workers and are among Labours biggest financial backers.

Councils receive three-quarters of their income from council taxes and business rates, and the rest from Government grants.

Last night Tory MP Mark Jenkinson said it was proof that Labour councils are out of control and throwing taxpayers money at the trade unions in return for generous donations to Labours war chest.

He added: No wonder Labour want to abolish transparency rules on facility time to keep this hidden. Taxpayers have a right to know where their cash is going. Analysis of the newly published data shows that SNP-run Glasgow City Council spent the most on facility time last year, paying out 1.3 million in wages to officials for time spent organising union activity.

Meanwhile Labour-run councils spent hundreds of thousands on union facility time, including South Lanarkshire Council, which spent 534,735, Nottingham City Council (385,827) and Tower Hamlets Council (384,729). This is despite many of these councils asking for more public money from central government and forcing residents to pay among the highest council tax rates in the country.

The Local Government Association said: Proper discussion and consultation with staff requires the use of reasonable facility time by union representatives and so some reasonable expenditure is inevitable. Councils are taking steps to ensure that the system is always used properly.

Last year, the then Transport Secretary Grant Shapps  now Business Secretary  pledged to introduce a cap on facility time as part of a plan to smash the unions power and stop them from holding the country to ransom.
Hunter Biden made the request on January 6 after the child's mother Lunden Roberts filed to have 4-year-old Navy's last name changed to Biden

Hunter Biden asked for a judge to deny his estranged four-year-old daughter born to a stripper from taking his surname, claiming that doing so would rob the child of a 'peaceful existence.'

The request was made by the president's son on January 6, just a couple of weeks after the child's mother Lunden Roberts filed a name change petition for their daughter, Navy Joan Roberts.

Roberts, 31, who is raising Navy in Arkansas, filed the petition last month amid an ongoing paternity suit over child support payments that were adjusted because Biden's 'financial circumstances' had undergone a 'substantial, material change.'

While Biden is claiming that the name change would be harmful to the child, Roberts said it would benefit their daughter because it is 'now synonymous with being well educated, successful, financially acute and politically powerful.'

The Biden family, including Hunter, reportedly never met Navy, who was born in August 2018 to Roberts, a stripper at a club that Hunter used to frequent.

Navy, who is being raised by her mother in Arkansas and bears a striking resemblance to a young Hunter, does not have access to Secret Service protection like the rest of the Bidens do

Hunter Biden asked for a judge to deny his estranged four-year-old daughter from taking his surname because he claims the name would rob the child of a 'peaceful existence'. He is pictured in Malibu Thursday

Lunden Roberts, 31, who is raising Navy Joan Roberts in Arkansas, filed a petition last month to have her surname changed to Biden, claiming it would benefit her because it is 'now synonymous with being well educated, successful, financially acute and politically powerful'

In the filing last month, it was stated that Navy remains 'estranged' from the Biden family and suggests that this 'misconduct or neglect' can be rectified by giving her the Biden name.

But Hunter Biden, who is at the center of a federal probe for his foreign business deals, is now fighting the petition, arguing that the name would not do any favors for the child.

Hunter's lawyer filed the motion earlier this month asking the judge to deny Roberts' request, arguing that the child should decide for herself once 'the disparagement of the Biden name is not at its height.'

Hunter claimed that Roberts' motivation is now 'political warfare' against the Bidens, and that it reverses her efforts in late 2019 to redact their daughter's name and any other identifying information about her from the public court record.

On December 27, Roberts asked Circuit Court Judge Holly Meyer to allow the child to take the Biden name, claiming she remains 'estranged' from the family and suggests that this 'misconduct or neglect' can be rectified by giving her the name.

Hunter Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen, and their son Beau Jr, enjoy a day together at Malibu Park at Cross Creek in Malibu, California on Thursday

Hunter Biden and his son Beau Jr have lunch on a picnic table at the Malibu park last week

Hunter and his wife Melissa exchange smiles while at the park on Thursday

The couple engage in conversation while enjoying a day at the park in California

Hunter Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen, and their son Beau Jr in Malibu

Hunter feeds his son Beau Jr french fries while the family has lunch at the park in Malibu

Hunter and son Beau are seen eating lunch together in Malibu

'To the extent, this is misconduct or neglect, it can be rectified by changing her last name to Biden so that she may undeniably be known to the world as the child of the defendant and member of the prestigious Biden family,' Roberts said in her filing.

The little girl is being raised by her mother in Arkansas. Navy, who bears a striking resemblance to a young Hunter, does not have access to Secret Service protection like the rest of the Bidens do.

She is Hunter's fourth of five children who was conceived while he was still in a relationship with Hallie Biden, his brother Beau Biden's widow, who he got together with after her husband died of brain cancer in 2015.

He's currently married to South African native Melissa Cohen, who he wed a week after meeting and with whom he shares two-year-old Beau - named after his dead brother.

Hunter, 52, initially denied being Navy's dad, saying he had 'no recollection' of meeting her mother. But a DNA test in 2019 confirmed he was the father of Navy.

They had met at a gentleman's club called Mpire Club in Washington, DC, where Roberts, 31, was performing as 'Dallas,' the same time Hunter was dating his older brother's widow.

After a DNA test proved Hunter was the father, he and Roberts settled for $2.5 million in 2020. Hunter now also pays monthly child support and healthcare for the girl

Hunter and Roberts met at a gentleman's club called Mpire Club in Washington, DC, where she was performing as 'Dallas,' the same time Hunter was dating his older brother's widow

According to his memoir Beautiful Things, that period of Hunter's life was filled with hard drug use and 'rampages' of random sex with women who were 'hardly the dating type'

According to his memoir Beautiful Things, that period of Hunter's life was filled with hard drug use and 'rampages' of random sex with women who were 'hardly the dating type.'

'That's how little connection I had with anyone. I was a mess, but a mess I've taken responsibility for,' he wrote.

After a DNA test proved Hunter was the father, he and Roberts settled for $2.5 million in 2020. Hunter now also pays monthly child support and healthcare for the girl.

Roberts was reportedly on the payroll of Hunter's consulting firm for a time before she gave birth to their daughter. In February of this year Roberts testified in front of a federal grand jury investigating Hunter on charges of tax fraud and violations of foreign lobbying laws.

The Bidens, including Hunter, President Biden and Jill Biden (pictured) reportedly never met Navy, who was born August 2018 to Roberts, a stripper at a club that Hunter used to frequent

In September of last year, Hunter asked a court to recalculate his child support payments, arguing he could no longer afford them.

He filed a motion citing 'a substantial material change' in his 'financial circumstances, including but not limited to his income.'

In the 2019 paternity suit Hunter had also tried to skirt by without supporting his love child, telling a court he had 'significant debt' from his divorce from ex-wife Kathleen.

'I attest that I am unemployed and have had no monthly income since May 2019,' he wrote.

At the time he was living in a $12,000-a-month Los Angeles rental property and driving a Porsche Panamera. An analysis first reported by NBC and confirmed by DailyMail.com found Hunter's firm had made $11 million from 2013 to 2018.

In his book, Hunter admitted to burning through cash to pay for drugs and partying with strangers who regularly stole from him.
Almost three years since the coronavirus pandemic took hold, CNN medical analyst and Washington Post columnist Dr. Leana Wen has admitted the medical community is 'overcounting' the number of 'COVID deaths and hospitalizations.'

In an opinion piece entitled: 'We are overcounting COVID deaths and hospitalizations. That's a problem,' Wen cites sources that claim that most 'patients diagnosed with COVID are actually in the hospital for some other illness.'

Wen begins: 'According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States is experiencing around 400 COVID deaths every day. At that rate, there would be nearly 150,000 deaths a year. But are these Americans dying from COVID or with COVID?'

Wen states: 'Understanding this distinction is crucial to putting the continuing toll of the coronavirus into perspective. Determining how likely it is an infection will result in hospitalization or death helps people weigh their own risk.'

Dr. Leana Wen says the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 may be greater than the number of people actually dying from the virus

Robin Dretler, an attending physician at Emory Decatur Hospital, who estimates that at his hospital, 90% of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 are actually in the hospital for some other illness.

Wen had the backing of two other infectious-disease experts who also believe that the number of deaths attributed to COVID is greater than the actual number of people dying from the virus.

She cites one expert, Robin Dretler, an attending physician at Emory Decatur Hospital, who estimates that at his hospital, 90% of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 are actually in the hospital for some other illness.

Dretler said that this contributes to imprecise reporting on COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations, which he claims does not come from a place of bad intent.

'Since every hospitalized patient gets tested for COVID many are incidentally positive. If these patients die, COVID might get added to their death certificate along with the other diagnoses. But the coronavirus was not the primary contributor to their death and often played no role at all,' Dretler told Wen.

The doctor also cites another infectious-disease physician, Shira Doron, who found that in recent months, only about 30% of total hospitalizations with COVID-19 were primarily attributed to the virus in Massachusetts hospitals.

Infectious-disease physician, Shira Doron acknowledges that there is a gray zone in the data in which COVID might not be the primary cause of death but could have contributed to it

'During some days the proportion of those hospitalized because of COVID were as low as 10 percent of the total number reported' who had COVID.

Wen states, 'Doron acknowledges that there is a gray zone in the data in which COVID might not be the primary cause of death but could have contributed to it.'

There is common ground between the trio of doctors who agree that 'inadvertently overstating risk can make the anxious more anxious and the skeptical more skeptical.'

'To be clear, if the COVID death count turns out to be 30 percent of what's currently reported, that's still unacceptably high,' Wen declares.

Her observations have prompted some readers to criticize the timing of her column, stating that the information is 'two and a half years late' while others have criticized the Washington Post for not highlighting this issue earlier.

California-based Epidemiologist Dr. Tracy Hegn tweeted 'Amazing how long it has taken the U.S. to accept this is a problem.'

J. Michael Waller an analyst with the far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.-based think tank, Center for Security Policy, noted how times had changed

California-based Epidemiologist Dr. Tracy Hegn tweeted: 'Spring 2021 [USA] had good evidence >40% of child COVID admissions were incidental. 2021 Denmark announced they'd distinguish with vs from COVID hosp. COVID+ deaths in [Denmark] in 2022 [were] 60-70% incidental.'

'Amazing how long it has taken the U.S. to accept this is a problem,' she added

J. Michael Waller an analyst with the far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.-based think tank, Center for Security Policy, noted how times had changed.

'Not long ago, the Washington Post was calling us conspiracy theorists for saying such things.'

President of the Brownstone Institute, Jeffrey Tucker tweeted, 'This is not just recently true. It's been true for three years! We truly do not know how many actually died from COVID, which means that not even the CFR is accurate.'

The Brownstone Institute is a libertarian-leaning think tank founded to respond to government policies regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, opposing COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates.

Schools in Michigan and another school system in Massachusetts are bringing back requirements for people to wear face masks. A school system in Chicago, Illinois, is now asking pupils to test negative for Covid before coming to the school

There have ben almost 1.1 million covid deaths in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic and 6.7 million globally.

Covid cases in the US have risen 16 percent in a week nationally according to the latest data available, to about 67,000 new cases a day.

This is thanks to a new highly infectious variant XBB.1.5, and higher mixing this winter during the first normal festive season in years.

But experts tell DailyMail.com that XBB.1.5 is not more dangerous than other variants, and that the winter rise was always to be expected because respiratory diseases spread more in the colder months when people spend more time indoors.

Covid cases in the US remain below levels that they reached over the summer, with about 470,000 cases now being recorded every week, or 67,000 a day

This graph shows Covid deaths in the United States by week, which have risen. Experts say this could be down to reporting, however

As Covid cases remain steady, hospitalizations with flu have continued to decline after flu season took off early this year

While Covid cases have risen slightly after Christmas, flu has ebbed after surging early this year likely due to lower immunity levels.

The latest CDC data shows a total of 11 states now have 'very high' flu levels, about half of the 21 states hitting this threshold in the previous week.

Cases and hospitalizations with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are also dropping. About 2.4 people per 100,000 were admitted to wards with the disease in the third week of December, the latest available, down from 3.3 previously.

But despite the ebbing tide of infectious diseases, schools in a total of five states have moved to bring back mask requirements.

A total of 11 states currently have 'very high' flu levels (left), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is about half the 21 at this threshold in the previous week. States with 'very high' flu levels are colored in purple and the two darkest reds shown on the map. Those that are purple have the absolute highest levels
Rep. Katie Porter, who this week announced her candidacy to be one of California's two senators in 2024, has been described as being a 'rage-filled boss' who 'racially abused staff' and covered up sexual harassment.

In addition, Porter has been criticized for firing a staffer, Sasha Georgiades, who is also a veteran and domestic abuse survivor, for giving her Covid-19 in August 2022.

Porter announced her candidacy, despite the fact that longtime California Senator Dianne Feinstein, 89, has not announced her retirement.

This week Georgiades said in an interview with the National Review that she felt as though Porter was in politics for 'fame,' 'power' and 'herself.'

Porter made headlines last week when she was pictured in Congress reading the book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k, amid the furor surrounding the voting for speaker.

In December, Dear White Staffers, a popular social media account for insider political gossip, shared a text exchange between Porter and a staffer with the caption: 'VIBE CHECK: Rep. Katie Porter fires staffer after both test positive for COVID. Full texts from the Congresswoman firing the staffer via text. Shared with permission from staffer.'

Porter, D-Calif., shows her book to Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., during the 15th vote to elect a Speaker of the House on January 7

Porter has been criticized for firing a staffer, Sasha Georgiades, who is also a veteran and domestic abuse survivor, for giving her Covid-19 in August 2022

The comments section of the Dear White Staffers saw other anonymous staffers air their grievances against Porter. One wrote that they had suffered 'multiple panic attacks' while working for the congresswoman.

Another said that Porter was known for losing her temper at staff during fundraising call times.

While another said that Porter was 'prone to fits of rage, regularly disparages anyone who even slightly disagrees with her or displeases her, and is incredibly arrogant, mean spirited and petty.'

Georgiades meanwhile told the National Review this week: 'I think she likes the attention. I think she likes being a well-known name, and being a Democratic sweetheart.

She added: 'I think the fame and the power, with anybody, can turn somebody in a direction that they may not have been before. I think its becoming less and less about her actually helping, and more and more about her ego.'

In response to the interview, a member of Porter's team denied the allegation that she was a racist or prone to angry outbursts. While multiple staffers spoke glowingly about working with Porter.

One, a combat veteran named Gage Sitzmann, described the liberal activist as a 'phenomenal mentor' and 'the brightest boss Ive ever had.'

Porter was asked about the allegations in an interview with Pod Save America that was recorded Thursday.

She said: 'I regret if this employee feels disgruntled. Im willing to expect people to work hard. I work hard, and I think thats what the American people should expect.'

Leaked screenshots of text messages between Porter and former staffer Georgiades where the congresswoman tells the veteran 'you gave me Covid' and does not acknowledge the staffer's apology or her explanation that she had not tested for the virus because she was preoccupied with the death of a friend.

The text exchange occurred in July, and Porter's office said the staffer was working on a two-year fellowship at the time that had long been scheduled to end in August. Georgiades also confirmed to Politico she was not fired but had been planning to leave.

'Congresswoman Porter was informing her that she would work from home for the remaining three weeks of her fellowship,' Porter spokesperson Jordan Wong told DailyMail.com last month.

'Why did you not follow office protocol on testing? It's really disappointing,' Porter said in July. 'I'm terribly sorry. You're right I should have done better. Just because I felt okay in the moment doesn't mean I was,' the staffer wrote back.

'Sasha -- I cannot allow you back in the office given your failure to follow office policies. Cody will be in touch anout (sic) having your personal effects shipped or delivered to your home, and will lay out your remote work schedule and responsibilities for the last few weeks,' Porter said.

Georgiades went on to thank Porter and tell her: 'I hate to have disappointed you in the manner, as I know it isn't an excuse I had found out a friend from the navy had been murdered and my head wasn't in the right place. Not an excuse but the reasoning for the lack of forethought. I appreciate everything this office has done for me.'

Porter shot back: 'Well you gave me covid. In 25 months, it took you not following the rules to get me sick. My children have nobody to care for them.'

Georgiades was a Wounded Warrior Fellow who worked as a veteran and service member liaison in Porter's office. In 2019, Georgiades wrote a harrowing account of the rape she suffered at the hands of a former boyfriend in 2009.

She said she held a Facebook Live event with Porter and tested positive shortly after. Porter texted her after she informed the office of the test and 'from that point out, she never said another word to me.'

Shortly thereafter, an ally of Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who's also expected to run, told NBC News it was an 'incredible mistake' to announce a run this week, as California was ravaged by storms and massive flooding.

Earlier this week, Porter announced in a video posted to Twitter that she was seeking the senate seat, arguing that 'California needs a warrior in the Senate.'

Shortly thereafter, an ally of Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who's also expected to run, told NBC News it was an 'incredible mistake' to announce a run this week, as California was ravaged by storms and massive flooding.

We're not playing politics in the middle of a natural disaster that has left people dead,' the Schiff insider said.

Schiff on Tuesday said he had been on the phone all day with mayors, county supervisors and the governor.

'We are getting hammered by these storms,' he told NBC. 'I've talked to the FEMA regional administrator about getting relief to Californians and that's where my priority, my focus is. And I think that's where we should all be focused right now.'

Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents the Sen. Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, told the network he would be making a decision about a Senate run in the next few months.
Experts believe there is a window of opportunity while Russia is on the backfoot

He confirmed Britain would send 14 Challenge 2 tanks to assist in Russian war

Rishi Sunak will heap pressure on Britain's allies to follow his lead in taking advantage of a 'window of opportunity' to support Ukraine in the drawn-out war with Russia.

Confirming his decision to provide 14 British tanks to Kyiv during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Prime Minister will now deploy his ministers on an international diplomatic blitz in an attempt to gain widespread support.

Officials said the decision was made after Mr Sunak 'analysed the military picture'.

He is said to have concluded Ukraine would need early assistance if it was to push Russia back following President Vladimir Putin's stalled and protracted invasion.

Confirming his decision to provide 14 British tanks to Kyiv during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Prime Minister will now deploy his ministers on an international diplomatic blitz in an attempt to gain widespread support

Pictured: Rishi Sunak leaves Downing Street on January 11, 2023

Blood-stained helmets of Ukrainian servicemen are pictured beside the road as a wounded soldier is evacuated

It comes amid reports that both Kyiv and Moscow are gearing up for a spring offensive when the weather is warmer.

Downing Street said Mr Sunak recognises that a 'long and static war only serves Russia's ends'.

According to No 10 officials, UK defence and security experts believe a window of opportunity has opened up, with Russia on the backfoot due to resupply issues and plummeting troop morale.

That analysis encouraged the Prime Minister to use the coming days to try and persuade allies to deploy their planned support for this year 'as soon as possible' in order to have 'maximum impact', officials said.

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, January 14, 2023

Mr Sunak will send Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to the US and Canada next week to work together on 'galvanising further international action' in support of Kyiv.

In an opinion piece in The Sun today, Mr Cleverly said: 'Today, the Russian army is on the defensive. Morale is pitiful. Casualties are immense. Vast quantities of vehicles and equipment have been destroyed. Troops... are low on supplies because of the shambolic state of Russian military logistics.'

He also noted 'not a single one of the Russian operational commanders in place when the invasion began on February 24 last year is still in his job today,' in yet another sign of the flailing operation.

And Ukraine winning this war would benefit Britons immensely, he pointed out.

'The sooner Ukraine wins, the sooner global food prices can settle down, easing the hardship of millions in the developing world. Better for Britain, for our allies and for everyone. Except Putin.'

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, after setting out the UK's latest military support to Mr Zelensky's forces in the Commons on Monday, is set to meet Nato allies in Estonia and Germany.

Downing Street has confirmed 14 tanks will be handed over as part of the agreement and up to 30 AS90s - large, self-propelled guns operated by five gunners - are expected to follow.

The Challenger 2 tanks pledge represented a 'gear change in the UK's support' for Kyiv.

Training will begin in Britain in the coming days showing the Ukrainian Armed Forces how to operate the tanks and AS90 guns.

A Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank during a Land Combat demonstration (file photo)

When Challenger 2s beat Saddam's tanks 14-0 Tank-on-tank exchanges are rare in modern warfare, and the only time a Challenger 2 has been defeated by another tank on the battlefield was in a friendly fire incident in Iraq at the hands of another Challenger 2. But it was in that conflict in 2003 that the Challenger 2 had its proudest moment. A squadron of 14 tanks from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards confronted a similar number of ageing Soviet-era T55 tanks. Every Iraqi tank was destroyed and every British tank was untouched in a battle that one cavalry said 'was like the bicycle against the motor car'. Advertisement

Mr Zelensky, writing on Twitter, said the move would 'not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners'.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: 'As the people of Ukraine approach their second year living under relentless Russian bombardment, the Prime Minister is dedicated to ensuring Ukraine wins this war.

'Alongside his closest military advisors, he has analysed the military picture, looked at the strategic impact of the UK's support and identified a window where he thinks the UK and its allies can have maximum impact.

'The Prime Minister is clear that a long and static war only serves Russia's ends.

'That's why he and his ministers will be speaking to our allies across the world in the days and weeks ahead to ramp up pressure on Putin and secure a better future for Ukraine.'

Responding the Mr Sunak's decision to send tanks to the battlefield, the Russian embassy in the UK said it would 'generate more casualties, including among the civilian population'.

The comments come despite the targeting of civilian infrastructure by the Kremlin's military during the conflict and allegations of human rights abuses in Russian-captured areas.

Harrowing images show how an entire apartment block was obliterated into a mountain of brick and mortar in central Ukraine on Saturday, with twisted bits of charred metal strewn about nearby streets.

Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said seven children were among the 39 people transported to hospital with severe injuries.

Germany is said to be considering sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today confirmed the UK will deliver a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks (pictured) to Ukraine

At least five people have already died, but that number is expected to rise given there are still dozens of people feared trapped in the debris.

Moscow's fresh aerial assault comes as the embassy said the Challenger 2 tanks would 'become legitimate large-scale targets for the Russian forces'.

It marks the first time in the war that Britain has supplied Ukraine with military tanks and it will significantly ramp up Western support.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Saturday that the UK has committed 2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

The MoD said: 'Our commitment to Ukraine remains steadfast and we will match or exceed last year's military support in 2023. The military aid we have donated will help Ukraine defend against air attacks, fight on land, defend their shores, and be equipped for winter.'

The transfer of the tank squadron may also be a major step in persuading Germany to send its much sought-after Leopard II tanks.

Europe has more than 2,000 Leopard II tanks, held by armies in 13 countries, but Berlin's consent is needed before any of the German-made kit can be re-exported to Ukraine.

Robert Habeck, the German economy minister, said on Monday that the nation had no plans to send Ukraine its Leopard II tanks, but that it 'can't be ruled out' in the future.

There are hopes the nation will be prompted to reconsider in the wake of Mr Sunak's announcement.
An ice machine that athletes use to speed up recovery from injuries could be rolled out on the NHS to tackle one of the most uncomfortable side effects of chemotherapy.

The hilotherapy device, used by former British world champion boxer David Haye to combat facial bruising and swelling after a fight, works in a similar way to an ice pack by constricting blood vessels and decreasing circulation to the affected area. When used during chemo, the highly controllable cooling cuts the risk of a nerve pain called peripheral neuropathy  being triggered by the powerful drugs.

The condition affects as many as 85 per cent of chemo patients and leads to painful tingling, numbness and shooting pains in the hands and feet. It often continues after treatment has ended and, in some cases, can linger for several years.

But studies show hilotherapy, developed by German firm Hilotherm, can cut the risk of the side effect by as much as 90 per cent.

An ice machine that athletes use to speed up recovery from injuries could be rolled out on the NHS to tackle one of the most uncomfortable side effects of chemotherapy

The hilotherapy device, used by former British world champion boxer David Haye to combat facial bruising and swelling after a fight, works in a similar way to an ice pack by constricting blood vessels and decreasing circulation to the affected area (David Haye, pictured left in action against Tony Bellew in London in May 2018)

Although it is only available privately at the moment, it is hoped it will soon be on the NHS.

Neuropathy is a debilitating side effect of chemo, says Dr Russell Burcombe, consultant oncologist at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. Given the benefits of this therapy, hopefully the NHS will offer it to patients soon.

About a third of UK cancer patients  roughly 100,000 people a year  undergo chemotherapy. The drugs work by killing off the rapidly dividing cancer cells, but they can also harm the bodys healthy cells. This leads to the various side effects of the treatment, including nausea, diarrhoea and hair loss.

Peripheral neuropathy occurs when chemo damages nerve cells in the hands and feet, which can make walking and picking up objects difficult. Traditional painkillers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, are ineffective.

This can be incredibly painful, says Dr Burcombe. We are curing more cancer patients than ever before but were leaving many with lingering side effects.

Increasing evidence over the past decade has shown that cooling areas of the body protects them from the side effects of chemo, as the constriction of blood vessels reduces the amount of the drugs which can reach that area.

The NHS offers protection from hair loss during some chemo treatments using a cold cap  a special cap filled with a cold gel that reduces blood flow to the scalp.

With hilotherapy, patients are fitted with padded gloves and boots 30 minutes before they begin chemotherapy. Cold water is then pumped through channels in them, cooling the hands and feet throughout each chemo session and for about an hour afterwards.

Hilotherapy will be rolled out this year at private clinics run by the firm Genesis Care. Dr Burcombe, who also works at a Genesis Care centre in Maidstone, Kent, says the data collected will impact whether the NHS offers hilotherapy.

This is an effective treatment, he says. However, it means patients spend more time in hospital than a standard chemo patient does because they have to wear the device before and after treatment, and we know NHS resources are stretched.

This is something every NHS cancer patient would want, so we want to find out how feasible that would be.

One patient to benefit from hilotherapy is Bridget Schonbroich, 68, from Dusseldorf, Germany. Bridget, a doctor specialising in chronic pain, was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2018 and began chemo two months later.

I was really afraid of the chemotherapy, she says. I knew it could cause neuropathy and hair loss.

Along with a cold cap, Bridget underwent hilotherapy during each of her 12 chemotherapy sessions. It was a bit cold at first but you get used to it, she says.

Whats more, she says her symptoms of peripheral neuropathy were barely noticeable. I had tingling in my hands for the first few weeks but it wasnt too bad and it went away quickly, she adds.

She is now cured of cancer and is once again working as a doctor.

Bridget says: If Id developed bad neuropathy, Im not sure Id be back at work, as you need healthy hands to do this job. I feel very thankful I could get hilotherapy.
A TikTok comedian claims he has been banned from a popular beachside bar after posting a video mocking the venue.

Jon-Bernard Kairouz, who went viral for predicting NSW's daily Covid cases in 2020 and was also found guilty of encouraging people to break pandemic restrictions, took to TikTok late last year to reveal he had been barred from the venue.

The video resurfaced after Kairouz tried to get into Burleigh Heads Pavilion on the Gold Coast at the weekend but was denied entry because he appeared intoxicated.

In the Sydney video, Kairouz claimed he was stopped at the entry to Coogee Pavilion by security guards and informed he would not be allowed to enter the venue.

A TikTok comedian claims he has been banned from a popular beachside bar after posting a video mocking the venue

He said he was given an explanation by the security guards before sharing the bizarre excuse to his followers on TikTok.

'Saturday night, I'm out on the town. I'm supposed to meet some friends here at the Coogee Pavilion,' he said.

'But these lovely Polynesian security guards have informed me that management has banned me from the venue for a recent Coogee video that I posted.'

The video then flashed back to old footage of Kairouz standing outside the Coogee Pavilion when he takes a dig at the venue.

'Coogee Pavilion, the Coogee Pav, one of the last great venues in Sydney,' he said.

'Unfortunately, you won't be able to get in if you're Lebanese or any facial hair.'

Kairouz appeared unfazed after he was denied entry to the upmarket bar club.

Jon-Bernard Kairouz had plans to meet up with a group of friends at Coogee Pavilion in Coogee, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, but was denied entry

Daily Mail Australia contacted Merivale and Mr Kairouz for comment

'I guess management is not a fan of free advertising and I think they've proven the joke, because that's one less Lebo they're not letting in.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Merivale and Kairouz for comment.

Kairouz is a well-known identity on social media and rose to prominence during the Covid-19 lockdowns when he accurately 'predicted' the daily case numbers.

Kairouz became known as 'the TikTok numbers guy' after repeatedly revealing the NSW Covid tally hours before then-premier Gladys Berejiklian in 2021.

His sensational five-day streak ended in July when he got the numbers wrong.

It is still unclear how Kairouz managed to accurately predict the Covid case numbers for five days in a row however it's understood he knew someone within the NSW Health team.

The TikTok comedian was also found guilty in November of encouraging people to breach pandemic restrictions during the Covid lockdown but was spared a conviction.
A former Marine Corps intelligence operator who helped capture al-Qaeda insurgents in Iraq used his skills to track down a Maryland dognapper after a Yorkie's sudden disappearance left a family devastated.

Rick Machamer, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, learned Raquel Witherspoon's beloved pet had been stolen after watching the local TV news and believed he could help.

Witherspoon was sent texts together with a video of her dog, Avery, a Yorkie, locked in a cage together with a ransom demand for $1,200.

Despite filing the case with the police, she was told that it would be a week before officers could even begin looking at the case, so she went to the local media noting how the dog was an emotional support animal for her 12-year-old daughter, Semaj.

Avery, Yorkie, was snatched from the doorstep of Maryland resident Raquel Witherspoon

Rick Machamer, who lives in Arlington, Virginia , learned of Raquel Witherspoon's theft, left, on the local TV news of her daughter, Semaj's, right, therapy dog and believed he could help

It caught the attention of Rick Machamer, a former Marine Corps intelligence operator, who used his skills honed on the battlefields of Iraq to help track down a dognapper

Raquel Witherspoon's Yorkshire terrier, Avery, was stolen and caught on camera

Machamer, who owns a Norwegian elkhound and a Pomeranian was troubled by the thought of someone stealing his beloved pets and got in contact with the family.

'I couldn't fathom my reaction if someone took one of my dogs, especially if they sent a picture of one in a cage,' he said to the Washington Post.

The former military man's skills lay in tracking and gathering information. His skills were such that he was honored for taking part in operations that saw him help capture al-Qaeda leaders in al-Anbar province in Iraq.

Machamer, a United States Marine Corps veteran completed three combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During that time Rick, participated in combat operations to expel insurgent forces from Fallujah, Ramadi, Ar Rutbah, and Mosul.

He offered to help Witherspoon track down her dog and she quickly accepted. Avery was dognapped in June, with Machamer's involvement in rescuing the pet only coming to light this weekend.

Machamer, who runs a corporate intelligence firm that carries out opposition research for political campaigns, first used his resources to trace the phone number of the dognapper.

Witherspoon' doorcam capture the dog being snatched by a suspect with red hair

Avery, a little Yorkie was snatched from the front doorstep of her Maryland home

He ran the suspect's phone number through an online database and used software to extract geolocation data from the video of Avery in her cage but it yielded no clues.

He then searched through customer reviews of local salons near Witherspoon's home, hoping he might find the perpetrator thanks to her distinctive dyed red hair that could be clearly seen on doorcam video. Once again, no useful information could be gleaned.

Machamer then decided to run the dognappers number through his personal Instagram account in an effort to see if any profiles were connected to the number.

Incredibly, Machamer found a lead through the social media platform, which linked him to a body piercing business near Witherspoon's home and a post that also linked to the owner's personal Instagram account.

Machamer had tracked down al-Qaeda insurgents on the battlefields of Iraq. He saw Witherspoon's plea for Avery's return on a local news channel and decided he had to help

Machamer discovered that the owner had posted about another dog that had gone missing in Witherspoon's neighborhood before Avery was taken.

A little bit of Googling saw him come up with a social media post about the missing dog.

There was even a picture of the family speaking to police about the dog together with someone that looked distinctly like the dognapper from Witherspoon's doorbell camera. The photograph even displayed the address of the home.

Four days after Avery went missing, Witherspoon also received a tip that someone in the same house that had just been pinpointed by Machamer was indeed behind the dognapping.

'I was like, "They got him back!" said Witherspoon's daughter, Semaj, pictured above. 'I didn't want to face the reality of not seeing my dog again.'

Together the pair gave the information to police and Avery was recovered two days later after a Prince George's County Police detective went to the home and retrieved the dog.

'I was like, "They got him back!" said Witherspoon's daughter, Semaj. 'I didn't want to face the reality of not seeing my dog again.

A 16-year-old girl was charged with stealing and admitted to being involved in the theft together with an attempt to extort Witherspoon in return for the pet. She pleaded guilty before trial.

Dognapping is becoming increasingly common across the U.S. with the American Kennel Club suggesting about 1,500 cases per year.

French bulldogs, German shepherds, Yorkshire terriers, and Labrador retrievers are the breeds most sought after by criminals.
Suella Braverman could be facing a new battle for political survival amid claims that she is struggling to retain a seat in the Commons.

The Mail on Sunday has been told that the Home Secretary may lose a fight to be the Tory candidate for a seat created by boundary changes that are set to come in before the next General Election.

Mrs Braverman faces Flick Drummond for the proposed Fareham and Waterlooville seat. But local Tory insiders  who have dubbed it the Battle of Waterloo(ville)  say the Cabinet Minister could lose.

One senior Hampshire Tory claimed the partys high command were so worried that Rishi Sunak had intervened amid suggestions Mrs Drummond could be offered a Lords seat to save Suella.

Suella Braverman could be facing a new battle for political survival amid claims that she is struggling to retain a seat in the Common

On the Prime Ministers first day in office he re-appointed Mrs Braverman to the Cabinet, just six days after she had resigned as Home Secretary over a technical infringement of data rules.

Last night, No10 sources said claims that Mr Sunak came to her aid in the current row were nonsense. Allies of Mrs Braverman said suggestions she would struggle to win were just mischief making.

But Tom Davies, chairman of Fareham Conservative Association, said it could be a close contest as the new seat comprised roughly 50 per cent from Mrs Drummonds Meon Valley constituency and just over 50 per cent from Mrs Bravermans Fareham seat.

Mrs Drummond was unavailable for comment.
A bronze sculpture honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King was unveiled in Boston on Friday to mixed reviews.

The 20-foot-high piece 'The Embrace' depicts the famous hug between the two civil rights leaders after MLK Jr. learned he had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

But the $10 million artwork shows two disembodied sets of arms, with no heads, sparking confusion among many art fans, and followers of the civil rights icon.

Some King family members were among the large crowd that turned out for a ceremony at the Freedom Plaza of the Boston Common where the piece was shown off for the first time - featuring only the couple's interlocking arms.

Several people online questioned the artist's decision not to include the couple's heads.

But others were moved by the piece, which pays tribute to the iconic couple who fell in love in Boston, and then went on to make a difference in the world.

A bronze sculpture honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King that depicts the famous hug between the couple, was unveiled in Boston Friday, but is receiving mixed reviews

The 20-foot-high piece 'The Embrace' depicts the famous hug between the two civil rights leaders after MLK Jr. learned he had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964

The sculpture is one of the country's largest memorials dedicated to racial equity, a privately-funded King Boston organization said last year.

It was designed by Hank Willis Thomas and MASS Design Group and was selected out of 126 proposals and installed on the Boston Common not far from where King led a rally and march in 1965.

When photos and video of the sculpture debuted online, some Twitter users were confused by the art.

One Twitter user called it a 'horrible sculpture' while another tweeted that it did not translate well.

'This is awful,' the British rapper Zuby added.

One user shared an image of the piece that showed it at a better angle.

'It's unfortunate that our first sighting after the unveiling is the worst possible angle,' the user wrote. 'Here's what we should have seen.'

Another user slammed the sculpture for not honoring the original photo.

'The original photo this inspired was beautiful and perfect. Why not just honor that with a replica instead of this horrible odd weirdly sexualized bronze blob #mlksculpture #MLK.'

Another wrote: 'Finally some feel good news. Beautiful sculpture. Thanks for sharing!'

The sculpture was unveiled as part of annual tributes and commemorations of the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which began nationwide Friday.

People stand near the 20-foot-high bronze sculpture 'The Embrace,' a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, in the Boston Common

One Twitter user slammed the sculpture for not honoring the original photo

Boston residents gathered to witness the unveiling of the sculpture which cost $9.5 million

One user said it was the angle that some were seeing, not the statue in its entirety, that made it appear strange. 'It's unfortunate that our first sighting after the unveiling is the worst possible angle,' the user wrote. 'Here's what we should have seen'

The massive monument consisting of four intertwined arms was dedicated Friday in Boston, where the leader first met his wife.

The civil rights leader and his wife first met in Boston in the early 1950s, when he was a doctoral student in theology at Boston University and she was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music.

'They both loved this city because of its proud heritage as a hotbed of the abolitionist movement and its unique intellectual and educational resources,' their son, Martin Luther King III, said during the dedication.

'And indeed, Boston became a place where they forged a partnership that would change America and make a powerful contribution to the Black freedom struggle. That's what I see in this beautiful monument.'

'They both loved this city because of its proud heritage as a hotbed of the abolitionist movement and its unique intellectual and educational resources,' their son, Martin Luther King III, said during the dedication.

'And indeed, Boston became a place where they forged a partnership that would change America and make a powerful contribution to the Black freedom struggle. That's what I see in this beautiful monument.'

Yolanda Renee King, who never met her grandparents, said she and everyone else are challenged to 'carry forward' the couple's 'unfinished work.'

'This is the spirt we must keep as we commemorate (the King holiday),' the 14-year-old said, as those in attendance cheered. 'Let's make it a great day of community service; a day of brotherhood, a day of sisterhood; a day of using your platform for good; a day of love and healing in the spirt of this wonderful monument.'

It was designed by Hank Willis Thomas and MASS Design Group and was selected out of 126 proposals and installed on the Boston Common not far from where King led a rally in 1965

Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of EmbraceBoston, the organization behind the memorial, noted the significance of the sculpture's placement at the Boston Common, America's oldest public park and a high traffic area with millions of city residents and visitors walking its paths every year.

'I think Boston has this reputation of being this city of heroes and abolitionists, like W.E.B. Du Bois and Frederick Douglass, simultaneously with this reputation of not being friendly and in some cases being described as racist. So there's this tension between these two images of Boston. Having the memorial there is part of our intention to transform our city's perspective.'

The organization is also raising money to build an economic justice center in the city's historically Black neighborhood where MLK preached.
Sources say both sides will have to admit fault for a genuine reconnection

But he's demanding an apology and an 'acknowledgement' of wrongdoing

Harry has repeatedly said he would be willing to reconnect with his family

A reconciliation between Prince Harry, Prince William and their father is not out of the realm of possibility, sources say, amid concerns King Charles' coronation will 'become a circus' if the royals are still at war.

A royal source with close ties to both His Majesty and the Sussexes believes both parties will look toward peace talks in the coming months.

'It's fixable,' the source told The Times. 'Both sides need to hold their hands up and admit ''we didn't get everything right, and we got a lot wrong''... It's going to take flexibility on all sides, but it can be done.'

'It needs Harry over here, in the room with the King and Prince of Wales, a couple of other family members, some of 'his people' he trusts who always had his back, so he doesn't think he's being ambushed.'

Royal source says William's loyalty is ultimately to his country, and he will reconcile if he believes it's the best thing for the future of the monarchy

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations last June

There are mounting concerns King Charles' coronation could descend into a circus if his sons have not reconciled

The source said King Charles would have no issue with these terms. And Harry has made no secret of his desire to reconcile with his family - even in the midst of all the mudslinging of the past few weeks.

Prince William may be slightly harder to win over, the source said.

He's said to have been extremely hurt by the way his younger brother has portrayed him in his memoir, Spare.

Harry has shared deeply personal recollections of brotherly spats they have shared, revealed text messages between his wife Meghan and the Princess of Wales during their now infamous bridesmaid dress argument and accused the future King and Queen of endorsing his Nazi costume.

Even still, the royal source says William's loyalty is ultimately to his country, and he will reconcile if he believes it's the best thing for the future of the monarchy.

A second source said: 'They have to invite them in before the coronation, or it will become such a circus and distraction.'

The King's coronation will take place on Saturday, May 6.

There have been conflicting messages as to whether the Sussexes can expect an invite to the ceremony.

Initially, it was reported Charles would extend an invitation to Harry and Meghan, though insiders quietly felt they'd find a reason to politely decline.

A reconciliation between Prince Harry, Prince William and their father is not out of the realm of possibility (Pictured: Charles, Harry and William at Princess Diana's funeral in 1997)

The then Prince Charles (centre) attends the coronation of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II (left), in 1953, following the death of his grandfather George VI. There are now concerns his own big day will be overshadowed by the chaos if he doesn't mend the rift between his sons

But amid the onslaught of insults there were whispers His Majesty was being urged to reconsider his position - even by some senior ranking royals - out of concerns any private discussions would make their way into print.

These qualms were no doubt not eased when Harry revealed in an interview with The Telegraph this week that he had enough material to publish a second book.

In fact, half of his first draft ended up on the cutting room floor, because he feared revealing its contents would mean he'd passed the point of no return with both his brother and father.

He said: 'There are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don't want the world to know. Because I don't think they would ever forgive me.'

These memories were shared with ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer only for context, and did not make the final cut. Publisher Penguin Random House says Spare is already a record breaker.

Harry said he knew that including any details about intimate moments with his family would attract backlash, but ultimately decided he could not truthfully tell his story without them.

Still, the Royal Household is said to remain hopeful the worst of the grenade throwing is now in the past.

If that proves to be correct, and Harry spends the next few weeks living the quiet life in Los Angeles he and Meghan have longed for, sources say there is hope for his relationship with his family.

Harry said he'd be open to reconciliation and even returning to a partial royal role, on the condition he could have 'frank' conversations with his family which would stay private.

The Duke of Sussex has appeared on several US television shows to promote the memoir and reveal additional family secrets

Prince Harry's book, Spare, was released on January 10 and quickly became one of the fastest selling non-fiction books ever

'I don't know whether they'll be watching this [interview] or not, but, what they have to say to me and what I have to say to them will be in private, and I hope it can stay that way,' he said, noting he doesn't want 'frank discussions [to] leak out'.

The comments have been labelled ironic given all the private moments Harry has shared in his memoir.

He also said he'd require an apology for Meghan if he were to return to the royal fold.

The prince said: 'You know what you did, and I now know why you did it. And you've been caught out, so just come clean.'

He claimed that 'if people had listened' to his concerns earlier, the gulf between he and Meghan and the rest of the royals would not have grown so wide.

It is not clear what Harry wants his family to apologise to his wife for but he claimed he was fighting the 'good fight' by siding with Meghan.

During the publicity blitz to promote his book, the Duke of Sussex told Tom Bradby that 'a lot can happen between now and then' when asked if he will go to see his father crowned in May.

The coronation - just 16 weeks away - will be a smaller affair than ever before, which is a reflection of King Charles' ambitions for a slimmed down monarchy. The palace are yet to publish plans for the ceremony and the guest list has not yet been agreed.

Organisers said the event will 'reflect the monarch's role today' and 'look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry'.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said: 'There is always a way forward. But it has to be at the right time.'

Hary also said he'd require an apology for Meghan if he were to return to the royal fold
Taxpayers paid thousands of pounds for luxury hotel stays abroad for migrants kicked out of the UK during the pandemic.

Most were put up in four-star accommodation, with the most lavish costing more than 4,000 for a room in a five-star hotel with sweeping ocean views.

When they were sent back, the UK picked up the bill for migrants who had to be put up in hotels, to comply with quarantine restrictions in their home nations.

In one case, a Turkish criminal who had returned to the UK for a court appeal was put up in a hotel at a cost of more than 2,200.

The average cost of a quarantine hotel stay paid for by the Home Office was more than 1,000, with the most expensive costing 4,027 for 21 days at one of two five-star Sheraton hotels in Hong Kong pictured above that participated in the quarantine scheme during the pandemic

Taxpayers paid thousands of pounds for luxury hotel stays abroad in places such as Mauritius pictured above for migrants kicked out of the UK during the pandemic

At least 18 people who were deported from the UK during the pandemic had their hotel quarantine paid for at a cost to taxpayers of more than 19,926, Home Office data shows.

But this figure is likely to be far higher, as the data only includes accommodation paid for outside of normal Home Office travel arrangements  meaning hotel stays for dozens or even hundreds of people deported to other countries are likely to have been paid for by the Government.

The average cost of a quarantine hotel stay paid for by the Home Office was more than 1,000, with the most expensive costing 4,027 for 21 days at one of two five-star Sheraton hotels in Hong Kong that participated in the quarantine scheme during the pandemic.

Reviews of both of the Sheraton Hong Kong hotels at the time described them as an amazing quarantine experience with good food and an amazing sea view.

One reviewer said: An amazing sea view, soft cosy bed, and a tidy and clean room made my quarantine perfect.

Highly recommend to everyone who is searching for a quarantine hotel. Migrants are deported if they have arrived illegally, committed crimes in the UK, or have overstayed temporary visas or work permits.

Those who had their hotel stay paid for by the UK were subject to immigration removal or had agreed to voluntarily return to their home country after being caught by immigration officers.

Most countries introduced travel restrictions during the pandemic, with many, including the UK, forcing people to spend time in a hotel upon arrival  including anyone deported during this period.

Six people were put up in hotels after being returned to Mauritius, two to Italy and Hong Kong, one each to Saint Kitts and Nevis and to Thailand, and there were four to unknown destinations.

One note attached to a Home Office payment of 586 explained: To purchase a hotel room for a migrant who we were returning to Italy.

The Covid entry requirements to Italy require passengers to self-isolate for five days following their arrival and as the migrant had no address in Italy we agreed to purchase a hotel room where he could self-isolate.

The Home Office declined to comment on the matter.
The Government was accused last night of a futile bid to bounce MPs into a Northern Ireland deal that could betray Brexit.

Tory Eurosceptics warned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that caving in to Brussels on the issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol would achieve nothing.

Former Brexit Minister David Jones also told No 10 that relying on Labour votes to push through a new deal would be a very divisive course of action to take. It followed suggestions that London and Brussels were drawing closer to an agreement to resolve issues with the Protocol, which has been blamed for driving a wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Tory Eurosceptics warned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that caving in to Brussels on the issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol would achieve nothing

The Protocol is part of the Brexit deal agreed between the UK and the EU to ensure free trade continued across the Irish border. It led to additional checks on goods between Britain and Northern Ireland. But this angered the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has boycotted Northern Irelands power-sharing government for months.

Optimism that there could be a breakthrough in resolving the stand-off grew, however, after the EU and the UK agreed terms for accessing data detailing the flow of goods from mainland Britain into Northern Ireland, which has effectively remained in the EU single market as it has a border with Ireland. There were claims yesterday  denied by UK Government sources  that Ministers were ready to shelve a controversial Bill overriding parts of the Protocol as a sign of goodwill to the EU.

It sparked unease among the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory Brexiteers. Last night, ERG deputy chairman Mr Jones fired a warning shot across the Governments bows, saying it must realise it is utterly futile to try to bounce Tory MPs into a Northern Ireland protocol deal that involves watering down the Brexit deal.

He added: It is futile because, quite rightly, Unionist politicians will never accept it. And without their agreement, there will still be no return to devolved democratic rule in Northern Ireland.

So all this breathless talk of breakthroughs in negotiations with Brussels will, I am afraid, achieve very little.

On a visit to Belfast last week, Sir Keir Starmer offered Mr Sunak political cover so the PM could get a new deal though Parliament by promising Labour support in the Commons

On a visit to Belfast last week, Sir Keir Starmer offered Mr Sunak political cover so the PM could get a new deal though Parliament by promising Labour support in the Commons to overcome the ERG Brexit purity cult.

But Mr Jones warned the PM that a move that relied on Labour votes would be a very divisive course of action. He added: We must respect the will of the democratically-elected Unionist politicians in Northern Ireland and restore the constitutional integrity of the UK.

Last night, DUP leader Sir Jeffery Donaldson played down talk of an imminent deal, saying it was clear from a meeting with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly last week that we are not close to a major breakthrough.

He added that tinkering around the edges of the Protocol simply is not going to work and called for arrangements that respect Northern Irelands place within the UK internal market.

Government sources insisted last night that the talks were constructive but conceded there were still significant gaps to bridge.
Sainsbury's has bowed to public anger and removed from stores a dress advert that sparked furious complaints that the supermarket was ignoring womens safety.

It had installed posters in hundreds of stores across the country for a 24 dress from its new collection with the caption: For walks in the parks or strolls after dark.

Now, bosses have apologised and had the posters taken down after a furious backlash on social media, with many claiming that it made light of the dangers women face when walking alone at night.

In a statement yesterday, a spokesman said: We are sorry that due to the design some customers found this sign to be inappropriate and are working to remove these from stores. We will work hard with our agency partner to ensure this doesnt happen again.

The store had installed posters in hundreds of stores across the country for a 24 dress from its new collection with the caption: For walks in the parks or strolls after dark

It apology came after the advert was ridiculed on Twitter by advertising executive Nathalie Gordon. It was viewed more than two million times  with many women saying the campaign was tone deaf and out of touch by not acknowledging how dangerous it is for women to stroll after dark.

One said: What female goes on her own for walks or strolls in a park after dark?? Not me thats for sure,

Another asked: Anyone else super concerned about the intention behind this ad? You all trying to endanger more women or are you just poking fun at the fact that if we do this we die?

Others accused Sainsburys of not involving female executives in its marketing. One Twitter user said: Nope. Not a single woman was involved in crafting this, I would assume. Another added: Clearly a man thought this sales pitch up.

Sainsburys chief marketing officer is Mark Given.

Other men on its senior management team include the chief executive, chief financial officer, chief transformation officer, company secretary, corporate services director, chief executive officer of Sainsburys Bank and chief information officer. Just three women are on the team.

The advertisement comes two years after the murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard as she walked home from a friends home in South-West London in the dark. Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens was given a whole-life term for her rape, kidnap and murder. It was seen as a watershed moment for womens safety.
There is no end in sight for the catastrophic rainfall that has rocked California in recent days as more 'atmospheric rivers' head towards the Golden State with 25 million people, or two thirds of the state under a flood warning.

The storms come just as the state was beginning to recover from the recent Bomb Cyclone.

The recent 'atmospheric rivers' have left at least 19 people dead, could cut off the peninsula of Monterrey in the northern part of the state as well as threatening the Salinas Valley, where 70 percent of lettuce in the US originates from.

Bands of rain with gusty winds started in the north and spread south, with more storms expected to follow into early next week, the National Weather Service said.

A series of 'atmospheric rivers' rarely seen in such frequent succession have pounded the Golden State since Dec. 26.

A home on agricultural land is seen amid flooding from the Salinas River in Salinas, where 70 percent of the United States' lettuce is produced

The Central Valley town of Planada was devastated by widespread flooding after a severe atmospheric river event moved through the area earlier in the week

More than 68,000 utility customers were without electricity Saturday morning, a number that was cut by more than half during the afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.

Flood warnings were issued for the region north of San Francisco Bay, including Marin, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

To the south, warnings were posted for parts of counties including San Mateo and Santa Cruz, where the tiny community of Felton Grove along the San Lorenzo River was ordered evacuated.

Trash cans were seen floating down streets, with water levels reaching stop signs and overtaking parked vehicles.

Some residents waded through floodwaters and mud to clean debris.

The swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County, and to the east, flood warnings were in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where Gov. Gavin Newsom visited to take stock of storm problems.

'The reality is that this is just the eighth of what we anticipate will be nine atmospheric rivers  were not done,' Newsom said at a briefing with local leaders where he urged people to be vigilant about safety for the next 24 to 48 hours.

'This is happening all across California but I want to say  you guys are disproportionately taking the brunt of it, and if you feel that way youre right,' the California Democrat said.

Newsom later said Saturday that he expected President Biden to sign a major disaster declaration to help the state respond to the emergency.

Hopland Volunteer Fire Department chief Mitch Franklin cuts away a large oak tree that fell on a vehicle, moderately injuring the driver on Old River Road, north of Hopland, California

Residents work to push back wet mud that trapped cars and invaded some houses this week in the small unincorporated town of Piru, east of Fillmore, California

Christian Ibarra surfs in a flood at Fort Funston in San Francisco

A levee breach in the Bear Creek area of Merced in the San Joaquin Valley flooded homes and stranded animals, according to local media, as officials worked to prevent high waters from overflowing.

Slick roads, snow and whiteout conditions plagued highways through the Sierra Nevada.

A backcountry avalanche warning was issued for the central Sierra, including the greater Lake Tahoe area.

The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab tweeted Saturday morning that it received 21.3 inches of snow in 24 hours and that its snowpack of about 10 feet was expected to grow several more feet by Monday.

The University of California at Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab said in a tweet on Saturday, 'We're expecting another 2-3 feet of snow by Monday morning, so much more to come!'

The Nicasio Reservoir is seen at 100 percent capacity following the 'atmospheric river' events

Farming equipment is seen submerged in floodwater after the Salinas River overflowed its banks on January 13

The storms have mitigated but not solved California's notorious drought problems

The U.S. Drought Monitor revised on Thursday its assessment to lift virtually all of the state out of extreme drought or exceptional drought

At least 19 storm-related deaths have occurred, and a 5-year-old boy remained missing after being swept out of his mothers car by flood waters in San Luis Obispo County

A refrigerator is deposited among debris near a house flooded by the Salinas River near Chualar, California

A series of atmospheric rivers has dumped rain and snow on California since late December, cutting power to thousands, swamping roads, unleashing debris flows, and triggering landslides.

The storms have mitigated but not solved the region's drought.

The U.S. Drought Monitor revised on Thursday its assessment to lift virtually all of the state out of extreme drought or exceptional drought, the two worst categories, though much of it is still considered to be suffering moderate or severe drought.

At least 19 storm-related deaths have occurred, and a 5-year-old boy remained missing after being swept out of his mothers car by flood waters in San Luis Obispo County.

A road crew worker monitors the flood waters from the Salinas River

A home in Salinas begins to become overwhelmed by the flood waters

Water from recent storms, which has filled Lake Cachuma almost to its capacity and is prompting the first controlled water releases in ten years of an even longer drought to try to avoid flooding, rises against Bradbury Dam in Santa Barbara County

Half of the deaths have involved motorists, and some could have been prevented if drivers had heeded road closure signs, said Sean Duryee, acting commissioner of the California Highway Patrol

The swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County, and to the east, flood warnings were in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where Gov. Gavin Newsom visited to take stock of storm problems

Kyle Doan was being driven to school by his mother, Lindsay, on Monday when they got trapped on a flooded road. The boy's parents maintain that there was no warning about the road.

Lindsay said that she rushed to get her son out of the car as they became overwhelmed by the waters. She says that by the time she could get out of the car, her son had been taken down the creek close to the town of San Miguel.

The new storms has resulted in the search for Doan being suspended.

Half of the deaths have involved motorists, and some could have been prevented if drivers had heeded road closure signs, said Sean Duryee, acting commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, during a briefing by state and federal officials on Friday.

A farmer tends to a pump in a flooded field next to the Salinas River near Chualar

Local residents pick up sandbags in order to protect their homes from further flooding in Merced, California

A USPS delivery woman is seen on California Street in San Francisco on January 11

A utility pole lays in floodwaters after the Salinas River broke its banks

A greenhouse is seen submerged in the Salinas River's waters

In Santa Barbara County, where a massive debris flow through the community of Montecito killed 23 people on Jan. 9, 2018, residents were told that new evacuations were not expected but that they should be prepared.

Montecito and adjacent areas were most recently ordered evacuated last Monday, the fifth anniversary of what is locally remembered as the 1/9 Debris Flow. But the community perched on foothills of coastal mountains escaped serious harm.

In a visit to Montecito on Friday, Newsom asked residents to exercise caution, and to heed warnings from public safety officials.

'I know how fatigued you all are. Just maintain a little more vigilance over the course of the next weekend,' Newsom said.
Widespread flooding in parts of Britain is expected to give way today to winters second freeze, with an 800-mile-wide Nightmare from the North bringing a six-day shiver and snow even for the South.

Nights as low as -15C will make some areas of Britain even colder than Antarctic research bases. Daytime highs will hit just 1C in the North.

Parts of the country could see their first snow of winter, after the December cold stint saw snow in the South East and parts of the North but missed much of the Midlands and West.

The freeze comes after several days of heavy rains, high winds and flooding around Britain.

The freeze comes after several days of heavy rains, high winds and flooding around Britain

Parts of the country could see their first snow of winter, after the December cold stint saw snow in the South East and parts of the North but missed much of the Midlands and West

Hundreds of homes and businesses in Devon were damaged after the River Exe burst its banks, and areas of York were under water after the River Ouse overflowed.

But with a blast of Arctic air arriving, the Met Office forecast snow showers in the North today, with possible blizzards, and higher ground in South West also facing snow tonight.

Government weathermen said the Norths wintry flurries will push towards the South and Midlands from Tuesday, with a risk of ice following. Scotland was warned of up to 4in of snow in the southern uplands today, and 6in in the northern Highlands from tomorrow. Chills will continue until Friday, amid snow flurries near coasts from midweek, mainly in the North and East.

England can expect -8C nights, with the -15C forecast in the Scottish Highlands from tomorrow night colder than the Antarctics Belgrano II research base. At 800 miles from the Pole, it is the closest coastal station to the globes southernmost point and its 19 scientists will see -12C lows.

A Met Office forecaster said: From Sunday the weather turns colder with showers increasingly falling as snow, even at lower levels, especially across the North. And wintry showers will spread further south.

Nights as low as -15C will make some areas of Britain even colder than Antarctic research bases

Overnight temperatures will be below 0C across much of the UK.

Cold temperatures to Friday will be exacerbated by strong winds, with a widespread frost likely, while coastal wintry showers will mainly affect the North and East, although some may push further inland at times.

Scotlands STV weather presenter Sean Batty said: We could be looking at similar lows to December.

Last months cold spell saw -17.3C on December 12 at Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Britains coldest December temperature since 2010.

Rail bosses plan to run empty trains at night to keep rails clear and airports have put snowploughs on standby. Councils will grit roads, with the RAC bracing for rush-hour chaos tomorrow.
Pro-life doctors have called for a family planning service's medical director to be investigated over 'misleading' advice about the risk of giving a drug to 'reverse' abortion.

MSI Reproductive Choices UK, whose medical director is Dr Jonathan Lord, gave evidence to the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) last summer on the controversial practice.

The organisation raised concerns with the health regulator over proposed new guidance on using the female sex hormone progesterone.

Nice's draft advice related to the uncontroversial use of progesterone in women who have suffered miscarriages and want to prevent a recurrence.

Reversal pill advocates claim the drug raises baby survival chances up to 50 per cent

But pro-life doctors have been giving it to women who have taken the drug mifepristone  the first of two pills to induce an abortion  but then have a change of mind and want to keep the baby.

Abortion providers fear women who take the first pill but not the second, misoprostol, are at higher risk of severe haemorrhage.

Advocates for 'abortion pill reversal' (APR) claim it raises the baby's survival chances up to 50 per cent.

MSI wrote to Nice: 'The amended guidelines could facilitate inappropriate, even unsafe usage of progesterone.'

Nice subsequently added a line recommending progesterone 'only for women with early pregnancy bleeding and a history of miscarriage', adding it was 'not applicable after the use of mifepristone'.

Now six pro-life medics have asked the General Medical Council (GMC) to investigate Dr Lord for serious professional misconduct.

They claim he gave Nice 'misleading and incorrect information', due to his 'political' objection to APR. MSI said it was 'unaware of any complaint to the GMC'.

A spokesman added: 'There's no evidence whatsoever that so-called abortion reversal works.'
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can revolutionise a whole society.

For the past 40 years this country has endured a huge battle about what can be said and how it can be said. This has changed the entire balance of power.

In vital areas of life, especially attitudes towards women, marriage, parenthood and employment, it has become increasingly difficult to dissent from a new set of beliefs quite different from those which prevailed in the 1980s. The campaign to alter the way we speak and write has been successful because a lot of the changes have been justified or at least justifiable.

The Mail on Sunday welcomes Rishi Sunaks plans to use the power of his office on the side of free speech, and hopes that this decision will be thoroughly followed through by committed Ministers and competent officials

The Britain of half a century ago was less tolerant towards minorities and less polite to them. And it had its own strong conformist views about how it was proper to behave, some of them good but others crabby and prejudiced.

Much of the reformation this country has gone through has been driven by a simple and laudable desire to be kinder. But some time ago it began to go far beyond that. Not content with having created gentler and more tolerant speech codes, the revolutionaries carried on seeking to impose a new conformism much more rigid than the old one.

On issues such as migration, it has become almost impossible for senior figures in the Church (for instance) to dissent from liberal conformity.

This problem emerged openly in recent years in the universities because these places have always been keen to invite outside speakers to deliver lectures and take part in debates.

We may assume that something similar has taken place in schools and perhaps in corporations as well, but in private. And, with growing confidence and success, the new radical Left campaigned to prevent certain people from speaking or debating at all. Once, this would have met with very strong resistance from the whole university community. But in an era when an academic or broadcasting career can be brought to an end by one unwise statement, resistance has been patchy at best.

The policy of no-platforming was imposed, cleverly, on the basis that the actual expression of certain views would upset and even damage some members of the audience. By using this approach, the new would-be censors managed to portray themselves to many gullible people as the injured parties, seeking to prevent harm.

The bans also became personal, with some speakers or academics being excluded not because of what they were likely to say but because of what they had once said  and ultimately because of who they were.

The very troubling transgender issue has been particularly explosive  partly because it causes so much private distress in the families involved and partly because it divided the radical Left against itself. Now, a major counterforce is necessary to rebalance our national debate and restore free speech and thought to the universities and our other great institutions, where a deadening conformism is harming the country. And it does do harm.

The great apostle of freedom, John Stuart Mill, said it was especially evil to silence an opinion. He said it would harm those who disagreed with the banned view even more than those who hold it: If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.

So The Mail on Sunday welcomes Rishi Sunaks plans to use the power of his office on the side of free speech, and hopes that this decision will be thoroughly followed through by committed Ministers and competent officials. Our freedom to think and speak is one of the things which have made us happy and prosperous. It is worth defending with all our might.
The music industry is known for its comebacks. But few can be more surprising than HMV which, only a few years ago, was written off for dead.

Now a vinyl revival among music fans, bucking the trend for digital, is playing out a brighter future for the business.

Sales have jumped by two-thirds as HMV shrugged off the effects of pandemic lockdowns. It also turned a profit for the first time since it was rescued by a Canadian entrepreneur four years ago.

Vinyl sales across the UK hit a 30-year high in 2022, the Official Chart Company confirmed earlier this month.

Sales have jumped by two-thirds as HMV shrugged off the effects of pandemic lockdowns

The best-selling albums were Taylor Swifts Midnights, which shifted over 89,000 vinyl copies, and Harry Styless Harrys House, Arctic Monkeys The Car and Liam Gallaghers Cmon You Know.

Sales of vinyl LPs grew for the 15th consecutive year in 2022, hitting 5.5 million units  the highest since 1990.

Businessman and music fan Doug Putman, 38, saved the company  still Britains biggest music chain  in 2019 and has since banked on the continued revival of vinyl records among both young and old music addicts.

He said: Vinyl has enjoyed an ongoing revival, and many of the worlds biggest music artists now make vinyl a key part of their new album promotions, attracting collectors of all ages.

Mr Putman has also added more music and film merchandise to cater for fans of franchises such as Star Wars and Netflix series Stranger Things.

HMVs sales jumped 67 per cent to 151 million in the year to May and even paid its owner a 1.8 million dividend.

Like many retailers, the company was forced to close its shops in the pandemic. But Mr Putman told the MoS he planned to add more shops to his 120-strong business  another ten this year  and sell more online. Looking ahead, we expect another solid performance, he said.
A group of men bathed in ice water yesterday to purify their souls and wish for good fortune in the new year in a Japanese new year ritual.

Shinto believers gathered at the Kanda Myojin shrine in Tokyo to participate in the annual cold water endurance ceremony.

Photographs captured the moment men in white loincloths and headbands poured wooden pots filled freezing water over their nearly-naked bodies.

Worshippers, lead by a priest, gathered together in prayer before participating in the the ritual - known as Kanda Myojin.

Followers of Shintoism pay tribute to Daikoku, the deity of fortune, during the annual ritual and believe it can cleanse their body and spirits.

Men splash themselves with cold water during the annual cold water endurance ceremony at the Kanda Myojin shrine in Tokyo, Japan yesterday

A priest and participants hold a ritual ceremony before the annual cold water endurance ceremony

Shinto believers taking a bath in cold water will purify their souls and bodies

Shinto believers pray before bathing in cold water to purify their souls and bodies during a New Year ritual at Kanda Myojin Shrine in Tokyo

Shinto believers pray before taking a bath in cold water during a New Year ritual at Kanda Myojin Shrine in Tokyo yesterday

Followers of Shintoism pay tribute to Daikoku, the deity of fortune, during the annual ritual and believe it can cleanse their body and spirits

A man splashes himself with cold water during the annual cold water endurance ceremony which is believed to purify the soul and wish for good fortune in the new year

Photographs captured the moment men in white loincloths and headbands poured wooden pots filled freezing water over their nearly-naked bodies

Shinto believers prepare to take a bath in cold water to purify their souls and bodies during a New Year ritual at Kanda Myojin Shrine

A Shinto believer pours freezing water over his body as part of an annual new year ritual

Shinto believers wait to take a bath in cold water to purify their souls and bodies

A group of men are seen pouring wooden pots of ice water over their bodies at Kanda Myojin Shrine in Tokyo yesterday

A Shinto believer covers himself in ice water as part of the annual cold water endurance ceremony

A Shinto believer takes a bath in cold water yesterday in attempt to purify his soul

Shinto believers prepare to take a bath in cold water to purify their souls and bodies during a New Year ritual at Kanda Myojin Shrine in Tokyo

A Shinto believer pours ice water over his head and body at Kanda Myojin Shrine yesterday

Two men are pictured bathing in cold water yesterday during the annual cold water endurance ceremony in Tokyo

A man splashes himself with cold water during the annual cold water endurance ceremony

A participant pours ice water over his body during a New Year ritual at Kanda Myojin Shrine

A group of Shinto believers go for a run after having poured ice water over their bodies as part of a New Year ritual at Kanda Myojin Shrine
The British Medical Association is going cap-in-hand to members asking them to donate towards a 100,000 'strike fund'.  despite making a profit of almost 11 million in 2021.

Doctors are livid, saying the BMA should be dipping into its own pocket to help out those prepared to forego pay by striking.

Last Monday it delivered ballot papers to 48,000 junior doctor members, aiming to secure a mandate to hold a 72-hour strike in March in its fight over pay.

The appeal was launched in September but has flopped, so far raising less than 8,500.

The British Medical Association has asked its members to donate towards a 100,000 'strike fund' (pictured: chairman Professor Philip Banfield)

Nurses outside Downing Street striking over pay and patient safety in December 2022

BMA chairman Professor Philip Banfield first urged on Twitter: 'Make a donation to support pay restoration for doctors.'

But former intensive care consultant Tom Woodcock queried the appeal as the 'BMA has more than 160,000 members paying more than 200 per annum'.

The BMA's accounts show it made a profit of 10.9 million in 2021.

But deputy chairman Dr Emma Runswick said the profit represented 'unrealised gains' on stock market investments. She also claimed the BMA was 'in serious deficit'.
Comancheros 'Supreme Commander' and former Sydney gang boss Duax Ngakuru has reportedly been arrested in Turkey, throwing the powerful bikie club into disarray.

Ngakuru, the global leader of the Comancheros bikie club, was taken into custody in Turkey in recent days however Australian authorities are still working on figuring out where he is.

Daily Mail Australia understands Australian police are aware of Ngakurus arrest and were contacting Turkish Authorities on Sunday to confirm.

Comancheros 'Supreme Commander' Duax Ngakuru (right) has been arrested in Turkey

Ngakuru, 42, left Australia in 2010 and assumed the role as 'Supreme Commander' of the Comancheros bikie club after the club's leader Mark Buddle was arrested in Turkey and extradited to Australia in August, last year.

Ngakuru is estimated to have a fortune of more than $100million and has been accused by police of running major drug importations into Australia for distribution across the country.

The senior bikie is understood to be running Comancheros operations from Turkey along with Hakan 'Big Hux' Ayik, who fled Sydney while on bail for drug charges in 2010.

The pair went to school together at James Cook Boys Technology High School in the southern Sydney suburb of Kogarah.

The New Zealand-born bikie faces possible deportation back home as there are a number of warrants out for his arrest.

Ngakuru (pictured) is estimated to have a fortune of more than $100million and suspected of running major drug importations into Australia for distribution across the country

Ngakuru is rarely photographed, but a recent image showed the bikie boss living large on a yacht beside a large Turkish flag.

He has previously been pictured in a photo showing him smiling with Mick Hawi's widow Carolina Gonzalez, with a backdrop of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

Hawi, another former Comanchero boss, was gunned down outside a Sydney gym in 2018.

In 2010 Ngakuru and his wife Reynee mysteriously left Turkey and moved to Dubai before eventually returning and settling in Turkey.

Buddle led the gang during that time but also departed Australia for Dubai around 2013 with his girlfriend Mel Ter Wisscha and their young children.

The arrest of Buddle and Ngakuru is an ominous sign for the powerful bikie club as members believed living in Turkey meant they were safe from Australian law enforcement.
A Washington DC woman is suing her neighbor because says the marijuana smoke coming from his apartment has 'invaded her home' and is ruining her life.

Josefa Ippolito-Shepherd, 76, is suing the District of Columbia over the smell coming from neighbor Thomas Cackett, 73, which she says has made it hard for her to breathe, sleep and live.

'I have the right to breathe fresh air in my home,' Ippolito-Shepherd said. 'I'm not talking about if I go to someone else's house or a place people go to smoke pot. They have the freedom to do whatever. I just do not want to be invaded in my own home.'

Ippolito-Shepherd - who claims she will never move from her home of 30 years - is asking the city to ban smoking in multi-unit buildings. Recreational marijuana is legal in Washington DC, meaning the smoker isn't committing any criminal offense.

Josefa Ippolito-Shepherd (pictured), 76, is suing the District of Columbia over the smell coming from neighbor Thomas Cackett, 73, which she says has made it hard for her to breathe, sleep and live

Cackett and Angella Farserotu, who rents an accessory apartment in the unit, have both argued that the smell and its affects are not their responsibility.

Ippolito-Shepherd is acting as her own attorney and says she's prepared to take the case to the highest court necessary.

She believes the marijuana smoke got into her home through the cracks in her stairs, behind a web of pipes that runs under her kitchen sink and above recessed lights from the person living downstairs from her.

The plaintiff has asked the landlord of the place next door to evict Cackett and told him to stop smoking inside. Both have rejected her request.

Because marijuana has been legalized in Washington since 2015, it doesn't appear she has a legal avenue for her claim.

The chairman of the Washington DC City Council, Phil Mendelson, has said the only way to fix the problem would be to ban marijuana in the city again, which Ippolito-Shepherd claims is not her goal.

The lawsuit is the first of its kind in DC, which legalized medical cannabis in 2010 and recreational use in 2015.

Ippolito-Shepherd believes the marijuana smoke got into her home from Cackett's (pictured) through the cracks in her stairs, behind a web of pipes that runs under her kitchen sink and above recessed lights from the person living downstairs from her

There is precedent, however, with the smell of cigarettes causing legal action to be taken.

In 1976, the state of New Jersey's superior court ruled in favor of an office worker who sued her employers for letting co-workers smoke at their desks.

Hundreds of lawsuits have followed over tobacco, according to the Washington Post, but marijuana law - especially given that the drug is not yet legal nationwide - has not been made clear.

Disputes like these could become more common in the future, as a Gallup poll in 2022 said that more Americans smoke marijuana than cigarettes.

The smell is often a topic of complaint. The Atlantic writer Thomas Chatterton Williams recently tweeted: 'The degree to which Manhattan air is now just saturated with the aroma of marijuana is frankly absurd.'

Brooke Hoots of the CDC said that THC, the main substance in marijuana, has many of the same cancer-causing toxins that can be passed through secondhand smoke.

Cities in California have started potentially outlawing all smoking in apartments and residential buildings.

Dale Gieringer, head of the state's chapter of pro-decriminalization group NORML, says it's not that simple.

'If you are a medical marijuana user - and we have hundreds of thousands of them, actually - you can't smoke outside your house and in public,' Gieringer said, 'and now with these no-smoking ordinances, you can't smoke in your apartment either. So we've been fighting those ordinances.'

Ippolito-Shepherd's trial, which aims to accomplish a similar ban, will begin this week.

Cackett has yet to comment publicly on the suit. Farserotu said she 'felt sorry' for Ippolito-Shepherd.
Cat owners have been warned to be mindful of their pet and not let them wander the streets with one council taking the drastic action of euthanising them.

Hornsby Shire, in Sydney's northwest, has taken the hardline approach of killing cats that are deemed feral if they are not micro-chipped or rough in appearance.

Local councils are normally required to hold stray animals for a certain period of time before taking the drastic course of action.

Hornsby Shire has been now forced to wait at least two weeks before euthanising the pets due to the introduction of new laws last year.

Cat owners have been warned to be mindful of their pet and not let them wander the streets with one council taking the drastic action of euthanising them (stock image)

Hornsby Shire, in north-west Sydney, has taken the hardline approach of killing cats that are deemed feral if they are not micro-chipped or rough in appearance

Local cat owner Jenny Fisher said it was obvious the council had preferenced euthanising the animals sooner because it was cost effective.

'Instead of stigmatising cats, we should be desexing, rehoming and rescuing them,' she told Sydney Morning Herald.

'Most cats found by council are indoor lost cats.'

Hornsby Shire council argued the hardline policies were initially brought in to protect wild flora and fauna in the area from feral animals.

'Feral cats may well be damaging other domestic pets or taking lives of native fauna, which can be quite a significant issue. We need to deal with these issues in an appropriate way,' Hornsby Shire general manager Steven Head explained.

In March 2022, the NSW government made amendments to the Companion Act of 1998 requiring councils to wait at least a fortnight.

Animal Justice Party Upper House MP Emma Hurst said cats were a 'convenient scapegoat' frequently used by politicians.

Hornsby Shire council had argued the hardline policies were initially brought in to protect wild flora and fauna in the area from feral animals (stock image)

Australian National University honorary professor in wildlife conservation Sarah Legge said both feral and domesticated cats killed 1.7billion native animals each year.

'There isn't any doubt at all that cats have had, and continue to have, enormous detrimental effects on our wildlife, especially our native mammals,' she said.

A NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service spokesman said pets should be kept indoors during the night.

He explained it was the busiest period for native animals to move around as the cover of darkness gave them protection from predators.

States across the country have enforced tough stay-at-home orders for pets.

The Australian Capital Territory requires pet owners to keep their cats indoors while councils in Victoria ask owners to keep them inside overnight.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Hornsby Shire for comment.
This is latest in a line of embarrassing incidents for the NYPD

A female NYPD officer alleges that her female superior officer yanked her ponytail inside of their Queens precinct, causing injury, in a bid to warn her, in the latest scandal to rock New York's finest.

Officer Christine Meisner says that Sgt. Nakia Middleton-House told her: 'You put your hair in a bun or a perp might do this,' according to the New York Post.

The incident occurred at the 109th Precinct station house in Flushing on January 11, according to the report.

Meisner, 29, said in her complaint that the hair pulling aggravated a previous neck injury that Middleton-House, 48, knew about. Following the yanking, Meisner needed medical attention.

Officer Christine Meisner says that Sgt. Nakia Middleton-House, pictured here, told her: 'You put your hair in a bun or a perp might do this,' according to the New York Post

Officer Christine Meisner has been with the NYPD since 2017

This isn't the first time that Middleton-House has stepped out of line. In 2018, she was punished after using a police database for non-official business, records show.

The punishment was 'unrelated to the performance of her duties or official business of the department.' Middleton-House lost 10 vacation days following an investigation.

Her case was published in an article by ProPublica as an example of the NYPD using loss of vacation days as a favored method of punishment.

The sergeant is a 17-year veteran of the NYPD while Meisner joined the force in 2017. In 2020, Middleton-House attempted to start a side-hustle business selling fake eyelashes named Bossy Blinkz. The company's website is no longer active.

Public records show that Middleton-House made $160,000 last year. She has been at the 109th precinct since September 2022. Previously, the sergeant was at the 104th precinct and 70th precinct.

In 2020, Middelton-House attempted to start a side-hustle business selling fake eyelashes named Bossy Blinkz. The company's website is no longer active

The incident comes a month after two NYPD rookies were found to have gotten frisky in an academy bathroom.

Javon Latibeaudiere, 26, and Madelin Ramirez Solano, 21, are said to be in an ongoing relationship but they brought it with them to work, as fellow recruits caught them in a stall.

The pair have been in the police academy since July, with Latibeaudiere having previously served in the Marines.

The NYPD said in a statement at the time: 'The two officers are suspended. The matter is under internal review.'

Latibeaudiere and Madelin Ramirez Solano (pictured), 21, are said to be in an ongoing relationship but they brought it with them to work, as fellow recruits caught them in a bathroom stall

A pair of NYPD recruits - including ex-Marine Javon Latibeaudiere, 26 - were suspended after being caught having sex in a police academy bathroom

Recruits are supposed to spend six months training at the Queens facility, meaning Latibeaudiere and Solano were a month from finishing the program

According to the New York Post, NYPD vets have had enough of some of the shenanigans on display from the new recruits.

One anonymous cop said: 'These recruits don't fear or care about getting caught breaking the rules.'

Another derisively stated: 'This is what we're recruiting now.'

Meanwhile, Vera Mekuli, 27, the rookie cop who gave her boss a lap dance at a Christmas party in 2021, shows no signs of concentrating on her work.

Mekuli shared pictures showing her dressed up as the Joker's girlfriend with the caption: 'Trouble never looked so fine,' in December.

She posed for the shots wearing makeup to resemble the character and an oversized mallet - which the character often uses to attack her opponent.

The rookie NYPD officer caught on video giving her superior a lap dance during an department Christmas party is back at it, posting Instagram photos cosplaying as Batman villainess Harley Quinn

Vera Mekuli, 27, posted the photos for her over 24,000 followers on Instagram cosplaying as the Joker's famous girlfriend with the caption: 'Trouble never looked so fine.'

Mekuli, who joined the force in February, 2021, first turned heads later that December when she was recorded in a black and white mini skirt and midriff top grinding against the crotch of NYPD Lieutenant Nick McGarry, a supervisor in the 44th Precinct in the Bronx, during a holiday party for the stationhouse

Mekuli, who is still assigned to the 44th Precinct in the Bronx, according to the Post - also wore fishnet stockings while she posed next to a black Subaru WRX STI.

Lt. Nick McGarry was demoted to the transit bureau for allowing the junior officer to grind on him after that infamous holiday party.

Mekuli earns $42,500 a year. Previously she has worked as a real estate agent in The Bronx.

She describes herself as a 'highly motivated and determined individual,' on her LinkedIn page.

The cop, who joined the force in February, 2021, was recorded last year in a black and white mini skirt grinding against the crotch of NYPD Lieutenant Nick McGarry.
A man who cleans the windscreens of cars at a busy Sydney intersection has revealed the huge amount of money he makes for just a couple of hours work.

The man, who also revealed the stingiest and most generous drivers, was interviewed at the Meccano Set lights in the southwestern suburb of Lansdowne.

The window washer said there were great opportunities at the intersection if you were willing to do the hard work.

'If you want to start a business in window cleaning you'll be raking it in,' he said.

The cleaner, who was wearing black shorts and a white t-shirt along with sunglasses and a broad-brimmed hat, was happy to share insights into his trade.

'I do two hours and I make an average (of) $150,' the man, who was holding a squeegee and a bottle of water, said to Mahmoud Ismail for a TikTok video.

Mahmoud Ismail (pictured left) interviewed a car window cleaner (right) about his lucrative trade

'Oh, that's not bad,' said an impressed Mr Ismail.

'How do I get a job here?'

'You've just got to have the balls to pick up a stick and actually go and do it,' the windscreen wiper said, holding up his squeegee.

Mr Ismail then asked the question on everybody's mind whenever they encounter a squeegee merchant - 'Have you almost got run over?'

'Only by trucks that actually like to take target practice at you,' he said.

The interviewer then cut to the chase about who gives what, asking which drivers are the stingiest.

What is the Meccano Set? The Meccano Set is the intersection of Hume Highway, Woodville Road and Henry Lawson Drive in Sydney's south-western suburb of Lansdowne. Its name comes from the overhead sign gantries that look like they were constructed from the Meccano children's toy. Source: ozroads.com.au Advertisement

'Most of the time I actually see them is bloody Teslas,' the man revealed.

'They are the tightest.'

The most generous seemed to come as a surprise to Mr Ismail.

'Believe it or not, I had a Lebanese bloke ... it was only a little hatchback, and he actually gave me $300 in $100 bills,' the man said.

'I wonder why he had $300,' Ismail replied.

'Well, he had a nice wad of cash in his hand, that's for sure,' the cleaner said.

Before introducing his video guest, Mr Ismail declared that the Meccano Set is 'the most iconic set of lights in Australia and also the biggest generator of revenue in Australia'.

He then listed the ways it generates money, 'It's got a speed camera, red light camera, mobile phone camera.'

Mr Ismail then jokingly expanded the list of cameras to ones that don't actually exist.

'They've got a camera if you blink, they've got a camera if you breathe, they've got a camera if you're driving while Lebo (Lebanese),' he said.

His good-natured video tickled viewers.

One agreed with him about the revenue-raising aspect of the Meccano Set, saying 'this is exactly where I got my fine.'

Before it became a lucrative window washing spot, other business-minded people made money there.

'I remember a lady used to sell roses there in the late 1990s,' a commenter said.
A desperate search for a young woman who went missing during a night out has entered its second week.

Dakota Lee Nagel, 24, left her home in Doncaster, in Melbourne's north-east, at 2am on January 8.

She then visited several clubs and bars with friends in the Prahran and South Yarra areas.

A desperate search for a young woman who went missing during a night out has entered its second week

Dakota left her friends the next the afternoon and has not been heard from since they split up.

She was reported missing by her mum on January 11 and an investigation commenced.

'She has a wide circle of friends and often attends licensed venues in the Prahran area,' police said.

'At times friends will not hear from her for a day or two, however it is unusual for her not to have contacted anyone for this length of time.'

Dakota was last seen wearing a hot pink crop top with a Playboy bunny logo on the front, but it is believed that she may have changed clothes since this time.

Police hold grave concerns for her welfare and have urged anyone with information to come forward.

Her family said her disappearance is out of character.

Dakota has a petite build, blonde hair, blue and grey eyes and measures 157cm.

She had been in the Prahran, South Yarra, CBD and Southbank areas.

Anyone with information is urged to contact local police or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The couple behind a hugely successful childcare business are suing the Australian Federal Police claiming its botched investigation that falsely accused them of being the masterminds behind a cheating syndicate led to them losing their company.

Ola Ouda, 44, and her partner Amgad Shehada, 49, were arrested after more than 150 AFP officers raided their childcare centres across Sydney and Melbourne in November 2020.

The couple were accused of signing up 'phantom children' to their centres and using the subsidies, including special pandemic funding, to spend on investments and luxury goods.

Two childcare operators who were accused of being the masterminds behind a syndicate cheating the childcare subsidy system are suing police (pictured, Ola Ouda)

Ola Ouda, 44, and her partner Amgad Shehada, 49 (pictured), were arrested following police raids at their centres across Sydney and Melbourne in November 2020

While police did not publicly name the couple, the AFP held a press conference shortly after the raid to announce it had dismantled an alleged major criminal network.

The couple were then named in the media before the AFP sensationally dropped all charges against the pair.

Despite the charges being dropped, the couple claim in a new defamation suit against the AFP, AFP Commander Todd Hunter and the Commonwealth of Australia, that the damage had already been done.

The couple claim the charges and the subsequent AFP press conference destroyed their reputation and their $10million childcare business, with the couple's lawyer seeking a multi-million dollar compensation bill, The Age reported.

Ms Ouda and her partner are seeking millions of dollars in compensation. The couple claim they lost their business over the charges

The couple's childcare business was generating annual profits of $2.5million with their lawyer Rose Rocca arguing they would be seeking compensation for the business and aggravated damages.

'The special damages are significant and potentially, based on the expert evidence we have obtained, could be more than $9million,' Ms Rocca told the publication.

'Assuming we succeed, we anticipate an order for aggravated damages which will mean the general damages are uncapped and, again, in that circumstance, we would be expecting general damages in the many millions of dollars.'

AFP commander Todd Hunter held a press conference shortly after the raids accusing the owners of exploiting the system and cashing in on childcare subsidies and Covid-19 payments.

'As a result, the AFP and its partners are investigating payments of more than $15 million,' he said.

'This is money that belongs in the hands of our community to help care for some of our most vulnerable persons.'

Ouda and Shehada filed a statement of claim in the Victorian Supreme Court where they slammed the press conference.

'The press conference was undertaken for the sole or dominant purpose of seeking to promote the AFP and to improve the standing and reputation of certain ... members of the AFP including Hunter,' it read.

'There was otherwise no legitimate forensic need or purpose to hold the press conference.'

The couple were accused of signing up 'phantom children' to their centres and using the childcare subsidies to spend on investments and luxury goods (pictured, police during a raid at one of their properties)

The couple argue in their statement of claim that childcare subsidies could still be claimed for children that were absent.

'Whether or not children did... attend childcare services on the days in which surveillance was undertaken by the AFP made no difference to the funding provided,' it reads.

The AFP will argue it was allowed to share the information under qualified privilege.

Ouda and Shehada were charged with conspiring with the intention to dishonestly cause a loss to the federal government.

An AFP spokesperson said two charges in relation to the investigation had been withdrawn by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions when it reached court.
An iconic wedding photo location famous for its rolling hills and lone tree has closed its gates to Queensland newlyweds after being 'loved to death'.

One Tree Hill, located on the Woods family farm in the rural town of Maleny, southwest of the Sunshine Coast, is famous for its lone cherry tree and stunning backdrop of the Glass House Mountains.

However, the Woods family is reluctantly closing access to their beloved farm on February 1 after receiving a threatening letter from Sunshine Coast Council.

One Tree Hill (pictured), which is located on the Woods Family Farm in the rural town of Maleny southwest of the Sunshine Coast, is closing its gates to the public and wedding photographers

The location is a popular spot for newlyweds and is famous for its lone cherry tree and rolling Glasshouse Mountains backdrop (pictured)

'We received a letter from the council that says we're in breach because we're a rural property, so obviously not a commercial business,' Francis Woods told the ABC.

Mr Woods explained the letter was a threat as no fine had yet been issued by the council.

The farm charged photographers a $50 admission fee and has donated more than $50,000 of the collected funds to local charities.

'The council don't even want to mediate  so just as a family, we decided that it's more of a headache than it needs to be,' Mr Woods said.

Sunshine Coast photographer Luke Middlemiss (pictured) said he is saying goodbye to One Tree Hill

Sunshine Coast Council said multiple complaints were made in 2021 and 2022 that wedding ceremonies were taking place on the property - a claim Mr Woods denies.

The council told Daily Mail Australia a development permit was required if the Woods family wished to continue using the property for wedding ceremonies.

'Council has not required the taking of wedding photos to cease at the site,' a Sunshine Coast Council Spokesperson said.

'[Council] is only requiring the owner to seek a development approval, if they wish to continue to use the property for wedding ceremonies.

'Further contact has been made with the owner to provide additional information if they wish to continue wedding ceremonies.

Sunshine Coast photographer Luke Middlemiss told Daily Mail Australia he was saying goodbye to the location with a 'heavy heart' after taking photos at One Tree Hill for more than 15 years.

It comes after the council sent a threatening letter to the Woods family claiming One Tree Hill (pictured) was being used unlawfully as a commercial business

'As a photographer, I have been privileged to capture the love and connection between countless couples at One Tree Hill,' Mr Middlemiss said.

'[The] iconic location has held a special place in my heart... The breathtaking sunsets, panoramic views of the hinterland, and all the special moments shared here will always be dear to me.

'While I understand and respect the decision of the family to close One Tree Hill, it is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to this sanctuary and all the memories made here.'

Hinterland Tourism representative Marlene Murray said the iconic location was 'loved to death' by a countless number of locals and tourists alike.

Ms Murray said locals were disappointed about the decision but understand the closure as the farm is overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people hoping to catch a glimpse of the beautiful site.

'It has now become a casualty of love,' Ms Murray said.
has been hospitalized in Mexico and is asking his fans for help

Nightmare on Elm Street 2 star Mark Patton is gravely-ill in a Mexican hospital with AIDS.

Patton's manager revealed the distressing news in a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds to transfer him to an American hospital for better treatment.

Patton, now 63, was diagnosed with HIV on his 40th birthday in 1999, and given just a year to live.

His boyfriend Murphy was killed by the disease in 1998. But advances in treatment pioneered in the 90s saw Patton outlive that grim prognosis - and he remained in reasonably good health, until now.

Patton, who has 'been ill for quite some time now,' was thought to have side effects of COVID-19, but his manager Peter Valderrama revealed Saturday that what Patton is dealing with is 'quite clearly AIDS-related ailments,' according to fundraiser.

Patton was 40 years old when he was diagnosed with HIV in 1999 and given just a year to live, he said in a recent Instagram post of the so-called 'death sentence'. He is pictured in November

Mark Patton, who starred in 'Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge' in the 1980s, revealed he is suffering from AIDS at a Mexico hospital where he needs help with medical bills

As of Saturday night, more than $27,000 had been raised for the actor's medical expenses, surpassing the $18,000 goal listed on the GoFundMe account.

Patton has been living with his husband Hector Morales Mondragon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where they run an art gallery, but he remains a regular at horror conventions.

Patton starred as Jesse Walsh in the second installment of Nightmare on Elm Street in 1985, the one rare male leading protagonist of the film who faced Freddy Krueger. The other main characters of the Elm Street horror franchise were all female.

Patton had roles in other movies, including Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean' with Cher in 1982 and 'Family Possessions' in 2016. And in 2019, he told his life story in the documentary 'Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street.'

But recently, Patton has reportedly been forced to cancel several scheduled appearances, and now 'has decided to release his news in the hopes that his community could help him,' his manager Valderrama wrote on his behalf.

'As his fans know very well, Mark takes his events very seriously and values any opportunity to meet with them in person- especially after the last few years with covid seriously crippling those opportunities.'

Mark was truly looking forward to this show for quite some time but sadly his health has taken a drastic turn for the worse.'

He has been ill for quite some time now- originally it was thought to be aftershocks of covid and some hefty infections that could potentially be tackled with care and rest. But now it is quite clearly AIDS related ailments that he is managing.

'Mark is currently in a Mexican hospital where they speak very little English- and they are completely overcome with covid cases there,' Valderrama wrote.

'He needs to be transported to an American hospital down there where he can be receive more specialized care in a safer setting. For this, we humbly need to ask for help.'

It's unclear how Patton ended up developing full-blown AIDS. HIV positive people who take their meds can remain in good health, but there is no cure for AIDS, and medication is the only way to stop HIV advancing into AIDS.

Patton starred as Jesse Walsh in the second installment of Nightmare on Elm Street in 1985

Patton also told his life story in the 2019 documentary 'Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street.' He was a regular at horror conventions, but was forced to cancel recent appearances

In his own statement released on the account page, Patton wrote:

'I just want to be healthy and at home with family. I need to move to American Hospital in Mexico where they can give me the treatment I desperately need. The American Hospital is $300 dollars a day with nurses, doctors and meds. The Mexican hospital are overwhelmed with Covid and I am too compromised to remain here.

'I have faced these medical challenges before and I know I have a lot of fight left in me- but the last few years have been crippling for me financially.

I have always lived month to month and I have been struggling with medical visits since October. If anyone is able to contribute it would mean a life saving option for me to be recovering in a place that can cater to my condition.'

The first reports of AIDS emerged in Los Angeles and New York in 1981.

Over the subsequent decade, the disease went on to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans, with stars including Rock Hudson, Freddie Mercury, Arthur Ashe, Liberace and Anthony Perkins among those whose lives it claimed.

Patients diagnosed during the early years of the epidemic almost always faced an agonizing death, because there were no treatments available.

Scientists unveiled effective treatments in 1995. The combination of anti-viral drugs dramatically reduced AIDS deaths, and now allow those who are HIV positive to achieve a near-normal life expectancy.

but it wouldn't be until 1995 before doctors began successfully treating AIDS with a combination of drugs. There is still no cure, but with treatment, people can reduce the amount of the virus in their bodies.
Conservatives on social media are aghast the FBI has still not raided President Biden's Delaware residence following the discovery of a fresh trove of classified documents.

Prominent members of the GOP expressed both frustration and disbelief as they questioned why the FBI has not taken action similar to the raid they conducted on former President Trump's Mar-A-Lago property last year.

President Biden was back in his home state this weekend and was spotted coming out of St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Delaware on Saturday night.

Biden was photographed together with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden after attending mass and presumably praying for this entire episode to come an end. But it didn't stop his adversaries in Congress piling on the pressure throughout the day.

U.S. President Joe Biden departs from St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church after attending Mass in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday evening

Prominent members of the GOP expressed both frustration and disbelief as they questioned why the FBI has not taken action similar to that when Trump has classified documents

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was even more succinct as he tweeted, 'Full FBI raid happens when?'

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton tweeted his despair at his perceived state of the DOJ

Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted, 'ANOTHER trove of classified documents found in the Biden residence. This is after Cringe Karine said that the search of Biden's home was complete.'

'Looks like they've got documents coming out of the woodworks over in Wilmington. Still no FBI raid'

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was even more succinct as he tweeted, 'Full FBI raid happens when?'

Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway tweeted, 'Remember when the FBI raided Mar-A-Lago over a presidential paperwork dispute they had no patience resolving after spending years patiently resolving other presidential paperwork disputes and not even noticing VP Biden hoovered up classified docs and spreading them all over?'

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton tweeted, 'Biden White House Counsel travels to Biden Delaware home with Biden DOJ officials to look for docs -- AFTER Special Counsel is appointed? But Trump's home gets FBI raid after Biden DOJ officials refuse Trump offer to let them look through records. Biden DOJ is corrupt mess.'

The tweets came in response to the discovery of an additional five pages of classified documents at President Biden's Delaware residence, bringing the total number of classified documents found there to six.

Critics have also pointed out a perceived double standard, as President Biden's personal attorneys unexpectedly discovered documents with classified markings at his Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement office on November 2nd, yet the White House did not inform the public before the November midterms.

A third set of classified documents have been found at Joe Biden's Delaware home on Thursday

It brings the total to six classified documents to have been found at Biden's home in Delaware

The first document was discovered in the garage of Biden's Delaware home where he also keeps his Corvette

Other Republican lawmakers also chimed in on Saturday.

'Wait, I thought the WH said on Thursday the search was complete and there were no more docs,' Josh Hawley wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

Marsha Blackburn jumped in as well, writing: 'Another batch of classified documents has been located at Biden's private residence. They keep coming.'

Senator Rick Scott wrote: 'Either @JoeBiden is an absolute hypocrite or completely clueless. Probably both. We need to get to the bottom of this. How long has he had these6+ years? Time for accountability.'

Senator John Kennedy called out what he claimed was multiple problems within the current administration and called for accountability, writing: 'Just like the #BidenBorderCrisis, the Biden classified documents story is too big for the mainstream media to ignoreand the American people want answers.'

'MORE HIGHLY CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS FOUND IN BIDENS HOME!!! How does this keep happening? Biden needs to disclose NOW how many documents were in his possession and where they were stored. As Vice President, he had NO RIGHT to hold onto this information!!' tweeted Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson using multiple exclamation marks and upper case letters.

'Will FBI do a pre-Dawn raid with 27 armed agents? Go through Jills closets? Take his passport?' questioned Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

'Hillary Clinton mishandled classified documents. Joe Biden mishandled classified documents. But the only one who gets his home raided is President Trump  and he didnt even do anything wrong!' tweeted Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan.

'Bidens handlers did not just suddenly discover troves of purloined classified documents. You are watching the coverup  of an even bigger scandal  in real time,' suggested Former Senior Advisor to President Trump, Stephen Miller.

'Joe Biden mishandled classified documents. Trump did nothing and gets his home raided. Guess the FBI doesnt want Jill Bidens underwear,' wrote conservative actor Kevin Sorbo.

Senator John Kennedy called out what he claimed was multiple problems within the current administration and called for accountability

Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson used multiple exclamation marks and upper case letters to make his furious point

'Will FBI do a pre-Dawn raid with 27 armed agents? Go through Jills closets? Take his passport?' questioned Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee

'Bidens handlers did not just suddenly discover troves of purloined classified documents. You are watching the coverup  of an even bigger scandal  in real time,' suggested Former Senior Advisor to President Trump, Stephen Miller

'Hillary Clinton mishandled classified documents. Joe Biden mishandled classified documents. But the only one who gets his home raided is President Trump  and he didnt even do anything wrong!' tweeted Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan

'Joe Biden mishandled classified documents. Trump did nothing and gets his home raided. Guess the FBI doesnt want Jill Bidens underwear,' tweeted actor Kevin Sorbo

The White House has stated that it has handled both the discovery of the documents and the subsequent explanations in a 'transparent' way, yet questions have been asked by pundits from both political parties as to why the public were not told ahead of the midterms.

Biden has also been reminded of his own comments when he slammed former President Trump for harboring his own set of classified documents on his Mar-a-Lago estate which led to an FBI raid.

'How that could possibly happen, how one anyone could be that irresponsible?' Biden said in September to 60 Minutes.

Former President Donald Trump (right) has slammed the FBI and DOJ for targeting him over classified files while going easy on 'hopeless Joe' (referring to U.S. President Joe Biden pictured left) as he warns that the 'country is in serious trouble'

Earlier on Saturday Trump was seething on his Truth Social account as he sought to argue that Biden keeping classified documents is much worse than what he did saying Mar-A-Lago is 'essentially an armed fort.'

In his latest online posts, the former U.S. President slams the FBI and DOJ for targeting him over classified files while going easy on 'hopeless Joe' as he warns that the 'country is in serious trouble.'

'What Biden did was wrong, but he was given a reasonable and stable Special Counsel who is sane, inclined not to make waves, friendly with RINOs (republicans in name only), and is not known as a flame-throwing lunatic or a Biden hater,' Trump said.

'What I did was RIGHT, secured documents in a secured place, lock on the doors, guards and Secret Service all around, security cameras working.

'Mar-a-Lago is essentially an armed fort, and was built that way in the 1920's, with High Walls & structure to serve as the Southern W.H.'

Trump argued that Biden keeping classified documents is worse as they date back to when he was vice president, whereas Trump's position was higher as president.

'I was President of the U.S. and covered and protected by the Presidential Records Act, which is not criminal and allows and encourages you to talk to the NARA, which we were, very nicely, until the FBI, who it is now learned has been after me for years without pause or question, RAIDED Mar-a-Lago,' he said.

Former President Donald Trump was seen seething on his Truth Social account as a third batch of classified files from Joe Biden's Vice Presidency are found at his Delaware home

'A stupid and probably Illegal thing to do. As President, I have the right to declassify documents, Biden did not. Special 'Prosecutor' Jack Smith, however, is a Trump Hating political Thug.'

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he secretly declassified the documents he took home but that claim has been refuted by former senior officials and his lawyers have not made similar claims in court.

'The Boxes Hoax Case against me should be dropped immediately. I have done nothing wrong!' he finishes.

As the day wore on Trump was seen taking a swipe at the prosecution between both cases describing them as 'sick thugs.'

'How come the Biden 'Prosecutor' is a nice guy, very friendly with Democrats and RINOs alike, close to Christopher Wray, & pretty much liked & known by everybody, while my 'Prosecutor' is a Radical Left Trump HATING Lunatic, whose wife & family get a perfect '10' for spewing Trump HATE, & whose 'friends' are the most evil, angry, & disgusting Marxists & Communists in & around Government?'

'They are GRILLING innocent people in Grand Juries for hours, all to 'get Trump.' These are Sick Thugs!'

Trump goes on to claim that the FBI are 'CROOKED, CORRUPT and BROKEN' in capital letters sending a stern warning to Americans that the country is in 'serious trouble.'

'THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON AGAINST ME FOR YEARS. THE FBI & THE DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE ARE CROOKED, CORRUPT, & BROKEN,' he wrote with apparent ferocity.

'(Just look at the Lunatic Radical Left Prosecutor they gave me, but not Hopeless Joe, Twitter Files & the RIGGED 2020 Presidential Election, the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX, & all the rest!).

'OUR COUNTRY IS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE, NO BORDERS, NO VOTER I.D., NO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS NOT BEEN SMART & TOUGH, BUT MAYBE THEY WILL BE NOW. GOOD LUCK AMERICA!!!'

Biden's attorneys announced finding the third batch of classified documents on Saturday, stating that they found five additional pages that were marked classified inside his home on Thursday evening.

It brings the total to six classified documents to have been found at Biden's home in Delaware, as the first one was found in the garage.

The grand total of classified documents from Biden's days as vice president are now up to two dozen.

Republican lawmakers did not take lightly to the revelations on Saturday

His personal attorneys discovered the documents in the room adjacent to the garage, but did not have clearance to view them, so they had to call in Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president.

'Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document the President's personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department,' Sauber said, according to Fox News.

'While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them.

'The President's lawyers have acted immediately and voluntarily to provide the Penn Biden documents to the Archives and the Wilmington documents to DOJ,' he said.

Biden's personal lawyer, Robert Bauer, defended the delay in releasing the information, saying the president's legal team 'have attempted to balance the importance of public transparency where appropriate with the established norms and limitations necessary to protect the investigation's integrity.'

'These considerations require avoiding the public release of detail relevant to the investigation while it is ongoing,' he said in a statement.

The latest discovery comes just days after two other sets were found. The first set of sensitive files were found at a DC office for his think tank and as the Biden administration dodged questions on whether they were tracking down any other records.

Trump is seen to argue that Biden keeping classified documents is much worse than what he did saying Mar-A-Lago, his Florida home, is 'essentially an armed fort'

Armed Secret Service agents stand outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate Aug 8 2022

Earlier in the week, it was reported that in November 2022, attorneys for the president discovered documents at his former office in the Penn-Biden Center in Washington DC, which he used after his time as vice president.

The documents were discovered in a locked closet while the lawyers were cleaning out the office to move out.

The White House acknowledged that Biden's attorneys had found 10 documents with classified markings at an old office at a Washington DC think tank, the president has been peppered with questions about the discovery.

The classified documents that appeared to be from the Obama administration were found on November 2 - before the midterm elections - though news of the documents did not come out until months later.
A New York City woman who is deaf, mute and autistic resurfaced after having gone missing for three weeks, surviving the whole time by living on the subways.

Samantha Primus, 46, had disappeared after she was released from a hospital in Queens on Christmas Eve, only to be found Saturday.

Her sister, Ghislaine Primus, and two others were able to find Samantha in Lower Manhattan after hearing that she'd been riding the 1 train.

Ghislaine said that 'my heart fell' when she finally found her sister.

Samantha Primus (pictured right), 46, had disappeared after she was released from a hospital in Queens on Christmas Eve, only to be found Saturday. Her sister, Ghislaine Primus (pictured left), and two others were able to find Samantha in Lower Manhattan after hearing that she'd been riding the 1 train

Once they'd gotten Samantha back, they discovered that she'd lost 10 pounds, was dehydrated and her feet were swollen from only wearing slippers and socks, according to Ghislaine.

'She survived jumping from train to train, looking and hoping that she was going to get home. And we found her,' she added.

Ghislaine and Samantha's other sister, Sophia Primus, was also there to greet her.

Samantha Primus has been sent to a Brooklyn hospital for treatment after she'd been located, according to her sisters.

She had been lost ever since she left her other sister Joanna Peck's house in Elmont on Long Island on December 23 in an attempt to get back to her mother's home in Brooklyn.

She was found by a Queens resident in the freezing cold lying on the ground and the bystander called for EMS crews.

Primus was taken for treatment at Queens Hospital Center, but just hours later, with the temperatures in the single digits, she was allowed to leave at 2 a.m. She was merely given a list of homeless shelters.

Samantha Primus has been sent to a Brooklyn hospital for treatment after she'd been located, according to her sisters

Primus had been lost ever since she left her other sister Joanna Peck's house in Elmont on Long Island on December 23 in an attempt to get back to her mother's home in Brooklyn

The Primus family has plans to sue Queens Hospital Center for what they see as negligent treatment and are now refusing to provide any information about what happened.

'If they had done their duty, my sister would not have gone through these horrendous three weeks in the cold. An apology will never be enough. We wonder what hearts and heads work at this hospital,' Sophia Primus said.

The family has hired infamous New York City lawyer Sanford Rubenstein to represent them.

'If the Nassau County police report is accurate, then clearly this hospital was not only negligent but heartless, and appropriate legal action will be instituted,' the family's lawyer, Rubenstein said. 'The city has to be held accountable for the actions of those who work for them in their hospitals.'

New York City Health & Hospital - the owners of the Queens facility - cited HIPAA regulations and didn't provide any details or an apology.

'[Samantha] survived jumping from train to train, looking and hoping that she was going to get home. And we found her,' her sister Ghislaine Primussaid

The family has hired infamous New York City lawyer Sanford Rubenstein to represent them

'We see patients who need various levels of care in all our emergency department and afford them the confidentiality of treatment as the law provides,' they told the New York Post.

The family spent three weeks until they were able to find them with the help of tipsters, with no police officers having seen Samantha.
A homeless Oakland man is in custody and accused of stabbing a beloved mother and United States Post Office worker more than 12 times as she was on her way home from her night shift.

Wilbert Winchester, 28, was arrested shortly after the vicious attack in Dilma Franks-Spruill, 71, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Two days earlier, Winchester was accused of stabbing a 59-year-old woman on a bus in Oakland.

He is also the suspect in several other similar attacks involving a metal pole and a box cutter that occurred in the same area.

The suspect has a lengthy history of attacking women in public, in 2017 Winchester kicked a 73-year-old woman in the head on a train, resulting in her being hospitalized.

After being charged with assault, he agreed to a plea bargain in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison with a year's credit for time served. He was released in 2020.

The victim, Dilma Franks-Spruill, 71, was stabbed to death in the early hours of Wednesday morning, here she is pictured with her son

The suspect Wilbert Winchester, his mother said that he is a bipolar schizophrenic who often does not take his medication

Now, Alameda County prosecutors have charged Winchester with first degree murder.

In a heart-wrenching interview with KTVU, Franks-Spruill's son Miles, said: 'Three houses away. She was almost home, but she's not coming home... Somebody came up and stabbed her multiple times.'

He described his mother's death saying that her throat was slit and that she was stabbed more than 12 times.

Miles addressed Winchester in his interview saying: 'I wish you peace and I wish you farewell. You took my best friend. You took the last living birth parent that I have.'

While in a statement, the USPS said the organization was 'deeply saddened at the loss of our employee. We lost a member of our postal family. Dilma beamed with energy, joy and brought light to all who had the pleasure to know and work alongside her. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and her co-workers at this time.'

Franks-Spruill's partner Welton Jackson, who uses a mobility scooter and is undergoing dialysis, told KTVU that he and the victim had been together for 27 years

In an interview her son Miles said: 'She thought about me first... she thought about me first and making sure I got to work on time'

According to Miles, his mother was stabbed more than 12 times and her throat was slit

Franks-Spruill, a Brazilian immigrant, was an 18 year veteran of the USPS and regularly walked the same route home. Her partner, Welton Jackson, who uses a mobility scooter and is undergoing dialysis, told KTVU that he and the victim had been together for 27 years.

The victim and her son were Jackson's caregivers. Miles Spruill told Jackson during the segment: 'I hope there's justice. I hope you find whatever you need to take for you to heal. I'm not right. I won't ever be right. It's going to take me some time.'

Miles said in a separate interview with ABC San Francisco: 'She thought about me first... she thought about me first and making sure I got to work on time.'

He added: 'My mom was a tough cookie, let me tell you! She was 5'2" packed a punch, didn't take no mess - my best friend.'

The Oakland Police Department said in a statement that Winchester has so far said that he is innocent of Franks-Spruill's murder.

The Oakland Police Department said in a statement that Winchester has so far said that he is innocent of Franks-Spruill's murder

Back in 2017, Winchester's mother, Felicia Cole, told KRON that her son has been diagnosed as being a bipolar schizophrenic and does not take his medication. At the time, Cole said that her son had recently started living on the streets.

She also said that her son had been in-and-out of jail since he turned 18.

Speaking about her son's 73-year-old victim back then, Cole said: 'Im sorry, thats all I can say is that Im sorry because that is my son and I know that, if in fact, he was in his right mind, he wouldnt have done that to her.'

She told the station: 'Something needs to be done, but it makes it seem when you listen to the news, it makes it seem like my son is a horrible person, and hes not.'

Across the Bay from Oakland, crime was up four percent in San Francisco in 2022, despite having recalled leftist reform District Attorney Chesa Boudin earlier in the year.

Larcenies and robbery thefts are up 4.9 and 9 percent, respectively, according to the city's crime dashboard. San Francisco police did not comment on the break-in.

A mass exodus has been occurring in the city since the pandemic struck in 2020, and many office spaces were abandoned.

That means the city's streets have become increasingly dangerous, with many locals avoiding downtown's sidewalks for fear of a violent encounter with one of the many vagrants and drug abusers who've taken over.

Brooke Jenkins, the city's district attorney, has vowed to take a tougher stance on so-called quality-of-life crimes including theft and public drug taking.

The City's Castro Merchants Association, meanwhile, which represents roughly 125 businesses, sent a letter to the city government in August, threatening to withhold tax payments if the city doesn't get the homelessness issue under control.

Other metros to top the list included other Democratic-run locales such as Portland and Washington, DC, which have both been grappling with a similar surge in homelessness and violence.
The surprising act has been called the 'closest to perfection' for an evacuation

A photograph of passengers dutifully following the airplane crews' instructions has gone viral after their plane was forced to make an emergency landing due to a bomb threat.

Travellers onboard a Jetstar Japan flight were praised for their 'lifesaving behaviour' after leaving all their belongings on-board during the dramatic emergency evacuation at Chubu Centrair International Airport.

Commenters on a popular aviation Facebook page said the evacuation was the 'closest to perfection' they have ever seen.

Passengers onboard a Jetstar Japan flight (pictured) to Fukuoka were forced to evacuate on Jan 7 following a bomb threat

'Dear passengers of the world: Japanese passengers on JetStar Japan flight were told by their crew to get off the plane and leave their suitcases because they thought there was a bomb on the plane', the A Fly Guy's Cabin Crew Lounge post said.

'Japanese passengers followed the crew's instructions because they cared about their safety and the safety of the people traveling with them.'

'Japanese passengers are intelligent and considerate.'

The post signs off telling flyers to 'Be like Japanese passengers!'

Chubu airport police confirmed five of the 136 passengers sustained minor injuries while evacuating from the plane. None of the six flight crew were injured.

The Jetstar Japan flight travelling from Narita airport, an hour out of Tokyo, to Fukuoka on January 7 was diverted after a phone call claimed a bomb was in the plane's cargo compartment.

But no explosives or other suspicious objects were found in a search of the cabin and luggage.

The Jetstar Japan flight travelling from Narita airport, an hour out of Tokyo, to Fukuoka on January 7 was diverted after a phone call claimed a bomb was in the plane's cargo compartment

Jetstar Japan Airbus A320 (JA14JJ, built 2013) operating flt #GK501 from Tokyxo-NRT to Fukuoka, safely diverted to Nagoya Chubu Centrair Intl AP (RJGG), Japan following a bomb thread. The pilots stopped at taxiway "Alpha" and initiated an emr evacuation. No injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/rHB5lwqbcl  JACDEC (@JacdecNew) January 7, 2023

'Japanese passengers are the best !! Always organized polite and say thank you,' one person said of the near-flawless evacuation.

Another said: 'My favourite pax ever!!! Respectful, polite and gracious.'

'It will be 100% but this is the best [evacuation] I've seen'. They understand it's a matter of life and bags are not that's important,' a third wrote.

Some viewers pointed out there were a few passengers in the photograph still wearing backpacks.

The original poster addressed the 'negative Nancies', writing that although there were a few who had taken their bags with them 'this is the closest to perfection we will see in the world'.

'Backpacks like purses are under the seat', they wrote, 'They don't require extra time to grab from the bins, they're not going to puncture the slide and are worn like clothes on the body.'

'Passengers of the year!!!!'
screeching as it's dragged out of carpark, onto the street

An 'inconsiderate' driver has had their car towed out of a Queensland carpark by an angry boatie after blocking him and his trailer in a designated boat parking spot.

In footage shared online, the parked white Toyota is seen attached by a rope to the back of the boat owner's white Ford 4WD in the car park of the popular Jacobs Well Boat Ramp.

As the boatie steps on the accelerator, the parked car's tyres - still locked in place by the parking brake - are heard screeching as the vehicle is dragged forward.

The car was parked in a designated boat trailer parking spot (pictured) in a popular boating spot an hour out of Brisbane

The Toyota is towed by the boatie through the carpark and out of the entrance onto the main street, as a shocked onlooker is heard saying 'that's so inconsiderate!'

The footage was uploaded to Facebook by a travel blogger, who captioned the shocking moment: 'Road rage at its best!!'

'When you park infront (sic) of someones (sic) boat or jet ski trailer and block them in, they wont (sic) be happy.'

'The car being dragged blocked in the other blokes (sic) trailer. They left him bugger all room to get it out and luckily he was able to get it out by hand', the original poster explained.

'But... he was not happy', they wrote.

Commentators shared their disbelief at the situation, with one commenter coining the altercation as 'karma'.

'Cars parking in the boat/jetski trailer parking area are a menace,' another wrote.

The frustrated boat owner took it upon himself to move a car that blocked him and his trailer (pictured) from leaving a parking spot

The boatie attached the car to his by a rope (pictured), and dragged it out of the spot and through the carpark

'This guy get (sic) Australian of the year for the next 2 years! Absolute legend!' another wrote.

'some one (sic) get that man a beer please,' one viewer joked.

One local said there is 'always ramp rage at jacobs well (sic), never lets us down'.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman said no report had been made to police following the incident.
Missing hairdresser Dakota Lee Nagel has been found alive a week after she was reported missing, Victorian Police have confirmed.

MORE TO COME

Earlier...

A 'distressing' social post by a young popular hairdresser who mysteriously vanished after a night out with friends has raised serious concerns among her friends and family.

Dakota Lee Nagel, 24, left her Doncaster home in Melbourne's north-east at 2am on January 8 to visit several clubs and bars with mates in Prahran and South Yarra.

She left her friends the following afternoon on Sunday and has not been in contact with any friends or loved ones since.

But two days later on January 10, an image of her late dog was posted to her Koda Hair Extensions Instagram page.

Loved ones immediately reported the 'strange' post to investigators pointing out that Ms Nagel has only ever used the page to promote her business and does not upload personal photos.

'Not one single photo on this account is similar to this picture, this is definitely off,' one person wrote.

A desperate search for missing Melbourne woman Dakota Nagel has entered its second week

A photo of Ms Nagel's late family dog posted on her business Instagram on Tuesday has sparked concerns from family and friends

A police investigation was launched on Wednesday when Ms Nagel's mum reported her missing.

Distraught family launched a desperate plea for help from the public on Sunday and say her disappearance is 'out of character' as she was about to become an aunt for the first time and would not have abandoned her beloved dogs.

'Our family are worried sick and her puggy fur-babies are distraught. She would not have left them this long,' her aunt Anne-Maree Key wrote on Friday.

'Her fur-kids are her life and mean as much to her as ours do. She's also about to become an aunty and is so excited, so there's no way she would miss it.

'This is out of character for her to not contact someone.'

A cousin added: 'Please pray for her safe return home.'

Ms Nagel was last seen wearing a hot pink crop top with a Playboy bunny logo on the front

Friends have commeted on Ms Nagel's final post pleading her to come home safe and sound

The final post was uploaded on and dated Tuesday January 10, two days after Dakota Nagel was last seen or heard from.

Her frantic family said detectives are looking into the Instagram post which had no caption.

One commenter on the post said 'It looks like a screenshot of the wallpaper of a locked phone.'

Another wrote they 'reported it due to the dates and how out of the blue the post is considering the rest of the page is strictly business. Feels very off.'

Others shared messages praying for her safe return.

'Praying you come home soon Dak,' one person wrote.

Another said: 'Get home safe daks, Everyone wants to know your okay. You're loved by so many,' one wrote.

'Thinking of you Koda! Get home to those pups asap xx,' a third said.

Dakota (pictured) was a hairdresser who ran Koda's Hair Extensions in South Yarra

Before setting up her business, Ms Nagel previously worked as a door girl at Area, a popular nightclub on the Mornington Peninsula which also issued a desperate plea on Sunday

'Our beloved Dakota is missing. Anyone who went to area in our early days would be familiar with her as she was our door girl for almost 2 years,' the venue posted

'If anybody has any information about her whereabouts, please contact the police! We love you Dak, please come home.'

The Missing Persons Squad finally launched a public appeal on Sunday, a week after the hairdresser vanished without a trace.

'She has a wide circle of friends and often attends licensed venues in the Prahran area,' police said.

'At times friends will not hear from her for a day or two, however it is unusual for her not to have contacted anyone for this length of time.'

Missing hairdresser Dakota Nagel (pictured) adored her beloved fur babies and wouldn't abandon, according to her worried aunt

Ms Nagel was last seen wearing a hot pink crop top with a Playboy bunny logo on the front last Sunday, but it is believed that she may have changed clothes since this time.

She is believed to have been in the Prahran, South Yarra, CBD and Southbank areas since January 8, according to police.

Ms Nagel is 157cm tall, petite build and has blonde hair and blue/grey eyes.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The family of a woman who 'bled to death' after being forced to wait 15 hours in an ambulance outside an A&E department are angry and have demanded 'answers'.

An ambulance had been called for 70-year-old Marie Shenton to take her to Torbay Hospital in South Devon after she was found vomiting blood.

She was taken to hospital quickly as a category one emergency, but on arrival her long wait began and she was kept waiting in the ambulance, despite paramedics warning of her worsening condition.

Mrs Shenton's sister Bridget Haynes said 'to die the way she did, it wasn't humane', attributing the long wait in an ambulance to her sibling's death.

Marie Shenton (right), 70, died at Torbay Hospital after she was forced to wait outside A&E in an ambulance for 15 hours

Mrs Shenton was rushed to hospital as a category one emergency as she was vomiting blood - but it took hours for her to be finally admitted into A&E

She told Sky News: 'My sister's dead because she was in an ambulance for 15 hours and that's not right. That's just not right.

'To die the way she did, it wasn't humane. You wouldn't let the dog suffer like that.'

While waiting outside the hospital on November 27 Mrs Shenton began vomiting more blood, so a nurse was sent out of the hospital to take a blood test.

Paramedics then helped her go to the toilet where she 'was just passing pure blood' so paramedics informed staff again, but her sister said, 'nobody came'.

Initially Mrs Shenton remained in a good mood 'chatting, laughing and joking' and 'talking about Christmas' with her family, Mrs Haynes said.

Mrs Shenton died in Taunton Hospital on November 30 after she fell out of her hospital bed

Even though she was a category one emergency, Mrs Shenton was left in an ambulance outside Torbay Hospital for 15 hours

But her condition had deteriorated significantly when she was finally admitted to the hospital, 'just mumbling' saying 'thank you, sorry, thank you'.

Three days later on November 30, Mrs Shenton's family were notified that her condition had worsened again and upon arrival they were told she had fallen out of her bed.

She died later that day.

Mrs Haynes, who worked in the NHS for 37 years until 2017, said she 'can't believe' what is happening to the health care service, adding that 'it's scary, very scary'.

Mrs Haynes, who arrived at the hospital ten minutes after her sister died, told Sky: 'I am just so angry about it. She bled to death.

Mrs Shenton's sister Bridget Haynes told Sky News 'My sister's dead because she was in an ambulance for 15 hours and that's not right. That's just not right.

NHS ambulances were slower than ever in December, with heart attack and stroke victims waiting horrifying delays of up to six-and-a-half hours

'It shouldn't have happened. I am just so angry about it. I just want some answers.

'I want to know why my sister fell out of bed for a start, and why in this day and age - 15 hours in an ambulance?

'We're like a third-world country. And we're one of the richest countries going and this is happening. It's not right.'

The former NHS worker, whose sister was her 'best friend' said while the paramedics were 'absolutely brilliant' and did 'everything they could' for her sister, she called on the Government to 'do something' to help the crisis.

She added: 'If I ever have to go into hospital, I think I would just stop here. There's no way I am sitting in an ambulance for 14-hours or even eight hours.'

MailOnline has contacted Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust and South Western Ambulance Service for a statement.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'No one should have to wait longer than necessary for emergency care, which is why we are taking urgent action to support services.

'We recognise the pressures the NHS is facing and the Health and Social Care Secretary announced up to 250 million of additional funding to immediately help reduce hospital bed occupancy, alleviate pressures on A&E and unlock much-needed ambulance handovers.

'This is on top of the 500 million Discharge Fund to speed up the safe discharge of patients who are medically fit to leave hospital, and the NHS creating the equivalent of 7,000 more beds as well as establishing 24/7 data driven system control centres in every local area to manage demand and capacity.'

The Royal College of Nursing union announced that more walk outs will be planned in February if no movements are made over the ongoing pay dispute. Pictured: Nurses and supporters at Whitehall during industrial action in December

The Royal College of Nursing's general secretary Pat Cullen insisted the public back the nurses' strike action

The Trust's medical director Ian Currie told Sky: 'We would like to send our heartfelt condolences to Mrs Shenton's family.

'We cannot comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality but remain in contact with her next of kin.

'We don't want anyone waiting in an ambulance longer than necessary and all patients arriving at our emergency department are triaged and assessed, with the most clinically urgent being prioritised.

'We work closely with South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust to make sure everyone waiting in an ambulance is robustly assessed, monitored, and their care is escalated and prioritised appropriately.'

The Government is coming under increasing pressure over the ongoing crisis in the NHS, which has seen ambulance staff, paramedics and nurses walk out in a series of strikes.

The Royal College of Nursing union have announced that even more walkouts will be planned, if pay negotiations remain on the table by the end of the month.

Last week 25,000 ambulance workers, including paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians, downed their tools and joined picket lines across the country. Pictured: Members of the London Ambulance Service on the picket line

If the industrial action goes ahead, twice as many workers would be taking action in February if an agreement cannot be made.

The union's general secretary Pat Cullen insisted the public back the nurses' strike action.

The RCN initially demanded a 19 per cent pay rise but has since indicated it would accept a 10 per cent increase.

Downing Street, however, is thought to be considering a one-off payment to nurses in a bid to stop industrial action.

Last week 25,000 ambulance workers, including paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians, downed their tools and joined picket lines across the country.

Among the workers on the picket line, was a former nurse, Tanya Palmer, from Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, who said she was supporting the workers after her mother died following a four-hour wait for an ambulance.

The 55-year-old former NHS nurse, who is now a regional manager for Unison, told of how her mother Christine had 'lay unconscious on the floor for four hours because of ambulance delays' after suffering a stroke.

She later died.

Former NHS nurse Tanya Pamer (left) stood on the picket line with ambulance workers last week, saying she joined after her mother Christine (right) was left lying on the floor unconscious for four hours waiting for an emergency vehicle. She later died

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak branded the industrial action 'terrifying' while speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday

A new poll shows Brits faith that ambulances and the NHS at large will be able to treat them is low but it also revealed that over half of those surveyed blamed the Government for NHS staff strikes

Standing on the picket line, Ms Palmer said, 'that's my personal story and why I am out here today'.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak branded the industrial action 'terrifying' while speaking in the House of Commons.

His response was provoked after Sir Keir Starmer criticised the Prime Minister on the 'terrifying' NHS cancer treatment delays affecting people across the country.

Mr Sunak responded: 'What's terrifying is that right now people not knowing whether when they call 999 they will get the treatment that they need.'

It was the second round of industrial action, following the first walk outs in December.

It comes as NHS ambulances were slower than ever in December, with heart attack and stroke victims waiting horrifying delays of up to six-and-a-half hours.

Last week 25,000 ambulance workers, including paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians, downed their tools and joined picket lines across the country

NHS ambulances were slower than ever in December, with heart attack and stroke victims waiting horrifying delays of up to six-and-a-half hours. Picture: Stock image of ambulances

The shocking figures illustrated the dire state of emergency care in the country, with 999 crews taking on average 93 minutes to respond to category two calls in England.

It is the worst-ever month for emergency calls by half-an-hour.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: 'Across the UK, Europe and internationally, health systems are seeing a significant impact on operational performance due to the impact of the pandemic, the rapid spike in flu, Strep A and the ongoing high levels of COVID.

'That's why, as I set out this week, we're taking urgent action to ease pressures on A&E, including investing an additional 200m to get medically fit patients out of hospital quicker and boost the social care workforce, on top of our 500m discharge fund, creating the equivalent of 7,000 more beds through innovations like virtual wards, and putting 50m towards expanding capacity in emergency departments through new discharge lounges and ambulance hubs.'
An 11stone Leonberger in pack of crazed animals that mauled a dog walker to death was appeared on BBC TV show about problem puppies - and was renamed Shiva because it was so unruly.

The pet, believed to be among the eight dogs seized by police after the tragedy, appeared with her owner Delia Lewis, on BBC Two's 10 Puppies and Us in 2017.

Originally called Maple, she was filmed running around professional psychic Ms Lewis' home and going to the toilet on the carpet.

Ms Lewis, pictured here for the first time, posted on social media after the incident that her dog, whose name she had to change due to her unruly behaviour, was 'one of the ones missing'.

She added: 'She's a Leonberger, please if you have any information please tell me where to go or what to do.'

Eyewitnesses to the attack in Caterham, Surrey, described the dog walker being attacked by at least four of the animals.

Shiva, an 11st Leonburger, was among eight hounds with the victim - and was a troublesome puppy who chewed anything she could get her paws on

Delia Lewis, a psychic and crystal healer, posted online that her dog is 'missing' in the aftermath of the incident

Armed officers were called to reports of a dog attacking members of the public in the remote beauty spot Gravelly Hill in Caterham at 2.45pm on Thursday.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics, a 28-year-old woman from London died at the scene.

A second woman who received treatment for dog bites has since been discharged from hospital.

It is understood the force is looking into whether the victim, who has not yet been identified, was a registered dog-walker.

When much younger, Shiva appeared in a BBC2 programme, 10 Puppies and Us, about unruly puppies who chew through furniture.

Ms Lewis, a telephone psychic living in Croydon at the time of the 2017 show, originally decided to call her dog Maple before deciding it was 'far too sweet a name for this dog'.

She instead renamed the pooch Shiva, which is a name shared by the Hindu god of destruction.

Ms Lewis said on the programme: 'I thought Maple is far too sweet a name for this dog.

Shiva (left) appeared on a BBC Two show about unruly pups with her owner Ms Lewis

Ms Lewis initially had problems housetraining young Shiva, who used to go to the toilet wherever she wanted

The Leonberger was a tiny puppy in the series, but is now thought to weigh around 11 stone

A woman lays flowers where the dog mauling took place as she pays her respects to the 28-year-old victim

Ms Lewis is a professional psychic who also reads tarot and studies astrology - and has reportedly been a psychic to the stars

Shiva was described by Wimbledon Veterinary Surgery as having the 'sweetest nature ever'

'I mean, don't get me wrong, she is sweet, but, like, she's not that sweet.'

Shiva was described as chewing anything she could get her paws on, from the carpet to the bins.

Ms Lewis describes herself as an international psychic and qualified crystal healer, and has reportedly worked with TV personalities, celebrities, influencers, performing artists and CEOs.

She has also been hired by major companies such as Marvel Studios, Disney and Estee Lauder.

She first began communicating with spirits at just five years old, and also reads tarot and studies astrology.

Her social media pages are full of photos of her beloved Shiva, and it is unclear at this time whether her pet was involved in the incident or not.

In 2020, Shiva was described by her vet in Wimbledon as a 'giant girl' with 'the sweetest nature ever'.

A source close to the case previously the dog walker had too many dogs under her control: 'She just had too many dogs. You cannot be in control with that amount of dogs. If something happens, it's like having seven small wolves attacking you.

'The dogs were in a frenzy, acting as a pack, and going for whatever was in front of them.'

One of the dogs had moments earlier attacked and bitten another woman who was walking her own dog  and she fled, injured.

Exactly how the horror unfolded remains unclear at this time.

A 60-year-old woman on horseback saw something of it as she approached the brow of a hill at 2.30pm on the North Downs Way  a bridle path at Gravelly Hill, near Caterham, Surrey  flanked by a grass bank and bushes and trees.

Surrounded by dogs pulling frenziedly at her limbs, a blonde woman wearing a beige jacket was on the ground, sitting but never quite managing to stand up. She never did.

'When we saw her she was about 50ft away,' the horsewoman told The Mail on Sunday.

'She was swamped by at least four medium-sized dogs, maybe more, attacking her, pulling her at arms and sides and she was screaming and shouting.' But perhaps surprisingly, there was no barking, a chilling detail that adds another layer to the horror.

Another woman was hospitalised and eight dogs were recovered at the scene after police responded following the attack at 2.45pm Thursday

Police at the remote spot Gravelly Hill in Caterham, Surrey, where a 28-year-old woman was mauled to death by the dogs she was walking

Horrified sources have recalled the sheer terror of the dog walker, 28, who tried to keep onlookers away even as the animals - who were 'like a pack of wolves' - attacked her in the remote beauty spot Gravelly Hill in Caterham at 2.45pm on Thursday

Police were called, arriving half an hour after the initial attack in several cars carrying armed officers and paramedics

The horsewoman, who believes she was the last person to see the victim alive, added: 'The dogs must have been on the lead because they were in such close proximity.

'I don't know why they kicked off the way they did. Maybe a couple were fighting with each other and she tried to intervene, and she got in the way and they saw red and just kept going.

'When she saw us she shouted: "Turn back, turn back!".'

None of the dogs seized by police are classed as dangerous, with breeds including two dachshunds, a cockapoo, a collie and Shiva the Leonberger.

Police officers rounded up any loose dogs following the tragedy. All are now in the hands of the police, their fate unknown, as they are assessed by canine specialists.

Surrey Police lifted cordons in the area of the attack late on Friday and have contacted all of the owners of the dogs seized.

The victim's next of kin have been informed and a post mortem is due to take place in the next few days.

Detective Inspector Josephine Horner, Senior Investigating Officer, said: 'This is a tragic incident where a young woman has sadly lost her life. Our thoughts remain with her family and friends and the family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.

'Specialist teams have been carrying out forensic work at the scene but this has now been completed and the area has re-opened to the public.

'I know this incident has caused real concerns locally and officers from the local neighbourhood team will be out in the area to provide reassurance for residents.

'The investigation to establish the circumstances around this incident continue and I urge anyone with information who has not yet spoken to police to contact us.'

'I don't know what is going to happen,' said one of the owners last night. 'I know the victim who died  she's a friend  so I dont want to say more.'

The second woman injured in the attack is said to have been walking her own small dog on a lead when two of the dogs ran towards her.

One is said to have attacked the woman, who quickly scooped up her small dog, leaving her with multiple wounds.

Shaun Hesmondhalgh, one of the countrys leading dangerous dog experts, has warned that there are no entry requirements for dog walkers. He said the Government should look at limiting the number of dogs one dog walker can take out.

Currently, each council is responsible for deciding rules around dog walking; including how many dogs one person can handle at once. In the Surrey district of Tandridge, where this incident took place, walkers must apply for an annual licence costing 156.50 and are allowed to walk only six dogs at once.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze and rescuers are now hunting for survivors

Harrowing images show the total destruction of one civilian high-rise in Dnipro

The first victims of a Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian tower block have been named online - as the death toll rises to 29 and rescuers continue to search for survivors amid freezing conditions.

Emergency crews have been working through the night following a Russian missile strike on a residential building in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro late on Saturday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky today said at least 73 people were wounded and 39 people had so far been rescued. The city government in the city said a further 43 people were reported missing.

Anton Gerashchenko advisor, to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, tweeted a picture of two of the victims - identifying them as 'dentists' who had been walking to the gym.

Rescuers carry a woman from the rubble of a residential building destroyed after a missile strike in Dnipro

Emergency personnel evacuate a person at the site of the missile strike on Sunday morning

He said: 'Olga and Iryna. Dentists and volunteers. They treated our Defenders, including those who returned from captivity.

'They are two of the victims of yesterday's Russian attack on Dnipro - the women were walking past the building to a gym. RIP, Olga and Iryna.'

Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said seven children were among those transported to hospital with severe injuries.

The missile that hit the apartment building was a Kh-22 launched from Russia's Kursk region, according to the military's air force command.

The entire block was obliterated into a mountain of brick and mortar, with twisted bits of charred metal strewn about nearby streets.

Workers used a crane as they tried to rescue people trapped on upper floors of the apartment tower, where about 1,700 were living. Some residents also signalled for help with lights on their mobile phones.

Zelensky said: 'Search and rescue operations and the dismantling of dangerous structural elements continues. Around the clock. We continue to fight for every life.'

Firefighters were deployed to hose down the flames in the aftermath of the attack as rescuers began to pick through the wreckage in the hope of finding survivors.

The attacks also targeted the capital, Kyiv, and the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, ending a two-week lull in Moscow's strikes on Ukraine's power infrastructure and urban centres.

A rescue worker carries a cat pulled alive from the wreckage towards safety following the horrific strike

Russia fired 33 cruise missiles on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down, according to General Valeriy Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Ivan Garnuk was in his apartment when the building was hit and said he felt lucky to have survived. He described his shock that the Russians would strike a residential building with no strategic value.

He said: ''There are no military facilities here. There is nothing here. There is no air defence, there are no military bases here. It just hit civilians, innocent people.'

Dnipro residents joined rescue workers at the scene to help clear the rubble. Others brought food and warm clothes for those who had lost their homes.

Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday its forces had launched a wave of missile strikes against Ukrainian military and infrastructure sites on Saturday.

The Russian defence ministry did not mention Dnipro as a specific target of any strikes.

In its statement Russia said: 'All assigned objects were hit. The targets of the strike have been achieved.'

Separately, Putin said the special military operation was showing a positive trend and that he hoped Russian soldiers would deliver further gains after Soledar.

'The dynamic is positive,' Putin told Rossiya 1 state television.

Emergency workers used cranes and ladders to access the higher parts of the building

The apartment block was turned into a mountain of rubble by the strike, which has killed at least 21 people

Dozens of rescue workers remain on scene in an attempt to rescue all the survivors

An injured woman is taken down to safety from her destroyed apartment block in Dnipro

By Sunday morning, smoke was still coming off the wrecked building as firefighters continued to rescue those trapped inside

Rescue workers are operating under highly dangerous conditions with much of the building completely destroyed

At least 21 people are so far known to have been killed with a further 39 taken to hospital

A Dnipro citizen cries as she watches firefighters and other rescue workers trying to save survivors

Rescue workers carry a woman rescued from the apartment block away from the scene and towards a waiting ambulance on Sunday

No one was reported hurt there, but missile debris caused a major fire at one 'critical infrastructure object' and damaged houses on the outskirts of the city, officials said.

A pair of missiles rained down on the industrial district of Ukraine's second city Kharkiv, the regional governor reported.

Moscow's fresh aerial assault comes as both sides continue a bitter fight for the towns of Bakhmut and Soledar in Ukraine's embattled eastern region of Donetsk.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that Britain will soon deliver a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks to help 'push Russian troops back' as a sign of the UK's 'ambition to intensify support for Ukraine.'

Confirming his decision to provide 14 British tanks to Kyiv during a call with Mr Zelensky, the Prime Minister will now deploy his ministers on an international diplomatic blitz in an attempt to gain widespread support and heap pressure to follow his lead in taking advantage of a 'window of opportunity' to support Ukraine.

Officials said the decision was made after Mr Sunak 'analysed the military picture'.

Rescue team work among the rubble of a damaged residential building hit by shelling in Dnipro, southeastern Ukraine, 14 January 2023

Emergency workers clear rubble with many people under debris in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023

Harrowing images from the scene show how an entire block was obliterated into a mountain of brick and mortar, Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, January 14, 2023

Rescuers work on a residential building destroyed after a missile strike, in Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023

Rescuers and local residents are seen at a site of an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro

Emergency workers and local residents pick through rubble in a desperate attempt to dig out survivors

A view shows an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine

Local residents clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023

Rescuers and local residents evacuate a wounded man after a missile strike on a residential building in Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023

Firefighters were deployed to hose down the flames and a rescue operation is underway to save any survivors

A view shows a crater left by a Russian missile, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Kopyliv, Kyiv region, Ukraine January 14, 2023

Men stand next to a crater left by a Russian missile, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Kopyliv, Kyiv region, Ukraine January 14, 2023

People dance to music as they take shelter inside a metro station during massive Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine January 14, 2023

Kids take shelter inside a metro station during Russian missile attacks in Kyiv this morning

No one was injured in this morning's attacks on Kyiv, according to officials. City residents are pictured piling into the metro tunnels amid airstrikes

Critical infrastructure in Kyiv was targeted in this morning's attacks, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Telegram.

An unidentified infrastructure object was hit in the city and emergency services were operating at the site of the strike, Kyiv's city military administration said.

Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district, a residential area on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

He added that fragments of a missile fell on a non-residential area in the Holosiivskyi district on the right bank, and a fire broke out in a building there.

No casualties have been reported so far, as civilians piled into the metro tunnels below the city and waited for the raid to end.

Elderly civilians played music and danced as waited for the air raid sirens to abate.

Earlier on Saturday, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv - regional governor Oleh Synehubov said Putin's troops fired two S-300 missiles at the industrial district of Kharkiv.

The strikes targeted 'energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the (outlying) region,' Synehubov said.

No casualties have been reported, but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible, the official said.

The attacks come amid conflicting reports on the fate of the fiercely contested salt mining town of Soledar, in Ukraine's embattled eastern region of Donetsk.

Medics of Ukrainian Army evacuate a wounded soldier on a road not far of Soledar, Donetsk region on January 14, 2023

Blood-stained helmets of Ukrainian servicemen are pictured beside the road as a wounded soldier is evacuated

Ukrainian soldiers equip trenches on a field not far from Soledar, Donetsk region on January 14, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen fire a 120mm mortar towards Russian positions at the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023

Ukrainian soldiers try to stave off the cold a few miles from the frontline near Soledar, January 13

Ukrainian army Grad multiple rocket launcher fires rockets at Russian positions in the frontline near Soledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023

Russia's Defence Ministry said Friday that Soledar was captured on Thursday night, after a Ukrainian official earlier admitted their forces had faced 'high intensity' battles for the town.

But Ukrainian authorities and Zelensky insist the fight for Soledar continues.

'Soledar is controlled by Ukrainian authorities, our military controls it,' regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on national television.

But he said 'battles continue in and outside of the city' and added that Soledar and nearby Bakhmut were the 'hottest' spots on the frontline.

Moscow has painted the battle for the town and the nearby city of Bakhmut as key to capturing the eastern region of the Donbas, which comprises of partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and as a way to grind down the best Ukrainian forces and prevent them from launching counterattacks elsewhere.

But that cuts both ways, as Ukraine says its fierce defence of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces who are reported to have suffered considerable casualties amid the battle for Bakhmut.

Ukrainian armed forces will see their efforts to drive Russian troops back bolstered in the coming weeks after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed the UK will deliver a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.

Downing Street said Sunak made the pledge during a call on Saturday morning with Zelensky.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today confirmed the UK will deliver a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks (pictured) to Ukraine

Germany is said to be considering sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

In a readout of the phone conversation, a No 10 spokeswoman said the Prime Minister offered Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems as a sign of the UK's 'ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine'.

Zelensky thanked the UK on Twitter for making decisions that 'will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners'.

The move makes the UK the first Western power to supply the Ukrainians with main battle tanks.

UK Government insiders said the decision on tanks had to be made now in order to ensure Ukrainian soldiers could be trained in how to use the mobile weapons before a potential spring offensive.

Ministers hope the announcement will encourage other allies to follow suit, with Germany said to be considering sending a shipment of its Leopard 2 battle tanks.
The world's biggest celebration of LGBTQI lifestyles is coming to Australia next month and revellers are being urged to stay safe by ensuring they have an adequate supply of HIV prevention medication.

The WorldPride festival will run from February 17 to March 5 featuring hundreds of events with organisers expecting about 500,000 partygoers to attend the celebrations.

But sexual health clinics are warning anyone who takes pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, to make sure they get their prescriptions filled before the event gets underway.

Matthew Vaughan, director of HIV and Sexual Health at ACON, said the influx in tourists is likely to increase demand for the drug so it's best to be prepared.

Sydney will be hosting the WorldPride festival beginning in February where thousands of visitors are expected to descend on the city (pictured Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2022)

A group of drag queens and supporters gather with the Sydney WorldPride 2023 logo near the steps of the Opera House

However he added that he doesn't not expect a shortage of the vital medicine Australia has become a world leader in.

Festival-goers have also been encouraged to also book in for an mpox  formerly known as monkeypox  vaccine if eligible.

'This is the first time that WorldPride has been held in the southern hemisphere and when we think about the countries in our region, many still criminalise homosexuality and do not have access to HIV testing or PrEP,' Mr Vaughan told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'We want to make sure that we've got access available for people. We've been working closely with the local health districts to make sure there is access and also education opportunities.'

The number of men contracting HIV has fallen drastically since PrEP - a pill normally taken once a day - was made available.

The state of New South Wales now aims to eliminate the devastating disease altogether by 2025.

Drag queens pose for pictures on the steps of the Opera House in June as the city prepares to host the WorldPride festival in 2023

Pre-exposure prophylaxis tablets, otherwise known as PrEP, help reduce the chance of HIV transmission

Mr Vaughan is also encouraging revellers to book in for an mpox  formerly known as monkeypox  vaccine if eligible.

The normal course of anti-viral medicine is taken in two doses administer four weeks apart.

'We've done really well in Australia to prevent high rates of mpox, but we are aware a lot of the places people are travelling from have had higher rates,' he said.

During the festival Sexual health services and specialist clinics, will be opened for longer hours to cater for the increase in visitors.

GPs and nurses will be given special training before the event in HIV and STI testing, diagnosing and what support services are available.

Those visiting the WorldPride festival have been urged to consider getting the mpox (formerly known as monkey pox) vaccine (pictured)

The first WorldPride festival was held in Rome in 2020 and the two-week event is held in a different world city normally every two years.

Sydney's WorldPride festival will coincide with the city's 50th Australian Gay Pride Week, 45th Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.

To mark the significant milestones the Sydney Harbour Bridge was lit up in the colours of the Rainbow Flag for New Year's Eve fireworks.

During the festival the bridge will be closed to traffic to allow for a Pride March.

This will be the first time the bridge has closed since the World Youth Day celebrations in 2008.
Hundreds of female soldiers who accused their colleagues of rape were 'misdiagnosed' with a personality disorder, it has been revealed.

The victims said that after they sought help for sexual assault from the military's departments of community mental health (DCMH), they were 'written off' with emotionally unstable personality disorder and medically discharged.

According to the The Telegraph, Paula Edwards, the chief executive of Salute Her UK - a charity for female military workers who have suffered rape and sexual assault - said women were being 'overdiagnosed and misdiagnosed' so the military could 'get rid of the problem'.

It comes one month after the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst was encouraged to tackle the 'toxic culture' of sexual assault after hundreds of servicewomen reported abuse during their training.

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, pictured, was urged to tackle the 'toxic culture' of sexual assault after hundreds of servicewomen reported assault during training

A further 16 women have since come forward to reveal they were sexually assaulted while serving at Sandhurst.

Ms Edwards said it became a 'common theme' for young women to be given a diagnosis on their medical records when getting support from her charity.

She said: 'It is a worrying pattern. A woman is raped so she goes to DCMH. She's understandably all over the place. She might be suicidal.

'But instead of the medical practitioner seeing it as post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], they diagnose her with personality disorder.'

She added that individuals cannot serve in the military with this diagnosis, which allows the military to 'get rid of the problem'.

According to Salute Her UK's own figures, of the 393 referrals it received in the last year, 133 of the women were diagnosed with a personality disorder.

Female victims said they were 'written off' with emotionally unstable personality disorder and discharged from the Armed Forces

All of the victims were less than 27 years old.

One female soldier, who remains anonymous, was raped by a colleague early in her career. Afterwards she sought help from DCMH and was offered cognitive behavioral therapy, which she did not find helpful.

She added that there was no 'Plan B' once the therapy session ended.

Without knowing, the soldier was diagnosed with a personality disorder - learning about the diagnosis only after being told she was facing medical discharge.

She said: 'Once you get this on your record, you can't get it off and it has impacted my life.

'At first, I didn't even know what the diagnosis was. I had to Google it. I was surprised because I did not show these symptoms or repetitive behaviors and I was doing very well in my career.'

According to Salute Her UK's own figures, out of the 393 referrals it received in the past year, 133 women were diagnosed with a personality disorder

Despite being sexually abused while serving, the woman was never diagnosed with PTSD, a condition she felt would have been more fitting.

Around one in 20 people in the UK have a personality disorder, according to the Mental Health Foundation.

Ms Edwards said: 'A disproportionate amount of women registered with the charity have this diagnosis which is incredibly concerning.'

Ahmed Al-Nahhas, the head of military claims at the law firm Bolt Burden Kemp, said he had also noticed the 'worrying' trend in the past three years.

'If you've got a patient with no history of mental health or personality disorder, they then suffer a recent trauma and become unwell. The first thing a clinician should be thinking about is trauma-related disorder, not their personality,' he said.

'I am very suspicious of this trend and the way it waters down what is happening to women in the Armed Forces. It undermines their legal rights and potentially slows their recovery.'

Private Craig Gough was accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Mr Al-Nahhas gave evidence to the Atherton Inquiry, led by Tory MP Sarah Atherton, about sexual assault and harassment in the military.

'There is definitely a trend and, in some cases, it could indicate clinical negligence,' he said.

Mr Al-Nahhas said he has spoken to many women who told him they were raped, sexually assaulted or harassed by colleagues or their chain of command.

An MoD spokesman said: 'Our service personnel are our most valued asset and we take the condition of their health and well-being extremely seriously.

'In order to provide the maximum support and tackle unacceptable behaviours head-on, we have launched the 'Unacceptable Behaviours Hub' which helps our personnel obtain the advice and care they need.'

In August last year, it was reported that dozens of teenagers who had served in the armed forces claimed they were sexually assaulted by fellow comrades or instructors, defence chiefs said.

Nearly 50 per cent of those claiming to be victims of sex abuse were undergoing training at an Army college in Harrogate, north Yorkshire, which is attended by school-leavers as young as 16 years old.

In one tragic instance at Sandhurst, a British Army soldier sexually assaulted a female colleague in her room as he told her 'don't worry, I'm not going to bum you' following an all-night drinking session, a court martial heard.

Private Craig Gough allegedly attacked the woman at the military academy in Berkshire after 'going to see if she wanted sex' following an all-night drinking session.

The 36-year-old man removed the woman's underwear, touched her intimately and performed oral sex on her before putting his hand around her throat, the hearing was told.
Former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has reportedly agreed to pay several million pounds to the taxman following an investigation into his family business.

The Conservative Party chairman and Stratford-upon-Avon MP is said to have paid a bill to HM Revenue and Customs over the sale of shares in pollster YouGov, which he founded.

It was revealed last July that offshore tax specialists had launched an investigation into the firmer Tory leadership contender - who said at the time allegations of wrongdoing were politically motivated 'smears'.

According to the Sun the probe looked into a Gibraltar-based family trust, Balshore Investments, which sold a 20million stake in YouGov in 2018.

Mr Zahawi has said he does not benefit from the trust but the paper said accounts showed some of its dividends were used to pay money to YouGov on his behalf. Experts said this meant the sale could have been liable to capital gains tax.

A spokesman for Mr Zahawi did not reply to MailOnline's request for a comment, but told the Sun he had 'never had to instruct any lawyers to deal with HMRC on his behalf'.

They added: 'As he has previously stated, his taxes are properly declared and paid in the UK.'

The Conservative Party chairman and Stratford-upon-Avon MP is said to have paid a bill to HM Revenue and Customs to cover capital gains tax incurred over the sale of shares in pollster YouGov, which he founded.

According to the Sun the probe looked into a Gibraltar-based family trust, Balshore Investments, which sold a 20million stake in YouGov in 2018.

Last July Mr Zahawi, who is believed to be worth around 100million, dismissed suggestions of wrongdoing and said he will 'not apologise for being a successful businessman'.

He vowed to publish his tax returns if he became party leader and prime minister.

In a full statement, he said: 'I have only been resident of one country since arriving in the UK as an 11 year old. I have never sought tax status in any country other than the UK.

'I've answered these supposed allegations because I think the right thing to do is to be transparent. I have corrected the record. I trust these smears will now be seen for exactly what they are.

'I do not apologise for being a successful businessman. I am the beneficiary of the British dream and I know that. I have done well by investing in the UK and I think that's something which should be celebrated. I want everybody to have the opportunity to be successful.'

HMRC declined to comment on the alleged investigation as the authority does not go into the details of individual taxpayers.

Mr Zahawi's Labour counterpart, Anneliese Dodds said: 'If true, this is another nail in the coffin of the honesty, integrity and accountability promised by Rishi Sunak. People are sick and tired of the constant sleaze and scandal surrounding this government.

'There are serious questions for both Nadhim Zahawi and Rishi Sunak to answer: why did Nadhim Zahawi claim last summer that he had paid his taxes in full, and that he wasn't aware of an investigation? When was he made aware of an investigation? Was the Prime Minister aware of an investigation when he appointed Nadhim Zahawi to the cabinet?

'Finally, why did Nadhim Zahawi claim he was not a beneficiary of his family trust - Balshore Investments - when records show that the money he owed YouGov was paid from the trust?

'Not for the first time, Rishi Sunak's judgement has been called into serious question. The question remains: is he strong enough to sack Nadhim Zahawi?'
Idyllic island escape was a Christmas present to her partner after tough year

Brittany Higgins is enjoying a relaxing summer escape featuring sailing, shipwreck dives and secluded beaches as she puts a tumultuous 2022 behind her.

The former Liberal Party staffer's getaway to the idyllic Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, is a belated Christmas present to new fiance David Sharaz, just a fortnight after he surprised her with a romantic New Year's Eve proposal at sunset.

Ms Higgins shared a series of holiday snaps on Sunday night showing the loved-up couple living it up on a yacht, snorkelling, going on morning walks by the ocean, watching active coral and kicking back on a swing overlooking a secluded beach.

She also posted Mr Sharaz's footage of her diving towards submerged shipwrecks and spectacular vision of tawny nurse sharks swimming metres away.

Brittany Higgins and fiance David Sharaz have shared photos from their Maldives escape

The former political advisor took time out from a hectic year to enjoy some serenity

'Our little summer getaway! As the Enya song says, "sail away, sail away, sail away",' Ms Higgins captioned the post.

The newly engaged couple have been holidaying at the exclusive island destination for at least three days according to their recent posts.

Mr Sharaz shared his gratitude in heartfelt message to his future bride.

'Brittany and I have a joke when one of us does something romantic was it Richard Gere level amazing? Well my darling, you Richard Gere'd me good. Thanks for the best Christmas present ever,' he posted.

The couple's Instagram posts have been inundated with supportive comments.

'How stunning,' UN Goodwill Ambassador Grace Forest commented.

Another person wrote: 'I hope you're feeling better you've been through hell.'

Brittany Higgins has checked out some of the famous submerged shipwrecks in the Maldives

The Maldives escape was Brittany's Christmas present to her new fiance David Sharaz (right)

The getaway comes after the couple spent New Year's Eve in Byron Bay, where Mr Sharaz popped the question at the tourist town's world famous lighthouse.

The fairytale end to the year came after Ms Higgins recently reached a confidential settlement with the Commonwealth over claims she was sexually assaulted at Parliament House by a colleague in 2019.

'At a mediation held today, the Commonwealth and Ms Higgins settled her claims,' her lawyer Noor Blumer said.

'At the request of Ms Higgins, the parties have agreed that the terms of the settlement are confidential.'

Several weeks earlier, Ms Higgins' civil action named three respondents: Senators Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash as well as the Commonwealth. Senator Reynolds is since believed to have been removed from the claim.

The documents set out Ms Higgins' intention to sue for sexual harassment, sex discrimination, disability discrimination, negligence, and victimisation stemming from her claims she was raped by another staffer inside Parliament House and the subsequent fallout.

David Sharaz has also shared photos from the loved-up couple's romantic getaway

Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz are making the most of their time together away from the spotlight

The newly engaged couple has also spent time sailing during their luxurious escape

At the time, the claim was expected to be worth about $3million, including $2.5million for future economic loss, past economic loss approaching $100,000 and general damages of $100,000.

Ms Higgins alleged she was raped in 2019 by Bruce Lehrmann inside Senator Reynolds' ministerial office, for whom they both worked as staffers.

Mr Lehrmann has consistently denied the allegation.

His trial in the ACT Supreme Court was derailed by juror misconduct.

Prosecutors decided not to pursue further action.

The couple also shared spectacular vision of tawny nurse sharks (pictured)

Ms Higgins said Mr Sharaz had been her 'rock' and 'best friend' during the tumultuous time

The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold has also raised concerns about 'political and police conduct' in the case.

ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury confirmed the matter had been referred to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity for further investigation.

Ms Higgins said Mr Sharaz had been her 'rock' and 'best friend' during the tumultuous time.

Mr Sharaz's New Year's Even proposal to Ms Higgins saw him get down on one knee at the top of the iconic Cape Bryon Bay lighthouse.

A beaming Ms Higgins in a elegant black dress and sandy-coloured heels, was seen clutching a bouquet of red roses on the lighthouse balcony as she said 'yes'.

Mr Sharaz had covered the inside of the lighthouse with rose petals and candles for his romantic proposal.

Ms Higgins also recently revealed she will be studying a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at University of Sydney after she graduated with a double degree from Queensland's Griffith University.
A young popular hairdresser who mysteriously vanished after a night out with friends has been found 'safe and well'.

Dakota Lee Nagel, 24, left her Doncaster home in Melbourne's north-east at 2am on January 8 to visit several clubs and bars with mates in Prahran and South Yarra.

She left her friends the following afternoon on Sunday wearing a hot pink crop top with a Playboy bunny logo, and had not been in contact with any friends or loved ones since.

But on Sunday night Victoria police confirmed Ms Nagel, has been located 'safe and well' in the South Yarra area.

The nature of her disappearance at this stage remains unclear.

Dakota Lee Nagel, 24, has been found 'safe and well' after missing for a week

The nature of her disappearance at this stage remains unclear

Fears ramped up two days after she was last seen on January 10, when she posted an image of her late dog to her Koda Hair Extensions Instagram page.

Loved ones immediately reported the 'strange' post to investigators pointing out that Ms Nagel has only ever used the page to promote her business and does not upload personal photos.

'Not one single photo on this account is similar to this picture, this is definitely off,' one person wrote.

A police investigation was launched on Wednesday when Ms Nagel's mum reported her missing.

Distraught family launched a desperate plea for help and said her her disappearance was 'out of character' as she was about to become an aunt for the first time and would not have abandoned her beloved dogs.

'Our family are worried sick and her puggy fur-babies are distraught. She would not have left them this long,' her aunt Anne-Maree Key wrote on Friday.

A photo of Ms Nagel's late family dog posted on her business Instagram on Tuesday has sparked concerns from family and friends

Ms Nagel was wearing a hot pink crop top with a Playboy bunny logo on the front when she went missing a week ago

'Her fur-kids are her life and mean as much to her as ours do. She's also about to become an aunty and is so excited, so there's no way she would miss it.

'This is out of character for her to not contact someone.'

A cousin added: 'Please pray for her safe return home.'

Her frantic family said detectives had been looking into the Instagram post which had no caption.

One commenter on the post said 'It looks like a screenshot of the wallpaper of a locked phone.'

Another wrote they 'reported it due to the dates and how out of the blue the post is considering the rest of the page is strictly business. Feels very off.'
Rather than a fist fight, the pair exchanged kicks between heated conversation

Two angry motorists had a wild road rage brawl captured by an amused onlooker

Two angry drivers in a fiery road rage brawl where captured on video trading kicks in the middle of a busy road, leaving the person filming burst out into laughter.

Footage from a street in Adelaide's North Terrace shows the driver of a white Toyota Camry get out of his car and approach the window of a ute.

After a short-lived conversation the ute driver throws something out of the window, which the Toyota driver picks up and hurls at the windscreen of the ute.

Shouting out 'Oi', the Ute driver tries to open his car door, which is quickly kicked shut by the Toyota driver.

Breaking out into a brawl, the two motorists continuously attempt to kick each other from an arm's distance while the person filming and other onlookers hysterically laugh.

As the brawl continues, the Toyota driver falls over and the pair exchange some heated words before having a stand-off in the middle of the busy main road.

Viewers shared the sentiment of the bystanders, with one writing 'Well that was amusing.'

'His spinning back kick was on par with a 5 year old', the person joked.

'Stress levels are very high. So many people are on edge and 'lose it' too easily', another wrote.

Another said: 'Don't quit your day jobs'.

The brawl started when one driver threw an object at the windscreen of the car behind him (pictured)

The pair then start to exchange kicks (pictured) as amused bystanders filming the altercation are heard laughing

The video was reshared to Instagram by comedy page S*** Adelaide, who captioned the footage: 'This is by far and away the worst example of martial arts you'll ever see - with each punter failing to land a single blow.'

Viewers shared their thoughts, with one humorously writing 'That was the most anticlimactic follow up fight I've ever seen'.

'I love how they think if they put their hazard lights on they can just go at it in the middle of Currie st', another wrote.
The widow of a PC killed in a horror crash on the M6 involving a 'dangerous' BMW has welcomed the car maker's decision to stop supplying the vehicle to UK police forces.

PC Nick Dumphreys, 47, died while responding to an emergency call on the M6 near Carlisle on January 26, 2020.

His widow, mother-of-two Kathryn Dumphreys, said 'finally the correct decision' had been made but added she thought the cars should have been removed from service a long time ago.

Ms Dumphreys said: 'Although it is too little too late for Nick and our family, BMW's decision to stop supplying cars to UK police forces with immediate effect is the first step in the right direction.

Kathryn Dumphreys, the widow of Nick Dumphreys who was killed in a horror crash on the M6 in 2020, has welcomed BMW's decision to stop supplying to UK police forced (the couple are pictured together)

BMW has announced it is closing its specialist sales division in the country after many UK police forces restricted the use of its cars featuring the N57 engine (file image)

'It is glaringly obvious that these cars were not and in my view are still not fit or safe for UK policing purposes.

'This is finally the correct decision and given that BMW were fully aware of the risks in the years prior to Nick's death - as the inquest into his death heard - it is the action that should have been taken years ago.'

BMW has announced it is closing its specialist sales division in the country after many UK police forces restricted the use of its cars featuring the N57 engine, only using the vehicles for 'less stressful' operations.

The corporation said it would instead 'prioritise retail and corporate customers' and that the Park Lane garage in Mayfair would be 'restructured'.

The Cumbria News and Star previously reported that an inquest into Nick's death heard that the BMW's N57 engine suffered 'catastrophic failure' causing an oil leak prior to the crash.

The inquest heard that similar faults had been reported in police vehicles with the engine between five and seven times a month between 2014 and 2017.

Carlisle coroner Robert Cohen said that PC Dumphreys, an advanced driver, could not have prevented the accident and he recorded a verdict of accidental death.

BMW UK were instructed to advise police using N57 models to upgrade the oil used and to shorten oil change intervals to 10,000 miles.

The N57 diesel engine features in a number of BMW police vehicles, including the 330d, 530d and X5.

BMW has said the problem with the N57 engine was down to the 'particular way' police use the vehicles and that there was 'no need for action on any civilian vehicles'.

PC Nick Dumphreys, 47, died while responding to an emergency call on the M6 near Carlisle on January 26, 2020

The corporation said it would instead 'prioritise retail and corporate customers' and that the Park Lane garage in Mayfair would be 'restructured' (file image)

The N57 diesel engine features in a number of BMW police vehicles, including the 330d, 530d and X5

Ms Dumphreys added: 'As we heard during the inquest, the rate of the engine failures in these BMWs (between five and seven a month from 2014 to 2017) was described by the independent engineering expert as 'extraordinary' and by the coroner as 'startling'.

'I firmly believe that had these cars been withdrawn from UK policing years ago - as they should have been - Nick would still be alive.

'I am relieved that the safety of our officers and the public is finally being taken seriously.'

Calling on police forces to stop using the cars altogether, she added: 'The spotlight is now firmly upon all UK police forces to prioritise safety and take immediate action to stop using all BMW cars.

'The National Police Chiefs' Council know the facts, so why do they still require our officers to drive these cars - which have proved to be dangerous - nearly three years after Nick's death? It is appalling and insulting.'

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods, NPCC lead on police driving, said: 'A national position has already been adopted regarding the end of life of the affected BMWs.

'Vehicles that have been assessed as at risk and unsuitable for police use have been removed from service and their engine made unusable prior to disposal.

'Any remaining usable BMWs with the engine type identified are subject to rigorous monitoring.

'Our priority is to ensure the safety and the long-term integrity of the equipment our officers use.'

The withdrawing of the cars also comes alongside long-term supply chain issues in the car industry, such as a global shortage of semiconductors, which has affected almost 170 industries.

In 2020 the effects of Covid led to disruptions in supply chains, which impacted the availability of the chips and led to increases in car prices.

In a statement, BMW UK said: 'With high demand for our cars continuing to outstrip supply, we will be prioritising sales to our retail and corporate customers in the future and moving away from some areas of our authorities and specialist business.

'BMW Park Lane has historically been responsible for specialist vehicle sales and so now is being restructured.

'It is proposed that some responsibilities will move into the BMW UK National Sales Company in Farnborough. BMW Park Lane is now entering into a consultation period with a small number of impacted staff.'
The remains, found in County Cork, Ireland, have been taken to a morgue

Skeletal remains were found in a bed by council staff who raised the alarm

Skeletal remains which are thought to be two decades old were found lying in a bed by council workers.

The body was found in a derelict, boarded-up house on Beecher Street in Mallow, County Cork in Ireland on January 13.

The remains were discovered in a bed by council staff who raised the alarm when they were clearing out the property.

Butter dating from 2001 was found in the fridge by officers investigating the discovery.

The body was found in a derelict, boarded-up house on Beecher Street in Mallow, County Cork in Ireland (pictured) on January 13

Gardi cordoned off the scene around the one-storey house, which is yards away from a pub, while the fire service took the decomposed body to Cork University's hospital morgue.

Foul play is not suspected by Gardai, however neighbours thought the man, who they described as reclusive, had relocated to England.

Mallow Cllr Liam Madden told the Irish Mirror: 'The big thing is identification now, it is going to take a long time.

'It's very sad that there's some family out there that could be looking for this person.'

Cllr Madden added that it was 'extraordinary' the body could have been undiscovered for 20 years.

Those investigating hope to confirm the identity of the person via dental records. A postmortem examination was due to be carried out yesterday evening.

Officers plan to check with utility companies to determine the time of death.

Gardai have said they are investigating 'all the circumstances' and have asked anyone with information to contact Mallow Garda Station on 022 31450.
Conservative peer Michelle Mone's husband is accused of playing a key role in a multi-million corporate tax evasion scam, prosecutors claim.

Doug Barrowman, 57, is among seven British businessmen facing trial in Spain this spring for tax evasion and misappropriation in relation to a disputed invoice.

Although he and his co-defendants have pleaded their innocence, Barrowman faces two and a half years in jail if he is found guilty, The Daily Record reports.

The four-page indictment, seen by the newspaper, claims Barrowman and two other investors attended two meetings of B3 Cable Solutions in 2008 where a 6.3million (5.5million) invoice was 'ratified' and approved on company accounts.

Mr Barrowman has been charged alongside six other UK nationals. All seven deny the charges

Doug Barrowman (left) pictured with Baroness Michelle Mone (right) at Cheltenham in 2019

Spanish authorities allege the invoice payment was 'destined for their own personal benefit' due to purported links between Barrowman and UK firm Axis Ventura, the Manchester-based company which received the 6.3million (5.5million) payment.

Barrowman's defence claims he was neither a shareholder or director of Axis at the time the invoice was created and paid.

Axis financed 18.8million through Landsbanski to purchase B3 Cable Solutions Spain, a cable provider in northern Spain which later went defunct in 2012.

According to the indictment, Barrowman ceased his connection to Axis in March 18, 2008, four months before the invoice was paid and later partly used to offset B3's corporation tax bill by 1.6million.

The indictment further claims Spain's Treasury was cheated out of over 0.5million and also demand for B3 to be reimbursed.

The seven businessmen have been accused of benefitting from an invoice for 'fictitious services' relating to the July 2008 payment (Pictured: Mr Barrowman with wife Baroness Mone)

The prosecution document refers to three men, including Barrowman, who were not B3 company directors but shareholders with 59 per cent of its capital.

They were present at the General Meeting on May 27, 2008, when the financial arrangements were made with Landsbanki, including ratification of the 6.3million invoice. The trio were also present at the General Meeting on April 9 the following year, when the company accounts were signed off.

The document states: 'Therefore, they consciously permitted with their support the approval of agreements which, among other things made reference to services provided and subsequently paid to Axis Ventura, knowing because of their roles in both companies that far from signifying the payment of services never provided, the 6.3million were destined for their own personal benefit.'

Regarding Axis Ventura's role in B3's business, the indictment read: 'No services were provided or any activities carried out by Axis Ventura.

'Instead, the accused who participated in both companies, guided by the intention of obtaining an illegal benefit, took advantage of the fact an important amount of money had entered B3 Cable's account via banking finance and agreed together to authorise in the shareholder meeting the payment of an important amount of money to another entity they themselves participated in.'

Baroness Mone, the founder of a lingerie firm, has denied reports she benefited from PPE Medpro winning contracts worth more than 200million during the pandemic or that she had anything to do with the running of the company

Elsewhere, the business activities of Barrowman's wife Michelle Mone are under scrutiny after she allegedly profited from pandemic contracts.

Leaked documents allegedly show she and her children could have received millions after a company called PPE Medpro was referred for Government contracts to supply masks and gowns.

The firm was awarded 203million in two contracts after Baroness Mone, a member of the House of Lords, recommended it to ministers at the beginning of the pandemic.

PPE Medpro is now being sued by the Government for breaching the terms of a 122million contract to supply 25million surgical gowns for medical staff.

The company said it would defend the civil lawsuit and the Department for Health had 'vastly over-ordered' PPE. But according to documents seen by the Financial Times, Mone's husband Douglas Barrowman  who denies any wrongdoing  received 65million in profits from PPE Medpro.
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Republican lawmakers tore into President Joe Biden as another trove of classified documents were found at his home in Delaware.

Senator Rick Scott of Florida said Biden was either a 'hypocrite' or 'completely clueless,' joining the legions of lawmakers questioning why former President Donald Trump's home was raided by armed FBI agents when documents were found at his home, but Biden received no such treatment.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz put things succinctly, tweeting 'Full FBI raid happens when?'

Even an attorney who once prosecuted Trump during the Mueller Probe, Andrew Weissmann, said Biden was 'digging a deeper hole' as his administration remained vague about the investigation while more documents continue to crop up.

Five more classified documents were found at the presidents Delaware home on Thursday.

A third set of classified documents have been found at Joe Biden's Delaware home on Thursday

Senator Scott questioned how long he had the classified documents in his possession, and called for accountability and answers.

'Either @JoeBiden is an absolute hypocrite or completely clueless. Probably both. We need to get to the bottom of this. How long has he had these6+ years? Time for accountability.'

At least six classified documents have been found at the President's private home in Wilmington, some of which appeared to have been haphazardly stored in boxes stacked in his garage alongside his Corvette.

Biden's attorneys announced finding the latest batch of classified documents on Saturday. The grand total of classified documents - many of which appear to date to his days as vice president - are now up to two dozen.

The first document was discovered in the garage of Biden's Delaware home where he also keeps his Corvette

It brings the total to six classified documents to have been found at Biden's home in Delaware

Senator John Kennedy called out what he claimed was multiple problems within the current administration and called for accountability.

'Just like the #BidenBorderCrisis, the Biden classified documents story is too big for the mainstream media to ignoreand the American people want answers,' he wrote.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley wrote, 'Wait, I thought the WH said on Thursday the search was complete and there were no more docs,' Josh Hawley wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

Marsha Blackburn, Senator from Tennessee, wrote, 'Another batch of classified documents has been located at Biden's private residence. They keep coming.'

Senator Thom Tillis wrote 'Biden should have known better how to handle classified documents.'

Senator Rick Scott questioned how long he had the classified documents in his possession, and called for accountability and answers

Senator John Kennedy called out what he claimed was multiple problems within the current administration and called for accountability

Prominent members of the GOP expressed both frustration and disbelief as they questioned why the FBI has not taken action similar to that when Trump has classified documents

Numerous Republican members of Congress also jumped in after the disclosure.

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert tweeted, 'ANOTHER trove of classified documents found in the Biden residence. This is after Cringe Karine said that the search of Biden's home was complete.'

'Looks like they've got documents coming out of the woodworks over in Wilmington. Still no FBI raid'

Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson wrote, 'MORE HIGHLY CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS FOUND IN BIDENS HOME!!! How does this keep happening? Biden needs to disclose NOW how many documents were in his possession and where they were stored. As Vice President, he had NO RIGHT to hold onto this information!!'

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan added, 'Hillary Clinton mishandled classified documents. Joe Biden mishandled classified documents. But the only one who gets his home raided is President Trump  and he didnt even do anything wrong!'

Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson used multiple exclamation marks and upper case letters to make his furious point

'Hillary Clinton mishandled classified documents. Joe Biden mishandled classified documents. But the only one who gets his home raided is President Trump  and he didnt even do anything wrong!' tweeted Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan

The White House has stated that it has handled both the discovery of the documents and the subsequent explanations in a 'transparent' way, yet questions have been asked by pundits from both political parties as to why the public were not told ahead of the midterms.

Biden has also been reminded of his own comments when he slammed former President Trump for harboring his own set of classified documents on his Mar-a-Lago estate which led to an FBI raid.

'How that could possibly happen, how one anyone could be that irresponsible?' Biden said in September to 60 Minutes.

The latest discovery came just days after two other sets were found. The first set of sensitive files were found at a DC office for his think tank and as the Biden administration dodged questions on whether they were tracking down any other records.

U.S. President Joe Biden departs from St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church after attending Mass in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday evening

His personal attorneys discovered the documents in the room adjacent to the garage in his home, but did not have clearance to view them, so they had to call in Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president.

'Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document the President's personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department,' Sauber said, according to Fox News.

'While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them.

'The President's lawyers have acted immediately and voluntarily to provide the Penn Biden documents to the Archives and the Wilmington documents to DOJ,' he said.

Former President Donald Trump (right) has slammed the FBI and DOJ for targeting him over classified files while going easy on 'hopeless Joe' (referring to U.S. President Joe Biden pictured left) as he warns that the 'country is in serious trouble'

On Saturday Trump seethed on his Truth Social account as he sought to argue that Biden keeping classified documents was much worse than what he did, saying Mar-A-Lago is 'essentially an armed fort.'

In his latest online posts, Trump slammed the FBI and DOJ for targeting him over classified files while going easy on 'hopeless Joe' as he warns that the 'country is in serious trouble.'

'What Biden did was wrong, but he was given a reasonable and stable Special Counsel who is sane, inclined not to make waves, friendly with RINOs (republicans in name only), and is not known as a flame-throwing lunatic or a Biden hater,' Trump said.

'What I did was RIGHT, secured documents in a secured place, lock on the doors, guards and Secret Service all around, security cameras working.

Former President Donald Trump was seen seething on his Truth Social account as a third batch of classified files from Joe Biden's Vice Presidency are found at his Delaware home

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he secretly declassified the documents he took home, but that claim has been refuted by former senior officials and his lawyers have not made similar claims in court.

'The Boxes Hoax Case against me should be dropped immediately. I have done nothing wrong!' he finished.

As the day wore on Trump was took a swipe at the prosecution between both cases and described them as 'sick thugs.'

'How come the Biden 'Prosecutor' is a nice guy, very friendly with Democrats and RINOs alike, close to Christopher Wray, & pretty much liked & known by everybody, while my 'Prosecutor' is a Radical Left Trump HATING Lunatic, whose wife & family get a perfect '10' for spewing Trump HATE, & whose 'friends' are the most evil, angry, & disgusting Marxists & Communists in & around Government?'

'They are GRILLING innocent people in Grand Juries for hours, all to 'get Trump.' These are Sick Thugs!'

Trump went on to claim that the FBI are 'CROOKED, CORRUPT and BROKEN' and warned to Americans that the country was in 'serious trouble.'

'THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON AGAINST ME FOR YEARS. THE FBI & THE DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE ARE CROOKED, CORRUPT, & BROKEN,' he wrote.

'(Just look at the Lunatic Radical Left Prosecutor they gave me, but not Hopeless Joe, Twitter Files & the RIGGED 2020 Presidential Election, the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX, & all the rest!).

'OUR COUNTRY IS IN SERIOUS TROUBLE, NO BORDERS, NO VOTER I.D., NO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS NOT BEEN SMART & TOUGH, BUT MAYBE THEY WILL BE NOW. GOOD LUCK AMERICA!!!'
A British academic who was arrested and accused of spying for MI6 in the UAE has accused the nation's London embassy of launching a smear campaign against him by disseminating a 19-page dossier of personal and medical information.

Matthew Hedges, 35, who spent six months in prison in the country as a PhD student and was sentenced to life in jail before his release in November 2018, says the UAE has even released photos of him in solitary confinement.

He first became aware of the dossier after being contacted by a UK newspaper, who had received a copy of it from the embassy in London.

The document was originally created and submitted to the UN in June last year, after Mr Hedges gave evidence to the Committee Against Torture about his ordeal.

Matthew Hedges, 35 (right), pictured with wife Dani shortly after his release in November 2018

Mr Hedges, from London, has received a copy of a dossier of personal information about him, said to be being distributed by the UAE's embassy in London

It claims he was treated at all times with 'respect and dignity', the Telegraph reports.

The dossier comes four years after his detention, in which time Mr Hedges has consistently detailed his time spent in solitary confinement, including being forced-fed medications, repeatedly interrogated and being deprived of sleep by being kept on the floor of a windowless cell where the lights were not turned off for months.

He was arrested at Dubai Airport on May 5, 2018, as he was poised to leave the country, having been in the UAE on a two-week research trip for his PhD in security.

Mr Hedges was accused of being an MI6 agent, detained and eventually found guilty on spying offences, before being given an official pardon after a long campaign by his wife Dani and an intervention from then-Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

The academic has always fiercely denied being involved with any spying agency and the UK government has confirmed it did not see any evidence which supported the state's claims.

During his detention, Mr Hedges was kept in a windowless cell, and for the first few months was forced to sleep on the floor with the lights constantly switched on.

Mr Hedges also said he was forced to take a cocktail of drugs that doctors were made to prescribe for him, was constantly watched and repeatedly interrogated.

After being sentenced to life in prison, Mr Hedges told MailOnline he attempted to take his own life.

Four years after his ordeal, Mr Hedges gave evidence to the UN's Committee Against Torture, during a review into the UAE's actions to prevent torture.

MailOnline understands that the committee also received a dossier of information put together by the UAE, disputing Mr Hedges's claims about his incarcaration.

Having reportedly initially said it would not be published without the UN's and Mr Hedges's agreement, it has now been distributed to The Daily Telegraph by the UAE embassy in London in an apparent attempt to discredit his claims.

Mr Hedges told MailOnline the release of the document is 'thuggish behaviour' by a state desperate to tarnish his reputation.

He received a copy of the dossier late last year, and says it contains personal and medical information about him and his family.

Mr Hedges, pictured at Heathrow upon his arrival back to the UK in 2018, told MailOnline he attempted to take his own life while imprisoned in solitary confinement

The 19 pages include photographs of Mr Hedges taken while he was in his prison cell, as well as a photo of himself with his wife Dani in a meeting room on the only occasion he was allowed to see her during his six-month imprisonment.

There is also said to be a photo of Mr Hedges making a phone call to his family.

But Mr Hedges told MailOnline that these images have been 'well-cleaned and well-cropped' to present a false view of what occurred.

He said the nation has attempted to 'demonstrate a whole set of behaviours over seven months with a single screenshot'.

He described how any phone call he made from the UAE was made on speakerphone, while he was monitored by multiple soldiers who restricted what he was allowed to talk about.

Mr Hedges said: 'It doesn't show the reality of the situation.

'I'm surrounded by soldiers telling me what to say and what not to say, it was like a hostage negotiation.

'They wanted to make sure that they could keep up with what I was saying.'

Meanwhile his single meeting with his wife was also closely monitored - a theme that continued throughout his imprisonment.

Mr Hedges described cameras constantly watching him, as well as an armed guard being stationed in his cell at all times.

'All the time there was someone watching me,' he told MailOnline.

'In the room I am there in isolation but I have a soldier staring at me. I can't talk to them.

'So having a camera on, does it make a huge difference if the camera's taking a photo of me? I already have a guy staring at me in the shower, watching me take a shower.

'It was pretty invasive.'

The UAE maintains it treated Mr Hedges well and denies any allegations of torture or mal-treatment.

Photos of the academic with a doctor and a psychology report within the dossier are allegedly being used to try and discredit his account of his time in solitary confinement by painting a picture of fair treatment.

But Mr Hedges tells a different story.

He told MailOnline that he did see a doctor 'fairly regularly' in order to be prescribed with several types of medication.

However, he added: 'That doesn't mean that the doctor had an independent ability to watch over me.

'He was told what medication and how much to give me by the soldiers.

'At one point he demonstrated concern at the amounts of different medications they were giving me, so they shouted at him to get out.

'They allowed me to see a doctor, but when he said something they didn't like they just told him to go away. Then they changed all the amounts.'

Mr Hedges has maintained since his release that soldiers forced him to take a 'cocktail of drugs', telling MailOnline he was taking multiple types of anti-depressants, sleeping medications and anti-sickness drugs.

During the six months he was imprisoned, Mr Hedges saw a psychologist on a single occasion - and alleges he was given strict instructions that he could not speak about his experiences while incarcerated.

He told MailOnline the psychology report in the dossier is dated just days before his eventual release, and makes no mention of the decline in his mental health or his suicide attempt.

'It contains flat-out lies,' Mr Hedges said. 'It was written three days before I was released.

'It says that I have never tried suicide or anything else but that was the exact reason I was in hospital.'

He believes the timing of the dossier is linked to his ongoing research into international state security, adding the state seems 'very agitated about what I had said since my release'.

A report into the dossier by The Telegraph, who are understood to have received a copy, confirms the contents described by Mr Hedges to MailOnline.

A spokesperson for the UAE embassy said:

'The UAE has, to date, refrained from responding publicly to Mr Hedges ongoing claims, instead providing information rebutting his allegations to organisations such as the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT).

'However, Mr Hedges ongoing, well-financed and intensifying campaign and the escalation of his false claims in the public domain has persuaded the UAE to provide some balancing information to media.

'The release of reports and imagery from Mr Hedges time in UAE detention was considered carefully, and was prompted by Mr Hedges continued and false accusations about his treatment. As the material shows, and contrary to his ongoing claims, Mr Hedges received entirely proper care and treatment.

'He had bedding, reading materials, a television, access to family, consular officials and lawyers and extensive medical care. He was never subjected to, or threatened with, either torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of any sort.'

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article you can call the Samaritans for free, completely anonymously on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org for help and support.
A senior minister today warned teachers against 'disrupting children's education' by joining public sector strike action.

The National Education Union is expected to announce the results of a ballot of 300,000 classroom staff tomorrow.

Reports today suggest they have voted to take industrial action over pay that could close all schools in England and Wales for days at a time, placing further pressure on working families.

Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, today cautioned against industrial action if the vote passes the necessary threshold.

He told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday that 'clearly any strikes, anything disrupting children's education would be very regrettable'.

It came as he confirmed he had given train operators 'permission' to make a new offer to end strikes that have blighted the transport system for many months.

Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, today cautioned against industrial action if the vote passes the necessary threshold.

Teachers in Scotland have already walked out over pay, and the NEU will announce tomorrow whether its 300,000 members will follow suit

Last week nine out of 10 members of the NASUWT teachers union in England and Wales voted for strikes over pay. But the turnout was 42 per cent, below the 50 per cent legal threshold to allow action to take place.

Asked about the NEU deciding to strike today, Mr Harper said: 'Well, look, first of all we don't know that. We've seen some briefing in some newspapers but the only ballot result we have seen for a teachers' union actually was that they didn't reach the threshold and therefore they are not able to...

'Clearly any strikes, anything disrupting children's education would be very regrettable. Children obviously had their education disrupted during the Covid pandemic, the last thing we want to see is children's education disrupted.

'That's why the Education Secretary, for example, met teacher's unions to talk about the government's evidence, the independent pay review bodies, and to listen to the concerns that teachers have got and that's what the government wants to do. It's back the independent pay review bodies and it wants to listen to the concerns that teachers have about education.'

Mary Bousted, General Secretary of the NEU, told Times Radio she was 'confident, based on our own internal surveys of our membership, that we will reach the ballot threshold'.

North of the border, members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) will engage in further strike action this week.

Discussing the rail strikes, Mr Harper said company bosses will be working with a 'revised mandate' which could include a better pay offer.

The minister claimed he had made sure a 'better deal' on pay was available to rail workers, as he continued to make the case for changing operating conditions on the railways.

Mr Harper's claims come as train operating companies, Network Rail and the trade unions are set to start the next round of talks over pay and conditions on the railways in an attempt to end the ongoing industrial action.

Mr Harper told Sky News: 'The train operating companies have got permission from me to make a new offer to rail unions.

'That is what they are going to be doing. That is what I was asked to do, that is my role in the process.

'But it is important now that we give some space for the employers, so that is the train operating companies and Network Rail, to continue having discussions with the RMT to try and reach a conclusion.'

Pressed about whether his role in giving permission meant he had control over the negotiations, Mr Harper said: 'They have got a revised mandate to make an offer to the trade unions, to cover both pay and also importantly reform.'

'They will be having those discussions this coming week,' he added.

Reports in the Financial Times newspaper in December suggested ministers have previously intervened to block a higher pay offer to rail workers.

Pressed about whether more money had been offered to the unions, Mr Harper told the BBC: 'I made sure after I met the trade union leaders that there was a better deal on the table for rail workers.

'But remember there is another side to it... which is also it is important that we get generational reform both on the maintenance side of the operation for Network Rail but also for the rail companies.

'I want a proper seven-day railway where you don't have to run a rail service by depending on the goodwill of people turning up on their days off.'

This comes as ministers push for new laws requiring minimum levels of service on strike days - legislation which is expected to take around six months to pass through Parliament.

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill is due to be considered again by MPs on Monday.

Nurses in England will return to picket lines on Wednesday and Thursday, accusing the Government of having 'failed to act' after their historic industrial action in December.

Civil servants are the latest to join the ranks of striking workers, amid growing industrial unrest which has seen stoppages across the country including by ambulance workers, staff on the railways and Border Force employees.

This week will also see London bus workers at Abellio strike on Monday and Thursday.
R'Bonney Gabriel of the United States was crowned Miss Universe on Saturday night, beating out contenders from 83 countries across the globe. She became the first Filipina-American to win the competition in its seven-decade history.

The pageant featured a costume show portion, during which Gabriel donned a getup that paid tribute to NASA's Apollo 11 lunar landing and current Artemis program.

The instantly viral costume featured an actual scale-sized moon that was held up over her head by an intricate frame that included silver stars and a glowing red, white and blue costume.

Video of Gabriel, 28, strutting in the outfit made it seem like the lithe beauty queen was having trouble supporting the massive 33 pound structure.

The costume portion also featured Miss Ukraine sporting a 'Warrior of Light' costume, Miss Seychelles in a tropical bird outfit, and Miss Switzerland adorned in a chocolate-themed look.

Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel became the 9th Miss USA to win the global pageant in its 71-year history

Miss USA stands alongside runners up Amanda Dudamel of Venezuela and Andreina Martinez Founier of the Dominican Republic

Gabriel's ultimate win followed a controversy at the Miss USA pageant that Gabriel's win had been rigged. Fellow American contestants said at the time that Gabriel's win had been the result of 'favoritism.'

The legitimacy of her win was also challenged by fellow contenders who said it was suspect that a beauty treatment company that offers a price to the winner featured Gabriel in an ad less than 24 hours after she won.

Gabriel appeared in an ad for NIZUC spas less than 24 hours after she won the Miss USA pageant, which led other competitors to believe the contest had been rigged from the start.

Miss Montana, Heather Lee O'Keefe claimed the ads proved the winner was chosen unfairly: '@MissUSA was crowned less than 24 hours ago, yet she already got her sponsored vacation to @NIZUCResort,' she wrote.

Adding, 'Are you kidding me? I was giving yall the benefit of the doubt, but this is just embarrassing at this point.'

In her defense, Gabriel claimed that she was a brand ambassador for NIZUC's affiliate company MIA Beaute, which also sponsors the Miss Texas pageant and was opening a new spa at the NIZUC resort in Mexico.

Doubters didn't necessarily buy the excuse, however, noting that the founder of MIA is one of the judges at the Miss USA competition. O'Keefe claimed that Gabriel's ambassadorship was a violation of the handbook and that no contestant should have been allowed to work with Miss USA national sponsors.

Controversy continued to spiral for Gabriel when a picture of Crystle Stewart, one of the Miss USA organizers, doing Gabriel's hair backstage circulated. The picture served as greater fodder for the claim of favoritism.

However, Gabriel said the photo was snapped the day after the crowning just before official Miss USA headshots.

The 28-year-old beauty queen won the global title after a controversial Miss USA pageant, where contestants claimed evidence suggested the competition had been rigged

R'Bonney Gabriel, 28, of Houston, (pictured) is in full-blown competition mode since touching down in Louisiana on Tuesday, ahead of the January 14 Miss Universe competition

Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel struts during the swimsuit portion of the competition

Semi-finalists (from left to right) Miss India Divita Rai, Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel, Miss Spain Alicia Faubel, Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel and Miss Colombia Maria Fernanda Aristizabal

Gabriel is hugged by fellow competitors after winning the Miss Universe crown Saturday

Gabriel, a Texas native, runs a sustainable clothing line and said Saturday that she will use her title to become a 'transformational leader.'

During the competition, she said that 'as a very passionate designer - been sewing for 13 years - I use fashion as a force for good.'

'In my industry, I'm cutting down on pollution through recycled materials when I make my clothing. I teach sewing classes to women that have survived from human trafficking and domestic violence.

'And I say that because it is so important to invest in others, invest in our community, and use your unique talent to make a difference.

'We all have something special and when we plant those seeds to other people in our life, we transform them and we use that as a vehicle for change,' she said.

R'Bonney Gabriel, a 28-year-old fashion designer, during the 71st Miss Universe pageant held in New Orleans on Saturday

Gabriel (left) with Miss Teen USA, Faron Medhi of Nebraska

Gabriel directly following her win on Saturday night

Saturday night's pageant was held in New Orleans to honor the late Cheslie Kryst, who was crowned Miss USA at the same venue in 2019.

The pageant paid tribute to Kryst, who jumped to her death in New York City last January, just several weeks after appearing as a correspondent for the 70th Miss Universe competition.

Kryst's mother appeared on stage Saturday to announce that the National Alliance on Mental Illness established the Cheslie Kryst Memorial Fund for Mental Health in her honor.

'Cheslie dealt with high-functioning depression,' said her mom, April Simpkins, said on the competition stage. 'The Chelsie you saw didnt always match the way she felt inside. Just because someone tells you theyre fine, doesnt mean they are.'
About 40,000 migrants have reached the Big Apple since last spring

New York City has hit its 'breaking point' as 400 migrants arrive each day

Eric Adams touched down in El Paso for a weekend trip to the southern border, a day after he claimed New York City has reached the 'breaking point' with the inflow of migrants.

Adams' spent the weekend visiting shelters, encampments and common areas where migrants cross the border. He also met with Mayor Oscar Lesser who recently declared a state of emergency over the ongoing crisis in the border city.

The mayor's impromptu weekend came after he submitted an emergency mutual aid request to the state and Gov. Kathy Hochul asking for immediate help to house the incoming migrants as 400 arrive each day.

Adams called for a 'national solution' and claimed he was on the frontline of the crisis along with the border states as the Big Apple reaches about 40,000 asylum seekers since last spring.

'On the ground in El Paso last night,' Adams tweeted on Sunday. 'This is a national crisis and we need a national solution. Mayors like @OscarLeeser and I are on the front lines and we need federal support.'

New York Mayor Eric Adams landed in Texas to address the migrant crisis. Pictured: Adams at an Armory for Historically Black Colleges showcase

Adams (left) visited El Paso's southern border, shelters and encampments alongside Mayor Oscar Lesser (right) who is recently declared a state of emergency over the ongoing crisis in the border city

Adams' call for help from Gov. Hochul comes a day after New York received more than 800 migrants on Thursday.

'We are at our breaking point,' Adams said. 'Based off our projections, we anticipate being unable to continue sheltering arriving asylum seekers on our own.

'Our initial request is for shelter to accommodate 500 asylum seekers, but, as New York City continues to see numbers balloon, this estimate will increase as well.'

Adam's office noted that the city has received more than 3,100 asylum seekers in the previous week, averaging about 400 each day.

Gov. Kathy Hochul (pictured) called the migrant crisis 'heartbreaking' as they live in 'difficult' conditions. She said the state will continue to give him support

'All this is pushing New York City to the brink,' Adams said. 'Since last spring, the city has stepped up to welcome approximately 40,000 asylum seekers, providing them with shelter, food, and connections to a host of resources.

'We have opened 74 emergency shelters and four humanitarian relief centers at breakneck speed, and done this almost entirely on our own.'

Hochul responded to Adams' call for help on Saturday after not mentioning the crisis at her State-of-the-State address last week.

'This is an issue that is heartbreaking for all of us to see these individuals who traveled so far under such difficult circumstances just in search of the American dream,' Hochul said on Saturday, according to CBS.

'I told the mayor I'd be continuing to help him. We've been helping him for many months. We'll continue to give him support.'

Tents were lined up on a street filled with several migrants inside on Saturday. Some people were seen on the sidewalk

Several migrants were seen crossing the Rio Grande on January 8 from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

New York City has hit its 'breaking point' as 400 migrants arrive each day. Migrants can be seen above on January 10 lining up outside ICE headquarters in Manhattan, New York

.@NYCMayor landed in El Paso, Texas tonight to survey the asylum seeker crisis at the southern border.



El Paso Mayor Leeser took us an impromptu visit to an area where asylum seekers have been known to cross the border, as well as an area where many asylum seekers are sleeping. pic.twitter.com/utlT2KmdpD  Fabien Levy (@Fabien_Levy) January 15, 2023

The mayor, who is a Democrat, also appeared to take a swipe at the Biden administration and federal lawmakers over the lack of solutions at the border, which saw a spike in illegal immigration in recent months.

'The absence of sorely needed federal immigration reform should not mean that this humanitarian crisis falls only on the shoulders of cities,' Adams said.

'We need support and aid from our federal and state partners and look forward to working together to meet this crisis head-on.'

Last week, Adams accused Colorado's governor of launching an 'unfair' plan to send an influx of migrants to the Big Apple.

Jared Polis, Colorado's Dem governor, called the NYC mayor on January 2 to inform him large numbers of migrants would be transported to the city.

Adams publicly criticized the plan on Tuesday morning and insisted New York has taken its fair share of migrants, adding: 'There's no more room at the inn.'

The row marks a rare confrontation between two senior Democrats over the issue of migrants who are crossing the Mexican border into the United States.

Previous rows have centered on Republican states like Texas, Florida, and Arizona sending migrants to Democrat states that took a much softer approach to the issue.

'This has really impacted on the quality of life in New York, and our ability to provide everyday long-term New Yorkers the needs that they have during this difficult time. So this must be addressed.'

Migrants who arrived in New York City from the border have been housed temporarily in this luxury Manhattan hotel - The Row in the tourist hotspot of Times Square

Filipe Rodriguez, who works at The Row NYC hotel, said there has been a number of 'domestic violence' incidents among migrants, young people 'having sex in the stairs,' and added there was a fight between a migrant and a hotel security officer at the building housing them

Rodriguez added that thousands of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded food is being wasted with migrants throwing it out because they insist on cooking in their rooms on hotplates

Many of the new migrants are being housed temporarily in the luxury 1,300-room Manhattan hotel The Row NYC, a $500-a-night hotel in the tourist hotspot of Times Square.

Hotel employee Filipe Rodriguez has called the situation a 'disgrace' and shared videos and photos of the chaos, which included 'good food' sitting out to rot in trash bags because 'the migrants don't want to eat it.'

'The chaos that we see at the Row today is [caused] by migrants being drunk, drinking all day, smoking marijuana [and] consuming drugs,' Rodriguez told The Ingraham Angle on Fox News this week.

Alcohol is prohibited in all migrant shelters, ABC7 reported, but the employees say they often find empty beer and liquor bottles in the rooms and hallways, as seen in photos shared by Rodriguez.

'The form in which they keep their rooms is horrendous. They don't clean it, they don't fold their clothes. They're hoarding clothes, they're hoarding whatever they can hoard,' he said.

He added that thousands of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded food is being wasted with migrants throwing it out because they insist on cooking in their rooms on hotplates, which is also a danger to themselves and others staying at the hotel.

'They said they don't like it,' he said about the migrants and hotel food. 'This is all food that is going to waste. This is insane.'
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Sunday demanded visitor logs from both President Biden's Wilmington home and the Penn Biden Center think tank in Washington, DC after classified files were discovered in both locations.

The files date to Biden's vice presidency under Barack Obama.

During a contentious interview with CNN's State of the Union, Kentucky Republican Rep. Comer also pledged to investigate potential 'influence peddling' in the Trump administration when grilled about the partisan appearance of his probe into Biden.

'We want to know the visitor logs to the residence. We want to know who had access to the Biden center for diplomacy,' Comer said.

'This is the same type of investigation that the Democrats were so outraged...and demanded happen to President Trump.'

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer re-upped his past calls for President Biden's Delaware visitor logs on Sunday

It comes just a day after the White House revealed that five additional pages of classified files were found in Biden's private Delaware residence in the upscale community of Greenville, just outside of Wilmington.

That brings the total number of secret documents found there to six after a similar announcement was made earlier last week.

The White House admitted that classified files were found in Biden's former private office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, DC, on November 2, 2022. The statement made clear that the relevant officials were fully cooperating with the National Archives and Department of Justice (DOJ).

But the administration has been under bipartisan scrutiny for only confirming their existence earlier this month, after CBS News first broke the story.

Comer would not say whether he believed that Biden committed any crimes on Sunday, even as he heaped criticism on the president for the way the incident has been handled.

The White House announced on Saturday that five additional classified pages were found at Biden's Wilmington, Delaware home

'Well, we don't know exactly yet whether they broke the law or not. I will accuse the Biden administration of not being transparent,' Comer said.

'Why didn't we hear about this on November 2nd when the first batch of classified documents were discovered?'

Throughout the interview, he was pressed multiple times on his comparably lukewarm reaction to news that Donald Trump improperly took dozens of top secret files to his home in Mar-a-Lago after leaving office.

Comer claimed it was 'hypocritical' and 'political' that the Biden administration appointed a special counsel for the Trump documents on November 18, after knowing about Biden's for weeks.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a new special counsel to investigate the documents found among Biden's private possessions late last week.

Host Jake Tapper played a clip of Comer from November 2022 where he told CNN that investigating Trump for his Mar-a-Lago documents 'will not be a priority' for the new Republican House majority.

Republicans have furiously cried foul while claiming the FBI raid on Donald Trump's home for classified documents was proof of a 'double standard'

'What you are saying to viewers who don't understand why President Biden's documents seem like a big priority for you, but President Trump - who took hundreds more documents - did not supply with a subpoena, did not reach out to the National Archives or the Justice Department to say, hey, we found these documents, it's not only a priority,' Tapper said.

He added: 'Do you only care about classified documents when Democrats do the mishandling?'

'Absolutely not,' Comer answered immediately. 'Look, we still don't know what type of documents President Trump had. That's one of the questions we've asked the National Archives.'

'Just because Joe Biden's lawyers say they turned over five documents, doesn't mean they just turned over five documents. They could have turned over 500 documents. I'm sorry, but I don't have a lot of confidence in President Biden's personal lawyers.'

Comer and Tapper also clashed over whether the vice president, which Biden would have been at the time, has the power to declassify documents.

At one point, when pressed on whether the committee's new name of 'Oversight and Accountability' rather than 'Oversight and Reform' would apply to both leaders, Comer said it would.

'I think the influence peddling with respect to the Trump administration will be a part of our overall investigation,' Comer said.

'Because both Democrats and Republicans have complained about this with the previous two administrations. So something needs to be done.'

But Comer isn't the only Republican calling for Biden's visitor logs. Colorado GOP Rep. Ken Buck wrote to the White House demanding their release.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged questions on Thursday over whether they would come out.

She instead pointed out that the Biden administration had expanded transparency with regards to White House visitor logs that had been severely curtailed under Trump.
Russia's bloodiest serial killer is volunteering to fight for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.

Sex attacker Mikhail Popkov, 58, wants to join a controversial scheme that has seen thousands of murderers, rapists and other hardened criminals become mercenaries.

Putin pardons those who fight and stay alive for six months.

Ex-policeman Popkov - nicknamed 'The Werewolf' and the 'Angarsk Maniac' - has killed 83 women, and is serving two life sentences plus nine years after three separate trials.

Sex attacker Mikhail Popkov, 58, wants to join a controversial scheme that has seen thousands of murderers, rapists and other hardened criminals become mercenaries

Ex-policeman Popkov - nicknamed 'The Werewolf' and the 'Angarsk Maniac' - has killed 83 women. Pictured: six of his victims

But a police source believes the true toll of victims is 'closer to 200'. Pictured is a skeleton of one of the victims

A police source believes his true toll is 'closer to 200'.

Popkov raped most of his victims aged 18 to 50 before killing them with axes, hammers, knives, screwdrivers and spades.

Despite this, the Russian authorities permitted state TV to interview him behind bars as he pleaded to join Putin's fighters, claiming he had radio-electronics experience from his time as a Red Army conscript.

He hopes to use the sickening Kremlin scheme which has freed as many as 40,000 convicts to gain his liberty.

Popkov is even suddenly confessing to more murders as he seeks to win a place in the Wagner private army, headed by Putin crony Yevgeny Prigozhin, which is backing the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

He was asked by Russian state TV: 'What is your dream?'

He replied: 'To join the army.'

The mass killer said: 'I would not hesitate to do so [join the war].

'If I refer to my military registration profession, I think it's in rather high demand now

'Though it's probably more modern these days - radio-electronics

'But even though I've been in prison for 10 years, I don't think it would be so hard to learn [new skills] quickly.'

Married father-of-one Popkov conducted a reign of terror against women out alone between 1992 and 2010

Victims Tatyana Martynova (right) and Yulia Kuprikova (middle) a few months before they were killed

Popkov said in an interview that it is his 'dream' to join the army, in which convicts are given pardons

Married father-of-one Popkov conducted a reign of terror against women out alone between 1992 and 2010 in his home city Angarsk which he wanted to 'cleanse of prostitutes'.

A psychiatric evaluation diagnosed Popkov with homicidal mania, 'a condition when a person has an irrational desire to kill someone', reported TASS.

Nevertheless, the mass murderer was declared sane.

During the pandemic he was put to work in jail making face masks.

'There were moments when I thought the death penalty was better,' he has said.

Russia has had a moratorium on use of the death penalty since 1996. Before this, the condemned were shot to the back of the head by an executioner.

He implied that his wish to fight in the war was stronger than a simple desire.

'This is not a computer game, these are not fiction books about superheroes,' he said.

He hoped he would survive the extreme frontline cold in January and February.

'For me the coldest frosts are the worst,' he said.

Speaking earlier from behind bars in Irkutsk, Popkov expressed 'regret' if not remorse for his butchery.

'I have a lot to regret. For example, that none of this had happened, that I had not done (these things),' he said.

'It is a natural desire of any person - to regret. I have had a lot of time to think (about it).'

The 82nd victim was Natalya Zvereva who was sexually attacked and murdered in a Siberian forest.

Married father-of-one Popkov told interrogators he raped Zvereva then 'we quarrelled and I murdered her.'

He said: 'I hit her on the top of her head. She fell down and did not show any signs of life.'

He threw her body into a river, he said.

The name of the 83rd victim was not disclosed.

A chilling video from his family archive shows the killer in the 1990s walking towards the camera clutching a knife and reciting a post-war nursery rhyme based on Nazi prisoners of war attacking locals.

'I will slash you. I will beat you. Now it's your turn,' he says with a sinister smile.
A Texas English teacher is being investigated after he was filmed beating a student and pinning him violently against a classroom wall.

The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon at Humble High School, which is located just outside of Houston, and left the 10th grade boy in the emergency room with injuries.

Footage showed the teacher slamming the student to the ground and overturning a table, then holding him against a wall as other students tried to pull them apart.

The teacher was placed on leave, and the boy's father, Elvert Bolden, is demanding he be barred from ever teaching again. Bolden said the 'upsetting' fight started because the teacher thought his son was being too loud.

The student's father, Elvert Bolden, is demanding he be barred from ever teaching again

A Texas English teacher is being investigated after he was filmed beating a student and pinning him violently against a classroom wall

The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon at Humble High School, which is located just outside of Houston

The shocking clip showed the teacher in a purple sweatshirt grappling the student dressed in black.

The student appeared to be escaping from the teacher, who held him by the arm as the pair toppled over a table and sent chairs flying in the classroom scrum.

The teacher then held the struggling student to the wall with his hands on either side of his neck, while a group of other students appeared to try to pull them from each other.

At one point the student threw his hands up in the air as if to show he wasn't resisting, but the teacher continued to hold him against the wall.

The teacher slammed the student to the ground and climbed on top of him before they were finally separated.

Bolden (pictured) said his son was left limping, bruised, and in need of crutches after the beating. He said the teacher 'Stayed in his [son's] face, antagonizing him. My son told him 'You told me to be quiet. I'm not saying nothing else' and that's when I was told the teacher snatched the chair from up under my baby'

'I want him arrested, charges filed,' the father said. 'I want his teacher's license revoked. I don't want him to be able to go to any school in any state and be able to teach another child in the event he may do this again'

The shocking clip showed the teacher in a purple sweatshirt grappling the student dressed in black

The student appeared to be escaping from the teacher, who held him by the arm as the pair toppled over a table and sent chairs flying in the classroom scrum

The teacher held the struggling student to the wall with his hands on either side of his neck, while a group of other students appeared to try to pull them from each other

Humble Independent School District called the incident 'unacceptable' in a statement.

'This should not have happened. It is unacceptable,' the district said. 'The teacher has been put on leave. An investigation is underway, and it is unlikely he will be returning when the investigation concludes.'

The district said the teacher 'used physical force to try and get a student to take a seat and listen.'

They called the teacher's behavior 'unacceptable and contrary to standards and expectations for all employees.'

'The district has a process for addressing serious concerns which includes reporting to law enforcement and full cooperation with any law enforcement investigation.'

The school added that the school district police were investigating.

'If I would have put my hands on my baby I would have been in jail,' said the student's father, Elvert Bolden

The teacher slammed the student to the ground and climbed on top of him before they were finally separated

The teacher holds the student against the classroom wall as other students try to pull them apart

The teacher throws the student to the ground and then climbs on top of him

Bolden said his son was left limping, bruised, and in need of crutches after the beating.

He said the teacher 'Stayed in his [son's] face, antagonizing him. My son told him 'You told me to be quiet. I'm not saying nothing else' and that's when I was told the teacher snatched the chair from up under my baby.'

'I want him arrested, charges filed,' he added. 'I want his teacher's license revoked. I don't want him to be able to go to any school in any state and be able to teach another child in the event he may do this again.'

'If I would have put my hands on my baby I would have been in jail.'
Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow said it's 'embarrassing' that President Joe Biden slammed Donald Trump for taking classified materials from the White House after it came out that he did the same thing from his time as vice president.

But other Democrats, like January 6 select committee member Jamie Raskin, continue to dismiss the revelation.

This month, reports emerged that Biden's attorneys found at least 20 classified government documents at the president's think tank in Washington, D.C. and at his private residence in Wilmington, Delaware related to his vice presidency during the Obama administration.

It comes just five months after the FBI raided former President Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida and recovered thousands of materials and documents that he took from the White House.

Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow said Sunday that the revelation of President Joe Biden taking classified documents from the White House is 'embarrassing' after he criticized Donald Trump for doing the same thing

WATCH: President Biden previously said fmr. President Trump's handling of classified documents was careless. @chucktodd: "Does he have to eat those words" now? @SenStabenow (D-Mich.): "Well, it's certainly embarrassing." pic.twitter.com/1abNYx1U8Y  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 15, 2023

Biden called Trump's actions 'careless,' but now NBC Meet the Press host Chuck Todd is wondering if the president has to 'eat those words.'

'Well, it's certainly embarrassing, right?' Senator Stabenow replied on Sunday morning.

'I mean, it's embarrassing that you would find a small number of documents,' the Michigan Democrat added.

Stabenow may feel more emboldened to criticize the Democratic president considering she announced this month that she will not be seeking reelection in 2024  allowing her to speak more openly without fear of how it could play with constituents.

Some documents, found in three different locations, were marked as 'top secret'.

Rep. Raskin, while glad a special council was appointed to investigate the Biden files, also dismissed concerns over him taking classified documents from the White House, after he was highly critical of Trump doing the same thing.

'By Biden's own standard, wasn't Biden 'totally irresponsible' with classified information?' CNN State of the Union host Jake Tapper questioned. 'And aren't we right to wonder  to use Biden's words  'what data was in there that might compromise sources and methods?'

Judiciary Committee Democratic member Jamie Raskin, however, dismissed the revelations, claiming people need to take into consideration the 'proportion' and 'measure' of documents found compared to Trump

'I think we'll get to the bottom of all of that,' Raskin replied. 'I mean, that's why [a] special council has been appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. He did the right thing there  to look into it.'

'I'm hoping that we will keep a sense of symmetry about our analysis of these situations and a sense of proportion about the underlying offenses,' he insisted.

Raskin claimed that people are comparing the revelation of finding classified documents at Biden's home and think tank to Trump 'inciting a violent insurrection.' While this comparison has not been widely made, many on both sides of the political aisle have noted that both Biden and Trump have taken classified documents from the White House.

'We should keep a sense of proportion and measure about what we're talking about,' Raskin added.

Raskin serves on the House Judiciary Committee  and was one of the nine members who served on the Select Committee probing the January 6 Capitol attack, which sought to place blame on Trump for the riot two years ago.

The latest in the Biden files shows that at least six classified documents were found at the president's private home in Wilmington, Delaware  some of which appeared to have been haphazardly stored in boxes stacked in his garage alongside his Corvette.

Biden's attorneys announced finding the latest batch of classified documents on Saturday.

A new batch of documents bring the total to six classified documents found at Biden's home in Delaware  and two dozen total in three different locations

Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence was raided in August buy the FBI who seized thousands of documents and materials the former president took from the White House  while the Justice Department has appointed a special council in Biden's case, it has not approved an FBI raid like in Trump's case

The grand total of classified documents - many of which appear to date to his days as vice president - are now up to two dozen.

Republican lawmakers tore into Biden after the latest trove of classified documents were found at his Delaware home.

Senator Rick Scott of Florida said Biden was either a 'hypocrite' or 'completely clueless,' joining the legions of lawmakers questioning why Trump's home was raided by armed FBI agents when documents were found at his home, but Biden received no such treatment.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz put things succinctly, tweeting 'Full FBI raid happens when?'

Even an attorney who once prosecuted Trump during the Mueller Probe, Andrew Weissmann, said Biden was 'digging a deeper hole' as his administration remained vague about the investigation while more documents continue to crop up.

GOP lawmakers who joined the chorus of public criticism include Representatives Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Ronny Jackson of Texas and Jim Jordan of Ohio  as well as Senators John Kennedy of Louisiana, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, among several others.
A new ban on conversion therapy could soon be announced by the Government, covering gender identity as well as sexual orientation.

It is understood the proposed legislation will be announced this week.

The Government had previously held back against including trans conversion therapy in the law but there has been widespread cross party support for a total ban, ITV reports.

Jayne Ozanne, former equalities advisor to No10, said: 'It's good to hear that finally, after nearly five years, we are going to get the legislative ban that we have been so long-promised.

Thousands of people pass through Soho in a London Trans+ Pride march in July last year

A new ban on conversion therapy could soon be announced by the Government, covering gender identity as well as sexual orientation (Pictured: Trans rights activists at the 'Not Safe To Be Me' rally at Westminster last June)

'I'm relieved to learn that the Government will include full protections for trans people, but remain concerned that large loopholes may be created regarding whether someone can supposedly "consent" and on religious practices.

'The latter is by far the most common form in the UK and must be stopped if LGB+ lives are to be protected from this horrific abuse.'

Leaked documents in March last year showed Boris Johnson's administration had quietly planned to drop the ban, which was developed by Theresa May in 2018.

After an angry fallout, the Government u-turned and announced a ban on conversion therapy for sexual orientation in last year's Queen's Speech.

Now, the Government is set to announce the introduction of a full ban, which will be published later this year - allowing MPs to scrutinise its wording.

The bill is apparently being overseen by Downing Street rather than Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, whose brief covers it.

Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch reportedly will not be overseeing the new conversion therapy bill

Commentators believe the UK Government has set itself in competition against the Welsh Government to announce new legislation on trans rights first (Pictured: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak)

Commentators believe the UK Government has set itself in competition against the Welsh Government to announce new legislation on trans rights first.

But until the bill is published, there is uncertainty over how it will work in principle.

The few remaining 'gender conversion' therapy programmes in the UK are typically voluntary, leading to confusion as to whether providers can be prosecuted if adults consent to be treated.

Campaigners argue many of those who consent to conversion therapy are ignorant about the dangers, rendering any ban that does not cover consenting adults ineffective.

It is also unknown whether the ban will cover religious practices. Previous assurances have been made that a ban would not encroach upon religious teaching, but campaigners insist this would allow some of the most harmful procedures to continue.

Campaigners in the gender critical movement, which has a group of vocal supporters inside Parliament, are also likely to carefully monitor the proposed transgender conversion ban - amid fears it could criminalise psychiatrists treating teenagers and other vulnerable people.

It is not known when the bill is likely to go before the House of Commons, but ITV News reports that Downing Street plans to pass the legislation before the next election.

Sources at No 10 are reportedly surprised at the level of cross party support for a total conversion therapy ban, including from the Conservative benches.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also vowed a full conversion therapy ban, meaning the new legislation will still be implemented even if the Tories lose the next election.

Besides campaigning from LGBTQ+ groups such as Stonewall and the LGBT Consortium, figures including the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, wrote to the Prime Minister last year urging him to include trans people in the ban.
The family has started a GoFundMe to file a civil suit against the hunter

Charges against the hunter have been ruled out by law enforcement, ruling it was a case of mistake identity

Hunter, an 8-year-old malamute mix, was shot January 7 while out for a walk in the woods with his owner

A Pennsylvania's family dog was shot by a hunter who thought he was a coyote

A Pennsylvania family's beloved dog was recently shot and killed while out in the woods with his owner after a hunter thought the animal was a coyote.

Jennifer Heller's eight-year-old malamute mix Hunter was tragically shot in Berks County, Pennsylvania, while wearing reflective collars and harnesses.

Heller shared the news of the animal's death in a Facebook post while calling for justice for her pup and saying he 'suffered in pain' before he died on the way to the hospital.

The Heller family has started a GoFundMe to help raise money for legal expenses to bring a civil case to 'hold accountable the parties that have tried to sweep this incident under the rug.'

A Pennsylvania family's beloved dog was recently shot and killed while out in the woods with his owner after a hunter thought the animal was a coyote

Jennifer Heller's eight-year-old malamute mix Hunter was tragically shot in Berks County, Pennsylvania to go for a walk with his owner

Pennsylvania law enforcement officials have ruled out charges against the hunter, telling one local outlet 'no game law violations were detected' and the incident was purely mistaken identity. Hunter weighed nearly 90 pounds, double the size of a coyote, the woman said.

The shooting has sparked outrage among the community, with many rallying behind the Hellers to help bring 'justice for Hunter.'

The shooting happened on January 7 when Chris Heller was taking Hunter and the family's other dog, Freya, out at a 'very commonly used walking path' by their home.

Jennifer said in a Facebook post Chris found no cars at the entrance to the trail but the man kept the dogs close by anyway.

At some point, Chris found a group of hunters and conversed with them about how he thought hunting season was over. The group told them it had been extended.

Chris let the hunters know he and his dogs, who were off-leash, would be walking through the woods and told them he would be out of the way in several minutes.

Hunter was shot while wearing reflective collars and harnesses, Jennifer says

The dog had been out for a walk with his owner and their other dog, Freya

Chris Heller said he had spoken with hunters to tell them they were walking in the area before Hunter had been shot

The hunters communicated to the others in the party that there would be a man and two large dogs in the area, according to Jennifer's post.

Before they could walk away, one of the hunters shot the dog while he was just feet away.

The malamute mix was shot 'in the gut' by a hunter with a scope on his rifle.

Chris yelled out 'who shot my dog?' before he carried the pup, calling out for help.

Jennifer said the hunter who shot Hunter stood and watched as the others attempted to help with the wounded animal.

Before the family was able to bring Hunter to the car but the animal died after a short drive as he 'suffered in pain' for 20 minutes.

Before they could walk away, one of the hunter's shot the dog while he was just feet away

This is the photo of the dog's collar, shared by Jennifer in a Facebook post

The hunter allegedly did not apologize to the family for killing the dog.

'The hunter only said I thought it was a coyote. I want this hunter to lose his hunting privileges for a few years and have to take a hunter safety course before he can hunt again,' Jennifer wrote.

'This was a family pet,' Jennifer Heller said in an interview with local media. 'It wasn't a wild animal. He was loved and taken care of. We called him "the cheese man" because he loved dairy products. We used to bribe him with cheese.'

The Hellers adopted Hunter from Howling Woods Farm in Jackson Township, New Jersey, according to an interview they gave to the Morning Call.

The dog was a beloved member of the Heller family

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there is 'no closed season' on hunting coyotes.

'Outside of any big game season (deer, bear, elk and turkey), coyotes may be taken with a hunting license or a furtaker license, and without wearing orange,' the PA Game Commission states on its website.

Hunters need to have a 'general license' to hunt the animal in the state.

'During any big game season, coyotes may be taken while lawfully hunting big game or with a furtaker license,' the site continues.

'Hunter was so loved by so many people and shouldnt have had his life ended,' Jennifer said

A spokesperson for the PA Game Commission told The Morning Call said the group of hunters were in full compliance with the law.

The spokesperson said dog owners who are in areas where hunters are present should use fluorescent vests and harnesses.

He continued, stating the burden is still on hunters to positively identify their targets before they shoot.

'It's a fundamental rule of hunting,' the spokesperson said.

The family is now raising money to cover legal expenses against the hunter

Despite officials saying it was completely legal, the family is still pursuing legal action against the hunter.

Jennifer recently started a GoFundMe to raise $10,000 to help cover a retainer for a lawyer.

The family alleges that the PA Game Commission 'has shot down every suggestion and has made indications to Jennifer Heller that the real problem is the Hellers not understanding this was a mistake and just letting it go.'

They also say they have tried to make contact with the hunter but he does not want to meet out of fear of social media backlash.

A lawyer has told the family he believes 'they have a strong foundation for a civil case and can hold accountable the parties that have tried to sweep this incident under the rug.'

As of January 15, the fundraiser has brought in just over $3,100.

'Hunter was so loved by so many people and shouldnt have had his life ended,' Jennifer said.
A big rig was seen overturned on San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge as catastrophic wind and rainfall continues to flood the city.

The bridge's southbound and northbound lanes were blocked on Saturday night as the tractor trailer was seen in a photo posted by California Highway Patrol tipping over onto oncoming traffic.

One spectator captured a video of emergency crews responding to the scene before the lanes were shut down.

Rainfall will continue to plummet in San Francisco leading into Monday with winds reaching up to 15 mph as residents remain on flood watch until Tuesday.

President Joe Biden announced on Saturday a disaster declaration in California as recent 'atmospheric rivers' have left at least 19 people dead since the series of storms began December 26.

Footage showed an overturned big rig on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. The accident occurred on Saturday night as gusts of winds and rain hit the city

Rainfall will continue to plummet San Francisco leading into Monday with winds reaching up to 15 mph as residents remain on flood watch until Tuesday

Bands of rain with gusty winds started in the north and spread south, with more storms expected to follow into early next week, the National Weather Service said.

The Golden State has been pounded with a series of 'atmospheric rivers' rarely seen in such frequent succession.

NWS warned residents in the bay area that the storm will continue into Monday with winds picking up until it subsides on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

The ongoing rainfall has put 2023 as San Francisco's seventh 'wettest water year' since 1973. Rainfall in the city has been recorded since the Gold Rush in 1849.

Oakland Airport reported that the area received more water than a normal year with 19.25 inches of rain since October, NWS reported. The area receives about 18.25 inches in other years.

Aside from San Francisco, flood warnings were issued for the northern region of the state including Marin, Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties.

In Sacramento, moderate to heavy snowfall is also anticipated, according to NWS. Officials warned that drivers avoid traveling in the mountain areas unless necessary.

More south, warnings were posted for parts of counties including San Mateo and Santa Cruz, where the tiny community of Felton Grove along the San Lorenzo River was ordered evacuated.

Trash cans were seen floating down streets, with water levels reaching stop signs and overtaking parked vehicles.

Some residents waded through floodwaters and mud to clean debris.

The Salinas River was also seen swollen in Monterey County. The storm threatened the valley where 70 percent of lettuce in the US originates from.

A home on agricultural land is seen amid flooding from the Salinas River in Salinas, where 70 percent of the United States' lettuce is produced

The Central Valley town of Planada was devastated by widespread flooding after a severe atmospheric river event moved through the area earlier in the week

A greenhouse is seen submerged in the Salinas River's waters

The swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County, and to the east, flood warnings were in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where Gov. Gavin Newsom visited to take stock of storm problems

On the southern side of the state, residents were dealing with their own troubles from the destructive rainfall in Los Angeles.

A massive tree in a Woodland Hills parking lot fell on Saturday damaging more than a dozen cars.

'We were in our car and we heard a giant crash. We turned around and the tree was falling,' one witness told KTLA 5. 'Everyone was screaming. Everyone came out of the restaurant and were taking pictures. Car alarms were going off.'

Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Merced County on Saturday to take stock of storm problems.

'The reality is that this is just the eighth of what we anticipate will be nine atmospheric rivers  were not done,' Newsom said at a briefing with local leaders where he urged people to be vigilant about safety for the next 24 to 48 hours.

'This is happening all across California but I want to say  you guys are disproportionately taking the brunt of it, and if you feel that way youre right,' the California Democrat said.

Newsom later thanked President Biden in a tweet for approving a disaster declaration in the state.

'Thank you, @POTUS for having the back of Californians as we continue to be impacted by intense winter storms,' Newsom tweeted. Serious winds and rain are still anticipated throughout the state. Stay safe and remain vigilant.'

The declaration makes funding available for storm victims residing in Merced, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz counties.

Federal assistance can include temporary housing, loans for uninsured properties, and home repairs, according to the White House.

The Los Angeles River was seen heavily flooded on January 10 as the storm continues to hit the state in waves since

Roads near Watsonville turned into gushing rivers on January 9 which lead to evacuation of thousands in towns with histories of deadly mudslides

At least 19 storm-related deaths have occurred since December 26, and a 5-year-old boy remained missing after being swept out of his mothers car by flood waters in San Luis Obispo County.

Kyle Doan was being driven to school by his mother, Lindsay, on Monday when they got trapped on a flooded road. The boy's parents maintain that there was no warning about the road.

Lindsay said that she rushed to get her son out of the car as they became overwhelmed by the waters. She says that by the time she could get out of the car, her son had been taken down the creek close to the town of San Miguel.

The new storms have resulted in the search for Doan being suspended.
A young woman in Ukraine has gone viral on Sunday after being rescued from the fifth floor of an apartment block that was totally destroyed by Russian strikes - just weeks after the loss of her husband who was killed fighting in the war.

Anastasia Shvets, 23, was in her apartment's bathroom at the time of the explosion and was left hiding in the corner of the flat, clutching a green teddy and a golden decorative garland.

She was left with her hands over her face in shock after being at the heart of the attack on a block of flats in Dnipro on Saturday night.

Pictures from the scene appeared to show her in tears as she was being pulled out of the wreckage by emergency services.

The 23-year-old was left in shock as she realised she was completely alone within the rubble

She was seen clutching a green teddy and a festive garland as rescuers led her away from the building

She had been enjoying a meal with her parents in the kitchen just moments before the missile strike, only to leave for the bathroom and then find her kitchen, and her parents, nowhere in sight.

A photographer captured her horror shortly after the strike, seemingly as she realised that she was alone.

She described having 'no words... no emotions' in the aftermath of the attack as she posted to her followers from her hospital bed.

She suffered wounds to her head and legs, and does not know whether her parents survived the missile strike.

She added: 'I want to see my parents. I am in pain. Do I even exist?'

Russia launched a massive wave of missiles into Ukraine on Saturday night, after calling a halt to strikes over Orthodox Christmas last week.

Putin's officials claimed that Ukrainian air-defence systems had hit their missile over Dnipro, deflecting it into the apartment block, but Ukrainian officials said are incapable of shooting down ballistic and cruise missiles.

Ms Shvets tragically lost her husband to the war in Ukraine just months before last night's attack.

She previously said: 'I still can't get over its been two weeks since I heard your voice and seen your smile.

'When was the last time you told me how much you loved me. Everything was in the end, all dreams and our goals.'

Posting an update from her hospital bed, Ms Shvets could be seen still clutching the green dinosaur she escaped from her apartment with

She shared photos of her remarkably light injuries to her followers on Instagram

Ms Shvets lost her husband (pictured) just months ago, and is not clear where her parents currently are

Ms Shvets wrote on Instagram on Sunday: 'I have no words, I have no emotions, I feel nothing but a great emptiness inside' (Pictured: Ms Shvets before the attack)

At least 21 people were killed in the strike which Ms Shvets, pictured on her Instagram, miraculously survived

A rescue mission remains under way in Dnipro after Russian missiles struck the building in the central Ukrainian city late last night.

Harrowing images from the scene show survivors being pulled from the wreckage of what remains of the block, including those who are injured.

At least 35 people are still missing and 73 were injured, Mykola Lukashuk, head of the regional council, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

'Burn in hell, Russian murderers,' he wrote.

Regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said seven children were among those transported to hospital with severe injuries.

Ms Shvets wrote on Instagram on Sunday: 'I have no words, I have no emotions, I feel nothing but a great emptiness inside.

'I was not living, but existing all the time. [...]

'I was covered by the door in the bed[room], part of the kitchen, bathroom, kitchen, corridor and pantry (how the "pantry" at home will be) is gone, there is an abyss and I see other parts of the entrance, someone else's entrance.

'I am almost intact, despite the wound on my head and bare legs.

'I do not know where my parents are.

'They say they saw me alive, I am sure they were in the kitchen, which is no longer there.

'I did not want to escape, I wanted my parents to be found. I understand that Richard is gone. He hardly survived.

'I remember my father's stupid jokes today, how we took pictures of puppies with my mother today, ate my mother's Udon.

'I became popular, although I did not want it, almost every public [media company] publishes [photographs of] me. And I want to see my parents.

'I'm in pain. Do I even exist?'

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023

Emergency personnel evacuate a person at the site of the missile strike on Sunday morning

Rescue team work among the rubble of a damaged residential building hit by shelling in Dnipro, southeastern Ukraine, 14 January 2023

Emergency workers clear rubble with many people under debris in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, January 14, 2023

Rescue workers carry a woman rescued from the apartment block away from the scene and towards a waiting ambulance on Sunday

A Dnipro citizen cries as she watches firefighters and other rescue workers trying to save survivors

By Sunday morning, smoke was still coming off the wrecked building as firefighters continued to rescue those trapped inside

A rescue worker carries a cat pulled alive from the wreckage towards safety following the horrific strike

The death toll, currently 21, is likely to rise as there are dozens of people still feared trapped under the debris. By lunchtime on Sunday, the city's mayor said the chance of finding more survivors was already small.

The entire block was obliterated into a mountain of brick and mortar, with twisted bits of charred metal strewn about nearby streets.

'They (Russians) are just inhuman. At least one stairwell is gone. Under the rubble there are people who were at home for the holiday,' said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office.

Firefighters were deployed to hose down the flames in the aftermath of the attack as rescuers began to pick through the wreckage in the hope of finding survivors.
James Comer said George Santos is a 'buy guy', but stopped short of calling for him to step down from Congress  as the list of GOP members calling for the freshman representative's resignation grows to seven.

The new Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee said that Rep. Santos will be removed from Congress if it is found that he violated campaign finance laws, but not for lying about his credentials during the 2022 campaign.

Meanwhile, Representative Chris Stewart had some much less harsh words for the congressman, calling him a 'goofball.'

Santos, among several other lies, fibbed about where he went to school, his family's heritage and his career background - claiming he had a job with Goldman Sachs. None of these lies came out until after he was elected in the midterms to be the new representative for New York's 3rd congressional district, which he flipped red.

'Look, he's a bad guy,' Rep. Comer told CNN's State of the Union host Jake Tapper on Sunday morning. 'This is something that, you know, it's really bad.'

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Sunday that George Santos is a 'bad guy' but stopped short of calling for his resignation

Santos lied about his biography when running for Congress and is now under investigation into potentially breaching campaign finance laws related to the origin of $700,000 he gave to his campaign

"He's a bad guy  it's pretty despicable, the lies that he told."



Rep. James Comer (R-KY) when asked by @jaketapper if Rep. George Santos (R-NY) should resign from his position in Congress. @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/MXyQTZt4DI  CNN (@CNN) January 15, 2023

'He's not the first politician, unfortunately, to make it to Congress to lie,' he continued. 'You know, Elizabeth Warren wasn't truthful about her ethnicity  and I can go on and on.'

Comer is reference Senator Elizabeth Warren repeatedly touting her Native American heritage, including as a way to get into law school, but finding out in a DNA test that she was only 1/1024th American Indian, which is less than the average American.

The oversight chairman, who hasn't even spoken with Santos yet, said he wouldn't join the chorus of his fellow GOP lawmakers calling for his resignation just weeks after being sworn-in.

'George Santos was duly elected by the people,' Comer said. 'He's going to be under strict ethics investigation.

'So I think that Santos is being examined thoroughly,' he added. 'It's his decision whether or not he should resign, it's not my decision. But certainly, I don't approve of how he made his way to Congress.'

Rep. Christ Stewart had a less hard-line approach to Santos, saying on Sunday: 'It's pretty hard not to conclude he's a bit of a goofball.' He said he would resign if he were in the same situation

When asked if Rep. George Santos should resign, GOP Rep. Chris Stewart tells @margbrennan "it's pretty hard not to conclude he's a bit of a goofball."



"If I were in that situation, I don't know how I could continue to serve and I suppose he needs to ask that same question." pic.twitter.com/frODF0lXrc  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 15, 2023

'I haven't even introduced myself to him because, you know, it's pretty despicable the lies that he told. But at the end of the day, it's not up to me or any other member of Congress to determine whether he can be kicked out for lying.'

States cannot recall an elected member of the U.S. Congress, meaning if he does not resign or get booted, Santos will remain in Congress until the 2024 elections where voters could have the chance to fire him by electing a different candidate.

Utah Rep. Stewart said Sunday that if he were in Santos' situation, he would resign  and claimed that he also hasn't yet spoken with the freshman congressman.

'It's pretty hard not to conclude he's a bit of a goofball,' Stewart told CBS host Margaret Brenner on her Face the Nation broadcast on Sunday. 'He clearly lied to his constituents. It's going to be very, very difficult for him to gain the trust of his colleagues.'

'If I were in that situation, I don't know how I could continue to serve and I suppose he needs to ask that same question,' he added.

Meanwhile, far-right Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida is calling for his colleagues to reserve placing judgement on Santos.

The New York representative admitted to lying about at least some parts of his biography and is under federal and local investigations related to his campaign finances.

Gaetz said lawmakers should wait to see how it plays out rather than shunning the lawmaker and immediately jumping to calls for his resignation.

Rep. Matt Gaetz said lawmakers should not shun Santos and should save their judgement for after investigations conclude

'George Santos will have to go through the congressional ethics process,' Gaetz told CNN on Saturday. 'I don't want to prejudge that process, but I think he deserves the chance to at least make his case. There are requirements members of Congress have to meet when it comes to the money that they donate to their own campaigns.'

'But until then, I don't think that George Santos should be subject to shunning because the Americans he serves deserve representation, and they have real challenges, and we ought to work together to solve their challenges and meet their needs,' he added.

Gaetz interviewed Santos Thursday on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast where the New York Republican refused to answer several questions related to the lies he's told  and wouldn't divulge the source of the $700,000 he gave his campaign to earn his Long Island seat.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has also stood by Santos  but also admits that the freshman as 'a long way to go to earn trust' of members and his constituents. The new top House member said he would not call for Santos' resignation at this time.
Greta Thunberg was seen smiling as she was carried away by police while protesting at a German coal mine today.

The Swedish climate activist and other protesters confronted police at a mine in Lutzerath, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of the country.

The village is set to be razed to make way for the expansion of the mine, despite demonstrations from environmentalists.

Thunberg, who has been one of the main voices in the anti-climate change movement in recent years, was seen laughing as two police officers in riot gear carried her away this afternoon.

Greta Thunberg is seen smiling as she is surrounded by two police officers in Lutzerath in Germany today

The climate activist laughed as the riot police forcibly removed her from a protest against the expansion of a coal mine

The 20-year-old was forcibly removed by police after failing to comply with demands for protesters to vacate the area, according to German newspaper Bild.

She joined around 70 protesters at the site today, with the newspaper repting they ran across a field near the mine in a bid to disrupt operations.

There have been multiple protests at the site near the town of Erkelenz in west Germany in recent days, with clashes between demonstrators and police.

Activists have occupied the village of Lutzerath in an effort to stop the mine expanding, digging tunnels and building structures in an effort to stall progress.

The residents of the village left some time ago after being ordered to leave by the German courts.

On Wednesday, January 11, police were given the green light to remove people from the hamlet, sparking violence.

Demonstrators have accused the police of 'pure violence', while the authorities say 70 cops have been hurt in recent days.

The Swedish eco-activist has visited the mine to protest against its expansion, which will see the town of Lutzerath demolished

Thunberg, pictured here before being carried away, has called for the German government to stop plans to expand the mine

There have been violent clashes between protesters and police at the mine in recent days. Picture: A demonstrator holds his eye at a rally yesterday

Protesters link arms as riot police confront them outside the mine on Saturday, January 14

Smoke drifts through the air as eco-activists scuffle with police outside the mine on Saturday, January 14

A protester falls to the floor during clashes between police and eco-activists at the coal mine on Saturday, January 14

Police say it is investigating 154 potential offences, while nine eco-activists were taken to hospital, although none have been seriously hurt - a claim disputed by the climate protesters who say several have been critically injured.

The action has descended into farcical scenes at times, with video on social media showing police dressed in riot gear getting stuck in thick mud while protesters throw muck at them.

One video appears to show a man dressed as a friar taunting the stuck police officers and even pushing one over as they try to get out of the mud.

The mine, called Garzweiler, is one of Europe's largest opencasts and is operated by energy firm RWE. It is a major source of lignite used in coal power stations.

Protesters gather outside the coal mine as they prepare to confront police on Saturday, January 14

Police on horseback advance towards protesters outside the mine on Saturday, January 14

Protesters stand on the edge of the opencast mine, looking dozens of metres down to where lignite has been extracted

Demonstrators gather in a field next to the mine as a huge piece of mining equipment looms in the background on Saturday January 14

Thunberg had visited the town on Friday, January 13, where she said Germany was 'embarrassing itself' by expanding the mine, DW News reports.

'I think it's absolutely absurd that this is happening in the year 2023,' she said.

'The most effective people are clear, the science is clear, we need to keep the carbon in the ground.

'When government and corporations are acting like this, are actively destroying the environment, putting countless of people at risk, the people step up.

'This is only a part of a global climate movement and we stand together in solidarity.'

The German government had announced plans to phase out coal by 2030, the Sun reports, but has since changed tack after Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced it to rethink its energy policy.
A woman in her 30s was rushed to hospital with serious injuries after she was mauled by a white American Bulldog outside a supermarket.

She was rushed to hospital after she was attacked outside a Tesco on Castle Street in Salisbury, Wiltshire on Saturday.

The male owner of the dog, who is in his 40s, was arrested at the scene and taken into custody on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, according to Wiltshire Police.

The woman's injuries are considered serious but not life-threatening and she is being treated in hospital.

A woman was rushed to hospital after she was attacked outside this Tesco supermarket on Castle Street in Salisbury, Wiltshire on Saturday, January, 14, 2023

A stock image of a white American Bulldog- the same breed which attacked the women on Saturday but the appearance of the involved animal may differ

The dog was removed from the scene and was relocated into appropriate care.

The owner is still in custody following the attack outside the supermarket on Castle Street, Salisbury.

This comes just days after a female dog walker was mauled to death by eight dogs during her shift as a walker in Surrey.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics, the 28-year-old woman from London died at the scene.

None of the dogs seized by police were classed as dangerous, with breeds including two dachshunds, a cockapoo, a collie and Shiva the Leonberger.

The police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward with any information about Saturday's incident.

Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to call 101 quoting log number 54230004637.
Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Sunday urged the special counsel investigating President Joe Biden's handling of classified files to seek an interview with the commander-in-chief himself.

Earlier this week, the White House confirmed reports that a small batch of classified files were found in Biden's former private office at a Washington, DC think tank on November 2, 2022. It prompted questions over why their existence was not disclosed ahead of the November 8 midterm elections six days later.

Since then, the White House has admitted that a total of six more classified documents were found among Biden's possessions from his time as vice president - this time, at his private Wilmington, Delaware home.

Rosenstein, who had appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel to probe whether the Trump 2016 campaign colluded with Russia, dismissed criticism of his former department for failing to disclose the documents' existence just before the elections.

'It's not the Justice Department's job to make public announcements like that,' Rosenstein said on NBC News' Meet The Press.

Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein expressed confidence in the credentials of both the Trump and Biden special counsels but warned they would be 'attacked' for the political nature of their roles

WATCH: The key question for special counsel Robert Hur is whether President Biden was aware of the classified documents, says fmr. Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein.



"I would want to go right to the source and ask the president directly whether he was aware of those documents." pic.twitter.com/ywWvUBrFkM  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 15, 2023

The former Trump DOJ official stressed that he would not have done so if he were still at the department.

'The decision about whether or not to go public would be left to the president and the White House,' he explained.

'So, I would not anticipate the Justice Department under any circumstances to make a public announcement about something like that.'

Current Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Thursday that he was tapping a former Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, Robert Hur, as special counsel to investigate the matter of Biden's files.

Rosenstein suggested that a 'logical step' for Hur would be to ask Biden himself for an interview.

'If I were conducting this investigation, I want to go right to the source and ask the president directly whether or not he was aware of those documents,' the former Justice official said.

Donald Trump had turned down an interview with then-Special Counsel Mueller, who in turn never tested the ex-president with a subpoena. Trump instead submitted a written deposition to a list of Mueller's questions.

President Joe Biden is being investigated by a special counsel after the White House made multiple admissions of classified documents - from his time as vice president - found among his private possessions

Hur's appointment comes just months after Garland chose former international war crimes prosecutor Jack Smith to oversee the DOJ's two investigations of Donald Trump, including his bringing dozens of classified files to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House.

Rosenstein argued that Garland backed himself into a corner by tapping Smith.

'Having made the appointment in the Trump case, Merrick Garland put himself in a position where he really had no choice when this matter came along, unless the preliminary inquiry were to establish that there was no chance that a crime had been committed,' he explained.

But the former Trump appointee spoke highly of both men.

'These are two professionals who spent extended amounts of time in the Department of Justice,' Rosenstein said.

'They understand that their goal is to focus on the facts, and law, and apply department policy - and both of these men are not going to be influenced by political pressure.'

Though he added as a warning for the pair of prosecutors, 'But you're in the political arena where it's inevitable you're going to be attacked.'

When asked to speculate about the differences of intent between Trump's situation and Biden's, Rosenstein cautioned Americans to 'wait until we know the facts.'

Trump's interactions with the National Archives have been described to be vastly different to those of Biden's lawyers. The ex-president's attorneys have been accused of lying to the Archives and to investigators about having turned over all the files, only for more to be recovered later.

The delay and evidence of the remaining records' existence culminated in an FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago in early August.

Biden's original classified files discovered at the Penn Biden Center were handed to the National Archives and DOJ by his private lawyers the day after they were found. A further search uncovered six more at his private Wilmington residence, which were similarly turned over, according to the White House.

But Rosenstein pointed out that the sitting Democratic leader had questions to answer of his own.

'You know, the key fact with regard to the Biden documents, of course, is what did the president know about those documents? Was he aware that they'd been moved? In the past five years has he handled those documents? Was he aware of them?' Rosenstein said.

'We just don't know that yet. So I think even that we really can't speculate, just based on what's been public record.'
Baffled residents have taken to dancing on 'Britain's most bonkers road markings' in protest against a seaside town's bizarre new traffic scheme.

Clevedon locals participated in a fancy dress 'Wavy Wriggle to Save Our Seafront' campaign today after its council implemented the new whacky lines.

While residents claim the painted road markings look like a 'driving lane for drink drivers', North Somerset Council say these were designed to help slow traffic.

In response, fed up locals staged a protest at the town which they claim is becoming a 'laughing stock'.

Campaigners at the 'Save Our Seafront' protest against Clevedon's controversial wiggly lines

The new white wiggly lines have been installed in the Somerset town alongside the beach front

The organiser's post read: 'Wavy Wriggle to Save Our Seafront.

'Are you against the barmy curvy lines that have made North Somerset Council into a viral laughing stock of the nation?'

'Join us on Sunday 15 January at 3pm by Clevedon Sailing Club to "Snake On Sunday" where we will "walk the Line" in a wavy wiggle conga to show how we are against the unsafe wiggly changes to our once lovely Victorian seafront which has been vandalised by NSC.

'We will demand it's put back to the safe space it once was. Fancy dress optional Home made Banners essential.'

One person commented: 'The road layout is a hot mess, the cycle lane is next to the pavement, then there is parking, then out other side of the road is normal one way traffic.'

Another local added: 'I kid you not, the squiggly lines are opposite driveways to allow vehicles to swerve to get round and into their drives without crossing the white line.'

The protest organiser's post read: 'Are you against the barmy curvy lines that have made North Somerset Council into a viral laughing stock of the nation?'

One posted: 'Balamory from hell for a motorcycle.'

The road scheme has seen a 400-metre segregated cycle lane installed along the seafront and the parking reconfigured. The road has also been made one way.

The new cycleway will form part of the 'Pier to Pier' link between Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon.

Despite work now almost finished, residents initially believed the wiggly road markings were an accident.

But North Somerset Council has said the lines are in fact part of the design and aimed at making the road feel narrower and slow down traffic.

It is also hoped the wiggly lines will help reduce unwanted parking.

Residents have blasted the new layout (pictured) saying it has turned the town into 'Balamory from hell'

The council said the new road markings are to make the road feel narrower and slow traffic

A council spokesman said: 'The lines are a design feature to reduce the potential abuse of parking at these locations and help make the road feel narrower, which is a technique used to slow traffic speeds.

'In this case, the area is adjacent to the sailing club entrance so needs to be kept clear.

'A wavy line provides uncertainty to the driver and is proven to help reduce unwanted parking.'

The squiggly lines are due to be finished with a surface treatment in the Spring.

North Somerset MP Liam Fox described the scheme as a 'shambles' and urged council chiefs to kill off the project and apologise to the people of Clevedon.

The Save our Seafront (SOS) group has also handed a detailed report listing safety concerns about the layout to the Department of Transport, asking it to intervene.

A petition against local seafront changes has now collected more than 6,000 signatures.
Video obtained by On Patrol: Live shows the heart stopping moment a diaper-clad toddler plays with a loaded handgun in an apartment building hallway, and even points it at himself and pulls the trigger.

Neighbors who saw the boy last Saturday called police, and authorities arrived to search the apartment where he lived with his father.

A 9mm Smith and Wesson pistol was eventually found in the back of a desk drawer, and the father was arrested. Authorities said the father could be charged with child neglect. The boy was not harmed in the incident, as the bullets had not yet been chambered in the gun.

The footage was aired on On Patrol: Live, and commentators and viewers like expressed their horror at the close call.

The toddler could be seen wielding a handgun in the apartment building hallway

The boy's father was arrested after the incident. The boy was taken to his mother's home

In the clip, the young boy can be seen wearing a diaper and aimlessly wandering around the stairwell outside his closed apartment door and carrying the loaded pistol.

As he walked about, he could be seen pointing the gun at doors and in the air, and rapidly pulling the trigger as he went.

At one point he even pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger.

The incident took place in Beech Grove, Indiana, which is just outside of Indianapolis.

In the clip, the young boy can be seen wearing a diaper and aimlessly wandering around the stairwell outside his closed apartment door and carrying the loaded pistol

As he walked about, he could be seen pointing the gun at doors and in the air, and rapidly pulling the trigger as he went

The boy waves the gun in the air, as seen by a neighbor's security camera

In the On Patrol: Live segment, police can be seen speaking to the boy's father, who insisted he did not own a gun or have one in the apartment, but that his cousin who was staying with him did own one.

Cops could be heard asking the toddler 'Where'd you put down that toy?' as they searched the apartment.

The father told police he and his wife had both been sick recently and that he had been trying to stay up with the child to take care of him, but that his illness must have distracted him while the child got his hands on the weapon and made it into the hallway.

Police eventually found the weapon in the apartment after their search. The boy was returned to his other, with whom he lived full time.

Two of the neighbors who saw the boy with the handgun in their hallway. They called the police

The woman whose security camera captured the boy with the gun in the building hallway

On Patrol: Live commentator Sean Larkin said seeing the footage behind such an incident was 'very different' than just reading about it.

'We hear these types of stories where kids come across this firearms, these horrific results that do happen sometimes, but seeing it on video is definitely very different,' he said.'

Commentator Curtis Wilson said things could have easily gone differently without the intervention of watchful neighbors.

'Which is good that citizens or neighbors got involved, because it could be really a tragic situation,' Wilson said.

The handgun where it was discovered in the back of a desk in the apartment

A police officer examines the pistol after it was found in their search of the apartment

Officers speak with the boy's father when they first arrived at the apartment where the boy was seen

Viewers of the video were equally horrified.

'The father shouldn't be allowed to ever own a gun again,' wrote one commenter on Mediaite. 'He should be charged with reckless endangerment, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to the maximum.'

Another also added that he thought there should be a serious prison sentence for the father.

'If you leave a gun out where a child can get to it and use it, you should be criminally liable for whatever damage the child does,' they wrote. 'Similar to a felony murder statute, you need not pull the trigger to be convicted of homicide.'

Student, 6, stole mom's gun from home and put it in backpack before shooting his TEACHER during class: Child shot single bullet through woman's hand and CHEST - and boy is now being detained in medical facility

Abby Zwerner, 25, was shot by a six-year-old student in her classroom

The single bullet went through her hand and chest, police confirmed

Zwerner is now in stable condition and the child is in a medical facility

The gun was the child's mom's - and he brought it to school in his backpack

A six-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia had stolen his mother's gun from their home before putting it in his backpack and pulling the trigger during class.

The Richneck Elementary School student is now being detained in a medical facility where professionals continue to psychologically evaluate him.

Teacher Abby Zwerner, 25, is stable after the life-threatening attack on January 6. She was shot at point-blank range - and the bullet went through her hand and into her chest.

She was giving her first grade class instructions when the child pulled the gun out of his backpack and shot her. Police have confirmed that the attack was intentional, not accidental.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said more facts have to be gathered before the department can determine if charges will be filed against the boy's mother.

Teacher Abby Zwerner, 25, is stable after the life-threatening incident. She was shot at point-blank range, and the bullet went through her hand and into her chest

Zwerner was shot at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News around 2pm on January 6

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew told a press conference that the child shot one round, which went through the teacher's hand and then chest

Drew also revealed that Zwerner made sure all of the children in her class were safe and out of the room before she attempted to get help for herself. He said that the teacher's first question when he visited her was 'do you know how my students are.'

The six-year-old 'combative' boy was physically detained by another school employee following the terrifying shooting - who he then hit, police confirmed.

When they arrived at the scene, they placed the child in a police car and later took him to be interviewed him with his mother.

Police have confirmed that the gun which he brought into school was in fact his mother's. She had bought it legally in York County, and it was in their home.

It's currently unclear how the child was able to obtain the weapon at home.

The six-year-old 'combative' boy was physically detained by another school employee after the shooting - who he then hit, police confirmed

The teacher has been hailed a hero in the local community

Police have not released any details about the child - or his parents - but said that more interviews and probes are taking place. The six-year-old is now in a 'medical facility' and will appear before a judge in the coming days.

Meanwhile, a grandparent of a student at the school claimed that the week prior to the attack, one child brought in 'shiny gold bullets' and told his class and teacher he was thinking about bringing in a gun.

It is not clear if the student described by the grandparent is the same one who shot Zwerner.

Speaking to DailyMail.com, the grandmother said: 'The parents outside stated that their child told them a kid brought golden shiny bullets to school and was thinking about bringing his gun. The student told the parent, who informed the school.

'And the school just yesterday got back to the parent saying the parent of the kid said it was a nerf bullet and the parent said nerf bullets aren't shiny and gold.'

Zwerner was reportedly attempting to confiscate the gun from the young child when he shot her. Police said they were working to determine how the child got the weapon and why he shot his teacher.

Richneck is remaining closed through Friday of this week as the school and community continue to ponder ways to get students through this crisis.

One parent, Mark Anthony Garcia, whose young son attends Richneck, told CNN that the entire incident is a safety system failure of the education apparatus.

He said that local parents have raised prior concerns to no avail.

'We've talked to the principal, we've talked to the guidance counselor, we've went to town hall meetings, we spoke on zooms, what else are we supposed to do?' he said.

As a veteran, Garcia said that what happened at the school was the failure of multiple security measures, including metal detectors, of which he says the school has just one in the library.

Garcia's son, Mark Jr., told CNN that just after the shooting, which he heard from his nearby classroom, 'we all stayed quiet.'

'Two people were crying,' he said.

One key question, Mark Sr. said, is understanding if there were any issues in the classroom in the past.

Dr. James Fedderman, President of the Virginia Education Association, said the problem is only going to get worse if the mental health needs of students are not met soon.

'We're going to see an increase in crime in our schools and we really needs to take the reins and do something about it,' he said, adding that schools do not currently have the capacity to address the 'social-emotional needs of our students.'

Richneck Elementary will remain closed this week as administrative leaders continue to think through how to move students past the trauma experienced

Lawonda Sample-Rusk told a local outlet how she responded to the shooting of 25-year-old teacher Abby Zwerner

Lawonda Sample-Rusk, a grandmother who was at the school early to pick up her two grandchildren, helped render aid to the wounded Zwerner.

Rusk told local news outlet WKTR that she heard Zwerner cry out 'I'm shot, I'm shot. Call 911.'

She and the school receptionist at first thought Rusk had just been wounded on her hand, but then she 'passed out on the floor.'

Rusk and the receptionist stayed with Zwerner and helped put pressure on the wound while other administrators herded young students to designated safe zones.

The terrifying incident led Rusk to the area's second annual Stop the Violence Rally.

Concerned residents, community activists and city leaders came together to share concerns about community safety following the shooting.

Police have so far declined to comment on what, if any, contact they've had with Zwerner.
She was set to graduate early and move to Texas for a job in IT

Kaylee wanted to show off her new Range Rover to Maddie and attend a party

Murder victim Kaylee Goncalves didn't live in the three-story Idaho home the night she was brutally killed along with three others.

Kaylee, 21, had moved out of the off-campus home weeks before she was murdered, but returned to Moscow to visit her childhood best friend Maddie Mogen, also 21, and show off her new Range Rover.

The parents of Kaylee told Dateline that their daughter was set to graduate early and move to Texas for an IT job.

When Kaylee arrived back in town she had plans to visit Maddie and attend a nearby party. The two shared a room and were slayed in the same bed on November 13.

'These girls were best friends since sixth grade, like inseparable,' Kristi Goncalves said. 'That was the last time that I saw Kaylee.'

Kaylee Goncalves, 21, moved out of the Moscow, Idaho home before she was brutally murdered along with three others on November 13. She returned back to the three-story home to visit Maddie Mogen (top) and show off her new Range Rover

Maddie (left) and Kaylee (right) were described as being 'inseparable'

Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, both 20, were also allegedly murdered by 28-year-old Washington State University criminology student Bryan Kohberger.

Chapin didn't live in the home, but was visiting his girlfriend Kernodle when he was killed.

Kohberger was arrested on December 30, during a raid on his family's Pennsylvania home, where the white Hyundai Elantra - which was seen nearby the Moscow home the night of the murders - was also found.

A sheath that fit the KA-BAR knife believed used in the brutal slayings was found beside Kaylee and Maddie's bodies, according to an affidavit released last week.

DNA found at the bottom of the sheath linked Kohberger to the crime scene.

Steve and Kristi Goncalves told Dateline NBC in a recent interview that the new details seemed to paint a clearer picture of their daughter's final moments.

The investigation has given them hope that through the struggle, she played some hand in solving her own murder by snatching the all-important sheath from her assailant.

Kristi Goncalves told Dateline's Keith Morrison that when she read the new details, she felt that her daughter did everything she could to fight back.

'I just... I just said, "Can you believe that?" And I said, "I hope that maybe a struggle, she pulled it off him, in the struggle or whatever...'

Kaylee's father Steve was teary-eyed as he interjected: 'Yeah, it's a checkmate type moment. And our girls were a part of it.'

Goncalves was found stabbed to death on November 13, along with her roommates Maddie Mogen, 21, top left, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20

DNA found on the button of the sheath linked Bryan Kohberger, 28, to the crime scene and he was arrested after more than a month following the murders

Kaylee went back to Moscow to visit her friend and show off her new silver Range Rover (above)

Kaylee Goncalves' parents say they take some comfort in the hope that their daughter's will to put up a fight against her killer was possibly what helped lead police to the arrest of a suspect

A law enforcement source claims that the sheath found at the crime scene matches a 7-inch knife sold by KA-BAR - a manufacturer of hunting weapons

Police are yet to offer a motive for the killings and it remains unconfirmed whether Kohberger knew any of the victims.

An attorney for the family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the victims, told Business Insider earlier this week that Kohberger was 'not known' to any of the students.

'No one knew of this guy at all,' attorney Shannon Gray said.

Police say they matched a sample of DNA found at the scene to DNA taken from Kohberger's trash in Pennsylvania.

They also traced his cell phone to the area of the crime scene several times and matched his white Hyundai Elantra to the suspicious vehicle seen in the area on the night of the attacks.

Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen told police she saw the killer in the house wearing a black ski mask covering his face and nose.

She noticed that he had 'bushy eyebrows' - a feature police say they immediately noticed in Kohberger once they had his name.
Bahrain has reiterated its commitment to reaching zero neutrality by 2060 and implementing the interim goals to achieve it related to renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Participating at the opening of the 13th session of the General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), being held in Abu Dhabi, the Electricity and Water Affairs Minister Yasser bin Ibrahim Humaidan, outlined the steps taken by the Government of Bahrain to achieve sustainability of energy resources and the national level efforts to encourage investments in renewable energy projects and increase the percentage of renewable energy resources in the total energy mix.

He indicated the kingdom's keenness to intensify efforts to achieve the goals of sustainable development, especially the seventh goal related to sustainable energy, which is a main focus of the work of Irena in addition to international efforts to address climate change, a Bahrain News Agency (BNA) report said.

Ministerial sessions

The minister also participated in several other ministerial sessions to discuss the future vision, plans and experiences in the fields of renewable and clean energy.

The sessions stressed the important role of renewable energy to contribute to preserving the environment and addressing climate change without negatively affecting development efforts.-- TradeArabia News Service
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders avoided answering a question from Fox News anchors regarding former President Donald Trump's push to take back the White House in 2024.

The newly elected governor appeared Sunday to discuss her immediate plans for her state but conversations quickly turned to the presidential election one year away.

'I love the President, have a great relationship with him. I know our country would be infinitely better off if he was in office right now instead of Joe Biden but right now my focus isn't 2024,' Sanders told anchor Shannon Bream.

The Sunday appearance made by Sanders, who worked as a White House press secretary under former President Donald Trump, was the first since she was sworn in this past week.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said her 'focus isn't 2024' when pressed on if she supports her old boss, former President Donald Trump

The governor's interview comes as she has made major headlines for banning the term 'LatinX' from state documents and her ban on critical race theory.

While explaining why she tiptoed around endorsing her former boss by saying her focus is on delivering promises to Arkansas residents.

'I'm not really focused on that at all, but focused on what we can do to impact change and deliver on the promises we made during the campaign season here in Arkansas,' Sanders said.

Bream, however, was not taking the non-answer from the Republican governor.

The Fox anchor pressed on, asking her what she is waiting for exactly.

'What kind of timeline would you have for making a decision?' Bream asked. 'Do you want to see who else gets into the primary? Will you wait for the nominee?'

Sanders doubled down, stating: 'My focus isn't on 2024. It's on what we can deliver in this legislative session. I'm not going to set an arbitrary timeline. I'm not really focused on that at all.'

The newly elected governor said her focus is on 'what we can deliver in this legislative session'

Sanders refused to take the bait, stating multiple times she is focused on her role as governor

'That's the only thing that our team, and that I am focused on, is delivering on what we laid out to do,' Sanders said

Despite the repeated sidestepping, the Fox anchor attempts one more time to get the Republican to comment on the future of the White House.

Bream references a New York Magazine column from 2021 that speculated the new governor could be a candidate for vice president, potentially alongside former President Donald Trump or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

'You've just gotten sworn in. Do you already feel the pressure of future speculation?' the Fox host asks.

'I feel the pressure of delivering this legislative session,' the governor replies.

'That's the only thing that our team, and that I am focused on, is delivering on what we laid out to do,' Sanders continues.

Sanders worked as a press secretary during the Trump administration

Some outlets have speculated she could be a potential running mate for Trump

Sanders was sworn in Tuesday

The former White House employee is the first woman to be governor in the state

The former White House employee hasn't wasted any time either.

In her first several days in office, Sanders has taken swift action to fulfill campaign promises she made over the last two years.

After she was elected to the office in November, former President Trump congratulated her saying she is a 'fantastic person and will be a truly incredible Governor.'

In the past week, the governor has issued executive orders against 'woke' practices and procedures including banning of the term 'Latinx' from official government documents.

The term is used in a non-gendered way to describe a person of Latin American origin, potentially someone who you may not know their gender is or nonbinary.

'I'm incredibly excited about what I think we have in front of us and that's the only thing I'm spending my time focused on right now,' Sanders told Bream Sunday.

Sanders said Sunday she believes the country would be in a better place than it is currently if her former boss was back in the Oval Office

Earlier this week, the first female governor of Arkansas also announced she would ban critical race theory inside schools in the state.

'Under my leadership, schools will teach reading, writing, math, and scienceand our children will learn that the identity that truly matters is the one we all share: our identity as children of God and citizens of the United States of America,' she said at the time.

'Teachers and school administrators should teach students how to thinknot what to think,' the governor said on Tuesday.

Critical race theory focuses on the idea that race is a social construct, and racism is embedded in legal systems and policies, rather than just the actions of individuals.

Since taking office, the governor has taken swift action against 'woke' policies

The newly elected governor banned critical race theories in schools and the term 'Latinx'

The governor's ban on critical race theory arrived to mixed reactions from the public.

'Its abhorrent that they did that and they want to make it harder for kids to understand our history,' said research scientist and educator Chenoa Summers who spoke with KAIT 8 in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

'You act like racism does not exist,' said one parent. 'I really think that is the basis of taking away critical race theory because you want to make it seem like it does not exist.'

Others in the state, which Sanders won with 63 percent of the vote, have applauded her quick work to ban the controversial practice.

'She's my kind of person. Didn't hesitate to pull the trigger on stuff that desperately needed to be eliminated immediately,' said one YouTube commenter.

'I am glad I contributed to your campaign, keep up the good work,' wrote another on Twitter.
Woke Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar said on Sunday she is 'glad' that a special counsel has been appointed to investigate how classified White House documents wound up in President Biden's home and office.

Speaking to MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend, Omar said she believes any potential breach in security 'should be taken seriously.'

But, she claimed, Republicans are only interested in investigating Biden for taking classified documents from the Obama administration  and not former President Donald Trump, who did the same thing.

The interview comes as Democrats worry the discovery of six pages of classified documents  found in Biden's garage and think tank  could ruin his chances of re-election in 2024.

Woke Rep. Ilhan Omar said she is 'glad' a special prosecutor has been assigned to investigate how classified documents wound up in President Joe Biden's home and offices

In her interview on MSNBC Sunday Omar said: 'I am glad that there is a special prosecutor that has been appointed to this.'

When pressed on the issue, she explained she supports an investigation 'because any time there is a deviance in regards to security protocols, that should be taken seriously, that should be investigated.'

But the woke Representative then went on to slam Republicans who have refused to investigate former President Donald Trump when a trove of classified White House documents were found at Mar-a-Lago.

She noted that Trump 'literally stole classified documents, refused to turn them over, lied about having them, made up some story about how he declassified them [and] had to have his house raided in order for those documents to be found.'

Whereas Biden, she said, 'has cooperated, who his own staff and his former staff have themselves turned these documents in.'

'So you have to understand, right, Republicans are not really interested in upholding the law, following security protocols,' Omar claimed. 'What they're interested in is playing political games and now only want to investigate Biden.'

She is now just the latest Democrat to claim there is a difference between Biden having classified documents at his Wilmington, Delaware garage and Trump keeping classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

A new trove of classified documents were found Thursday at President Joe Biden's Wilmington, Delaware house. He says he is cooperating with an investigation

The discovery comes months after classified documents from the Trump administration were found at Mar-a-Lago

Earlier on Sunday, Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow said that the revelation of President Joe Biden taking classified documents from the White House is 'embarrassing' after he criticized Donald Trump for doing the same thing

Earlier in the day, NBC Meet the Press host Chuck Todd questioned whether the president should 'eat those words' after he claimed Trump was 'careless' for keeping the classified documents.

'Well, it's certainly embarrassing, right? 'Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow replied.

'I mean, it's embarrassing that you would find a small number of documents,' the Michigan Democrat added.

Stabenow may feel more emboldened to criticize the Democratic president considering she announced this month that she will not be seeking reelection in 2024  allowing her to speak more openly without fear of how it could play with constituents.

Bill Clinton's former advisor David Gergen said he thought this was a 'very, very big deal' for Biden's campaign. He also slammed him for not speaking up after the third batch of documents was found on Thursday, but not announced until Saturday

Biden's former Press Secretary Jen Psaki said it wouldn't be great for president to go under a special consul so soon to launching his reelection campaign, but said this could benefit him 'long-term'

Meanwhile, other Democrats  like Rep. Jamie Raskin  have been more defensive of the president as they fear Biden may lose re-election in 2024.

As former Clinton advisor David Gergen told Anderson Cooper: 'Its very, very big. Not legally but politically, its a very, very big deal.

'This is a president that was marching upward for the first time in his presidency. He got his numbers up. People are feeling better about the economy. There are all sorts of reasons to believe that he can now present himself - the fears that people like me have about how old he is and can he govern well? Those fears would be dissipated if he were able to stay on that track.

'Theyve done a wonderful job being cooperative with the government, and theyve done it by the books. I dont think sitting there hunkering down now, just acting like its not out there is good. Theyre going to get creamed doing that,' he said on Anderson Cooper's show.

'That long delay in putting it out there is going to encourage people to believe: "What are they hiding?"'

Biden's former Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said it wouldn't be great for president to go under a special consul so soon to launching his reelection campaign.

'No one wants a special counsel. You dont go into a year before you may run for president and think: "I want a special counsel this year". No one wants that,' she said on MSNBC.

She also said the documents being left behind was 'sloppy staff work in a transition,' between administrations, but said it could provide 'over the long-term - even if it brings short-term pain - being to their benefit.'

A Democratic strategist, who asked to remain anonymous, also worried for Biden, telling The Hill: 'This is going to be a pretty big problem for the president.'

'Republicans have always been good at drumming up scandal and even though the situation here with Biden is completely different than the situation involving Trump, theyre going to act like this is a huge deal.'

Rodell Mollineau, another Democratic strategist, agreed, claiming the two situations were 'apples to oranges,' but Republicans won't treat it that way.

'This isnt their silver bullet, but theyre [Republicans] going to try,' he told The Hill.

Some of the classified documents seemed to be in stacked boxes next to Biden's Corvette

At least six classified documents were found at the president's private home in Wilmington, Delaware on Thursday  some of which appeared to have been haphazardly stored in boxes stacked in his garage next to his Corvette.

The discovery brings the grand total of classified documents from Biden's days as vice president up to 16.

They were found Thursday, but Biden's attorneys did not announce the discovery until Saturday.

They said they discovered the documents in the room adjacent to the garage, but did not have clearance to view them, so they had to call in Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president.

'Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document the Presidents personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department,' Sauber said, according to Fox News.

'While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them.

'The Presidents lawyers have acted immediately and voluntarily to provide the Penn Biden documents to the Archives and the Wilmington documents to DOJ,' he said.

Biden's personal lawyer, Robert Bauer, defended the delay in releasing the information, saying the president's legal team 'have attempted to balance the importance of public transparency where appropriate with the established norms and limitations necessary to protect the investigations integrity.'

'These considerations require avoiding the public release of detail relevant to the investigation while it is ongoing,' he said in a statement.

A new batch of documents bring the total to six classified documents found at Biden's home in Delaware  and two dozen total in three different locations

The DC office building where 10 classified documents were found at a former office of now President Joe Biden

Attorney General Merrick Garland had already announced he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden apparently keeping the classified documents after two other sets were found earlier in the week.

The first set of sensitive files were found at a DC office for his think tank after reports emerged that Biden's attorneys found at least 20 classified documents amid the president's personal effects.

The documents were discovered in a locked closet while the lawyers were cleaning out the office to move out.

The White House acknowledged that Biden's attorneys had found 10 documents with classified markings at an old office at a Washington DC think tank, the president has been peppered with questions about the discovery.

The classified documents that appeared to be from the Obama administration were found on November 2 - before the midterm elections - though news of the documents did not come out until months later.

Biden was asked about the documents at the top of his trilateral press conference Tuesday in Mexico City, alongside Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The president said he was 'surprised' to find out classified documents were discovered in a box in a locked cabinet. But said his lawyers 'did what they should have done.'

'They immediately called the Archives - immediately called the Archives, turned them over to the Archives,' the president said.

The documents were discovered on November 2 and handed over to the Archives on November 3.

Biden said he didn't know the content of the documents and that his lawyers suggested he not ask.

'And we're cooperating fully with the review,' the president added.
It is claimed that he is a British citizen who runs a business in the UK

A man in his 60s has been arrested after traces of uranium were discovered within a cargo package at Heathrow Airport, sparking a major counter-terror probe.

The undeclared package originated in Pakistan before arriving at Heathrows Terminal Four aboard an Oman Air passenger jet from Muscat on December 29.

Specialist scanners operated by the UK Border Force detected the hidden uranium during routine check, before officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command were contacted.

Officers attended an address in Cheshire yesterday morning, where a man in his 60s was arrested on suspicion of an offence under Section 9 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

A man has been arrested in connection with an investigation into a shipment of uranium that was seized at Heathrow airport earlier this week

The undeclared material was discovered on December 29 on a passenger flight which arrived from Oman

The Telegraph claims the man is a British citizen who runs a business in the UK. As of last night, his identity had not been officially confirmed.

He was taken to a police station in the north west of England, where he was today released on bail until a date in April.

Specialist officers carried out a search at the same address at which the man was arrested.

The search has now completed and no material that could be a threat to the public was found, a police spokesperson said.

Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Mets Counter Terrorism Command, added: 'The discovery of what was a very small amount of uranium within a package at Heathrow Airport is clearly of concern, but it shows the effectiveness of the procedures and checks in place with our partners to detect this type of material.

'Our priority since launching our investigation has been to ensure that there is no linked direct threat to the public. To this end, we are following every possible line of enquiry available to us, which has led us to making this arrest over the weekend.

'I want to be clear that despite making this arrest, and based on what we currently know, this incident still does not appear to be linked to any direct threat to the public.

'However, detectives are continuing with their enquiries to ensure this is definitely the case.'

Specialist scanners operated by the UK Border Force detected the hidden uranium during routine checks.

The package was then rushed to a freight shed which contains a dedicated isolation room for radioactive material.

But sources confirmed that the uranium found in a very small quantity was not weapons-grade and could not be used to manufacture a thermonuclear weapon.
The final moments of a plane in Nepal which plunged to the ground, killing at least 68 people on board, appear to have been broadcast on Facebook Live by one of its passengers.

Video appearing to show the inside of the aircraft moments before the disaster, which happened as the plane descended into the newly opened airport in the city of Pokhara.

The footage, which was purportedly taken by an Indian man called Sonu Jaiswal, shows passengers smiling as the plane flies over houses. The Yeti Airlines logo is visible over Mr Jaiswal's shoulder and a Nepalese insurance advert can be seen on the airline's tray.

The clip continues, before the camera suddenly starts to shake and passengers are heard shouting. It then goes black with a loud bang, before flames light up the frame.

Chilling footage appearing to show the final moments on board the Nepal plane which crashed on Sunday has come to light. The footage shows smiling passengers as the aircraft begins to land

Footage appears to show the plane flying over houses in the town in the central region of Nepal

Footage appears to show the flight descending towards the new airport moments before the crash

The video shows the inside of the plane, including a Nepali language advert on the back of a seat (left) and the floor of the aircraft (right)

The veracity of the footage has not been confirmed independently by MailOnline, although the Times of India says it has spoken to Mr Jaiswal's cousin, who confirmed the 29-year-old was onboard the plane.

It reports one of Mr Jaiswal's companions, the three of which were also Indian, shouted 'It's real fun' moments before the crash.

The publication quoted Mr Jaiswal's cousin, Rajat Jaiswal, as saying: 'Sonu was on Facebook live after boarding the flight for Pokhara. The live-streaming showed that Sonu and his companions were in a happy mood but all of a sudden flames appeared before the streaming stopped.'

The crash involved a twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft run by Yeti Airlines, which had been undertaking a half-an-hour flight from the Nepali capital Kathmandu to Pokhara.

There were 72 people on board the aircraft, which included 15 foreigners, and at least 68 are known to have died after it crashed into a gorge near the city's new airport.

Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority said it is not known what caused the disaster as of yet.

The aviation authority said the aircraft last made contact with the airport from near Seti Gorge at 10.50am local time (5.05am GMT) before crashing.

Footage appearing to show the aircraft suddenly tilting and diving towards the ground as it made its landing approach to the airport.

A witness said he saw the aircraft spinning violently in the air after it began descending to land, watching from the terrace of his house.

Local resident Bishnu Tiwari, who rushed to the crash site near the Seti River to help search for bodies, said the rescue efforts were hampered by thick smoke and a raging fire.

'The flames were so hot that we couldn't go near the wreckage. I heard a man crying for help, but because of the flames and smoke we couldn't help him,' Tiwari said.

'Half of the plane is on the hillside,' said Arun Tamu, a local resident, who told Reuters he reached the site minutes after the plane went down. 'The other half has fallen into the gorge of the Seti river.'

Locals gather at the edge of the gorge where the plane crashed on Sunday morning

Smoke rises from the burning wreckage of the aircraft in the city of Pokhara

Pieces of the wreckage from the aircraft after it crashed on Sunday morning, January 15

Khum Bahadur Chhetri said he watched from the roof of his house as the flight approached.

'I saw the plane trembling, moving left and right, and then suddenly its nose dived and it went into the gorge,' Chhetri told Reuters, adding that local residents took two passengers to a hospital.

Images and videos shared on Twitter showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site, about 1.6 kilometers (nearly a mile) away from Pokhara International Airport. The aircraft's fuselage was split into multiple parts that were scattered down the gorge.

Firefighters carried bodies, some burned beyond recognition, to hospitals where grief-stricken relatives had assembled. At Kathmandu airport, family members appeared distraught as they were escorted in and at times exchanged heated words with officials as they waited for information.

It was carrying 68 passengers including 15 foreign nationals, as well as four crew members, Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.

Among those killed was Russian travel blogger Elena Banduro, who had posted the message 'Go to Nepal' excitedly before the flight.

Her social media was today full of messages of condolences, and she was described as 'the brightest, kindest soul we knew'.

Three other Russians died on the flight, named as Viktoria Altunina, Yuri Lugin and Viktor Lagin.

Earlier the Russian ambassador to Nepal, Alexei Novikov, confirmed the death of four compatriots aboard the crashed plane.

'Unfortunately, four citizens of the Russian Federation died,' he said.

'We are in constant contact with the Nepalese authorities and will provide all necessary assistance to the relatives of the dead Russians.'

Elena Banduro, a Russian travel blogger, was one of those who lost her life in the crash

The plane, operated by domestic carrier Yeti Airlines (pictured) was 15 years old, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24

Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal rushed to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu after the crash

Rescue workers say at least 68 people on board the aircraft are known to have died

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu after the crash, set up a panel to investigate the accident.

'The incident was tragic. The full force of the Nepali army, police has been deployed for rescue,' he said.

'We expect to recover more bodies,' said army spokesman Krishna Bhandari. 'The plane has broken into pieces.'

The crash is Nepal's deadliest since March 2018, when a US-Bangla Dash 8 turboprop flight from Dhaka crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 51 of the 71 people on board, according to Aviation Safety Network.

In May 2022, all 22 people died on board a plane operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air - including 16 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans - when it crashed o a slope.

There were 72 people on the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Yeti in today's disaster, including two infants and four crew members, said airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula.

The plane had five Indians, four Russians, one Irish, two South Korean, one Australian, one French and one Argentinian national onboard, a Nepal airport official said.

The plane was 15 years old, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
It emerged that President Biden has kept top secret and classified materials at his think tank and in his Wilmington garage that date back to his days as VP

Congressman Adam Schiff, the outgoing chair of the House Intel Committee, said Sunday that he cannot 'exclude the possibility' that President Biden's handling of classified documents endangered national security.

During an appearance with ABC News' Jon Karl on Sunday, the host asked Schiff if he approved of Attorney General Merrick Garland's decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate the discovery of multiple classified documents found at the president's home and former office.

Schiff, who gained national prominence peddling various debunked theories about former President Donald Trump's ties to Russia, called the appointment 'the right move.'

Rep. Adam Schiff spoke with ABC's Jon Karl about AG Merrick Garland appointing a special counsel to oversee an investigation into Joe Biden's handling of classified documents

'The attorney general has to make sure that not only is justice even applied, but the appearances of justice are also satisfactory to the public,' he added.

'I don't think he had any choice but to appoint a special counsel. And I think that special counsel will do the proper assessment,' he continued.

Schiff went on to say that Biden's documents should be assessed as should the documents discovered at former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago property.

Karl then asked the congressman if he believes Biden possibly 'jeopardized' national security in a similar fashion to Trump.

'I don't think we can exclude the possibility without knowing more of the facts,' said Schiff. 'We have asked for an assessment in the intelligence community of the Mar-a-Lago documents. I think we ought to get that same assessment of the documents found in the think tank, as well as the home of President Biden.'

Karl then questioned the California representative about whether the Biden White House should have been more forthcoming about the discovery of the documents, which were found just days before the Midterm Elections.

'I think the administration will need to answer that question. Im going to reserve judgment until they do,' said Schiff, who was notoriously quick to jump on cable news to speculate about Trump's misdeeds during his presidency.

It was revealed last week that multiple top secret and otherwise classified materials dating back to his vice presidential days were found at the DC think tank and Delaware home of President Joe Biden

Schiff was a major proponent of the Steele Dossier and now largely debunked theory that former President Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 election and after

Newly elected Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy recently said that he will make good on his promise to kick Democrat Schiff off the House Intelligence Committee lying 'too many times to the American public.'

Schiff infamously read into the congressional record the Steele dossier - the entirely debunked document that alleged Russian actors were working to discredit Hillary Clinton and boost the profile of Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 election.

The main source for the dossier was ultimately indicted by the FBI for lying about the most important claims in the document that fostered years of entirely public speculation that the former president was involved with Russian espionage efforts.

On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland authorized Robert Hur to investigate the 'possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records.'

Newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently reaffirmed his commitment to kicking Adam Schiff off of the House Intelligence committee

The president told the press Thursday that the documents found in Delaware were locked up with his Corvette

Biden's team has denied any wrongdoing and predicted that he'll be cleared of any criminality.

'We have cooperated from the moment we informed the Archives that a small number of documents were found, and we will continue to cooperate,' Richard Sauber, a senior White House lawyer, said in a statement, adding that the documents were 'inadvertently misplaced' and not illegally mishandled.

The top secret documents found in DC include US intelligence memorandums and briefing materials that covered topics including Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom, CNN reported.

There was also a memo from Biden to President Obama as well as two briefing memos preparing Biden for phone calls  one with the British prime minister, the other with Donald Tusk, the former prime minister of Poland who served as president of the European Council from 2014-2019.

Biden fired back at reporters who asked about the debacle on Thursday saying that the documents found in Delaware were in a 'locked garage' with his beloved Corvette.

'People know I take classified documents and classified material seriously. I also said we're co-operating fully and completely with the Justice Department's review,' he said.

The revelation of the classified material is deeply awkward for Biden, as well as allies of his like Schiff, who condemned Donald Trump last year when it emerged that he had boxes of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Major questions swirling around the disappearance and alleged murder of Carol Clay and Russell Hill in Victoria's high country may soon be answered.

Police are still yet to reveal why Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn, 56, has been charged with the murder of the two campers, and his version of events has never been aired in public.

On Monday, Mr Lynn will return for his fourth court appearance where it is expected allegations he murdered the pair will be tested in a courtroom for the first time.

Mr Hill, 74, and Ms Clay, 73, vanished from their campsite in the Wonnangatta Valley - deep in the Victorian Alps - in March 2020.

Gregory Lynn's employment as a captain with Jetstar was terminated after he was charged with murder. Picture: Facebook

They had been long-time friends and Mr Hill was known to be a well-prepared and enthusiastic camper, with police and family expressing extreme concerns after their campsite and car were found torched.

A search for the pair quickly fizzled out, and with no bodies, weapons or motives, police began the time-consuming job of piecing together what they believed happened in Victoria's remote wilderness.

It was early November 2021 when a breakthrough seemingly emerged, as detectives revealed they were looking for the driver of a blue Nissan Patrol captured on cameras leaving the area at an unusual time.

At the time, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said the "best theory" was that there was a confrontation between the pair and an unidentified third party - possibly over Mr Hill's drone.

Witnesses had reported Mr Hill flying a DJI Mavic drone above the remote campsite in the hours before they disappeared - it was never found.

Carol Clay, 73, (pictured left) and Russel Hill went missing while on a camping trip in the Victorian Alps on March 20

Forensics teams pictured at Moondarra - 200km away from where the elderly pair went missing.

Police have remained tight-lipped as to whether the investigation at the small regional town is linked to the campers' disappearance

Just weeks later, officers from the heavily armed special operations group plucked Mr Lynn from the wilderness near Arbuckle Junction in Central Victoria.

The career pilot, known for his regular camping trips, was taken without incident to the small Victorian city of Sale, where, for three days, he was questioned by investigators.

He was charged with two counts of murder on November 25 and, just a few days later, investigators discovered remains later identified as belonging to the pair.

Mr Lynn had previously been interviewed after he was identified as being present in the area at the time of their disappearance.

The campsite of Russel Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, was discovered by police on March 21 burned out (pictured) but there was no sign of the pair

The Alpine National Park (pictured) has seen a number of strange disappearances, but a local bushman known as 'The Button Man' could hold the key to the mysteries
A drive-by shooting at a funeral reportedly could have links to the Colombian drug trade as the deceased woman whose ceremony was targeted was married to a convicted member of the Cali cartel.

The victims were shot as they exited a funeral service for British-Colombian cancer victim Sara Sanchez, 20, and her mother Fresia Calderon, 50, at St Aloysius church, north London, at around 1.30pm on Saturday.

Carlos Arturo Sanchez-Coronado, Ms Calderon's ex-husband, was jailed in the UK for his role in a money laundering operation for a London drugs gang linked to the Cali cartel in Colombia, The Telegraph reports.

Mr Sanchez-Coronado is said to have been the first man to have been extradited from the South American country to Britain, before he was admitted three counts of money laundering and fake documents and was sent to prison in 2009.

Carlos Arturo Sanchez-Coronado (left) was jailed in the UK for his role in a money laundering operation for a London drugs gang

Single mum Fresia Calderon and her daughter Sara Sanchez died within a month of each other

The criminal organisation's share of the UK drugs market was so vast that the price of cocaine was said to have risen by 50 per cent following its dismantling.

During a number of raids of properties in north west London, police seized millions of pounds of cash and cocaine and marijuana with a street value of 100million.

Sanchez-Coronado, meanwhile, was later tracked down in Colombia where he had been working as a taxi driver.

He served time in a UK prison before moving back to South America and was last living in Santiago, the capital of Chile, before his death last year aged 56.

A seven-year-old girl is in a serious but stable condition and five others also suffered injuries following the shooting on Saturday.

Ms Calderon is understood to have died from a blood clot in November following a flight from Colombia to Heathrow, before Ms Sanchez died from terminal leukaemia three weeks later.

A motive for the shooting yesterday has not yet been disclosed by police.

CCTV footage from a building near the church shows people running away from scene in terror moments after the shooting took place on Saturday.

In the video, obtained by Sky News, a loud bang can be heard followed by people screaming and a dark car driving down Phoenix Road, near Euston Station.

A dark car was seen driving down the street where the shooting took place in CCTV footage from outside the church

Immediately following the shooting people can be seen fleeing in terror on the CCTV footage

A view of St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church on Phoenix Road, in Euston, today as police continue to probe the shooting

A police source told The Mail on Sunday a man jumped out of the car and started firing into the crowd as white doves - symbols of peace - were released.

A manhunt is now underway for the gunman, who is on the run, with officers looking for a 2019 model black Toyota.

It is believed the drive-by shooter may have been targeting a guest at the funeral as part of a revenge attack.

Shocking footage has since emerged showing the chaos inside the church as the mass shooting began.

Police forensic officers pictured on the scene yesterday evening amid an ongoing investigation

A invitation to Saturday's double-funeral shared on Facebook asked mourners to wear white when attending the North London church

The drive-by shooting happened on Phoenix Road in NW1, London

Grieving churchgoers can be heard screaming and running for safety back inside the church, with one person shouting, 'we need to get out' while another said, 'get to the back'.

Others were heard crying, some shouting 'oh my god' and others being told to 'sit down'.

One woman who attended the funeral said last night: 'People are saying the intended target of the shooting was a man who attended the service.

'There's speculation that it was some sort of revenge attack.'

Father Jeremy Trood, who was conducting the service before the shooting on Saturday, said it was 'pandemonium' and told Sky News he heard a gunshot shortly after mourners had left the church to release the doves.

Speaking at the scene this morning Superintendent Jack Rowlands from the Met Police called the shooting a 'senseless act of violence'.

He added: 'Just before 1.30pm yesterday, we were called to reports of a shooting outside St Aloysius church in Phoenix Road, Camden.

'Officers responded with paramedics and a crew from the London Air Ambulance.

'They found multiple people with injuries caused by pellets from a shotgun.

'We believe the suspects discharged a shotgun from a moving vehicle, which was a black Toyota C-HR, likely a 2019 model or similar.

A stock picture of a 2019 black Toyota C-HR issued by Metropolitan Police, said to be similar in appearance to a black Toyota C-HR that detectives are looking for in connection with the shooting

'This was a shocking incident. People came here to attend a funeral, to be with friends and loved ones and mourn together, instead they were the victims of a senseless act of violence.'

Supt Rowling urged members of the public with any information to come forward.

Met Police confirmed six people in total were injured in the attack; four women aged 21, 41, 48 and 54, along with two children aged 12 and seven.

The 48-year-old woman has 'potentially life changing injuries', the force said.

The seven-year-old girl 'remains in hospital in a stable but life threatening condition' after she was rushed to a hospital with a major trauma centre as a priority.

The 12-year-old child, who was admitted with a leg injury, has now been discharged and is expected to make a full recovery.
Kevin McCarthy lamented that there never appears to be an 'independent person' conducting probes into Republican politicians as he promoted his new special panel to look into 'weaponization of the federal government.'

The new House Speaker claimed there is clear 'hypocrisy' in the handling of the classified documents case with President Joe Biden compared to former President Donald Trump, who had his private residence raided in August.

McCarthy also said that Congress has a 'obligation' to oversee the special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the Biden files.

Biden's lawyers found at least two dozen classified documents that he took from the White House from his time as Barack Obama's vice president. Several were marked 'top secret' found in three separate locations.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that he wants investigators that are 'independent' and claimed that handling of Biden files related to Trump's classified documents case are proof that it was necessary to create Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government

'It just shows the hypocrisy and why the American public does not trust their government,' McCarthy said.

In his first week as Speaker, McCarthy established the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which falls under the House Judiciary Committee and will be led by Representative Jim Jordan.

Jordan, who is vice chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, helped back McCarthy's Speaker bid despite dissenters wanting to see the Ohio lawmaker in that seat.

'This is a prime example of why we pass this week a new select committee that will fall under Jim Jordan's committee for the weaponization of government, that we can look into what the FBI has been doing from Twitter and everywhere else, and change the course, where we can now trust our law enforcement from the FBI place again,' McCarthy explained to Fox's Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo.

He also explained that they will be watching the probe into Biden's handling of classified information.

House Freedom Caucus vice Chairman Jim Jordan will head the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government under the Judiciary Committee

'Congress has an independent constitutional obligation to oversee all aspects of the Justice Department,' McCarthy told Fox's Sunday morning program.

'And that includes special counsels as well. And so we will have a role in overseeing what's transpiring here,' he said of the investigation.

McCarthy said he is most concerned with 'how justice is applied' and that it is 'applied equally'

'Why do you raid President Trump? His wasn't just locked. It was padlocked. They knew it was there. They could have come and taken it any time they wanted. They were communicating with one another,' McCarthy lamented.

'Now we're finding time and again a locked garage door that opens and closes by a push of the button. How many years has this vice president, who has been in office for more than 40 years, had these documents? Who's been in and out of there?'

Even Democrats are 'embarrassed' by the revelation that Biden took classified documents from the White House.

A new batch of documents found at Biden's Delaware home bring the total to at least two dozen total found in three different locations

Biden called Trump's actions 'careless,' but now NBC Meet the Press host Chuck Todd is wondering if the president has to 'eat those words.'

'Well, it's certainly embarrassing, right?' Senator Debbie Stabenow replied on Sunday morning.

'I mean, it's embarrassing that you would find a small number of documents,' the Michigan Democrat added.

Stabenow may feel more emboldened to criticize the Democratic president considering she announced this month that she will not be seeking reelection in 2024  allowing her to speak more openly without fear of how it could play with constituents.

But other Democrats, like January 6 select committee member Jamie Raskin, continue to dismiss the revelation.

This month, reports emerged that Biden's attorneys found at least 20 classified government documents at the president's think tank in Washington, D.C. and at his private residence in Wilmington, Delaware related to his vice presidency during the Obama administration.

It comes just five months after the FBI raided former President Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida and recovered thousands of materials and documents that he took from the White House.

Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow said Sunday that the revelation of President Joe Biden taking classified documents from the White House is 'embarrassing' after he criticized Donald Trump for doing the same thing

WATCH: President Biden previously said fmr. President Trump's handling of classified documents was careless. @chucktodd: "Does he have to eat those words" now? @SenStabenow (D-Mich.): "Well, it's certainly embarrassing." pic.twitter.com/1abNYx1U8Y  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 15, 2023

Judiciary Committee Democratic member Jamie Raskin, however, dismissed the revelations, claiming people need to take into consideration the 'proportion' and 'measure' of documents found compared to Trump

Some documents, found in three different locations, were marked as 'top secret'.

Rep. Raskin, while glad a special council was appointed to investigate the Biden files, also dismissed concerns over him taking classified documents from the White House, after he was highly critical of Trump doing the same thing.

'By Biden's own standard, wasn't Biden 'totally irresponsible' with classified information?' CNN State of the Union host Jake Tapper questioned. 'And aren't we right to wonder  to use Biden's words  'what data was in there that might compromise sources and methods?'

'I think we'll get to the bottom of all of that,' Raskin replied. 'I mean, that's why [a] special council has been appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. He did the right thing there  to look into it.'

'I'm hoping that we will keep a sense of symmetry about our analysis of these situations and a sense of proportion about the underlying offenses,' he insisted.

Raskin claimed that people are comparing the revelation of finding classified documents at Biden's home and think tank to Trump 'inciting a violent insurrection.' While this comparison has not been widely made, many on both sides of the political aisle have noted that both Biden and Trump have taken classified documents from the White House.

'We should keep a sense of proportion and measure about what we're talking about,' Raskin added.

Raskin serves on the House Judiciary Committee  and was one of the nine members who served on the Select Committee probing the January 6 Capitol attack, which sought to place blame on Trump for the riot two years ago.

The latest in the Biden files shows that at least six classified documents were found at the president's private home in Wilmington, Delaware  some of which appeared to have been haphazardly stored in boxes stacked in his garage alongside his Corvette.

Biden's attorneys announced finding the latest batch of classified documents on Saturday.

Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence was raided in August buy the FBI who seized thousands of documents and materials the former president took from the White House  while the Justice Department has appointed a special council in Biden's case, it has not approved an FBI raid like in Trump's case

The grand total of classified documents - many of which appear to date to his days as vice president - are now up to two dozen.

Republican lawmakers tore into Biden after the latest trove of classified documents were found at his Delaware home.

Senator Rick Scott of Florida said Biden was either a 'hypocrite' or 'completely clueless,' joining the legions of lawmakers questioning why Trump's home was raided by armed FBI agents when documents were found at his home, but Biden received no such treatment.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz put things succinctly, tweeting 'Full FBI raid happens when?'

Even an attorney who once prosecuted Trump during the Mueller Probe, Andrew Weissmann, said Biden was 'digging a deeper hole' as his administration remained vague about the investigation while more documents continue to crop up.

GOP lawmakers who joined the chorus of public criticism include Representatives Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Ronny Jackson of Texas and Jim Jordan of Ohio  as well as Senators John Kennedy of Louisiana, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, among several others.
A young woman has revealed the truth about how strong the Australian sun is and shared her advice on how to stay sun safe.

Queenslander Claire Champion shared a video last week explaining how the sun in Australia can cause deadly skin cancers and urged Aussies and tourists to take care of their skin.

Her first tip was to tourists heading to Australia.

'If you are travelling here from overseas, leave your sunscreen at home and buy it here,' she said.

'Our sun is way more intense than your sun at home and your sunscreen is not going to stand a chance.'

Queenslander Claire Champion (above) warned tourists coming to Australia to only buy Australian sunscreen in a sun safety advice video last week

The rest of her advice went out to everyone heading out to enjoy the Aussie sun.

'Reapplying your sunscreen every 30 to 40 minutes is essential, especially after going for a swim,' she said.

'Make sure you check the expiry date on your sunscreen because if it is expired it is going to fry you.

'Applying sunscreen just one time during the day isn't going to do sh**, it's only going to last 30 to 40 minutes so you need to reapply.

'You can still get burnt through makeup and you need to reapply it on your face as well, not just over your whole body.'

She urged all Aussies to reapply their sunscreen every 30 to 40 minutes to avoid sunburn (pictured, Ms Champion reapplying sunscreen)

Ms Champion then explained why it's so important to protect yourself against the sun.

'Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates of sun cancer, higher than anywhere else in the world,' she said.

'Getting sunburnt just one time every two years can triple your risk of melanoma.

'Melanoma is sun cancer, it's in your skin from the sun.

'Take care of your friends, take care of yourself and be sun safe, I can't stress it enough.'
The thin atmosphere surrounding Nepal's high-altitude airports and a speed miscalculation appear to have contributed to Sunday's air crash in Nepal which killed 68, with the fate of one Australian on board still unknown.

Aviation expert Professor Ron Bartsch said the Yeti Airlines' ATR 72 appeared to have stalled in mid-air as it descended for landing.

The plane was on final approach to the runway at Pokhara, on the edge of the Himalayas, 200km west of Nepal's capital Kathmandu.

Video, both from the ground and from a doomed passenger streaming from onboard, captured the planed coming in to land after a 25 minute flight to the city's new airport, 822m above sea level.

Life in the central resort of Pokhara has ground to a standstill after the shocking crash earlier today

The video showed the plane tilt sharply to the left and plummet from the sky with 72 people on board, in the nation's worst air disaster in three decades.

Prof Bartsch said aircraft need to fly at faster speeds through the thinner air at higher altitudes to stay airborne - making landings in Nepal notoriously tricky.

'The runways are very, very challenging, some of the most challenging in the world,' he told Nine's Today show on Monday.

He said the pilot may have tried to reduce speed too much as he prepared to land, and doing so in the thin air surrounding the airport could have caused the engine to stall.

Aviation expert Professor Ron Bartsch (pictured) says the Yeti Airlines' ATR 72 ploughed into the ground after it appeared to suffer a mid-air stall as it tried to land

'That terrain is terribly difficult to fly - very strong winds and high altitude. Normally aircraft don't just fall out of the sky, particularly modern aircraft.'

'Aircraft require air to fly in and the air is more rarefied at about 800 meters elevation there.

'But also the fact when you're going over the ground, it may appear that you're going a lot faster over the ground than what you're going through the air.

'I'd suggest that the aircraft has entered into an aerodynamic stall...that's what caused this.'

Footage appears to show the plane flying over houses in the town in the central region of Nepal

NEPAL'S TROUBLED AIR CRASH HISTORY Nepal's air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers. But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance. The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns. The Himalayan country also has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots. Air accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest, as the weather can change suddenly and make for hazardous conditions. Aircraft operators have said Nepal lacks infrastructure for accurate weather forecasts, especially in remote areas with challenging mountainous terrain where deadly crashes have taken place in the past. The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating treacherous flying conditions. Advertisement

Airport officials have confirmed an Australian was among the 15 foreign nationals on board the domestic flight from Kathmandu, along with five Indians, four Russians, one Irish national, two South Koreans, one French national and an Argentinian.

It's unknown whether the Australian was killed or is one of the four survivors of the horrific crash. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia it was 'urgently seeking to confirm the welfare of the Australian'.

The harrowing video clip of the crash showed the plane making a sharp turn before plummeting to the ground seconds later with a loud thud, following by screams.

Local television showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers and crowds of people gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft.

A second clip appears to show the moment of the crash which was broadcast on Facebook Live by one of its passengers.

The footage, which was purportedly taken by an Indian man called Sonu Jaiswal, shows passengers smiling as the plane flies over houses.

The Yeti Airlines logo is visible over Mr Jaiswal's shoulder and a Nepalese insurance advert can be seen on the airline's tray.

The clip continues, before the camera suddenly starts to shake and passengers are heard shouting. It then goes black with a loud bang, before flames fill the frame.

The veracity of the footage has not been confirmed independently by MailOnline, although the Times of India says it has spoken to Mr Jaiswal's cousin, who confirmed the 29-year-old was on board the plane.

It reports one of Mr Jaiswal's companions, the three of which were also Indian, shouted 'It's real fun' moments before the crash.

Hundreds of onlookers rushed to the crash site, where the remains of the plane were engulfed in flames

Rescue workers scrambled around broken sections of the aircraft at the hillside crash site amid scorched ground.

'The plane is burning,' said police official Ajay K.C., adding that rescue workers had difficulty reaching the site in a gorge between two hills.

Pokhara is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas and its new international airport began operations a fortnight ago.

The craft made contact with the airport from Seti Gorge at 10.50am local time, the aviation authority said in a statement, 'then it crashed.'

'Half of the plane is on the hillside,' said Arun Tamu, a local resident, who told Reuters he reached the site minutes after the plane went down. 'The other half has fallen into the gorge of the Seti river.'

Khum Bahadur Chhetri said he watched from the roof of his house as the flight approached.

The plane, operated by domestic carrier Yeti Airlines (pictured) was 15 years old, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24

'I saw the plane trembling, moving left and right, and then suddenly its nose dived and it went into the gorge,' Chhetri told Reuters, adding that local residents took two passengers to a hospital.

There were 72 people on the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Yeti in Sunday's disaster, including two infants and four crew members, said airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula.

The plane was 15 years old, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

'We expect to recover more bodies,' said army spokesman Krishna Bhandari. 'The plane has broken into pieces.'

Russian Ambassador to Nepal Alexei Novikov confirmed the death of four Russians aboard the crashed plane.

Rescuers gather at the site of a plane crash in Pokhara today

Crowds gather at the crash site of an aircraft carrying 72 people in Pokhara in western Nepal

'Unfortunately, four citizens of the Russian Federation died. We are in constant contact with the Nepalese authorities and will provide all necessary assistance to the relatives of the dead Russians,' he said.

A South Korean embassy official said: 'Two South Koreans are on the list of passengers. We are trying to confirm whether they were actually on board and their identities.'

Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was 'deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident.'

Nepalese Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted condolences.

'The loss of lives in a tragic plane crash in Nepal is extremely unfortunate. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of the bereaved,' said the official.

Locals watch the wreckage of a passenger plane in Pokhara

The Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song also expressed his shock.

'At this difficult time, our thoughts are with Nepali people. I would like to express my deep condolences to the victims, and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families,' he wrote.

The ATR72 is a widely used twin engine turboprop plane manufactured by a joint venture of Airbus and Italy's Leonardo. Yeti Airlines has a fleet of six ATR72-500 planes, according to its website.

Prime Minister Dahal has called an emergency cabinet meeting after the plane crash, a government statement said.
A sex worker alleged that four retired police officers from Fairfax, Virginia, protected the human trafficking ring she was coerced into and paid for prostitutes.

The woman, who went by Jane Doe, blasted the four officers in court on Tuesday, including former Police Chief Edwin Roessler, Captain James Baumstark, and officers Michael Barbazette and Jason Mardocco.

Doe was living in Costa Rica when she was lured to the US to join the ring that was run by a madam named Hazel Sanchez before it was busted by the FBI in 2018. She later went on to file a lawsuit in 2021.

According to a lawsuit filed by Doe, defendants 'conspired to cover up the fact that Fairfax County police officers were actively participating in, and benefiting sexually if not financially from, the work of a local sex trafficking ring,' where women were required to have sex with up to 17 customers a day.

The woman, who went by Jane Doe, claimed in a Fairfax County federal court on Tuesday that former police chief Ed Roessler and three others covered up the ring in exchange. Roessler's attorney has debunked the accusations

Doe claimed four officers (above), including Jason Mardocco (left) and James Baumstark (right) informed Sanchez of potential investigations and covered for the sex trafficking ring

Doe trembled in tears while giving her testimony last week while claiming Sanchez threatened to take away the passports of the women she recruited from Costa Rica if they didn't listen to her demands.

The woman thought she would be working as a nanny, housekeeper, or social escort with Sanchez allegedly telling her that she would also be going on dates to business dinners and events with wealthy men.

Under the impression that she was only taking a two-week trip, Doe met Sanchez in a Fairfax apartment in 2010 after flying to the U.S.

Sanchez then took Doe's travel documents and threatened her family if she didnt work as a prostitute. She managed to escape in 2015.

Doe claimed in court that the four officers conspired with Sanchez and chose to benefit from the sex ring rather than help the victims.

Barbazette and Mardocco's numbers were found in Sanchez's phone at the time of the FBI raid which led to their retirement.

'They had to protect us,' Doe said on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post. 'They had to not be the clients. They didnt have to protect the Hazel ring.'

Doe claimed the only defendant she recognized at the trial was Barbazette.

Meanwhile, a witness took the stand and alleged she was paid to have sex with Mardocco.

Mardocco was described by Sanchez as 'another protector of ours' and supposedly called Sanchez at one point and said 'theres going to be a sting in your building apartment, do not let the girls work.'

The witness also claimed to have recognized Roessler.

One witness involved in the sex trafficking scheme claimed on Tuesday to have recognized Roessier (above). When the suit was first filed in 2021, it didn't include all of the officer's names except for Roessler

Baumstark and Roessler's lawyers called the accusations 'preposterous,' according to The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, Barbazette and Mardocco attorneys said the two confessed to hiring prostitutes but claimed the circumstances Doe describes are false.

None of the officers have been charged.

Kimberly Baucm, an attorney representing Baumstark and Roessler, claimed that Doe's remarks are false and referred to her as a 'voluntary sex worker.'

'Not a single piece of paper, not a phone call, not a text message, not an email,' Baucom said during the trial.

'The claim that either Mr. Roessler or Mr. Baumstark were somehow involved in a sex-trafficking organization is preposterous. Its made up of whole cloth. Its simply false.'

The suit names the Fairfax County officers alleged to be involved in the purported cover-up

Sanchez was revealed as the mastermind who brought multiple women from Costa Rica to the U.S. over the course of several years, according to court documents, and forced them into commercial sex work in cities and towns across the country, including those in Fairfax.

She pleaded guilty to felony racketeering and was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison in August 2019.

The suit also alleges that police tipped Sanchez off to sting operations. The FBI investigated at least two officers for corruption but ultimately referred the matter to the FCPD for follow-up.

When the suit was first filed in 2021, it didn't include all of the officers' names except for Roessler.

Victor Glasberg, the lawyer who filed the complaint on Doe's behalf, said at the time that his client was never able to learn their names.

But he obtained a court order requiring the police department to identify the officers described in the complaint.
Hundreds of metro passengers have been left sitting in pitch black with no air conditioning after their train - run on an automated system and with no driver - shut down.

Commuters were left stranded for more than an hour approaching Norwest Station, in Sydney's northwest, on Monday morning.

The lights in the carriages were turned off forcing passengers to sit in complete darkness and causing some to have panic attacks.

Hundreds of metro passengers have been left sitting in pitch black with no air conditioner after their train shut down

The lights in the carriages have been turned off forcing passengers to sit in complete darkness and leading some to have panic attacks

The air conditioner was also turned off on a warm day, with Sydney's temperature forecast to reach 30C.

'Our metro has no power and no airflow, you have some people getting real anxious and struggling to breathe, time to call 000 maybe?,' one passenger wrote.

'Locked in the @Sydneymetro for the last 50 minutes and now they've turned off the lights. Great job,' a second wrote on Twitter.

Another person added: 'We've been stuck in the train at Norwest for more than an hour. Lights off and no aircon.

'Could we please have a clear message about when we might get out?'

Sydney Metro announced on its Twitter page that commuters should expect delays.

'The Metro is currently experiencing increased wait times this morning,' it wrote.

'Please listen to station announcements and message display boards for the latest information. We apologise for any inconvenience.'

The announcement has sparked backlash from frustrated passengers.

'Closed all weekend for maintenance- and this happens first thing Monday!' one wrote.

'An ETA would be good. We can determine if we want to wait or find other transport. Is this a 15min delay a 30 or longer?' a second wrote.
More than half of Britains universities are peddling controversial and radical woke ideologies on students, a damning league table has revealed.

Some of the nations most prestigious institutions are poisoning the minds of generations to come, critics said last night, by subjecting undergraduates and academics to trigger warnings and guidance on white privilege.

Elite Russell Group universities dominate the table, accounting for eight of the top ten spots. Cambridge and Oxford come first and second, having introduced unconscious bias and race workshops for freshers, followed by the University of Bristol, which has outlawed words such as mankind to avoid causing offence.

The University of Chester cautioned students reading the Harry Potter books, claiming they can lead to difficult conversations about gender, race, sexuality, class and identity

The findings were slammed as disturbing by free speech campaigners and MPs, who say a dark shadow of political correctness has now fallen over our most sought-after universities.

Compiled by Dr Richard Norrie, a researcher at the think-tank Civitas, the table ranks 137 universities after scouring websites, national and local media, and promotional materials for examples of campus wokery.

A staggering 62 per cent were found to have had references to trigger warnings or content notes, designed to alert students to material deemed potentially harmful or worrying. Seventy-nine institutions had mentions of white privilege in guidance offered to staff and students or on their website, while 59 per cent were offering training materials or resources on anti-racism online.

Sir John Hayes MP, chair of the Common Sense Group of Tories and a former further education minister, said universities were wasting resources on woke nonsense. Universities should be places of light and liberty learning, but a dark shadow has fallen over too much of higher education, he told the Mail.

Aberdeen University issued a trigger warning for Peter Pan because it could be emotionally challenging

Compiled by Dr Richard Norrie, a researcher at the think-tank Civitas, the table ranks 137 universities after scouring websites, national and local media, and promotional materials for examples of campus wokery'

Bosses at the University of Glasgow also warned archaeology students their course might involve examining bones and looking at a preserved bog body

How did Civitas calculate their results? Civitas researchers scoured both university websites and the national/local media for references to trigger warnings, content warnings or content notes, white privilege, and anti-racism training or official anti-racist guidance from universities. Data collection took place in the Autumn of last year (2022), with 140 universities surveyed. A factor analysis was undertaken, which looks for similar patterns between variables, called a factor. It is largely comprised of the following variables: anonymous reporting, anti-racism training, free speech controversies, official commitments to decolonisation, Race Equality Charter membership, transgenderrelated restrictions on speech, and the presence of trigger warnings. Having a high factor score means that the university matches many of the chosen variables, while a low or negative factor score means it matches none or hardly any of the variables. Source: Civitas Advertisement

Woke nonsense has replaced scholarship and too many universities are not only wasting resources but risk poisoning the minds of generations to come. The report is disturbing.

The study found Britains elite universities were almost twice as likely to promote radical and controversial concepts than lesser-known institutions, which Dr Norrie slammed as a new moralism that reeks of hypocrisy, especially with many happily taking Chinese money.

The analysis comes amid a rise in campus wokery. Alarming examples include:

Aberdeen University, which issued a trigger warning for Peter Pan because it could be emotionally challenging;

The University of Chester cautioned students reading the Harry Potter books, claiming they can lead to difficult conversations about gender, race, sexuality, class and identity;

Imperial College London encouraged its students and staff to have hard conversations with friends and family who deny white privilege;

The University of Warwick has now banned the term trigger warning, claiming that it could upset students.

Bosses at the University of Glasgow also warned archaeology students their course might involve examining bones and looking at a preserved bog body.

The phrase white privilege describes the inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race.

Unconscious bias is when learned stereotypes on race, gender or sex are made without conscious awareness.

The analysis also discovered that 84 per cent of universities have significant ties to China. Cambridge, which was declared the wokest university in the country by the study, has received 73million over five years in donations and research grants from Chinese sources, including from controversial telecomms firm Huawei, the report claimed.

A Russell Group spokesperson said: Our universities are places where free speech and the expression of all ideas and viewpoints is encouraged and protected. There is nothing in this report, which is based on flawed assumptions, to suggest that this is not the case.
Police are probing the death of a British man found dead on board his yacht on the Algarve.

Officers were sent to the vessel at Lagos Marina around 5.30pm on Saturday along with firefighters and medical responders after the alarm was raised.

The unnamed Brit sailor, believed to be around 80, was found inside and declared dead at the scene.

A post-mortem is due to take place on Monday and officials say they cannot comment further until the results are known.

Officers were sent to the vessel at Lagos Marina around 5.30pm on Saturday along with firefighters and medical responders after the alarm was raised

The unnamed Brit sailor, believed to be around 80, was found inside and declared dead at the scene

Portugal's Policia Judiciaria police force has been put in charge of the ongoing investigation.

Local reports said the boat owner had not been seen for some time.

A source at the country's National Maritime Authority confirmed: 'The owner of a boat moored at Lagos marina on the Algarve was found dead on Saturday inside his vessel.

'The cause of death is not yet clear.

'He was declared dead at the scene after maritime police boarded the boat and confirmed he had no vital signs.

'His body was subsequently by volunteer firefighters to the nearby city of Portimao where a post-mortem will take place.'

Lagos Marina is one of the Algarve's largest pleasure ports.

It is popular with both boat owners and holidaymakers staying in nearby hotels and other tourist accommodation who flock to its bars and restaurants.
Terrorist gangs smuggling Iranian missiles and drugs in the Middle East will soon have a fleet of 100 robo-ships hunting them down, Britain's most senior military commander in the Gulf has revealed.

The new naval force, made up of drones that can operate around the clock, will be up and running by the summer, claimed Commodore Adrian Fryer.

It comes as the top officer insisted he remained 'alive' to the ever-present threat posed by Iran after a series of recent stand-offs, with the Commodore calling the Middle Eastern state the 'main destabilising country' in the region.

A small number of the unmanned vessels currently operating in the Gulf are already proving their worth, gathering invaluable data and information that's helping Royal Navy warships cut off smuggling routes and ambush gangs at sea.

A team of Royal Marines and sailors from HMS Montrose are pictured from the air boarding a ship smuggling drugs in the Gulf

Navy bosses hope new drones like this one, pictured in the Gulf, could help crackdown on cartels smuggling drugs and weapons across the Middle East

During the past 12 months, frigate HMS Montrose has seized her biggest haul of narcotics in its three years in the Gulf, bagging a whopping 46.8 million, bringing the ship's total during its time in the Middle East to a staggering 111.1 million.

And in January 2022, intelligence siphoned up in the region helped Montrose make history, becoming the first Royal Navy warship to intercept a speedboat packed with sophisticated lethal weapons - including surface-to-air missiles - between Iran and Yemen.

But these victories are just a small taste of what Cdre Fryer hopes will become a regular drumbeat of successful ambushes against gangs in the Middle East.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline from his base in Bahrain, Cdre Fryer said: 'The vision here in this area is that by summer next year we will be continuously operating a fleet of 100 uncrewed vessels in the area.

'This will make a significant contribution because it will allow us to have more persistent eyes on the sea looking out. That will create a huge amount of data for us.

Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose has been based in the Gulf since 2019 and has seized more than 111 million of drugs

Navy top brass hope to have a fleet of 100 drones operating in the Gulf by the summer. Pictured is one of the unmanned 'Saildrone Explorer' vessels at sea, working with USS Delbert D. Black , left, and Royal Navy minehunter HMS Bangor, right

The drones are packed with sensors and can scan ships at sea, as well as detect objects like mines hidden under the waves

HMS Montrose is armed with an array of sophisticated sensors to hunt drug-running boats. It can also use its Wildcat helicopter. Pictured is a Wildcat helicopter watching as Montrose intercepts a small boat in the Gulf

The US Navy, supported by the Royal Navy, runs US run Task Force 59 Robotics Operations Center - which tests drone boats like this in the Gulf. Last month they put some of the vessels through their paces in the Digital Horizons testing event

'It will increase significantly our ability to deter and counter the movement of illicit trade on the high seas.'

And speaking about Montrose's record-breaking drug busts, the naval officer added: 'She has seized over 16 tonnes of narcotics which is a hard figure to understand. But take it from me, thats a lot of narcotics that has been stopped.

The wholesale value of what she has seized and disrupted is in excess of 80 million - thats wholesale. When you start to put a street value on that, you can pick any figure and multiply that five or by 10. So, were up to some serious, serious money.'

The effort to invest in more drones is a collective goal of the Combined Maritime Force (CMF) in the region - an alliance of 34 nations led by the US, which counts the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Germany and France among its members.

Cdre Fryer is the deputy commander of the CMF, which has the mammoth task of patrolling a 3.2 million square miles, defending critical shipping lanes, hunting for smugglers and protecting merchants from pirates.

Royal Navy Commodore Adrian Fryer (left) pictured in Bahrain with Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, and Commander Claire Thompson, commanding officer of British frigate HMS Montrose

A suspicious dhow is seen through the bridge binoculars on HMS Montrose in a known smuggling corridor in the Gulf

HMS Montrose's boarding team are pictured deploying on a boat to seize narcotics from a vessel in the Middle East

A member of HMS Montrose's boarding team pictured during an operation to seize drugs from a boat in the Middle East

During Montrose's three years based in the Gulf, the ship has seized more than 16 tonnes of narcotics. Pictured is one of the ship's haul of heroin and crystal meth

Montrose has staged five successful drugs busts in 2022, the most in the ship's three-year history in the Gulf. Pictured is the ship's crew with one of their hauls

To put that in perspective, it is an area roughly the same size as continental north America which is patrolled by just a handful of warships.

'Timing and understanding is really important,' said Cdre Fryer. 'If you were trying to stop drugs moving across the continental US and you had 40 police cars and these police cars could only do 30 miles an hour, getting them in the right place at the right time is really, really difficult. That is the daily challenge we deal with over here.'

The insidious flow of drugs across the region starts from the Makran Coast, on the south-east tip of Iran and spreads across the Gulf along four main supply lines.

There is the Hashish Highway, which sees gangs shipping narcotics to Yemen, and the 'Smack Track' running between Iran, Kenya and Tanzania. But there is also the Crystal Causeway, were meth is transported to the likes of Sri Lanka and the Maldives and 'Route 59' to Mozambique.

While the weapons smuggling route operates almost exclusively between Iran. Yemen and Somalia, naval intelligence has suggested.

A suspicious dhow is approached by one of HMS Montrose's boats filled with a team of Royal Marines

Much of the cash raised through the narcotics trade is believed to fund terror groups like Islamic State.

Military top brass believe the new fleet of drones - some of which look like small sailing boats - will provide critical intelligence to help warships be in the right place at the right time to stop the flow of drugs and weapons.

Mighty Montrose: The Navy's drug-busting ace in the Middle East British frigate HMS Montrose left the Gulf on a high after waging war on the Gulf's drugs barons for three years. The warship, which has now returned to British shores ahead of being scrapped early next year, notched up her biggest haul of drug busts ever this year. Across 2022, she carried out five successful raid, seizing a whopping 46.8 million in drugs. The Plymouth-based warship had been permanently station in the Gulf since 2019, with a primary focus on bringing stability to region. But she also played a critical role in the war on drugs. In her first year, she carried out two successful busts, seizing a combination of heroin and crystal meth worth 28.3 million More was to follow in 2020, as the ship carried out three busts, successfully bagging 25 million in cannabis and and meth - as the crew worked through the Covid pandemic to deal a blow to the coffers of the Middle Eastern drug king pins. And in 2021, Montrose managed two busts in a single day, capturing a haul of meth, heroin and hash worth 11 million. All in all, the ship has seized 17 tonnes of narcotics - heavier than a double-decker bus - worth a staggering 111.1 million. Advertisement

Commander Claire Thompson, 41, is HMS Montrose's captain and knows all too well of the difficulties in tackling smugglers. Her ship carried out five successful busts during 2022, its most since arriving in the Gulf in 2019.

'The criminals keep trying,' said the naval officer from Hampshire. 'The ocean is a really big place and I imagine they hope that at times they will get through.'

Cdr Thompson's 30-year-old frigate is armed with sophisticated sensors and radars that can track vessels. And it has a Wildcat helicopter to hunt for suspicious boats that can then be intercepted by Montrose's elite team of embarked Royal Marines.

But it has its limitations. When boats are boarded, the smugglers are released after their illegal cargo is secured, meaning they can return home - and carry on with their illicit operations.

'I wouldnt say its frustrating because the amount of information we gain by seeing that process - we gain more information about seeing where its coming from: the sources,' said Cdre Fryer.

'And if we can stop it at source  ie stop the symptom, then that is the overall greater benefit. So instead of applying huge resources to the individuals that are just effectively the taxi drivers, we take those resources and understand and apply it elsewhere.'

And although their mission takes places thousands of miles away from home, Cdr Thompson insists it has a critical impact on the drugs trade back in the UK.

'While it may feel we are a long way from home it is really important we stop the drugs at the source... were cutting those supply lines off to the UK,' added Cdr Thompson, who earned an OBE in the Kings first operational honours list in November.

During the early part of the year, the ship was involved in a secretive mission to seize hi-tech weapons - including some 15 surface-to-air missiles - being smuggled out of Iran and into Yemen.

The two seizures occurred on January 28 and February 25 in international waters south of Iran. But news of the historic operation was only made public in June.

Now, MailOnline can reveal that many of Montrose's 200-strong crew had been left in the dark about the mission - and the contents the ship had seized - for months.

'You could count the people on one hand who knew,' said Cdr Thompson - who returned with the ship to Plymouth a few days before Christmas but was speaking exclusively to MailOnline in the Gulf ahead of their homecoming.

'Very few people on board knew what it was that we interdicted. Even for my family reading about it in June they said "was that you?".'

In a Naval first, the British warship HMS Montrose intercepted vessels carrying advanced weaponry from Iran thought to be headed to Houthi rebels in Yemen

Some of the weaponry and weapons parts seized by British Naval forces just off the coast of Iran. A technical analysis of the hoard revealed the shipment contained multiple rocket engines for the Iranian produced 351 land attack cruise missile and a batch of 358 surface to air missiles

Royal Marine Commandos secure one of the arms hauls in the successful operation on Iranian smuggler vessels

The captures took place in the early hours of the morning of January 28 and February 25 this year. A team of Royal Marines approached the boats on two Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boats before confiscating dozen of packages containing weaponry

From sailing almost 20 times around the globe to downing 288,000 cups of tea - breaking down HMS Montrose's three-year Gulf mission Sailed 134,389 nautical miles (19.5 times around the globe or two thirds of the distance from the Earth to the Moon)

Passed through the choke points of the Strait of Hormuz 111 and Bab al Mandeb 6 times, safely accompanying 132 merchant ships

Destroyed 16 tonnes of illegal narcotics in more than 10 busts, denying criminal/terrorist groups of proceeds worth at least 80m

Seized illegal shipments of surface-to-air missiles and cruise missile engines  a first for the Royal Navy

Conducted 378 days of security patrols of the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean  an area eight times the size of the North Sea  working with the international Combined Maritime Forces

Changed all 200 crew 11 times

Has been away from the UK 1,478 days (since October 29 2018), more than 1,350 of them in the Gulf region

Endured temperatures as high as 55 Celsius

Chefs have prepared 864,000 meals, using 216,000 eggs and 8,640 tins of bins

Montrose's team of sailors have downed 288,000 cups of tea Advertisement

The frigate spotted the weapons being carried in speedboats and used a helicopter to hunt down the vessel before Marines boarded and seized the cargo.

It was the first time a navy warship had intercepted a craft carrying such hi-tech weaponry, which included Iranian surface-to-air missiles and other sophisticated kit similar to tech shipped from Iran to Russia to support Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

MailOnline understands the kit would have reached the leaders of the Houthi rebel insurgency in Yemen and could have been used to strike the southern port city of Aden.

'I can say, with hand on heart, that by stopping that, Montrose has certainly saved lives,' added Cdre Fryer.

'Its a huge success for us here. The knock-on effect has been quite significant.'

Cdre Fryer added the interdiction demonstrated how much of a threat Iran can pose to regional security - as he insisted it highlighted the importance of having a British presence out in the Middle East.

In July 2019, Iran seized the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero, sparking a tense stand-off between the UK and Tehran.

The ship was captured as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, weeks after Britain detained an Iranian vessel off the coast of Gibraltar.

At the time, Iran claimed the US ordered the operation amid a standoff between the two countries, but the UK claims the tanker was violating EU sanctions.

'Iran is one of the more malign and destabilising regions here...and were all alive to that,' Cdre Fryer told MailOnline.

'We are tracking that very closely. I obviously cant go into details of what, where, how and when. But it is something that we do take very seriously, and I do deal with on a day-to-day basis.

The Commodore added it was critical to have a British naval presence in the region - despite calls back in the UK for more Senior Service ships to be used to protect the UK's borders from migrants crossing the Channel.

Asked why hundreds of British sailors were based on vessels in the Middle East, instead of patrolling the Channel, Cdre Fryer said: 'I see this all the time. We are an island nation, and the most important thing is the economy, and the economy cant work unless we have global access and global trade. So, youve got to start securing those routes

'This is the maritime crossroads of the world. A lot of shipping travels through this area. In this area there are three of the worlds most significant maritime choke points, the small, constricted areas where ships have to pass through.

A sailor on board British Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Cardigan Bay keeps watch in the Arabian Gulf

As well as hunting for criminal gangs, HMS Montrose and the other navy warship in the Gulf also provide maritime security for the thousands of freight ships operating in the region

HMS Montrose, pictured, returned to the UK in December after three years in the Gulf. She is due to be decommissioned in the spring of 2023

We saw back in February last year when the motor vessel MV Evergreen got stuck in the Suez Canal by accident. That was a cost to global trade of about $9 billion a day. That was just an accident and we have got three of those choke points.

There are adversaries acting in the area who wish to destabilise not just the regional area but the global trade as well. So, we are operating, in theory, a long way away from home but the world is a small place at the moment.

'It's all interconnected. What happens here has a global impact elsewhere.'

The Gulf is one of the busiest shipping regions on Earth. It is estimated that a more than 1 trillion of good each year is shipped through the Suez Canal.

Montrose has since been replaced by fellow frigate, HMS Lancaster, which will be forward-deployed in the Gulf, with crew rotating every few months.

After a short period of maintenance, Montrose will return to sea early in 2023 for operational duties and a farewell tour  including a visit to her namesake Scottish town  before the ship is formally decommissioned in the spring.
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Almost from the moment that the Second World War ended, experts and amateurs alike have been on the hunt for gold that might have been hidden by the Nazis.

From a palace used by Hitler's SS as a brothel, to a 'booby-trapped' train hidden in a tunnel, the reputed locations of ill-gotten loot have always made headlines.

This month, the emergence of a 'treasure map' pointing to the possible location of loot buried by German troops near a village in the Netherlands set pulses racing once again.

Historian Guy Walters, who joined treasure hunters in the Netherlands this month in a light-hearted trip, told MailOnline that the allure of tales of Nazi gold 'percolate all the way through popular culture'.

Below, MailOnline examines the most famous searches for Nazi gold, including some which came up trumps.

And we have put together an interactive map that shows the location of each case and the detail of what happened.

How to use the map: Press the play button and then click on any of the pointers to discover more about the occasions where gold has either been found or looked for.

The gold FOUND in a salt mine

In April 1945, just days before Adolf Hitler committed suicide in Berlin, American troops advancing into Germany discovered $238million-worth of gold in the Merkers salt mine in central Germany.

Most of the gold had been sent to the mine by Walter Funk, the president of Germany's Reichsbank, after the US Air Force decimated the bank's headquarters during bombing raids on Berlin in February.

As well as the gold from the bank, jewellery, coins and gems stolen from Jewish Holocaust victims were sent by rail to Merkers - as were valuable works of art.

In April 1945, just days before Adolf Hitler committed suicide in Berlin, American troops advancing into Germany discovered $238million-worth of gold in the Merkers salt mine in central Germany

After blasting their way through the walls of a vault in the mine, troops found the gold among more than 7,000 bags that had been stacked knee-high.

An inventory revealed that the haul included more than 8,000 bars of gold bullion, British gold pounds, 20 silver bars, nine bags of valuable coins and 1,300 boxes of Reichsmarks.

Overall, it was estimated the total value of all the loot was more than $520million

Dramatic photos show soldiers guarding hundreds of bags of gold inside the mine.

The Daily Mail reported on the discovery of the gold, under the headline: 'Troops blast way into Reich vault of gold'

Most of the gold was ultimately returned to countries where the Nazis had looted it from during the war, whilst foreign currencies were returned to their respective nations.

Some gold - around $60million worth - remained with the Tripartite Gold Commission, the body set up to return it to its rightful owners.

In 1997, several countries agreed to give up any remaining claims to the gold and it was donated to a fund to help survivors of the Holocaust.

The hunt for the Nazi gold train

Among the most famous tales of hidden Nazi gold is the claim about a train that was laden with treasure and then hidden in Walbrzych, southwest Poland, at the end of the Second World War.

There have been dozens of searches since 1945, with no trace of the locomotive and its vaunted contents having been found.

The latest twist in the story came in 2015, when two men - a German and Pole -claimed to have found it.

There have been dozens of searches since 1945, with no trace of the locomotive and its vaunted contents having been found. Above: A tunnel in Walbrzych, Poland that is part of a complex built by the Nazis. Some believed the train was hidden in the tunnels

Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter said they had used ground-penetrating radar to find the locomotive.

The alleged discovery was made near the Polish city of Walbrzych, prompting culture ministry spokesman Piotr Zuchowski to warn that the train was 'booby-trapped'.

An unnamed man who claimed to have helped load the train with gold said in a deathbed confession that it was secured with explosives.

The latest twist in the story came in 2015, when two men - a German and Pole -claimed to have found it. Piotr Koper and Andreas Richter said they had used ground-penetrating radar to find the locomotive

Whilst Mr Zuchowski insisted that authorities were '99 percent sure the train exists', the physical train was not found, despite an extensive digging operation.

Experts then cast doubt on the likelihood of the existence of the train, saying that a tunnel may exist, but the train did not.

Professor Janusz Madej from AGH University of Science and Technology, said in December 2015: 'The tunnel may be there, but the train is not,' Professor Madej told a press conference.

'The results of our research can be considered reliable,' he added.

The treasures hunters said they had used a ground penetrating radar to locate the train and said these images proved the train was buried nine metres down in rail tunnel

It was claimed the missing vessel would look like an armoured locomotive similar to this one used by the Nazis during WWII

Search for gold said to be hidden in the depths of Austria's Lake Toplitz

Lake Toplitz, in Austria, is another reputed location for treasure hidden by the Nazis.

Some believe that hidden in its depths are up to 3billion in lost Nazi gold which was dumped into the water by the SS as the Second World War came to a close.

The lake was used as a naval testing site by the Nazis in the 1940s, whilst the surrounding mountains were a popular retreat for military officers.

Lake Toplitz, in Austria, is another reputed location for treasure hidden by the Nazis towards the end of the Second World War

Some believe that hidden in its depths are up to 3billion in lost Nazi gold which was dumped into the water by the SS as the Second World War came to a close. In 1959 (above), investigators recovered 700million worth of counterfeit notes that Hitler had planned to use to sabotage the British economy

In 1963, the Daily Mail reported on how police had sealed off the lake as Austrian divers sent by the country's government searched its depths for gold

Surrounded by dense forest high up in the Austrian Alps, Toplitz has seen its fair share of death, with several bounty hunters searching for the gold dying over the years.

In 1959, investigators recovered 700million worth of counterfeit notes that Hitler had planned to use to sabotage the British economy.

They had been dumped in the lake on the orders of SS intelligence chief General Ernst Kaltenbrunner.

And in 1963, the Daily Mail reported on how police had sealed off the lake as Austrian divers sent by the country's government searched its depths for gold.

The paper also told how the lake had claimed the lives of six people hoping to find gold.

In October 1963, 19-year-old Alfred Egner lost his life in what was described as an 'illegal "treasure hunt" organised by some West German businessmen.

However, nothing was found.

In the year 2000, another search was conducted using equipment similar to that which found the wreck of the Titanic.

That search too failed to discover anything exciting.

In 2005, the Austrian government financed a final search of the lake.

America treasure hunter Norman Scott was given permission to survey the 350ft-deep lake.

But to this day, the mystery of whether the lake contains any gold - or any other treasures - remains unsolved.

Austrian scuba diver getting ready to search Lake Toplitz in search of Hitler's treasure in the 1960s

Hunt for gold 'hidden in grounds of palace' used as SS brothel

In 2019, a diary said to have been written by an SS officer emerged containing a claim that 10 tonnes of Nazi gold worth 200million was hidden in the grounds of an 18th century palace in Poland.

The estate near the village of Minkowskie was used as a brothel by SS officer during the Second World War.

It was believed that gold stolen on the orders of SS chief Heinrich Himmler and then buried in a small orangery in the grounds.

Treasure hunters started digging in May 2021 but the only thing they found was a German bayonet - before the dig had even begun.

In 2019, a diary said to be written by an SS officer emerged containing a claim that 10 tonnes of Nazi gold worth 200million was hidden in the grounds of an 18th century palace in Poland in Minkowskie, southern Poland

In August, a group called the Silesian Bridge Foundation were given permission to raise a buried canister that they believed could contain the loot.

The canister was believed to contain the so-called 'Gold of Breslau' that went missing from police headquarters in what is now the Polish city of Wroclaw, as well as jewellery and other valuables from the private collections of wealthy Germans.

The following month, the discovery of German coins marked with Swastikas prompted workers to insist that the Nazis must have been at the palace.

However, this month experts cast doubt on the entire story, saying the diary itself was likely to be a 'complete forgery'.

The diary claimed to show the hiding places of treasures intended for the creation of a Fourth Reich to continue the war

Historians from the Discoverer organisation in the city of Wroclaw said they found 'conclusive proof' that the document was a fake.

They said the pencil entries of the alleged German officer were copied from accounts of German refugees who fled the region in 1945.

After comparing the diary to archive records, it was found the entries allegedly copied some of the records word for word, according to Discoverer.

The dig took place in the grounds of the 18th-century palace in the village of Minkowskie, Poland

Quest for gold in sunken German cargo ship

In 2017, a group of treasure hunters found a chest that they said could contain up to 100million in Nazi gold in the wreck of a German cargo ship off the coast of Iceland.

UK-based Advanced Marine Services said there was up to four tons of valuable metal, believed to be gold from South American banks, in the post room of the SS Minden, which sunk in 1939.

The gold was believed to be on board the ship and headed to Germany when the boat sank 120 miles southeast of Iceland on September 24, 1939, shortly after the war began.

In 2017, a group of treasure hunters found a chest that they said could contain up to 100million in Nazi gold in the wreck of German cargo ship the SS Minden (above) off the coast of Iceland

Advanced Marine Services applied to the Icelandic government in hopes of gaining permission to cut a hole in the ship to remove the box.

Whilst they were granted a permit to explore further, bad weather scuppered any attempt to get the box.

A further attempt in 2018 also proved fruitless.

Hoard of Reichsbank coins FOUND

In 2015, a hoard of gold coins buried in the final days of the Second World War was found near the northern town of Lueneberg in northern Germany.

The hoard was found in paper embossed with the Nazi swastika and eagle, bearing the words 'Reichsbank', suggesting the coins may have been stolen amidst the chaos of Germany's defeat.

Metal detectorist Florian Bautsch initially found ten coins in a hollow under a tree and then professionals excavated another 207.

n 2015, a hoard of gold coins buried in the final days of the Second World War was found near the northern town of Lueneberg in northern Germany

They were of French, Belgian, Italian and Austro-Hungarian origin and date from 1831 to 1910.

Two aluminium seals featuring swastikas, eagles and the words 'Reichsbank Berlin 244' were discovered under the field with the coins.

An analysis of the German coins found they were made some time after 1940.

Edgar Ring, an archaeologist at Museum Lueneburg, said shortly after the discovery that the person who buried the coins was probably an insider.

'It was either someone who worked at the Reichsbank and had access, which means it could have only been someone who was there in an official role, or somebody who took advantage of the situation when the coins were being transported,' he said.

Dr Henning Hassmann, of the state archaeological department said: 'We believe the money was hidden away in the last days of the war.'

'Gold' buried outside Dutch village by German troops

At the start of this year, the Nazi treasure sleuths leaped into action once again when the national archives of the Netherlands released a trove of documents that included a map showing where German troops allegedly buried loot in 1944.

The files told how German paratroopers who were fighting British soldiers at the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 took advantage of an explosion at a bank in the town centre.

They are said to have filled four ammunition cases with gemstones, jewellery, watches, coins and other valuables before burying the boxes south of the village of Ommeren - 25 miles west of Arnhem.

At the start of this year, the Nazi treasure sleuths leaped into action once again when the national archives of the Netherlands released a trove of documents that included a map (above) showing where German troops allegedly buried loot in 1944

The documents told how how German paratroopers (above) who were fighting British soldiers at the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 took advantage of an explosion at a bank in the town centre. They are said to have filled four ammunition cases with gemstones, jewellery, watches, coins and other valuables before burying the boxes south of the village of Ommeren - 25 miles west of Arnhem

People are 'obsessed' with Nazi gold tales, historian says 'Nazi gold has been a thing that has been hunted for almost since the war ended,' historian Guy Walters told MailOnline 'People have been obsessed by it and there were all sorts of tales of massive stashes of gold bullion hidden in lakes in the alps. It has become the stuff of myth and legend. 'It percolates all the way through popular culture. And you even see it in Goldfinger, one of the early James Bond films. 'So it has always been a massive part of the popular imagination and people are obsessed with it. 'There has only really been one massive find, and that was in the salt mine in Germany in 1945. 'Since then, barring little finds here and there, there really has not been any Nazi gold or treasure found in any significance. 'If you really want to find Nazi gold and treasure then you have got to look under the streets of Zurich, because much of the Nazis' wealth that they did manage to get out the country before the war ended, ended up in Switzerland, and it is the Swiss banking system that basically hides Nazi wealth even today.' Advertisement

The information about the boxes' alleged location - including the map - was given by Helmut Sonder, one of the German soldiers involved in the raid on the blown-up bank.

The Dutch interrogated Sonder after the war and took him to the place where he said the gold was buried, but he was unable to find it.

Whilst he suspected that the gold had already been taken by his senior officer, the Dutch believed he was lying, or concluded the gold had already been found.

Whilst others, including American troops, have attempted to find the treasure, no trace of it has been found.

Historian Guy Walters was among those who headed to the site to look for the treasure.

Whilst he did not find anything in the light-hearted trip with his son, he did tell MailOnline how another hunter's metal detector started making 'funny noises', indicating the presence of something metallic.

But before they could search that specific patch of land, they were stopped by Dutch police, who claimed they might accidentally dig up unexploded bombs or grenades.

'I recognise the fact that the chances of finding Nazi treasure are very small, and metal detectors often pick up noises, but I was gutted that we had to stop,' he said.

'You think 'just one last dig and we will find it'.

'The point is that I went out to Holland not expecting to find treasure but I thought of all the cases I have heard about, this seemed the one in which there was a realistically tiny chance of there being something.

'Most stories of Nazi gold are complete nonsense, but this one had something to it that intrigued me. What intrigued me was treasure map with a great big red X on it.'

In the days since Mr Walters' trip, dozens of other hunters have headed to the site, prompting police to hand warnings to fifteen people.

More than 100 people were found to be looking for the treasure.
Orbiting at 250 miles above the Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) has been integral to a bucket load of research over the past 25 years.

Surrounded by a dizzying number of controls and experiments, occupants get some shut eye in sleeping bags attached to walls that couldn't be further from luxury if you tried.

But compared to the upcoming Lunar Gateway space station, which will orbit the moon when it is built later this decade, the ISS is decidedly roomy.

That is according to one of the architects behind the design of Gateway, who said the living quarters will be so small that astronauts won't be able to stand upright inside them.

Cramped: One of the architects behind the design of the new Lunar Gateway space station says the living quarters will be so small that astronauts won't be able to stand upright inside them. Rene Waclavicek said they would total about 280 cubic feet (8 cubic metres), making it smaller than not only the International Space Station but even the average UK living room

LUNAR GATEWAY: THE KEY FACTS Mass: 40 tonnes Orbit: Near rectilinear halo Modules: - Power and Propulsion Element - Communications module and connecting module (ESPRIT) - Science and airlock module - Habitat with robotic arm - Logistics module Advertisement

Rene Waclavicek, a space architect and design researcher at Austria-based LIQUIFER Space Systems, said the Lunar Gateway living quarters would total about 280 cubic feet (8 cubic metres), making it smaller than not only the ISS but even the average UK living room.

When Gateway is finished it will be about one sixth of the size of the ISS and feature two habitation modules that will force crew members to exist in very close proximity to each other.

The space lab's quarters will be 6ft wide, 6ft long and 6ft high, compared to a 7.2 x 7.2ft interior on the ISS that even allows astronauts to perform space gymnastics routines.

The average UK living room is around 55 cubic feet (17 metres), or 7.5 x 7.5ft.

'The International Habitation module will have habitable space of about 8 cubic meters [280 cubic feet] and you will have to share it with three others,' Waclavicek said at the Czech Space Week conference in Brno last November.

'In other words, that would be a room 2 by 2 by 2 meters [6.6 by 6.6 by 6.6 feet]. And you are locked in there.

'There are other rooms but they are not bigger and there are not many of them.'

When Gateway is finished it will be about one sixth of the size of the ISS and feature two habitation modules that will force crew members to exist in very close proximity to each other

Who is involved: How Gateway will look and the space organisations involved in building it

That is according to one of the architects behind the design of Gateway, who said the living quarters will be so small that astronauts won't be able to stand upright inside them

NASA has said the orbiting laboratory will provide astronauts with a 'home away from home' during trips to the moon, and a staging post for lunar landings

WHAT IS THE LUNAR GATEWAY? The NASA-led Lunar Gateway is part of a long-term project to send humans to Mars. The crew-tended spaceport will orbit the moon and serve as a 'gateway to deep space and the lunar surface,' the US space agency has said. The first modules of the station could be completed as soon as 2024. An international base for lunar exploration for humans and robots and a stopover for spacecraft is a leading contender to succeed the $100 billion International Space Station (ISS), the world's largest space project to date. Advertisement

NASA has said the orbiting laboratory will provide astronauts with a 'home away from home' during trips to the moon, and a staging post for lunar landings.

The lab will have a four person capacity and will see the US space agency work with some existing ISS partners including Europe, Japan and Canada.

Waclavicek has been involved in the design phase of the European-built International Habitation module, or I-Hab.

It is made up of bedrooms and lab space and is one of Gateway's two habitable areas, along with the Habitation and Logistics Outpost, or HALO, being developed by US company Northrop Grumman.

Waclavicek said designers initially wanted to make larger modules than the ones on the ISS, with more living space associated with them, but this vision had to be scrapped because it was deemed impossible to launch something as big to the moon.

'We started off in the first phase with a cylinder with outer dimensions similar to what we know from the ISS,' Waclavicek said.

'That's about 4.5 m [15 feet] in diameter and 6 m [20 feet] long. But due to mass restrictions, we had to shrink it down to 3 m [10 feet] in outer dimensions.

'And that left us with an interior cross section of only 1.2 m by 1.2 m [4 feet by 4 feet].

'Most of the internal volume is consumed by machinery, so it's essentially just a corridor, where you have to turn 90 degrees if you want to stretch out.'

He added: '[The I-Hab] really is just a cylinder with a hatch on each end and two hatches at the sides and a corridor going through the length axis.

'Even if you want to pass one another, it's already quite difficult, you have to interrupt whatever you are doing in the moment to let the other fellow pass by you.'

Waclavicek has been involved in the design phase of the European-built International Habitation module, or I-Hab

The space lab's quarters will be 6ft wide, 6ft long and 6ft high, compared to 7.2 x 7.2ft on the ISS

'The International Habitation module will have habitable space of about 8 cubic meters [280 cubic feet] and you will have to share it with three others,' space architect Rene Waclavicek said

Lunar Gateway forms a core part of the Artemis missions, the first of which was successfully completed at the end of last year.

It is hoped that Artemis III, scheduled to launch in 2025, will see NASA put the first woman and next man on the moon.

The US space agency wants to use its massive Space Launch System rocket to blast four astronauts into orbit onboard an Orion crew capsule, which will then dock with Gateway if it is ready.

A separate craft based on Elon Musk's Starship design, docked with the Gateway, will be there waiting to receive two crew members for the final leg of the journey to the surface of the moon.

The astronauts would spend a week on the moon before boarding Starship to return to lunar orbit, then take Orion back to Earth.

Musk's company SpaceX is also due to launch the foundational elements of the Gateway to lunar orbit, including the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the HALO.

Plans: When Gateway is finished it will be about one sixth of the size of the ISS and feature two habitation modules that will force crew members to exist in very close proximity to each other

Although Gateway won't have a massive viewing window like on the ISS, it will have smaller ones in the fuelling module ESPIRIT.

The reason it can't have a big one is again because of the technical issues associated with it  'glass is very heavy so a window is the first thing that gets canceled', Waclawicek said.

The team has now begun building a real-size mockup for testing human interaction with the habitat environment.

I-Hab's journey to the moon is not expected before 2027, although the American HALO module could be launched as early as 2024.

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The misshapen stones in Romania are naturally formed by geological processes

They look like something from an alien plantation on another planet.

But the 'living' rocks of Romania known as the 'trovants' really are of this Earth  and they're naturally formed by geological processes.

Starting out as pebbles and growing at about two inches per millennium, the trovant stones are unique mineral structures that mimic plant and mammal life.

The bizarre bulbous stones almost appear to grow in the same way as plant tissue and they give 'birth' to new stones just like an animal.

Starting out as pebbles and growing at about two inches per millennium, the Trovant stones are unique mineral structures that mimic both plant and mammal life

These stones - mainly composed of a hard stone core, surrounded by sand that forms the shell - grow slowly in the presence of rainwater. Minerals in rainwater form a reaction within that builds pressure inside, making the rock grow and multiply

What are the trovant stones? Trovant stones are rock formations in unusual and irregular shapes. Over time they get bigger and change shape due to natural geological processes. These stones - mainly composed of a hard stone core, surrounded by sand that forms the shell - grow slowly in the presence of rainwater. Minerals in rainwater form a reaction within that builds pressure inside, making the rock grow and multiply. Advertisement

The trovant stones are found in a small Romanian village called Costesti, about 50 miles west of capital Bucharest.

They look like blown bubbles made of rock and vary greatly in size, some spanning several feet in diameter, others small enough to fit in the palm of the hand.

'The trovants from Romania have very different ages,' Dr Mircea Ticleanu at the Geological Institute of Romania told MailOnline.

'Trovants do not simply appear from the ground; they are present in the mass of sands of different geological ages which reach natural outcrops or in sand quarries.'

Trovants is a synonym for the German term 'Sandsteinkonkretionen', which means 'cemented sand'.

'The word "trovant" was used for the first time in geological literature from Romania,' said Dr Ticleanu.

Visitors to the Costesti site can walk by the large variety of spherical and ellipsoidal trovant stones, which grow slowly over time in the presence of rainwater.

Visitors to the site can walk by the large variety of spherical and ellipsoidal trovant stones, which grow slowly over time in the presence of rainwater

Trovants is a synonym for the German term 'Sandsteinkonkretionen', which means 'cemented sand'

They're mainly composed of a hard stone core, surrounded by sand that forms the shell.

Minerals in rainwater form a reaction within that builds pressure inside, which makes the rock grow and multiply.

Much like the rings that make up the girth of trees, the trovants reveal layers when cut into, each representing a period of growth.

Although not alive in the scientific sense, locals and tourists alike have described them as 'living' because of the way they appear to change with time.

Costesti isn't the only location where the trovant stones are found; a study co-authored by Dr Ticleanu describes them all over the Carpathian area of Romania.

Although not alive in the scientific sense, locals and tourists alike have described them as 'living' because of the way they grow and change with time

The well known trovants of this age are those at Costesti (Oltenia). Their diameters are big; in the metre range. They are spherical, ovoid, but many of them have twinned, complicated forms

However, the ones at Costesti are well known and have large diameters. They are spherical and egg-shaped, but many of them have twinned, complicated forms.

One of the features of the Costesti trovants is the presence of numerous 'microtrovants' (smaller, spherical tubercles) on the surface of the big ones.

'Beside the big trovants there are a lot of smaller, imperfect ones, but with a clear tendency to sphericity,' the study says.

'All these trovants are placed in yellow, fine, medium or coarse sands containing also fine gravel.'

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Piers Morgan has declared himself to be 'irrationally annoyed' after Chelsea moved to the brink of signing Arsenal's long-term target Mykhailo Mudryk, labelling their failed pursuit as a 'fiasco'.

The Blues have moved to hijack Arsenal's mega-money move for the Shakhtar Donetsk winger in recent days, and seem to be on the cusp of confirming his arrival in a whopping 88million deal.

Morgan, a vocal Arsenal fan, claimed the Premier League leaders had looked 'weak' after allowing their London rivals to sign the Ukrainian despite their well-publicised interest.

Chelsea have all but confirmed the arrival of Shakhtar Donetsk's winger Mykhailo Mudryk

Arsenal fan Piers Morgan claimed the club 'looks weak' after missing out on Mudryk

'How can this be happening? Ridiculous that Arsenal let this transfer saga drag on so long weve apparently ended up losing him,' Morgan tweeted.

'Im irrationally annoyed about this Mudryk fiasco.

'If Arsenal want to win the League this season, we cant faff around for weeks on key targets and then get outflanked/outbid at the last minute. Looks weak.

'We must buy another top class striker asap.'

Arsenal have been pursuing Mudryk in recent weeks as they sought to increase Mikel Arterta's attacking options with the Gunners pursuing the Premier League title.

Arsenal fans hoped had been raised by Mikel Arteta's reaction when asked about Mudryk

Mudryk had made it clear in recent weeks that he was very keen to move to the English club, posting himself wearing an Arsenal shirt on social media.

A move to North London had appeared on the cards after Arsenal tabled a third bid that could reach 80million for the player.

Fans had expressed optimism over his potential signing after Arteta was asked about Mudryk in a pre-North London derby press conference.

The Arsenal manager responded with a huge grin, before composing himself and replying: 'You know we cannot talk about any other player'.

Arsenal fans have reacted angrily to missing out on the club's 'main target' to rivals Chelsea

Fans have hit out at the club's failure to land their main target in the January window, suggesting the Gunners had 'wasted time'.

'Arsenal need to find a balance between having a valuation, going over your valuation of a player and moving on quickly when the selling club isnt playing ball,' one Arsenal fan tweeted. 'Weve wasted time not securing our main target when we could

'Same old Arsenal nothing ever changes,' said another. 'Can't even sign their main target. Preposterous.'

Gunners fans turned their attentions to who could be next on Mikel Arteta's wishlist

A third tweeted 'Weve needed wingers since last year but its the same old Arsenal we lose our main target and wont spend again until summer'.

Mudryk's potential move to Chelsea led other Arsenal fans to wonder who the Premier League leaders will turn to next for reinforcements in attack.

'Whether you think Mudryk was worth the money or not, Arteta was fixated on him,' a fan tweeted.

'Thats what matters. He has done an incredible job to get this group of players challenging for the title, and deserves to be backed in the market. The board & Edu have 16 days to make it up to him.'

'Wonder who Arsenal go for after this, massive blow but clearly got money to spend,' another fan said. 'Not a good look losing your main target.'

Chelsea also released a statement on their club website saying a deal for Mudryk is 'close'

Shakhtar Donetsk announced that a deal that will see Mudryk move to Chelsea is 'very close'

Chelsea have all but confirmed his arrival with a series of posts on social media, while his current side Shakhtar tweeted that the club are 'very close' to agreeing a deal for him to leave..

Blues chiefs travelled to Poland on Saturday to conduct discussions with the Ukrainian club on regarding signing the 22-year-old.

Shakhtar, meanwhile, on their English Twitter page, posted: 'FC Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov and Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali discussed Mykhailo Mudryk's transfer to Chelsea FC today.

'Parties are very close to agree(ing) on player's transfer to the club.'

Arsenal could now be forced to look elsewhere for attacking reinforcements in the remainder of the transfer window, while the signing would be a major boost to under-fire Chelsea boss Graham Potter.
Piers Morgan has insisted it is 'surprising' Mykhailo Mudryk is signing for Chelsea rather than Arsenal.

Arsenal were considered the favourites to sign the 88million winger from Shakhtar Donetsk but the Blues hijacked their move and are closing in on completing the signing.

And incredulous Gunners fan Morgan questioned why Ukrainian star Mudryk would join Chelsea when Blues fans still chant in support of former owner Roman Abramovich - one of Russian president Vladimir Putin's 'best mates'.

Piers Morgan says it is 'surprising' Mykhailo Mudryk is set to join Chelsea rather than Arsenal

Gunners fan Morgan questioned why the Ukraine star is poised to move to a club whose fans chant support for former owner, and one of Vladimir Putin's 'best mates', Roman Abramovich

Wealthy tycoon Abramovich (centre) was forced to sell Chelsea to Todd Boehly in 2022 in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, led by Russian president Putin, to whom he has close ties

He said: 'My final thought on Mudryk is that it's a tad surprising to watch a Ukrainian player flirt so enthusiastically with Arsenal and then opt at the last minute for a club whose fans continue to chant support for one of Putin's best mates.'

Russian tycoon Abramovich, 56, took over at Stamford Bridge in 2003 but was forced to sell the club in early 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, led by Putin, to whom he has close ties. The Russo-Ukrainian war is still ongoing.

In May, his exit from Chelsea was confirmed and US businessman Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the club from him in a massive deal worth 4.25billion.

Abramovich remains popular among Chelsea fans and in last week's 4-0 FA Cup thrashing against Manchester City, supporters sung chants about him and former boss Thomas Tuchel

Weve got Super Tommy Tuchel chants from the away end  pic.twitter.com/XvheKA4oIE  CarefreeLewisG (@CarefreeLewisG) January 8, 2023

Boehly then sacked manager Thomas Tuchel, who led the club to the 2020-21 Champions League title and remains popular with fans, and appointed Graham Potter from Brighton.

During their 4-0 FA Cup thrashing against Manchester City last week, Chelsea fans sang 'we've got super Tommy Tuchel' and sung positive chants about Abramovich, whose tenure was marked by winning lots of trophies despite plenty of sackings.

Morgan also Twitter to slate Mudryk's unveiling video. The TV presenter said he had seen 'happier hostage videos'.

Morgan claimed the club 'looks weak' after missing out on Mudryk to London rivals Chelsea

Morgan previously declared himself to be 'irrationally annoyed' after Chelsea moved to the brink of signing Arsenal's long-term target Mudryk, labelling their failed pursuit as a 'fiasco'.

'How can this be happening? Ridiculous that Arsenal let this transfer saga drag on so long we've apparently ended up losing him,' Morgan tweeted. 'I'm irrationally annoyed about this Mudryk fiasco.

'If Arsenal want to win the League this season, we can't faff around for weeks on key targets and then get outflanked/outbid at the last minute. Looks weak. We must buy another top class striker ASAP.'

Chelsea take on Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon at Stamford Bridge after three losses in a row in all competitions, with Mudryk expected to be in the stands at the west London stadium ahead of his official arrival.
"In the first instance, the airline is responsible for the initial reimbursement of the costs incurred as a result of delayed or lost bags," says Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kahui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) Consumer Affairs Manager Sarah Knox, "its after that travel insurance comes into play."

Airlines are part of the Montreal Convention, an international agreement providing the traveller with the right to seek compensation from the airline if their bags do not turn up after a flight. Under the agreement, there is an initial time limit after which items can be claimed from the airline. Good airlines have information about the process and claim forms on their websites.

Travellers should contact their travel insurer once they have received an outcome from the airline. If they have not received the total amount claimed from the airline, the traveller can claim for the difference. An insurance claim should include all of the relevant documentation from the airline detailing what was and wasnt covered plus any receipts or other proof of ownership of lost items.

"Travel insurers that are members of ICNZ have seen an enormous increase in claims for delayed bags. This is not just an issue affecting those landing at airports in Aotearoa New Zealand, or particular airlines, its affecting all carriers and airports across the world," Sarah said.

Travel insurers have the following advice for travellers:

- Plan ahead - think carefully about what goes in your carry-on and checked luggage. Keep must have items such as valuables and medication with you.

- If possible, book long haul trips with few stopovers to minimise the opportunity for bags to miss connections and, if possible, allow a little more time between transfers, especially if you have to uplift and recheck your bags before boarding a connecting flight.

- Avoid putting valuables, like jewellery or electronics in a checked bag.

- Be sure to have your baggage receipt. Its also a good idea to take a picture of your bag.

- Make sure each item of checked luggage has a secure bag tag that includes your name and phone number, including your international dialling code.

- Consider using airtags or similar so you can track your bag on your phone. Check with your airline about their use.

"Knowing there are conventions in place to allow you to quickly replace delayed or lost items, and to apply for a top up if necessary from your travel insurer, should help reduce frustration if bags are delayed or lost," added Sarah.

ENDS





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Roxy Horner looked typically incredible this week as she posed up a storm for her new Valentine's Day campaign with underwear brand Boux Avenue.

The model, 30, showed off the collection and her toned figure in a sultry photoshoot - donning an array of lacy lingerie.

Sporting a baby pink bustier with matching underwear and suspenders for one snap, the beauty teamed the look with a pair of platformed pink heels to match.

PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Roxy Horner, 30, sent temperatures soaring this week as she posed in lacy pink lingerie for her new Valentine's Day collaboration

Her golden blonde tresses were styled in a stunning curl, with a section pulled into a part-ponytail as two locks framed her face.

Flashing a sultry look to the camera, Roxy showed off the collection, which will be available in stores on Monday January 16.

Another look featured a mesh bra with red heart confetti detailing, teamed with a matching suspender belt and underwear.

The star, who is girlfriend to comedian Jack Whitehall, displayed her gorgeous figure in the scantily-clad shoot.

Stunner: One shot showed the model donning a mesh bra with red heart confetti detailing, teamed with a matching suspender belt and underwear

Robes: Roxy donned a pink sheer lace slip dress with a matching robe on top for another, before changing into a sheer black slip dress

The collection, dubbed 'Write Your Own Love Story,' also featured a selection of pyjamas and robes.

It ranges from dress sizes 6-18 and bra sizes 28-38 A-G cup, with prices beginning from 14 and ranging to 55.

Roxy donned a pink sheer lace slip dress with a matching robe on top for another, before changing into a sheer black slip dress.

Beaming for a shot in the air, she showed off a more relaxed PJ set, which had light pink trousers and a button-up shirt - with a red heart print.

Beaming for a shot in the air, she showed off a more relaxed PJ set, which had light pink trousers and a button-up shirt - with a red heart print

Killing it: Roxy joined another stunning model as they showed off the Valentine's Day collection

Roxy had a golden glow in the shoot after her recent New Year's getaway to the Maldives with her comedian beau Jack.

The pair shared a slew of snaps to their respective social medias from the trip, with Roxy looking sensational while posing in a hammock - as her boyfriend hilariously tried to do the same.

She looked the picture of grace as she hopped on the hammock with ease but her boyfriend didn't fare as well.

The TV presenter filmed himself mimmicking his girlfriend's strut to the hammock but accidentally topped off it into the water.

Alongside the hilarious clip, Jack wrote: 'This content life is dangerous'.
Five million viewers were left on the edge of their seats when Happy Valley ended on a tense cliffhanger last Sunday.

The second installment saw Sergeant Catherine Cawood follow her 16-year-old grandson Ryan as he made his visit to see his father Tommy Lee Royce in prison, accompanied by her sister Claire Cartwright and her partner Neil Ackroyd.

But questions were raised when Claire doesn't go to the prison but instead heads to a coffee shop in Sheffield and lies to Catherine about her whereabouts- only to be ambushed by her sister.

Gripping: Five million viewers were left on the edge of their seats when Happy Valley ended on a tense cliffhanger last Sunday

Sunday's episode will pick up where it left off and viewers are all wondering the same thing - why is Neil bringing Ryan to see Tommy alone?

From predictions the shop worker is being blackmailed by the Halifax gangsters The Knezevics to a 'huge clue' Ryan is actually planning to kill Tommy, we take a look at five theories ahead of episode three.

1. Neil's 'worrying link' to Tommy

The second installment saw Sergeant Catherine Cawood follow her grandson Ryan as he made his visit to see his father Tommy Lee Royce in prison

Twitter has been going wild with speculation recovering alcoholic Neil is up to no good.

Eagle-eyed fans believe they have spotted clues which trace back to the previous two series - and the shop worker might not be who he seems.

In episode two, we see Tommy gain access to a smuggled phone and receive the message: 'Ricos Newsagents GR8 presents 4 Ryan'.

In episode two, we see Tommy gain access to a smuggled phone and receive the message: 'Ricos Newsagents GR8 presents 4 Ryan' - could it be from Neil?

Throwback: Viewers also think another clue could be from series two when Neil tells Claire of how he was blackmailed by his mistress Vicky Fleming: 'I used to work at a building society'

Clues: DS John Wadsworth said was working on a fraud investigation for the same building society - could it Halifax gangsters The Knezevics be behind it and are they blackmailing Neil?

Neil works in a shop and is close to Ryan, with fans wondering if the message was sent from him.

Viewers also think another clue could be from series two when Neil tells Claire of how he was blackmailed by his mistress Vicky Fleming: 'I used to work at a building society'.

DS John Wadsworth, who went on to accidentally kill Vicky over his own blackmail plot, also said he met Vicky when he was working on a fraud investigation for the very same building society.

Now viewers have put two and two together and believe The Knezevics could be behind the building society and have links to Tommy, with some thinking Neil is being blackmailed by them.

2. Could Frances Drummond return?

Return? Ryan's old school teacher Frances Drummond was a big influence on his life

Ryan's old school teacher Frances Drummond was a big influence on his life.

The devout Christian managed to persuade the then nine-year-old to write to his father in Gravesend prison, before her false identity was rumbled by Sergeant Cawood.

And now fans think Frances could still be in touch with Ryan as prison records show a man and a woman have accompanied him to the visits.

Kept in touch? Fans think Frances could still be in touch with Ryan as prison records show a man and a woman have accompanied him to the visits

With viewers knowing Claire didn't attend the latest appointment and visited a coffee shop instead, questions are still raised over if Neil and Ryan are going into the prison with a woman who is using Claire's identity.

And fans think it might be Frances - knowing she pretended to be her sister in series two.

One wrote: 'Are we sure its not that creepy lady teacher (Frances) from Series 2 using Clares name thats bringing Ryan to visit'

'Shirley Hendersons character is missing so far', another wrote.

'Catherine has followed the wrong person! Off pop Neil and Ryan to meet Frances. Now whats the connection between Neil and Frances?' a third chimed.

3. Tommy is planning an escape to Spain with Ryan

Tommy has been learning Spanish is prison with a poignant scene showing his practicing from his book in his cell before looking up at a photo of his son

Tommy has been learning Spanish is prison with a poignant scene showing his practicing from his book in his cell before looking up at a photo of his son.

And viewers think this could be a foreboding clue as to what the serial rapists' plans are for his future.

One wrote on Twitter: 'Omg theory. Tommy and Ryan planning to escape to Spain and thats why Tommy is learning Spanish?????? Am I onto something here?!??'

Another said: 'I feel like the fact he is learning Spanish is significant. I wondered if he's somehow plotting to escape and take Ryan to Spain?'

With Tommy set to appear in court over a gangland murder - could it be his perfect chance of an escape?

4. Richard's in trouble

Dangerous: Catherine's ex-husband Richard revealed he asked to investigate The Knezevics - a family who keep the police busy in the valley with their various dodgy dealings

Catherine's ex-husband Richard revealed he asked to investigate The Knezevics - a family who keep the police busy in the valley with their various dodgy dealings.

But fans think the journalist could be in trouble after the exes met with Catherine giving him a stern warning: 'You do know this could be dangerous, don't you?'

One wrote: 'Catherine also said to Richard "be careful who you talk to". Foreboding?'

Foreboding? But fans think the journalist could be in trouble after the exes met with Catherine giving him a stern warning: 'You do know this could be dangerous, don't you?'

Another added: 'I have VERY BAD FEELINGS about Richard. Catherine warned him... If he keeps going another heartbreak will come sooner than we expect'.

But another thought there may be more sinister reasons behind Richard's meeting with Catherine.

'I think Rico the newsagent is Catherine's ex, Richard the journalist. He's being paid by someone to get information off Catherine, to what end not sure, probably something to do with the court case. Connected to Clare and Neil? Possibly,' one wrote.

And Richard isn't the only one fans think could be in trouble after Catherine gave ex-convict Alison a job at Nevison Gallagher's, where she mention it would be forklifting industrial refrigerator units.

Speaking on Shrine Podcasts, one fan said: 'Why do we need to know Nevison owns a refrigerator company? Why do we need to know all of that?'

5. Ryan is secretly plotting to kill Tommy

Seeking revenge? Facebook users have speculated Ryan may be visiting Tommy in a plan to avenge after his mother's tragic suicide, which happened just weeks after his birth

Facebook users have speculated Ryan may be visiting Tommy in a plan to avenge after his mother's tragic suicide, which happened just weeks after his birth.

Catherine's daughter Becky was raped by Tommy and went on to have Ryan but took her own life.

The heartbroken officer believes Tommy's callous assault is the reason she no longer has her daughter.

Terrible: Catherine's daughter Becky was raped by Tommy and went on to have Ryan but took her own life

Awful: Over the years Ryan has witnessed his father douse him in petrol and learn of a brutal assault on his grandmother when she saved Ann Gallagher

Over the years Ryan has witnessed his father douse him in petrol and learn of a brutal assault on his grandmother when she saved Ann Gallagher.

One put: 'Maybe Ryans plotting his revenge on his Dad for all the hurt hes seen Royce has caused over the years and Claire and Neil are in on it'.

Another said: 'I think Catherines grandson will kill his father A dish served cold! '

While a third wrote: 'Ryan has grown up seeing the pain Tommy has caused over the years and has confided in Clare and Neil hes going to serve him some sort of revenge for it. They cant tell Catherine because as her role she would have to report what hes going to do.'

With so many questions still in the air, viewers will have to tune in to see how the family drama will unfold.

Watch Happy Valley this Sunday on BBC One at 9pm.
Russell Crowe has spoken out about the tragic death of Lisa Marie Presley, saying the star was 'way too young' to die at 5.

Speaking to the Australian Today show on Saturday, the Oscar winner, 58, recalled how the pair met while working on Soundstage in Chicago in 2003.

'Being a massive Elvis [Presley] fan, I kind of got around to being in the right place to meet her,' Russell said.

Russell Crowe, 58, (pictured) said Lisa Marie Presley was 'way too young' to die at 54 in an interview with Australia's Today show on Saturday

Russell, who was married to Danielle Spencer at the time, explained the pair had a really nice chat and said she was 'really sweet'.

He also described how they later reconnected when Lisa Marie visited Australia with her mum Priscilla.

'I just got a call one night, I was sitting in my office in [the Sydney suburb] Woolloomooloo, and I got a call saying, you know, 'Hey Russell, it's Lisa Marie. Wanna go out for a drink?'' he recalled.

Speaking to the Australian Today show on Saturday, the Oscar winner recalled how the pair met while working on Soundstage in Chicago in 2003. He also recalled a night out in Sydney with Lisa Marie and Priscilla

Russell said he immediately grabbed his then father-in-law Don Spencer and met up with Lisa-Marie and Priscilla.

'I actually think Don was doing very well with Priscilla, he didn't realise, I think, how well he was doing, and somehow he got distracted,' Russell said.

He then made the joke: 'I tell my kids every now and then, 'If your [grandfather] had just kept focused, we could have been related to the Presleys.'

Russell said he met Lisa Marie in 2003, shortly after his award-winning film Gladiator came out and made him a huge Hollywood star. He is pictured in Gladiator (2000)

Lisa Marie died from a second cardiac arrest she suffered while in hospital. She passed away after the family signed a 'do not resuscitate' order on Thursday. She is pictured days before her death at the Golden Globe Awards last week

Lisa Marie died from a second cardiac arrest she suffered while in hospital. She passed away after the family signed a 'do not resuscitate' order on Thursday.

The 54-year-old only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley was rushed to hospital on Thursday morning after she was found by her housekeeper collapsed inside her Calabasas home.

EMTs arriving at her home managed to revive her and she regained a pulse, but she was brain dead on arrival at hospital, TMZ reported on Friday.

The family rushed to her bedside, where she was in an induced coma and on life support. On learning she was already brain dead they signed the 'do not resuscitate' order before her second cardiac arrest.

Her mother Priscilla, 77, was by her bedside when she died.

'It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,' Priscilla said in a statement Thursday evening.
American hip-hop hitmakers Ne-Yo, Ja Rule, Mya, and Bow Wow have landed in Sydney ahead of their upcoming appearances at Juicy Fest on Saturday.

The stars, who all released chart-toppers from the 1990s to mid 2000s, flew under the radar as they strolled through the bustling Sydney Airport terminal.

Ne-Yo, real name Shaffer Chimere Smith, 43, kept it cool wearing a pair of track pants, white t-shirt and a longline coat.

Early 2000s hitmakers Ne-Yo, Ja Rule, Mya, and Bow Wow went casual as they landed in Sydney ahead of Juicy Fest on Saturday. Pictured: Ne-Yo

The Closer hit-maker gave his look plenty of edge wearing a trucker cap backwards along with gold chains and a backpack.

He finished his jet-setting ensemble with a pair of socks and black slides.

Case of the Ex star Mya, 43, kept her look stylish for the flight wearing a baggy 'Juicy 23' jumper along with sky blue tights.

Case of the Ex star Mya, 43, kept her look stylish for the flight wearing a baggy 'Juicy 23' jumper along with sky blue tights

The star accessorised with a black cap, hoops and a pair of black skin-high boots and metal-lined handbag

Mya held tightly to her phone as she walked through the terminal of the harbour city

The star accessorised with a black cap, hoops and a pair of black knee-high boots and metal-lined handbag.

Hit-maker Ja Rule also kept it casual wearing a green Adidas jumper and matching pants for the flight into the harbour city.

The Put It On Me musician finished his look by wearing a silver chain and white Adidas sneakers.

Ja Rule also kept it casual wearing a green Adidas jumper and matching trousers

The star finished his look by wearing a silver chain and white Adidas sneakers

The star relaxed with his wife Aisha Atkins on a bench as they waited for their ride at the airport

Bow Wow also kept his look casual wearing a graphic t-shirt and cream shorts.

He finished his look with socks and Dior slides.

The star wore a face mask as he transited through the terminal.

Bow Wow also kept his look casual wearing a graphic t-shirt and cream shorts

Juicy Festival was held in Sydney on Saturday.

It will continue in Melbourne on Sunday before finishing in Perth on January 20.

Presented by Culture Kings, other performers on the tour included Xzibit, Chingy, Twista and Pretty Ricky.
She is no stranger to flashing the flesh on Instagram.

And Emily Ratajkowski was at it again over the weekend, posing up in a saucy white peekaboo Storets blouse that showcased her jaw-dropping assets.

The 31-year-old's top featured gaps down the front that bared not only her amply endowed cleavage but also her impressively taut midriff.

Flashing the flesh: Emily Ratajkowski was at it again over the weekend, posing up in a saucy white peekaboo blouse that showcased her jaw-dropping assets

Smitten: Comedian Eric Andre, whom Emily was recently spotted enjoying a dinner date with, leapt into her comments with a heart eyes emoji

Gathering her silky brown locks up into a stylish updo, the I Feel Pretty actress accentuated her screen siren features with naturalistic makeup.

Comedian Eric Andre, whom Emily was recently spotted enjoying a dinner date with, leapt into her comments with a heart eyes emoji.

Exactly one week ago Emily and Eric were spotted with their arms around each other as they emerged smiling from a New York City restaurant.

Emily has been on a dating spree she left her smoldering husband Sebastian Bear-McClard last year under a cloud of rumors that he was unfaithful to her.

Looking fab: The 31-year-old's top featured gaps down the front that bared not only her amply endowed cleavage but also her impressively taut midriff

Sebastian, a producer whose work includes the Adam Sandler vehicle Uncut Gems, still co-parents a one-year-old son called Sylvester with Emily.

Over the past few months Emily has run around with the dashing DJ Orazio Rispo, Saturday Night Live lothario Pete Davidson and comedian Jack Greer.

Late in December, a few days after Emily was glimpsed kissing Jack in New York, People reported she and Pete had broken up after dating for over a month.

'Em is single and totally happy. She will always prioritize her son, but enjoys dating when she has time. She enjoys her independence,' said a source.

When you got it: Gathering her silky brown locks up into a stylish updo, the I Feel Pretty actress accentuated her screen siren features with naturalistic makeup

'She doesn't have plans to see Pete again. She had fun with him, but she realized she didn't want it to become anything else. She likes her life as it is.'

On a recent episode of her podcast High Low, Emily remarked that she attracts the 'worst' men, explaining that she wants someone 'confident' but not 'overly confident' with 'something to prove' who will attempt to 'prove it through me.'

When news broke that her marriage had fallen apart, a Page Six source said Sebastian 'cheated. Hes a serial cheater. Its gross. Hes a dog.'

Having a ball: Emily also took the show to her Insta Stories, where she tantalizingly mimed blowing smoke from a cigarette

Emily then added grist to the rumor mill by liking a tweet that read: 'cant believe that little b*** cheated on emrata.'

Speculation has swirled around her love life ever since, with one spate of conjecture attaching her to none other than Brad Pitt.

In a Harper's Bazaar profile published this past October, Emily was asked if she had ever dated Brad and responded with an expression described as 'unreadable.'

Shortly thereafter she was linked to Pete, who became a meme for his 'big d*** energy' after his then-fiancee Ariana Grande slyly tweeted about his '10 inches.'
Gary Ablett Jr's wife Jordan has revealed the pair are pregnant with their third child in a touching Instagram post.

Jordan took to Instagram on Sunday sharing a photo of their son Levi, who just turned four, clutching a sonogram in his hand.

'We have another gift on the way,' she wrote, sharing a photo of smiling Levi. 'Happy Birthday to our big four-year-old! You're so loved.'

Gary Ablett Jr's wife Jordan has revealed the couple are PREGNANT with their third child on Sunday after wishing son Levi a happy birthday. All pictured

The pair were immediately inundated with well-wishes from fans and friends.

'Jords!!!! Congratulations what absolutely magical news, happy 4th birthday Levi!!!,' one follower penned.

'Happy Birthday Levi and a huge congratulations guys!! xx' another added.

'We have another gift on the way,' she wrote, sharing a photo of smiling Levi, clutching a sonogram. 'Happy Birthday to our big four-year-old! You're so loved'

'Congratulations guys how beautiful!!! He looks soo happy about it too,' yet another wrote.

It comes months after Jordan shared an update on the health of the couple's son, Levi, as he battles a degenerative illness.

Jordan, who has not disclosed what illness Levi has been diagnosed with, revealed in April that it's unlikely he will ever learn to talk.

It comes months after Jordan shared an update on the health of the couple's son as he battles a degenerative illness.

'It's really difficult from a practical point of view but also really difficult just being his mum and not being able to hear his voice or know what he needs,' she told The Herald Sun in an emotional interview.

'When he gets upset, I have to guess what the problem is,' Jordan, who has been married to AFL legend Gary since 2016, continued.

'It's also difficult because I'd love to just hear his thoughts, have conversation with my boy and for us to know that he understands how much we love him.'

Jordan, who has not disclosed what illness Levi has been diagnosed with, revealed in April that it's unlikely he will ever learn to talk

Gary, 37, and his wife of eight years also share daughter Grace, who they welcomed late last year.

In November, Gary and Jordan announced they had secretly welcomed their daughter Grace Honour.

'We are overjoyed to share with you all that our precious boy, Levi, has become a big brother to his very own little sister, Grace,' Gary wrote on Instagram.
Mikaela Testa has launched an extraordinary attack on influencer Skye Wheatley for her recent rant against adult content reactors on OnlyFans.

The TikTok and OnlyFans star, 22, hosted a Q&A with her Instagram fans and was asked 'what do you think of that Aussie influencer talking bad on OF [OnlyFans]?'

Refusing to refer to the Big Brother Australia star by name, Mikaela replied: 'The amount of times that girl has spoken badly about my work is crazy. She's a laughing stock.'

Mikaela Testa (left) has launched an extraordinary attack on influencer Skye Wheatley (right) for her foul-mouthed rant against OnlyFans content creators

'Her excuse for devaluing sex workers was even worse. 'I believe in posting and promoting a product to my audience instead of f**king myself with a d**k,'' she added.

Mikaela then claimed that Wheatley is losing fans due to her beliefs.

'Like cool, girl. What audience are we talking about? Because your engagement is dead and you've just devalued a HUGE chunk of the female population,' she said.

The TikTok and OnlyFans star hosted an Q&A with her Instagram fans and was asked 'what do you think of that Aussie influencer talking bad on OF [OnlyFans]?'

Refusing to refer to the Big Brother Australia star by name, Mikaela replied: 'The amount of times that girl has spoken badly about my work is crazy. She's a laughing stock'

Her comments refer to a video Skye shared to Instagram in September, where she shamed women who earn a living from OnlyFans.

Skye who is considered one of Australia's first influencers, said she was 'fuming' that some women in her industry are making good money by filming themselves performing sex acts.

'I like to make my money by approving a product and loving it organically and sharing it with my audience rather than f**king myself with a dildo and making money,' she told her fans.

Mikaela's comments refer to a video Skye (pictured) shared to Instagram in September, where she shamed women who earn a living from OnlyFans

Skye went on to say the adult website was responsible for 'ending marriages'.

'Do you know how many girls go through their boyfriend's phone and see that they're secretly subscribed to a girl's OnlyFans?'

'That's the end of a marriage right there. It's ludicrous!' she said.
Cindy Crawford's daughter Kaia Gerber was spotted surfacing amid the Los Angeles rains to go health food shopping with a pal over the weekend at Erewhon.

The 21-year-old, who has followed her mother into the modeling business, braved the downpour to grab a bite to eat in a covered patio.

Despite the chill, she and her friend appeared in warm spirits, sharing a laugh together as they trudged through the gloomy weather.

On the town: Cindy Crawford's daughter Kaia Gerber was spotted surfacing amid the Los Angeles rains to grab lunch with a pal over the weekend

Meanwhile new images have surfaced from Kaia's glamorous new campaign for Alaia, featuring her sprawled across the floor in a cocktail dress and stockings.

In one evocative snap, she shoots an enigmatic stare at the camera while topless, festooned in extravagantly ornate jewelry.

Another photo sees her in a perfectly fitted double-denim ensemble with strings upon strings of pearls dangling from the front.

Kaia is currently dating Austin Butler, 31, who achieved new heights of fame last year by starring in a biopic of Elvis Presley directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Leash in hand: Kaia and her male friend got in a bit of health food shopping at Erewhon, an upscale grocer favored by local celebrities

Off they go: Despite the chill, she and her friend appeared in warm spirits, sharing a laugh together as they trudged through the gloomy weather

In the process he befriended the real Elvis' widow Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie, whom he thanked onstage at the Golden Globes this Tuesday.

Both women were in the audience in tears during Austin's speech that evening when he won best actor for a motion picture musical or comedy.

'Thank you guys, thank you for opening your hearts, your memories, your home to me,' he said. 'Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I love you forever.'

Two days later Lisa Marie shockingly died at the age of just 54 after suffering a cardiac arrest at home and being rushed to the hospital.

Swanking about: Meanwhile new images have surfaced from Kaia's glamorous new campaign for Alaia, featuring her sprawled across the floor in a cocktail dress and stockings

Swanking about: In one evocative snap, she shoots an enigmatic stare at the camera while topless, festooned in extravagantly ornate jewelry

Making it happen: Another photo sees her in a perfectly fitted double-denim ensemble with strings upon strings of pearls dangling from the front

Austin reacted to the news with a devastated statement to E! News, offering his condolences to Lisa Marie's mother and three daughters.

'My heart is completely shattered for Riley, Finley, Harper and Priscilla at the tragic and unexpected loss of Lisa Marie,' he said.

'I am eternally grateful for the time I was lucky enough to be near her bright light and will forever cherish the quiet moments we shared. Her warmth, her love and her authenticity will always be remembered.'

Glam: Kaia is currently dating Austin Butler, 31, who achieved new heights of fame last year by starring in an Elvis Presley biopic; the couple are pictured at the film's Cannes premiere

Legacy: In the process he befriended the real Elvis' widow Priscilla (left) and daughter Lisa Marie (right), whom he thanked onstage at the Golden Globes this Tuesday

'Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I love you forever': 'Thank you guys, thank you for opening your hearts, your memories, your home to me,' he said
Madeleine West is reportedly saying goodbye to her budding political career, almost one year after announcing her intention to pursue a spot in the NSW State Parliament.

Daily Mail Australia has exclusively obtained a yet-to-be released statement written by the Neighbours star, 42, explaining that she's switching her focus to a new podcast about paedophiles.

In the leaked statement, she describes how she'd spent the past year meeting with members of the Ballina community with the plan to run for NSW Parliament.

Daily Mail Australia has exclusively obtained a pre-written statement by Madeleine West, 42, about her decision to drop out of the race for NSW State Parliament

'These past months have shown me that parliament is not the best platform for me to make changes up right now,' she explained, before adding that she will no longer be contesting the seat in Ballina.

'My passion hasn't waned, nor has my commitment to my community. This was a difficult decision to make, prompted by personal matters that currently need my full focus,' she continued.

'As a mum of six young children, Parliament House isn't the best place for me at this stage of my family's life.'

The former Neighbours star is apparently shifting her focus to her new podcast, Predatory, which is about exposing paedophiles and sexual predators

The actress said that her time can be better spent 'on our community' rather than 'weeks in Sydney'.

'I remain an advocate and an ally. I am still committed to equality and opportunity - my focus remains on domestic violence awareness and being a committed environmentalist.'

Madeleine added that she's now focused on her new podcast Predatory, which is about exposing paedophiles and sexual predators.

'As a mum of six young children, Parliament House isn't the best place for me at this stage of my family's life,' she explained in the leaked statement

She is co-hosting Predatory alongside former police detective Gary Jubelin.

Last April, the star appeared on Channel 10's The Project to discuss her intentions to launch a political career.

'I believe that politics is for the people and it's about being the voice of the people. You don't need a qualification to be a parliamentarian,' she said at the time.

Last April, the star appeared on Channel 10's The Project (pictured) to discuss her intentions to launch a political career

'Ostensibly you just need accountability, you need to care about your community, and you need to have a will to make people feel safe.'

The Byron Bay resident said she was inspired to take action after taking part in the flood clean up on the North Coast of NSW.

'Where I live I'm running for the seat of Ballina. We've been hit by floods and bushfires and the pandemic brought my community to its knees,' she went on.

'I care about sustainability and the future and opportunity and I care about accountability and being answerable for your actions, and I care about my community flourishing and feeling safe,' the star added.

'I'm lucky to have a national platform, yes, but I think that makes me uniquely qualified to bring a spotlight on local issues because what we've been through realistically is a microcosm that the rest of Australia can expect to experience.'
She's known for glamorously dominating the Hollywood scene.

But this week, Margot Robbie revealed one of her favourite things about London - and it's not just for A-listers.

The Australian actress, 32, admitted that she 'loves' the tube, and even carries around two Oyster cards in her purse from her time living in the capital.

Favourite city? Margot Robbie has revealed that the one thing she loves about London is taking the tube... and has even kept two Oyster cards from her time living in the capital

Margot, who is now based in Los Angeles, previously lived in London with a group of pals and now-husband Tom Ackerley.

Speaking with The Mirror at the London premiere for her new hit Blockbuster, she admitted: 'I actually have two Oyster cards in my wallet right now. I always get the Tube.'

And when asked if she has been on the newest Elizabeth line, which opened last year, she said: 'I havent but I hear its lovely!'

The famous actress spent time living in South London's Clapham in a shared four-bedroom home before moving to a more lavish pad in the US.

Random: The Australian actress admitted that she 'loves' the tube, and even carries around two Oyster cards in her purse from her time living in the capital

Back in the capital: Speaking with The Mirror at the London premiere for her new hit Blockbuster, she admitted: 'I actually have two Oyster cards in my wallet right now. I always get the Tube'

And she even frequented the district's popular nightlife spots, famously recalling her time in nightclub Infernos in previous interviews.

Speaking previously to Capital FM's Sian Welby, she explained: 'Infernos is used as a filming location a lot and apparently.

'A lot of my friends are crew members, and they often end up, shooting something in infernos and they're like "Wow, when you go there by day, it stinks so bad"'.

'I actually once inquired as to whether I could rent out Infernos to have a sit down dinner in there just with my friends on a birthday one time. I think they said no, but maybe I'll try again. I'm a little further along in my career, they might say yes now.'

Margot got married to her Film Producer beau at a private property in Coorabell, Byron Bay on 18 December 2016 after meeting in 2013 on the set of the World War II drama Suite Francaise.

In 2017, the duo made the move from London into a lavish 3,300 square-foot Los Angeles pad with four bedrooms and six bathrooms.
The maturity of a democratic governance system, traditions, how such a system fits within an overall framework of governance perhaps matters a lot for the sustainability of a democratic system.

by Raj Gonsalkorale

The following passage from Britannica is a good commencement point to discuss the much debated Local Government poll in Sri Lanka. Conducting the election is said to cost around 10 Billion Rupees of State funds, assuming such funds are available to spend in the bankrupt Sri Lanka. Besides State money, individual candidate spending would be substantial. Two serious questions need to be asked. Firstly, whether the country could afford such an extravagance at this point. Secondly, the current political system being what it is, what benefit such an election would provide to a bankrupt country and an increasing number of people already in poverty and others who are on the verge of poverty.

Democracy as defined in the Britannica, is literally, rule by the people. The term is derived from the Greek demokratia, which was coined from demos (people) and kratos (rule) in the middle of the 5th century BCE to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens.

The Britannica goes onto say etymological origins of the term democracy hint at a number of urgent problems that go far beyond semantic issues. If a government of or by the peoplea popular governmentis to be established, at least five fundamental questions must be confronted at the outset, and two more are almost certain to be posed if the democracy continues to exist for long.

Sri Lankan polling officers dispatch election material to polling centers ahead of the parliamentary elections in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. [AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena]

(1) What is the appropriate unit or association within which a democratic government should be established? A town or city? A country? A business corporation? A university? An international organization? All of these?

(2) Given an appropriate associationa city, for examplewho among its members should enjoy full citizenship? Which persons, in other words, should constitute the demos? Is every member of the association entitled to participate in governing it? Assuming that children should not be allowed to participate (as most adults would agree), should the demos include all adults? If it includes only a subset of the adult population, how small can the subset be before the association ceases to be a democracy and becomes something else, such as an aristocracy (government by the best, aristos) or an oligarchy (government by the few, oligos)?

(3) Assuming a proper association and a proper demos, how are citizens to govern? What political organizations or institutions will they need? Will these institutions differ between different kinds of associationsfor example, a small town and a large country?

(4) When citizens are divided on an issue, as they often will be, whose views should prevail, and in what circumstances? Should a majority always prevail, or should minorities sometimes be empowered to block or overcome majority rule?

(5) If a majority is ordinarily to prevail, what is to constitute a proper majority? A majority of all citizens? A majority of voters? Should a proper majority comprise not individual citizens but certain groups or associations of citizens, such as hereditary groups or territorial associations?

(6) The preceding questions presuppose an adequate answer to a sixth and even more important question: Why should the people rule? Is democracy really better than aristocracy or monarchy? Perhaps, as Plato argues in the Republic, the best government would be led by a minority of the most highly qualified personsan aristocracy of philosopher-kings. What reasons could be given to show that Platos view is wrong?

(7) No association could maintain a democratic government for very long if a majority of the demosor a majority of the governmentbelieved that some other form of government were better. Thus, a minimum condition for the continued existence of a democracy is that a substantial proportion of both the demos and the leadership believes that popular government is better than any feasible alternative. What conditions, in addition to this one, favour the continued existence of democracy? What conditions are harmful to it? Why have some democracies managed to endure, even though periods of severe crisis, while so many others have collapsed

These questions, and answers to them by the readers themselves will be quite relevant to the LG poll which is to be conducted at this enormous cost. Perhaps the poll could be considered from two key aspects

Firstly, is it the appropriate time to spend Rs 10 billion on the election, when

The country is bankrupt with the forecast for 2023 even worse than the situation in 2022

Would not the 10 billion rupees meet many other critical needs for people who are in poverty and on the verge of it?

Will the local government poll result in a change to the National Parliament, and the effectiveness or otherwise of the national parliament? What power or authority do LG institutions have from a national perspective?

How much would LG politicians be able to do for their constituencies at this stage if the entire country is bankrupt?

Is it not best for the country for a national government to govern the country at this stage rather than spend Rs 10 Billion for a LG poll which will not address the issues that bankruptcy has befallen on the country?

Secondly, in relation to the questions posed in the Britannica

(1) What is the appropriate unit or association within which a democratic government should be established? A town or city? A country? A business corporation? A university? An international organization? All of these?

This has not been addressed and the structure/s of democratic government that establishes and makes good the adage of a government by the people, for the people has not materialised. A question must be posed whether the country should have more of the same or whether it should have a discussion on what type of a democratic structure is needed in order to make the masters, the people, dictating to the elected representatives and not the other way around. One has to question whether the best brains of the country are part of the policy making process or whether they are bi standers in a process managed by politicians who think they have brains.

Democracy is literally, rule by the people.

(2) Given an appropriate associationa city, for examplewho among its members should enjoy full citizenship? Which persons, in other words, should constitute the demos?

Is every member of the association entitled to participate in governing it? Assuming that children should not be allowed to participate (as most adults would agree), should the demos include all adults? If it includes only a subset of the adult population, how small can the subset be before the association ceases to be a democracy and becomes something else, such as an aristocracy (government by the best, aristos) or an oligarchy (government by the few, oligos)?

There is a strong case to be made for universal franchise and for all citizens above a given age to be entitled to vote, rather than an aristocracy or an oligarchy. The question of what is best of course is very subjective while in fact, the few in fact is a reality in Sri Lanka considering that family politics has been the main stay of political power and governance in the country. The challenge is to have a system that is neither an aristocracy or an oligarchy, even by any other name, but a system that provides a wider collection of professional, academic, civil society organisations, unions, womens organisations to participate in policy making, while policy administration should be entrusted to efficient and effective administrators and not politicians.

(3) Assuming a proper association and a proper demos, how are citizens to govern? What political organizations or institutions will they need? Will these institutions differ between different kinds of associationsfor example, a small town and a large country?

As touched on earlier, this question is an extremely critical one relating to what democracy is and should be. How do people govern? Is it only by exercising their franchise once in so many years? What mechanisms should be there for people to have a say in governance, and chart their destiny and that of the country? If family power, influence and money results in personalities being voted in rather than their policies or the policies of the political partys they belong to, in effect, people will not have any input or a say in governance.

(4) When citizens are divided on an issue, as they often will be, whose views should prevail, and in what circumstances? Should a majority always prevail, or should minorities sometimes be empowered to block or overcome majority rule?

This is probably one of the most contentious issues from a Sri Lankan context and the long standing and ongoing ethnic issue, and which has a direct relevance to this question. The question of all citizens agreeing on all issues is an impossibility and is a highly impractical proposition and majority decision making, with whatever its shortcomings, is a realistic option. However, in Sri Lanka, the majority/minority composition has ethno-religious dimensions, with the minorities, primarily Tamils, but Muslims as well, feeling subjugated by a Sinhala Buddhist majority. It is this numerical strength rather than what is right and fair for all people, from within the majority or the minority, that has dictated how the country is governed. In this context, majority rule has not delivered fairness, justice, and equality for all people, and therefore needs minority empowerment to block and even overcome majority rule when situations demand it. Majority/minority rule issues would become less important if there is better communication between people, and they understand each other better and they trust each other more.

(5) If a majority is ordinarily to prevail, what is to constitute a proper majority? A majority of all citizens? A majority of voters? Should a proper majority comprise not individual citizens but certain groups or associations of citizens, such as hereditary groups or territorial associations?

Another very valid question. In some countries, the USA being one, the average voter turnout at Presidential elections is less than 60%. If an individual gets 50 % of that 60%, plus one more vote, that person could potentially become the President of the country. One could argue that the other 50% who voted have opposed that candidate. In effect, a candidate becomes the President of the US with 30% of the eligible vote

In Sri Lanka, whether it is at Presidential elections or Parliamentary elections, the voter turn out is greater, perhaps averaging between 55- 70%. However, prior to the introduction of the district based proportional representation system, in 1970, a government was elected with a 2/3 majority with only 49% of the votes cast, and in 1977, with a 5/6th majority with just over 51% of the vote.

These lopsided election outcomes makes a strong case for a change to the system, and a greater involvement of groups or associations of citizens, such a business associations, academics, unions, womens groups, other groups such as environmentalist groups, etc to play a more active part in political governance, especially policy development.

It is interesting to note the voter turn out in countries where voting is compulsory. For example in Australia, it is in excess of 95%

(6) The preceding questions presuppose an adequate answer to a sixth and even more important question: Why should the people rule? Is democracy really better than aristocracy or monarchy? Perhaps, as Plato argues in the Republic, the best government would be led by a minority of the most highly qualified personsan aristocracy of philosopher-kings. What reasons could be given to show that Platos view is wrong?

This is a debate on fundamentals and probably suited for another occasion!. Two issues in response to what Plato postulated is (a) who will decide who is most qualified and what and who would comprise the aristocracy of philosopher- kings (2) would his theory be relevant and/or appropriate in an age of technology and communication access where information could be just a nano second away from each other, as compared to Platos time?

(7) No association could maintain a democratic government for very long if a majority of the demosor a majority of the governmentbelieved that some other forms of government were better. Thus, a minimum condition for the continued existence of a democracy is that a substantial proportion of both the demos and the leadership believes that popular government is better than any feasible alternative. What conditions, in addition to this one, favour the continued existence of democracy? What conditions are harmful to it? Why have some democracies managed to endure, even though periods of severe crisis, while so many others have collapsed

The maturity of a democratic governance system, traditions, how such a system fits within an overall framework of governance perhaps matters a lot for the sustainability of a democratic system. It could be argued that diffusion of power as against the concentration of power, particularly in the hands of a few, could encourage the few wielding that power to change the system if they feel their power is ebbing or there is potential for that to happen if pressure builds up to diffuse power. An independent Judiciary, other stakeholders such strong business entities, academic institutions, unions, womens organisations, civic entities, and as many peoples organisations could act as deterrents to changing a democratic system to more autocratic systems. The democratic governance system in Sri Lanka has been minimally democratic as the demos or peoples component of it has limited themselves to voting in or voting out governments every five years or so. The money, power and acquiring more money symbiotic link has thrived, and it has been used basically to buy votes in one way or another. Policy debates have been confined to a few living rooms.

So, what is or should be the practical alternative to the LG polls? Assuming politicians love the country more than themselves, and considering the deep pit the country is in, a national government with no more than 15 ministers could govern the country under a national economic plan approved by all political parties in Parliament at least for a period of 2 years. During this period, a national political commission could be constituted with wide, nonpartisan political representation to seek the views of the people, political parties and others, to design a new political system for the country. If the existing system is retained, it will produce the same output of substandard politicians, and an ongoing policy vacuum that will lead the country further down the precipice. As Einstein would have said if he was around, Sri Lankans would be mad to expect different outcomes doing the same thing with the same system in place.
Margot Robbie looked effortlessly cool in a whit singlet top and blue jeans as she touched down in Sydney on Sunday ahead of the film premiere of Babylon.

The Australian native, 32, looked sensational in the body-hugging top and relaxed denim as she was whisked towards a waiting car.

The I, Tonya star accessorised her look with a pair of sunglasses, a pendant necklace, hoop earrings and a white Prada handbag slung over her shoulder - but chose not to wear her engagement ring from husband Tom Ackerley.

Margot Robbie, 32, looked effortlessly cool in a whit singlet top and blue jeans as she touched down in Sydney on Sunday ahead of the film premiere of Babylon

Margot also sported a pair of unusual blue heels by Bottega Veneta.

She opted for minimal makeup and wore her blonde tresses down allowing to cascade past her shoulders.

Margot was flanked by a burly attendant who carried her luggage.

The Australian native looked sensational in the body-hugging top and relaxed denim as she was whisked towards a waiting car

The I, Tonya star accessorised her look with a pair of sunglasses, a pendant necklace, hoop earrings and a white Prada handbag slung over her shoulder

She chose not to wear her engagement ring from husband Tom Ackerley

Margot and Diego Calva will walk the red carpet for the film premier in Sydney, which is happening on January 16, at the State Theatre.

Margot discussed her 'wild ride' filming Babylon during her appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday.

The actress admitted that she was 'scared to mess up' the epic opening party scene which took a huge two weeks to film.

She opted for minimal makeup and wore her blonde tresses down allowing to cascade past her shoulders

Margot also sported a pair of unusual blue heels by Bottega Veneta

Speaking about the Hollywood drama, Margot explained: 'It was a wild ride. There were amazing set pieces, including a party scene that took two weeks to shoot.

'Every part of it was insane and the stress levels were terrifying because there was so much going on and I didn't want to be the one to mess it up.'

Set in 1920s Hollywood, Babylon centres around the rise and fall of several ambitious dreamers - including the characters portrayed by leading stars Brad Pitt and Margot.

Margot is overnight starlet Nellie LaRoy who is navigating her way through the industry by self-destructing via drugs, parties and sexual encounters.

Margot and Diego Calva will walk the red carpet for the film premier in Sydney, which is happening on January 16, at the State Theatre

Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, the film shows character Manny Torres (Diego Calva) entering the high-profile world and becoming smitten with Nellie.

Margot recently revealed she went off-screen to smooch co-star Brad in an impromptu scene, jesting to E! News: 'How else am I going to get the chance to kiss him?'

Explaining the kiss, she shared: 'That wasn't in the script, but I thought, 'When else am I gonna get the chance to kiss Brad Pitt? I'm just gonna go for it' It was great!'

Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, Babylon shows character Manny Torres (Diego Calva) entering the high-profile world and becoming smitten with Nellie.

The blonde beauty also shared a smooch with co-star Katherine, but added that she wasn't sure if it had made the cut.

Breaking the boundaries, the highly-anticipated raunchy flick even had the cast worried with its amount of nudity - and whether it was allowed to be shown.

Of the film as a whole, Margot confessed.

'When I read the script, I was like, ''This is like La Dolce Vita and Wolf of Wall Street had a baby  and I love it!.''

'But I was like, ''Are we allowed to show that?''
Lucy Hale was undeterred from her Saturday workout by yet another rainstorm in Los Angeles.

The actress, 33, tried to keep dry wearing a quilted aubergine jacket over her lilac leggings and sneakers as she made her way to the gym.

The Pretty Little Liars star carried a large tan water bottle and wore her shoulder length locks down in loose layers.

Rain: Neither rain or sleet could keep Lucy Hale from her workout Saturday. The 33-year-old actress tried to keep dry wearing a quilted aubergine jacket over her lilac leggings and sneakers as she made her way to the gym Saturday in Los Angeles

The Ragdoll actress was able to check her phone while enjoying a short break in the precipitation.

Lucy, who was makeup free, showing off her flawless complexion, has been busy honing her craft.

After having three projects release in 2022, she is looking forward to having two more released in the near future.

Hydrated: The Ragdoll actress was able to check her phone while enjoying a short break in the precipitation. She carried a large tan water bottle and wore her shoulder length locks down in loose layers

The brunette beauty is starring in Mort in Sherman Oaks, an off-beat romance about a terminally ill man, played by Kier Gilchrist, who joins a dating service that matches potential partners based on their projected death dates.

It's there he meets Lucy's Kate, and the two strike up an unlikely friendship.

The Memphis native will be taking another stab at cinematic romance in Which Brings Me To You.

Romcoms: Lucy has two new romcoms set for release in 2023. She will star in the off-beat Mort from Sherman Oaks with Kier Gilchrist, and Which Brings Me To You opposite Nat Wolff

Lucy will play a freelance journalist, who comes close to hooking up in the cloak room with Nat Wolff's photographer at the wedding of some mutual friends, but both decide against a meaningless one-night stand.

Instead, they spend the next 24 hours sharing stories about themselves including their most embarrassing sexual encounters, first loves, heartbreak and whirlwind romances.

The romcom is based on the Steve Almond novel by the same name.
Jennifer Aniston took to social media to wish her longtime friend Jason Bateman a happy 54th birthday on Saturday.

The Friends actress, 53, shared several photos to her Instagram Story which featured her Horrible Bosses co-star.

In the first photo, Jennifer hugged Jason closely and went to plant a kiss on his cheek as well while standing inside what appeared to be a jet.

Birthday boy: Jennifer Aniston took to social media to wish her longtime friend Jason Bateman a happy 54th birthday on Saturday

In the next snap, with Jason's hair spiked up toward the ceiling and jutting out at a number of angles, Jennifer wrote, 'Best hair in Hollywood. '

Her third photo showed Jason with his hair slicked down by water in a weird mohawk-like style. He tossed up a 'peace sign' to the camera.

In the last snap she shared, Jason kicked his feet up on an ottoman while relaxing on the patio of a huge house in a tropical locale.

Messy hair: In the next snap, with Jason's hair spiked up toward the ceiling and jutting out at a number of angles, Jennifer wrote, 'Best hair in Hollywood'

Watered down: Her third photo showed Jason with his hair slicked down by water in a weird mohawk-like style

Kicking back: In the last snap she shared, Jason kicked his feet up on an ottoman while relaxing on the patio of a huge house in a tropical locale

'Love you, JB!!' was written in white lettering on the bottom of the final photo.

The pair recently came back from a tropical Mexican vacation. Aniston and Bateman went down to sunny Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with late night host Jimmy Kimmel.

Bateman's spouse Amanda Anka and Kimmel's wife Molly McNearney also went on the vacation.

Kimmel and McNearney share daughter Jane Kimmel, eight, and son William John, five, while Bateman and Anka have two daughters, Francesca, 16, and Maple, 10.

Joined by another friend: The pair recently came back from a tropical Mexican vacation. Aniston and Bateman went down to sunny Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with late night host Jimmy Kimmel

Co-stars: Bateman and Aniston have starred in a couple films together, notably Horrible Bosses (L to R: Jason Sudeikis, Bateman, Charlie Day, Aniston)

The friend group has made the New Years getaway to Cabo an annual tradition.

Also in Cabo this year was Aniston's ex-husband Brad Pitt, 59, who was spending his first New Years with his new girlfriend Ines de Ramon, 29.

He went public with the romance last month.

Aniston and Pitt were famously married from 2000 to 2005 before he moved on with his Mr. And Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie. He and Jolie, 47, wed in 2014 and divorced just two years later. The couple are still embroiled in a bitter divorce battle.

On New Year's Day, Aniston took to Instagram to share a highlight reel featuring her favorite moments of 2022.

The clip featured her close friend Adam Sandler multiple times, as well as rare footage of her private life with friends and family.

What a year! On New Year's Day, Aniston took to Instagram to share a highlight reel featuring her favorite moments of 2022

Famous friends: Working with her close friend Adam Sandler, 56, was a big one
Cate Blanchett exuded sophistication on Saturday night as she attended the BAFTA Tea Party, which was presented by Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.

The actress, 53, donned a pair of black tailored trousers and a maching jumper with a frill neck and sleeve detail.

She beamed alongside her former Notes on a Scandal co-star Bill Nighy, 73, for snaps inside the bash as they joined a slew of A-list stars.

Beauty: Cate Blanchett oozed chic in a monochrome ensemble on Saturday evening as she smiled for snaps at the star-studded BAFTA Tea Party in Los Angeles

Taking to the red carpet, Cate looked stylish in the frill-detailed ensemble, which she paired with a pair of pointed toe boots.

The star had her bright blonde locks styled in a soft curl, while opting for a peachy palette of makeup.

Meanwhile, Bill sported a checkered grey suit with a light blue shirt for the occasion, teamed with a bronze tie.

The Golden Globe actor struck a slew of playful poses on the red carpet, before joining Cate inside the bash.

Pals: She beamed alongside her former Notes on a Scandal co-star Bill Nighy for snaps inside the bash as they joined a slew of A-list stars

Monochrome: The actress donned a pair of black tailored trousers and a maching jumper with a frill neck and sleeve detail

Beauty: Cate had her bright blonde locks styled in a soft curl, while opting for a peachy palette of makeup

Beaming: She appeared in high spirits while on the red carpet, flashing a smile to the camera

The BAFTA tea party is a staple fixture in the Los Angeles awards season calendar and welcomes nominees, members and guests.

It returned for another year in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Actress Nina Hoss joined the celebs as she opted for an oversized checkered co-ord suit with a roll neck jumper.

Suave: While Bill sported a checkered grey suit with a light blue shirt for the occasion, teamed with a bronze tie

Pose! The Golden Globe actor struck a slew of playful poses on the red carpet, before joining Cate inside the bash

Guests: Actress Nina Hoss joined the celebs as she opted for an oversized checkered co-ord suit with a roll neck jumper

Together: She pulled her tresses into a an up do while taking to the red carpet alongside Cate

Sunshine! While Tracy Ifeachor looked beautiful in a bright yellow dress, which featured a halterneck design and belted waist

Sultry: She went for a bold makeup look with a smokey eye and nude glossy lip

What an outfit: While Janelle Monae made quite the entrance with an embroidered maxi skirt and matching blazer

Extras: The outfit was complemented with a statement top hat and sausage dog handbag

It comes after Cate came under fire for her Golden Globe winning role in the new film Tar.

The star plays Lydia Tar, who, in the film's plot, rises to become the first-ever female conductor of a German orchestra.

While many have condemned the critically acclaimed film as 'anti-woman', because Blanchett's character is revealed to be a narcissistic bully, Cate came to its defence.

Marin Alsop, a real-life conductor, surfaced to condemn the film as 'anti-woman'.

Beaming: While Terri Seymour flashed a massive smile in an electric blue dress on the red carpet

Lacy: Terri's dress was decorated with a lace mesh overlay and cut-out shoulder detail

On trend: Michelle Williams kept with the colourful theme as she went for a yellow mini dress with complementing accessories

Bash: The BAFTA tea party is a staple fixture in the Los Angeles awards season calendar and welcomes nominees, members and guests (Wallis Day pictured)

Marin, 66, who is one of the world's top female conductors, said in The Australian on Friday: 'To have an opportunity to portray a woman in that role to make her an abuser, for me that's heartbreaking.'

Saying that Alsop was entitled to her opinion and that she had the upmost respect for the conductor, Blanchett described the film as 'a mediation on power and power is genderless.'

Blanchett also distanced herself from any accusation that he film used Alsop or any other female conductor as the basis for her character.

Sophisticated: Sharon Horgan opted for a bright jumpsuit with a cut-out bust detail and semi-sleeve detail

Coloured: Her blonde tresses were highlighted with a soft rose colour as they were left in a tousled style

Short suit: Michelle Yeoh switched things up in a dusty pink blazer and coulotte shorts to match

Two-piece: While Angela Bassett amped up the ante in a high-waisted cream suit with a colourful print
She's worth a reported 50million.

But Deborah Meaden has revealed that she loves buying second hand clothes from charity shops in a bid to be more sustainable.

The Dragon's Den star, 63, has also told how she is a 'nightmare' and didn't switch the heating on at her home until December last year during the cold snap.

Good choice: Deborah Meaden has revealed that she loves buying second hand clothes from charity shops in a bid to be more sustainable

She told The Mirror: 'I buy second-hand clothes. People do double-takes when they see me in charity shops.'

'Now, everybody in the Den talks about sustainability, which pleases me.'

On other money saving tips she added: 'I only switched our heating on in mid-December because it was -5C. We held out for a long time. I'm an absolute nightmare.

'I go around switching all the lights off!'

Chilly: The Dragon's Den star, 63, has also told how she is a 'nightmare' and didn't switch the heating on at her home until December last year during the cold snap

The star - who has a net worth of 50million - lives with her husband Paul at their Somerset mansion.

It comes after last year Deborah praised her make-up artist for insisting she get checked for skin cancer after she noticed a blemish on her skin.

The entrepreneur went for a check-up with her doctor and was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in 2015, the second most common form of skin cancer.

The businesswoman told Vogue Williams on the Taboo Talk podcast: 'I was aware of [how much the sun could damage my skin], I'm quite fair-skinned but oddly I've never really burnt and I think that was a problem for me.

Funny: She told The Mirror: 'I buy second-hand clothes. People do double-takes when they see me in charity shops'

'I kind of thought that I was immune to it I thought, I might look fair, but obviously my skin can handle it. So it was a bit of a shock when I realised there was some damage done.'

She added: 'I was filming Dragon's Den, and I don't get spots, but my make-up artist had noticed what looked like a [tiny little] whitehead that had been on my face for probably about six weeks.

'She kept saying, 'That's not right, Deborah', and I thought, 'OK that's really weird, I don't usually get spots'. I was going off to Africa and I thought, before I go, I just need to get that checked out.

'I sent a picture to my doctor, who said it could be something, it might not, but it could be something. Then he got me an appointment with a local hospital and I went along and they told me, 'You've got a squamous'.'

Deborah said she was incredibly lucky to have caught the cancer early, admitting she may not have been in the same situation as she is today to tell the story if she had not sought medical help.

'When I say I was lucky, we caught it incredibly early,' she said.

'I'm evangelical now about saying to people, if you've got a little odd pimple that won't go, don't just think it's a pimple.'

'I've always looked for moles, I know all the rules about moles, I've never looked for something that actually looked like a whitehead.

Life: The star - who has a net worth of 50million - lives with her husband Paul at their Somerset mansion

'I would never have known if it wasn't for Sue, thank goodness.'

The television star says she now has to take greater care when she's outside in the sunshine.

She frequently checks her skin for marks and is much more aware of how the sunshine can affect her health.

'My prognosis is factor 50,' she explained. 'I wear a hat when I'm outside all of the time, and watch my skin. I do have regular skin checks over my whole skin.'
It appears fans eagerly awaiting news of the casting for a planned Superman reboot won't get any kind of confirmation anytime soon.

Upon speculation that Euphoria actor Jacob Elordi is poised to play the role of Clark Kent/Superman, James Gunn took to Twitter to shoot down the popular rumor.

And Gunn is an authority on the subject, considering that he and Peter Safran took over as new co-chairmen and CEOs for DC Studios this past October.

Not having it: James Gunn, 56, shot down the rumor that Euphoria actor Jacob Elordi, 25, will play the Man of Steel in a Superman reboot

The writer and director for Guardians Of The Galaxy and Suicide Squad responded to a tweet that read: 'Jacob Elordi is rumored to be @JamesGunn's Superman for the #DCU. Thoughts?'

'My thoughts are no one has been cast as Superman yet,' the filmmaker began his tweet on Friday, alongside a couple of photoshopped photos of Elordi dressed as the Man Of Steel.

'Casting, as is almost always the case with me, will happen after the script is finished or close to finished, and it isn't,' Gunn explained, adding, 'We'll announce a few things in not too long, but the casting of Superman won't be one of them.'

And from the sounds of that last line, fans shouldn't expected an official announcement regarding the casting for Superman anytime soon.

Fans will need some patience: Responding to a tweet that showed the Australian actor photoshopped as the Man Of Steel, Gunn not only denied that a decision on the role of Clark Kent/Superman had been made, but he also suggested it won't be happening anytime soon

Since adding studio executive to his Hollywood resume, Gunn officially announced that he is writing a new Superman film.

As rumors ran rampant with talk of Henry Cavill reprising the role, his name was eliminated from the running after he met with Gunn and Safran, according to Forbes.

During their conversation, they shared that the script will be about a young Clark Kent who's just getting started as a reporter for the Daily Planet and early in his career as Superman.

'It's sad news, everyone,' Cavill, 39, wrote in an Instagram post on December 14 after their meeting. 'I will, after all, not be returning as Superman.

He added, 'The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that. James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes.'

Cavill grounded: Henry Cavill, the actor to play Superman in most recent years, beginning with Man Of Steel (2013), revealed he was taken out of the running as Clark Kent/Superman in the reboot after meeting with Gunn and Safran in December

Superhero credentials: After making his debut as Clark Kent/Superman in Man Of Steel (2013), Cavill would reprise the role four more times: Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and Black Adam (2022)

Cavill first played the superhero in Man Of Steel (2013) and reprised it four more times in either smaller roles or a cameo in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and Black Adam (2022).

Just four days earlier, Gunn showed his fandom when he posted a promotional photo of the stars of the Superman (1978) film that starred Christopher Reeve in the title role.

'Superman premiered 44 years ago today,' he wrote in the caption of the December 10 post.

The photoshopped images also included the names and likenesses of the main characters that included: Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Marc McClure, Jackie Cooper and Marlon Brando.

Created by Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, the Superman character (a.k.a. Clark Kent) debuted in the comic book Action Comics #1 from June 1938. Born on the fictional doomed planet of Krypton as Kal-El, he crash-landed on to Earth, where was raised as Clark Kent, and eventually became the iconic superhero.

Man of Steel fan: Gunn showed his fandom when he paid tribute to the Superman (1978) film that starred Christopher Reeve on the 44th anniversary of its release

The first live-action adaptation of Superman was a movie serial released in 1948 that targeted children.

Kirk Alyn has the distinction of being the first actor to portray the superhero on screen. The production cost up to $325,000 (equivalent to $3,665,000 in 2021).

It went on to become the most profitable movie serial in movie history. A sequel serial, Atom Man vs. Superman, was released in 1950. For flying scenes, Superman was hand-drawn in animated form, composited onto live-action footage.

Along with Alyn, the role has since been played by the likes of George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, Tom Welling, Brandon Routh and Tyler Hoechlin, among others. Nicholas Cage was even cast in an unproduced film adaptation from Tim Burton.
Kate Hudson showed off her toned body while heading into the BAFTA Tea Party event in Beverly Hills on Saturday night.

The 43-year-old actress donned a pale yellow bra top with a matching skirt, and a light yellow trench coat hung down off her slender shoulders.

She added silver shoes, adorned with a small silver petal on the toe to her outfit.

Big event: Kate Hudson showed off her toned body while heading into the BAFTA Tea Party event in Beverly Hills on Saturday night.

She pulled her blonde hair into a bun and parted her bangs in the middle.

The Almost Famous star accessorized with a silver clutch that matched her shoes, and she flashed a bright white smile.

The BAFTA Tea Party, 'welcomes nominees, members and guests for a uniquely elegant gathering. The event is an exclusive affair, limited to invited guests and BAFTA Members only,' according to its website.

Hudson appeared alongside some of the other biggest names in film including Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett and Michelle Yeoh.

Sunny: The 43-year-old actress donned a pale yellow bra top with a matching skirt, and a light yellow trench coat hung down off her slender shoulders

Accessories: The Almost Famous star accessorized with a silver clutch that matched her shoes

Star-studded: Hudson appeared alongside some of the other biggest names in film including Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett and Michelle Yeoh

Kate's has been making the rounds this awards season since she has a major role in Netflix's new movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

The movie follows Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he attempts to untangle another dangerous web after someone is murdered in Greece.

Hudson plays Birdie Jay, a former super model turned fashion designer in the Rian Johnson-directed movie.

Edward Norton, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn and Leslie Odom Jr. are also starring in the movie.

New movie: Kate's has been making the rounds at awards season event since she has a major role in Netflix's new movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

Discussing the movie: Hudson discussed the movie during a recently published interview with W magazine (L to R: Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn)

Hudson discussed the movie during a recently published interview with W magazine.

Kate added that her entrance on screen was particularly dramatic.

'The pool scene! As my clothes fall off! You know, I dont shy away from an entrance. Thats part of why I wanted to be an actress,' said the looker who has three kids.

'Theres something thrilling about moments like that,' she noted.

'This is a girl whos been tucked and nipped, and Im sure shes getting every machine all over her body.
Angela Bishop was forced to deliver an unscripted eulogy to Lisa Marie Presley on Friday after learning of her death midway through presenting 10 News Midday.

The TV veteran, 55, was in the middle of presenting the news when reports of Presley's death were made public just past noon Sydney time.

Bishop then delivered an off-the cuff moving eulogy to Elvis' only child.

'From the moment she was born she was thrust into the limelight She was born nine months to the day after Elvis and her mum, Priscilla, were married,' Angela began.

Angela Bishop (pictured) was forced to deliver an unscripted eulogy to Lisa Marie Presley on Friday after learning of her death midway through hosting 10 News Midday

'This is just devastating news today, at just 54 years old Lisa Marie has passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest. Very sad news today,' she added.

She added that Lisa Marie had significant input with director Baz Luhrmann on his lavish 2022 biographical movie of her father called Elvis.

'The Presley family were thrilled with the final result. They turned up to the Golden Globes, the premiere, they were out and about celebrating it,' she said.

The esteemed reporter, 55, was in the middle of presenting the news when reports of Lisa Marie Presley's (pictured) death were made public just past noon Sydney time

Lisa Marie died from a second cardiac arrest while in hospital.

The 54-year-old only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley was rushed to hospital on Thursday morning after she was found by her housekeeper collapsed inside her Calabasas home.

EMTs arriving at her home managed to revive her and she regained a pulse, but she was brain dead on arrival at hospital, TMZ reported on Friday.

Bishop then delivered an off-the cuff moving eulogy to Elvis Presley's only child

The family rushed to her bedside, where she was in an induced coma and on life support.

On learning she was already brain dead they signed the 'do not resuscitate' order before her second cardiac arrest.

Her mother Priscilla, 77, was by her bedside when she died.

'It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,' Priscilla said in a statement Thursday evening.

'This is just devastating news today, at just 54 years old Lisa Marie has passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest. Very sad news today,' she told co-host Narelda Jacobs
The Banshees of Inisherin stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson will reportedly miss the Critics' Choice Awards after testing positive for COVID-19.

The news was announced by Variety Senior Culture & Events Editor, Marc Malkin, in a tweet published Saturday night, but he did not cite a particular source.

Colin, 46, is up for the Best Actor gong for his performance in The Banshees of Inisherin while Brendan, 67, will compete in the Best Supporting Actor category.

Report: The Banshees of Inisherin stars Colin Farrell, 46, and Brendan Gleeson, 67, will reportedly miss the Critics' Choice Awards after testing positive for COVID-19; the pair seen in November

'Here we go again. Just confirmed that #colinfarrell and #brendongleeson won't be at #CriticsChoiceAwards tomorrow because they have both tested positive for COVID,' read Malkin's Twitter message.

Just days prior, Jamie Lee Curtis, 64 - nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for Everything Everywhere All at Once - revealed she would be skipping the ceremony after contracting the virus.

Colin, Brendan and Jamie Lee were all present at Tuesday's Golden Globe Awards ceremony, where Colin took home the gong for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy for his acclaimed role in The Banshees of Inisherin.

Farrell plays an Irish drinking buddy in the dark tragicomedy, which is centered around two lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when Brendan Gleeson's character  a brooding folk musician  abruptly ends their relationship.

Sad news: The news was confirmed by Variety Senior Culture & Events Editor, Marc Malkin, in a tweet published Saturday night; the pair seen in October

Curtis out: Just days prior, Jamie Lee Curtis - who is also one of the night's nominees - revealed she would be skipping the ceremony after contracting the virus; seen Tuesday

Golden Globes win: Colin, Brendan and Jamie Lee were all present at Tuesday's Golden Globe Awards ceremony, where Colin took home the Best Actor gong

The Banshees of Inisherin is nominated in a slew of categories at the Critics' Choice Awards, racking up a grand total of nine nominations.

The film is a top contender in the race for Best Picture and Colin remains a frontrunner in the category of Best Actor.

Barry Keoghan is nominated alongside Brendan in the Best Supporting Actor category, while Kerry Condon is in the race for Best Supporting Actress.

The film's writer-director Martin McDonagh is nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Director while his entire cast earned a nod for Best Acting Ensemble.

But the film and its stars face stiff competition from other critical darlings such as Tar, Elvis, The Whale, The Fabelmans and Everything Everywhere All at Once.

The Banshees of Inisherin: Farrell plays an Irish drinking buddy in the dark tragicomedy, which is centered around two lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when Brendan Gleeson's character  a brooding folk musician  abruptly ends their relationship

Big contender: The film is nominated in a slew of categories at the Critics' Choice Awards, racking up a grand total of nine nominations

Acclaimed partnership: Farrell remains a frontrunner in the category of Best Actor while Gleeson is in the race for Best Supporting Actor

In his Golden Globes acceptance speech, Colin spoke about the overwhelming critical acclaim that has been lauded on the film, which sees him reunite with his In Bruges co-star Brendan Gleeson.

Colin said: 'To work on this film, I never expect films to work or to find an audience and when they do, it's shocking to me. I'm horrified by what's happened around over the last couple of months, in a thrilling kind of way.'

The Banshees of Inisherin also scooped Best Picture - Musical/Comedy and Best Screenplay for writer-director Martin McDonagh, who Farrell praised in his speech.

'Martin Mcdonagh,' he said, 'I owe you so much man.'

Colin went on to shower Gleeson with love, saying: 'Brendan, I love you so much. I love you so much.'

His golden moment: In his Golden Globes acceptance speech, Colin spoke about the 'shocking' critical acclaim that has been lauded on the film, saying that the response has 'horrified' him 'in a thrilling kind of way'
Madeleine West revealed on Saturday her birth name is Melanie Ann and she changed it to escape painful memories of the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.

The former Neighbours star, 42, shared a childhood photo to Instagram of herself as a child at her fifth birthday party and captioned it with some confronting words.

She told her fans: 'I was born Melanie Ann. Most of my life I've hated her. I blamed her for some truly despicable things that happened to her - to me - when I was tiny.

Madeleine West (pictured) revealed on Saturday her birth name is Melanie Ann and she changed it to escape painful memories of child abuse

'Little Melanie was told it was her fault. And I believed it. I ran from Melanie as hard and as fast and as far as I could so far I even changed my name,' she added.

'My full story is not yet ready for the telling, but justice will be served. I've joined forces with former detective Gary Jubelin, in a crusade to stop the rot.'

The mother-of-six announced she will be co-hosting a true crime podcast with Jubelin called Predatory, which will serve as a 'checklist' for parents on how to spot predatory behaviour towards children.

The former Neighbours star, 42, shared a childhood photo to Instagram of herself as a child at her fifth birthday party and captioned it with some confronting words

'We love true crime stories, yet despite having one of the highest rates of victims, and the lowest rates of convictions, we refuse to discuss the predation of children playing out, hidden in plain sight.

'Because frankly, most of us don't know what to look for. It's a fact I've learned the hard way,' she added.

Madeleine reveals in her podcast's confronting first episode it is extremely difficult for sexual abuse victims to find the courage to speak out.

She told her fans: 'I was born Melanie Ann. Most of my life I've hated her. I blamed her for some truly despicable things that happened to her - to me - when I was tiny'. Pictured: Madeleine with podcast co-host Gary Jubelin

'You worry people will see you as deficit. The thing I find disturbing is how little I was,' she tells her co-host Gary.

In the first episode Madeleine tearfully reveals she was just five-years-old when the abuse started and it lasted for five years.

She said: 'I knew from the beginning it wasn't right. I think everyone does. What's so concerning is people keep looking away.'

'My full story is not yet ready for the telling, but justice will be served. I've joined forces with former detective Gary Jubelin, in a crusade to stop the rot,' she said

The actress has now gone public with her story after keeping it a secret for decades so she can help others who are suffering.

She claimed she was sexually abused as a child by a 'monster' and started the true crime podcast to raise awareness of the difficult issue.

Madeleine has told how the alleged abuser lived in the same town as her and that the abuse was regular - sometimes even daily. She revealed no other details of the attack and has not named the alleged abuser.

She told The Sun of the alleged abuse: 'This monster ruined my life. I've come out the other side, yes a survivor but happy to own the title of victim.

The mother-of-six told her fans her podcast will serve as a 'checklist' for parents on how to spot predatory behaviour towards children

'Justice can be achieved. It was never, and never will be, your fault, you are not to blame.'

'I'm now seeking justice. Anyone out there who is posting, watching or hurting a child, your time is up. The wheel is turning.'

The star is also calling for a national public child sex register in Australia and will campaign for changes to laws to fairly compensate victims.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
Brendan Fraser looked suave as he walked the BAFTA Tea Party red carpet with his partner Jeanne Moore in Beverly Hills on Saturday.

The actor, 54, donned a tailored gray suit styled with a dark blue tie and a crisp white button-down shirt.

The George Of The Jungle star walked in shiny black shoes and added thick-rimmed glasses to his ensemble for an added touch of style.

Perfect pair: Brendan Fraser looked suave as he walked the BAFTA Tea Party red carpet with his partner Jeanne Moore in Beverly Hills on Saturday

Fraser's better half stunned photographers as she posed in a vibrant red low-cut gown.

She tucked her belongings away in a chic silver clutch and paraded around the venue in nude heels.

Moore's lustrous blonde hair was styled sleek and straight.

She often posed with one arm locked around Fraser's and her head nuzzled in his chest.

Fraser was previously married to actress Afton Smith from 1998 to 2008.

Suave: The actor, 54, donned a tailored gray suit styled with a dark blue tie and a crisp white button-down shirt

Red hot: Fraser's better half stunned photographers as she posed in a vibrant red low-cut gown

Lovebirds: She often posed with one arm locked around Fraser's and her head nuzzled in his chest

Despite their relationship issues, the couple have amicably co-parented their three children since the divorce. They share 20-year-old Griffin, 18-year-old Holden and 16-year-old Leland.

The BAFTA Tea Party is an annual event put on by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. It's an invite-only event with just members and their guests being allowed in.

Cate Blanchett, Kate Hudson, Angela Bassett and Michelle Yeoh all attended the event alongside a number of other stars.

Fraser is among one of many actors hitting the awards circuit for his performance in the film The Whale.

Former flame: Fraser was previously married to actress Afton Smith from 1998 to 2008. Despite their relationship issues, the couple have amicably co-parented their three children since the divorce. They share 20-year-old Griffin, 18-year-old Holden and 16-year-old Leland

The Whale tells the story of a morbidly obese teacher (Fraser) who tries to reconnect with his teenage daughter (Stranger Things' Sadie Sink).

Fraser was nominated for the Golden Globe for his performance in the movie, but he lost out to Austin Butler for his performance as the titular character in Elvis.

Even if he had won, Fraser wouldn't have given a speech at the event as he revealed last month that he did not plan on attending the soiree.

'I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,' in reference to claims Fraser made that he was sexually assaulted by former HFPA president Philip Berk.

'I felt ill,' he said of the alleged event. 'I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry. I felt like someone had thrown invisible paint on me.'

Berk has denied that the incident ever took place.
Olivia Munn's son Malcolm just celebrated his first birthday in late November, so there's plenty of milestones on the horizon for the adorable boy.

And on Saturday the actress - who's a first-generation American of Chinese-Vietnamese descent - and her partner John Mulaney treated Malcolm to his first trip to a local Asian market.

'First trip to the Asian market,' Munn, 42, captioned a video posted on Instagram showing the parents taking turns going through the aisles with the baby in their arms.

A first of many: Olivia Munn, 42, documented her first trip to an Asian market with her son Malcolm, 14 months, with a video shared to Instagram on Saturday

Asian markets are typically an essential part of a community, and often play a key role in helping Asian people preserve their culture, all while providing a central location where people can keep connected, according to The Post And Courior.

Each Asian grocery typically has its own unique attributes.

Enhanced by a snippet from Meghan Trainor's doo-whop song, Made You Look, which fuses 1950s music with contemporary styles, the video shows Munn carrying Malcolm in her arms while browsing.

She made him look: Enhanced by a snippet from Meghan Trainor's doo-whop song, Made You Look, which fuses 1950s music with contemporary styles, the video shows Munn carrying Malcolm in her arms while browsing

Stylish mama: The X-Men: Apocalypse star, 42, stepped out with her boys looking fabulous in skintight blue jeans and a red sweater. The pants had a frayed, high-water style that helped showoff her black heeled boots

The X-Men: Apocalypse star, 42, stepped out with her boys looking fabulous in skintight blue jeans and a red sweater. The pants had a frayed, high-water style that helped showoff her black heeled boots.

Rounding out her overall look, Munn had her dark tresses styled long and straight that nearly fell down to her waistline with a part in the middle.

After a brief look at some non-perishables on the shelves, mom made her way to section of fish tanks containing lobsters and other sea creatures.

Sea creatures: After a brief look at some non-perishables on the shelves, mom made her way to section of fish tanks containing lobsters

Lesson learned: Like she had done throughout the clip, Munn pointed at things and gave an explanation to her baby boy

Fixated: At one point, Malcolm turned and pointed to the various fish and shellfish that had already been packed and put on ice

At one point, Malcolm turned and pointed to the various fish and shellfish that had already been packed and put on ice.

From there, Mulaney took a turn holding their son and gave him an up-close look at more items on the shelves.

The last shot in the clip saw Munn with her son seemingly in the aisle full of hand wipes. She appears to ask him to grab one, which he does, but the container was just a little too big for his tiny hands and it fell down to the ground.

Munn quickly took a couple of steps, bent over to pick it up, and apparently put it into their cart.

From there, Mulaney took a turn holding their son and gave him an up-close look at more items on the shelves

More culture: Malcolm also got the occasional explanation about items from dad

The couple first sparked dating rumors in May 2021, shortly after Mulaney ended his relationship with his wife of six years, Anna Marie Tendle.

Munn and Mulaney were photographed together for the first time in June, although they continued to keep many of the details about their romance under wraps.

By September 2021, the pair confirmed that Munn was pregnant with their first child.

The Oklahoma native gave birth to their son in November 2021, and both of them have since shared photos and videos of sweet family moments on their social media platforms.

Their son's middle name is Hiep, which honors Munn's Vietnamese heritage.

The adventure continues: The last shot in the clip saw Munn with her son seemingly in the aisle full of hand wipes

Joining in: The curious boy reached out for what appeared to be a hand wipes container and it fell to the ground, which got a laugh from his mother
Christine Quinn dazzled in an eye-catching ensemble as she soaked up the sun with her husband, Christian Richard, earlier Friday during their getaway to Miami.

The former Selling Sunset star, 34, was recently spotted walking along the sandy shore showing off her toned frame in a vibrant orange swimsuit during the relaxing trip.

The mother of one was seen lounging on the crowded beach instead of jumping into the splashing waves, and later went on a quiet stroll with the businessman, 43, whom she tied the knot with in 2019.

Beautiful: Christine Quinn, 34, was seen spending time on the beach in Miami on Friday with her husband, Christian Richard, 43

The TV personality dressed to impress for the peaceful beach day, and slipped into a sheer, netted metallic dress that contained small, rhinestone details on the fabric that sparkled under the bright sunshine.

She added a black slip underneath with thin straps, and chose to go barefoot on the warm sand.

Her long, blonde locks were styled up into a messy bun on top of her head, allowing a few loose strands to border her forehead.

For a glamorous touch to her overall ensemble, Christine threw on a pair of large, black shades to protect her eyes during the sunny day.

Staying refreshed: The former Selling Sunset star was seen carrying a can in her hand that she occasionally sipped on during the day

Quality time: The model and her husband were spotted enjoying time together as they spent the afternoon on the crowded beach

Christine added a touch of makeup for her daytime look, including a touch of pink lipstick and a light blush to accentuate her cheekbones.

The real estate broker, who joined forces with her husband to launch their own company, RealOpen in 2022, opted to not add any pieces of flashy jewelry to her ensemble.

Christian also dressed comfortably and donned a plain, dark navy T-shirt along with a pair of orange and white-patterned swim shorts. He slipped into a pair of open-toed sandals to walk along the sandy beach.

The two lovebirds said 'I do' during a lavish wedding ceremony in 2019, and welcomed their first child, a son named Christian Jr., in 2021.

The star, who recently signed with modeling agency, IMG Models, sat under the afternoon sun and sipped on various tasty drinks to stay hydrated in the warmer temperatures.

Flashing a smile: The real estate broker was seen flashing a cheerful smile as she strolled beside her husband

Vacation mode: During the day, Christine was spotted staying refreshed in the warmer temperatures as she soaked up the sun

Keeping it casual: Christian also dressed comfortably and donned a plain, dark navy T-shirt along with a pair of orange and white-patterned swim shorts

As the day grew cooler, the reality star wrapped a white beach towel around her, and assisted Christian as they began to pack up their belongings in stylish bags as they headed to their next destination.

Despite her recent exit from Netflix's hit reality series, Selling Sunset, the talented star has been busy at work on numerous other projects, such as working in the fashion and beauty industry.

She recently attended the British Fashion Awards last month in December, as well as making a show-stopping appearance as she watched the Jacquemus runway show in Paris.

Christine, who currently boasts nearly 4 million fans on Instagram, recently opened up to Allure about garnering such a massive following.

Staying busy: Despite her recent exit from Netflix's hit reality series, Selling Sunset, the talented star has been busy at work on numerous other projects, such as being more involved in the fashion industry

Packing up: The two lovebirds packed up their belongings as the sun began to set and the model was seen waving towards someone she knew

Having fun: She recently attended the British Fashion Awards last month in December, as well as making a show-stopping appearance as she watched the Jacquemus runway show in Paris

The setting sun: As the sun began to vanish over the horizon, the star grew a little chilly in the late afternoon

Staying warm: The reality star wrapped a white beach towel over her, and Christine and Christian were seen packing up their belongings

'I'm actually a very private person, believe it or not,' she informed the publication. 'I know, people probably wouldn't think that, but I'm not usually posting my food and where I'm vacationing or my hotel rooms and all that stuff.'

The blonde beauty added, 'I've finally gotten to a place where I'm comfortable, and I don't need to show off everything and explain everything to everyone.'

Another big step Christine has made, along with her husband, was putting their luxurious Los Angeles home on the market for $8 million a few months earlier in November, according to Forbes.

When talking to the publication, the TV personality explained that one of the reasonings behind listing the home was that both hers and Christian's, 'dream has always been to live in France, and specifically Paris.'

She added, 'Were looking for a classic Parisian, Haussmann-style building, ideally with modern updates to the interior. We enjoy a well-lit living environment as we've become accustomed to in Los Angeles.'
Wallis Day showed off her toned body in a seriously stylish look while heading into the BAFTA Tea Party event in Beverly Hills on Saturday night.

The actress, 28, turned heads in a khaki leather-look crop top and matching flared trousers as she made her arrival at the prestigious event.

Wallis joined the likes of Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett, Kate Hudson and Michelle Williams alongside a slew of other A-list stars.

Toned: Wallis Day showed off her toned body while heading into the BAFTA Tea Party event in Beverly Hills on Saturday night

Wallis looked stylish in the leather top - precariously pinned together in the middle of her chest and embellished with ruched shoulder detailing.

The star added inches to her elegant frame in trendy gold heels and toted a gold metallic style clutch bag.

Her look was completed with makeup including dewy foundation, a smokey eye and a glossy pink lip.

A-list: She joined the likes of Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett, Kate Hudson and Michelle Williams alongside a slew of other A-list stars

Styling her short blonde tresses, she had her locks freshly blow dried and accessorised the look with gold statement earrings.

The BAFTA tea party is a staple fixture in the Los Angeles awards season calendar and welcomes nominees, members and guests.

It returned for another year in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eye-catching: The actress, 28, turned heads as she donned a khaki crop top and matching flared trousers

Posing up a storm: Taking to the red carpet, Wallis looked stylish in the leather top - pinned together in the middle of her chest and embellished with a shoulder frill detail

The Tea Party, 'welcomes nominees, members and guests for a uniquely elegant gathering. The event is an exclusive affair, limited to invited guests and BAFTA Members only,' according to its website.

'The party has a long tradition of recognizing the very best filmmaking talent and is hugely popular with nominees seeking a respite from the hectic and demanding Awards season.'

Last year, Wallis made her surprise debut appearance as Ruby Rose's character Kate Kane on Batwoman.

Stylish: The star added inches to her elegant frame in trendy gold heels and toted a gold metallic style clutch bag

Beauty: Wallis completed her look with makeup including dewy foundation, a smokey eye and a glossy pink lip

'It's a huge responsibility stepping into the shoes of a character that's already been established and it's a journey I'm looking forward to being a part of and hoping you guys do too,' she said at the time.

'Everyone's made me feel so welcome and it's amazing being back home with my DC family.'

Wallis is known for her work on Sex/Life and Hollyoaks.

Meanwhile, Wallis appeared alongside some of the other biggest names in film including Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett and Michelle Yeoh.

Cate Blanchett was elegantly chic as she made a grand arrival at the star-studded event alongside a radiant Angela Bassett and stylish Michelle Yeoh on Saturday.

Stunning: Cate Blanchett was stylishly chic as she attended the BAFTA Tea Party in LA on Saturday, along with Angela Bassett and Michelle Yeoh

The talented trio, who all received Golden Globes earlier this week on Tuesday, braved the rainy weather to attend the special event with awards season in full swing.

The Australian-born actress, 53, along with stunning Bassett, 64, and 60-year-old Yeoh, led other stars on the red carpet, along with Brendan Fraser and Michelle Williams.

Cate opted for elegance wearing a pair of classic black slacks along with a long-sleeved black sweater with white, ruffled details on the collar and cuffs.

She completed her simplistic, yet sophisticated red carpet ensemble by slipping into a pair of sleek, closed-toed black heels.

Star-studded event: Cate opted for elegance wearing a pair of classic black slacks along with a long-sleeved black sweater with white, ruffled details on the collar and cuffs

Her blonde locks were parted to the side, and fell down in natural waves to brush her shoulders.

The award winning star opted for classic makeup by adding a light layer of black mascara to make her blue eyes pop along with a pink, satin lipstick.

The fashionable top contained pockets on the sides which Cate placed her hands into in order to stay warm in the chilly California weather.

Cate paused for a strew of snaps when she stepped onto the glamorous red carpet before entering the Four Seasons Hotel for the event.

The blonde beauty recently received a Golden Globe on Tuesday for Best Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama for her leading role in the film titled, Tar. However, Cate was not in attendance at the 80th Annual ceremony due to having scheduling conflicts in London.
Kim Kardashian shared an adorable family update on her Instagram page on Saturday night, as her eldest son Saint hit a childhood milestone.

The mother of four, 42, posted a picture of an adorable letter addressed to the tooth fairy written by her son, seven, after he lost his first tooth.

Saint sweetly asked if he could please have credits for Roblox instead of money, while instructing the 'fairy' to 'check the bag' where he had left his tooth.

Family: Kim Kardashian shared an adorable family update on her Instagram page on Saturday night, as her eldest son Saint hit a childhood milestone

Roblox is an app that allows users to play a wide variety of games, create games, and chat with others online.

Kim captioned the Instagram Story: 'Saint lost his first tooth!'

The Skims founder then shared a snapshot of her reply as the fairy to her son, which was accompanied by the requested Roblox voucher and a two dollar bill.

Dear tooth fairy: The mother of four, 42, posted a picture of an adorable letter addressed to the tooth fairy written by her son, seven, after he lost his first tooth

The note was written in cursive and covered in gold glitter, after she was told by her daughter North, nine, that that is how the tooth fairy writes.

Kim joked: 'North says the tooth fairy writes in cursive, which I haven't done in 15 years lol.'

The Kardashians shared later a shared a clip of her son's room, which was covered in gold sparkles and glitter, writing: 'The tooth fairy was here.'

Father of four: The 42-year-old reality TV bombshell shares her four children North, Saint, seven, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three, with her third ex-husband Kanye West

The sweet post comes after it was revealed that Kanye has 'married' Yeezy architect Bianca Censori two months after his divorce from Kim was finalised.

The rapper, 45, is said to have held a private ceremony with Bianca and the pair have been spotted wearing wedding rings.

Kanye was first pictured wearing his band last week, with sources saying the ring symbolises his commitment to her following the ceremony.

Despite the wedding ceremony, the union isn't legal because the pair do not appear to have filed a marriage certificate, DailyMail.com reports.

Twinning with Kim: Sources exclusively told DailyMail.com Thursday that Kanye, 45, held a 'wedding' with Bianca Censori (pictured) , 27, the head of architecture at his Yeezy brand

It's not clear how long they have known each other or how long they had been dating, but Bianca joined Kanye's Yeezy company in November 2020.

She is listed as Head of Architecture and secured the position after obtaining a Master's in building design at Melbourne University in Australia.

MailOnline has contacted Kanye's representatives for comment.

Last month, Kanye paid tribute to his 'wife' by releasing the track, Censori Overload, a play on her last name.

Seeing double: Bianca (left) has recently dyed her hair blonde but as a brunette she was a dead ringer for Kanye's ex-wife Kim Kardashian (right)

Marriage: Kanye settled his divorce with Kim in November last year after the reality star filed for divorce in February 2021 following nearly seven years of marriage (pictured in 2019)

In the lyrics he revealed that he stayed celibate before tying the knot, singing: 'And The Bible said, I cant have any more sex 'til marriage.'

Who is Kanye West's new 'wife'? Yeezy designer is Kim K lookalike and inspired rapper's new song Take a look at everything we know so far about Kanye's new wife - who bears a striking resemblance to his ex-wife Kim Kardashian. Advertisement

The song appears to reference his split from Kim, opening with the lines: 'Waking up to "I cant do this anymore" text', adding 'I know its 'cause the headlines / Why she wanna leave.'

On Monday, the rapper was seen chatting with Bianca and enjoying a bite to eat at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills.

Kanye, who legally changed his name to Ye, cut a casual figure in denim jeans and a green bomber jacket.

He was seen having a bite to eat and chatting to his new 'wife'.

Bianca, who recently dyed her brunette locks platinum blonde, looked chic in a patterned green shirt with her bob slicked back.

During her time as a student, Bianca set up jewellery brand Nylon's.

The business began when she and a friend, Irene, started making Swarovski crytal chokers and bracelets for themselves and friends, before they realised the potential to set up a store.

After graduating, Bianca became a design consultant for a year before working as a student architect for three years.

She then went on to complete a Master's between 2019-2020 before moving over to Los Angeles when she got the job at Yeezy.
Jessica Rowe and her husband Peter Overton are proud parents of two teenage daughters.

And on Sunday, the 52-year-old paid tribute to her daughter Allegra as she celebrated her milestone 16th birthday.

Jessica marked the occasion in style, with an extravagant party at her family home.

A DJ, statement flowers and a custom-made three-tier cake: Jessica Rowe celebrated daughter Allegra's 16th birthday in style on Sunday. Both pictured

The former Studio 10 host and her husband Peter Overton pulled out all the stops, with a DJ, statement flowers, and a stunning three-tier custom-made cake.

The TV presenter shared a series of photos from the event, including a snap of Allegra with her birthday cake, decorated with a pink and white topper.

She also posted a photo of Allegra, who was dressed in a matching pink outfit.

Jessica marked the occasion in style with an extravagant party at her family home

The former Studio 10 host and her husband Peter Overton pulled out all the stops, with a DJ, statement flowers, and a stunning three-tier custom-made cake

The party was held at the Rowe-Overton family home in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and was attended by Allegra's friends and family.

Guests were treated to a variety of delicious food and drinks, including a selection of mini desserts and a fairy floss machine.

'Celebrating our precious Allegra as the festival of turning 16 begins!! Just three more days until your birthday darling girl,' she captioned the post.

The party was held at the Rowe-Overton family home on Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and was attended by Allegra's friends and family

It's been a big month of events for the family as last week Jess and her A Current Affair reporter husband Pete marked their 19th wedding anniversary.

'What a difference 19 years makes! Home before we turn into pumpkins,' the beloved TV star began.

'But what hasnt changed is the love and moral compass we share,' Jess continued.

It's been a big month of events for the family as last week Jess and her A Current Affair reporter husband Pete marked their 19th wedding anniversary

'Happy Anniversary my darling Petee, marrying you is the best decision of my life.'

In the image, Jess was all smiles in a red patterned frock, while Peter nuzzled into her cheek in a grey button up shirt.

The couple share two daughters, Allegra 15, and Giselle, 13, and first met when Jess was doing work experience at Channel Nine when she was 19.
Carol Vorderman has spilled the beans on her 10-year-long 'no-strings-attached' relationships with multiple men, who she calls her 'special friends'.

The presenter, 62, went on to slam 'b*****ks' rules against women, claiming she get 'frustrated' when they're told to 'find a man'.

She told The Sun: 'I don't understand why my behaviour should change just because I'm getting older.

Candid: Carol Vorderman has spilled the beans on her 10-year-long 'no-strings-attached' relationships with multiple men, who she calls her 'special friends'

'I might have a boyfriend who only lasts a few months. I call them "special friends". People may have other terms for them!'

She added elsewhere in the interview: 'Every romcom tells women to look for love and live happily ever after. It's all nonsense. We sell every little girl the message: "Cinderella needs a prince to save her." Yet half of marriages end in divorce.'

Carol has been married twice and has two children, and although currently single, fans are always clamouring to hear about her previous relationships.

MailOnline has taken a deep dive into Carol's love life, from her first marriage to giving up monogamy.

Deeper look: MailOnline has taken a deep dive into Carol's love life, from her first marriage to giving up monogamy

FIRST LOVE

Carol's first marriage was at the young age of 24, when she tied the knot with Christopher Mather in 1985.

However, the TV star and the Naval officer did not last long, as they soon split only 12 months after walking the aisle.

In 2018, Carol quipped that the marriage was doomed from the start, after she performed It's Raining Men on her wedding day.



Young love: Carol's first marriage was at the young age of 24, when she tied the knot with Christopher Mather in 1985

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, Carol explained: 'When I got married for the first time, not terribly successfully this could be the reason why

'So we got married during the day and had the standard reception thing and then there was an evening do.

'I got changed into a sheer outfit, the kind of thing you would see on Strictly Come Dancing nowadays, and I had been leant it by the girls from Three, Two, One, the programme."

Laughing, she recalled: 'I got on the stage and I sang this [song] at my wedding and I was then dragged off by my husband and the marriage didnt last long, so here we go, its raining men and you can understand his reasons.'

SECOND TIME AROUND

Four years after her split from Christopher, Carol went on to marry her second husband Patrick King.

She remained married to the management consultant for a decade and they welcomed two children Katie and Cameron.

However, the pair then split in 2000, with Carol calling their separation one of her biggest regrets.

Tied the knot: Four years after her split from Christopher, Carol went on to marry her second husband Patrick King

She told Woman Magazine: 'I never said why my marriage broke down and wed agreed never to talk about it publicly.

'The divorce is a regret of mine and my mum thinks that we should have stayed together.'

Sadly, she admitted: 'Hes now remarried so theres no chance of us getting back together.'

'Had my career not taken off like it did, Paddy and I probably wouldnt have split up.'

The experience turned her off marriage forever, as she later said: 'I never want to get married again.'

RELATIONSHIPS

Despite her unwillingness to walk down the aisle again, the Countdown star continued to date.

In the early 2000s, she met Des Kelly at a Christmas party and they embarked on a long-term relationship together.

Carol and Dec lived together and split their time between London and West Cork in Ireland.

Love life: In the early 2000s, she met Des Kelly at a Christmas party and they embarked on a long-term relationship together (pictured together in 2004)

However, after six years together the couple eventually went their separate ways in 2006.

Carol then went on to date Graham 'Duffy' Duff, who was 14 years younger than her.

The TV star and the Red Arrows veteran dated for four years and then had a short break up in 2015 before rekindling.

Age gap: Carol then went on to date Graham 'Duffy' Duff, who was 14 years younger than her (pictured 2013)

However, despite having another go at the relationship, Carol revealed they had called it quits the following year.

She told the Mirror in 2016: 'Im happily single, freely independent and doing my own thing.'

Carol then added: 'Im not opposed to going out with someone 10 years younger, its acceptable. But Duffy was 14 years younger  that was a bit silly really.'

Relationship: The TV star and the Red Arrows veteran dated for four years and then had a short break up in 2015 before rekindling (pictured in 2013)

'SPECIAL FRIENDS'

Appearing on Michelle Visage's Rule Breakers podcast, Carol recently revealed she has five 'special friends' while discussing the 'system' she has had in place for the past 10 years.

Giving a very candid insight into her complicated love life, Carol said she's 'not into one night stands' but dates multiple men whom she affectionately names her 'special friends'.

When asked by Michelle if she was in a relationship, Carol quipped: 'No! I'm having the best time. I've spoken about this once. I have a system which I've had for 10 years. They're called 'special friends'.

'I spoke a couple of months ago about having 'special friends' and it was like, again, the world had fallen in for some people but actually what I found was there was an awful lot of women who said "I'd never thought about it like this".'

Carol added she has been in 'long term relationships, if you like' with her special friends - and has been dating some for years.

She said: 'One's 11 years, one's seven years, you know everyone is single. It's a happy place. I hasten to add I'm not into one night stands.'

Surprise: Appearing on Michelle Visage's Rule Breakers podcast, Carol recently revealed she has five 'special friends' while discussing the 'system' she has had in place for the past 10 years

'The language around a woman of my generation is that if you had more than one partner when you got married you were this you were that. Everything was derogatory about a woman, that was the environment I was growing up in. It was like "she's desperate", everything was judgmental.'

Carol went on: 'Well you can take all that and you can throw it out the window, that's my polite way of saying it.

'But there's no harm being done. It's a happy place to live. The only thing I was sold when I was young was a fairytale with a poor girl meets a prince they get married and they lived happily ever after.'

'Special': Giving a very candid insight into her complicated love life, Carol said she's 'not into one night stands' but dates multiple men whom she affectionately names her 'special friends'

'This whole assumption: 'Have you got a partner yet? Have you got a man?' Well, no actually I've got five.'

Michelle responded by calling the maths whizz a 'legend'.

Carol has previously spoken about her many 'special friends', with one being an astronaut who 'calls her from the space station'.

She said on This Morning: 'I live my life in chapters, and you said and this chapter since I was about 50. So for the last decade or so, I've lived a life which is much freer.

Friends in high places: Carol has previously spoken about her many 'special friends', with one being an astronaut who 'calls her from the space station'

'I've never felt freer. So I have ignored the looking for one person and I have a number of what I've called "special friends".

She continued: 'I don't really want to marry again. I don't really want to live with a man again. Have to look after him all the time. But this is a time to break this nonsense taboo, which is a person should only be looking for one other person that satisfies everything in their life. That's hell.'

Adding of her 'special friends' Carol explained: 'They don't know each other, but they know about it. It's a very honest relationship.

'One of them has gone on for many more years than my marriage. Yeah, it's over 10 years. Another is seven. He's an astronaut. He rang me from the space station.'
Ruby Tuesday Matthews has denied claims she Photoshopped herself to look bigger in a sponsored post promoting a weight-loss program over the weekend.

The Byron Bay influencer, 27, sparked chatter on Sunday night after she uploaded a before and after post showing her postpartum weight loss, which took her eight weeks after welcoming her third child Holiday in September.

Her post included a discount code for the weight-loss program Ruby was promoting.

Ruby Tuesday Matthews has denied claims she Photoshopped herself to look bigger in a sponsored post promoting a weight-loss program over the weekend. (Pictured before and after her weight loss)

Snark account @dutchminty accused Ruby of editing her body to appear larger in the 'before' picture, pointing to a white area behind her thigh as 'proof'.

Ruby lashed out in a series of Instagram Stories, insisting the 'mysterious white area' was a towel in the background and not evidence of clumsy editing.

'Guys, I can't... I can't. Because people think I've Photoshopped my images. Because there's towels that hang behind my door 24/7. It's a white towel,' she said in one video, rolling her eyes.

Snark account @dutchminty quickly accused Ruby of editing her body to appear larger in the 'before' picture, pointing to a white area behind her thigh as 'proof' (left). Ruby lashed out in a series of Instagram Stories (right), insisting the 'mysterious white area' was a towel in the background and not evidence of clumsy editing

'Whatever, I'm not even going to explain myself, because the funniest part is they don't think I've Photoshopped the thinner image of myself, they think I've tried to make myself bigger,' she added.

'Guys, do you know the guts it takes to post before and after images when you're the heaviest you've ever been? Like, right after you have a baby? In skin-coloured underwear and not a matching bra top?'

In another post, Ruby wrote 'It's a towel' next to a screenshot of several different mirror selfies she'd taken at the same time as her 'before' picture.

Her camera roll proves there was a towel in the background, which at first glance made it appear as though she had used a warp tool to enhance her thighs.

'It's a towel,' she wrote next to a screenshot of different mirror selfies she'd taken at the same time as her 'before' picture. Her camera roll proves there was a towel in the background, which at first glance made it appear as though she had used a warp tool to enhance her thighs

Ruby's body appeared exactly like it does in the image she chose to upload.

She also shared an image that was zoomed in to prove the white space behind her hip was in fact a towel, not a warped door frame.

'To all you horrible women trying to take away what I have achieved and say I have Photoshopped an image when I've been the most vulnerable I've ever been sharing image of myself after having a baby, f**k you,' she wrote.

She also shared an image that was zoomed in to prove the white space behind her hip was in fact a towel, not a warped door frame

Ruby then uploaded an exchange between herself and an anonymous user who called her weight-loss post 'problematic'

Ruby then uploaded an exchange between herself and an anonymous user who called her weight-loss post 'problematic'.

'No. Eating well and working out isn't problematic. And showing my body in all forms and being honest about it isn't either,' she responded.

'People need to realise I'm not telling them that they need to look like me. It's my personal journey,' she added.

'No. Eating well and working out isn't problematic. And showing my body in all forms and being honest about it isn't either,' Ruby responded to the troll

The bathrobe entrepreneur added a caption that read: 'Okay turning my phone off after people think I've Photoshopped my images. It's a towel behind me and [people] can't see why I did this for myself and mental health.'

'Every pregnancy is different. Trust me, I have had three completely different pregnancies and postpartum journeys that I've shared every single time. Sorry this doesn't fit your mould of what it's meant to look like,' she continued.

'But I'm happy, my kids are happy. I love my partner and I don't fee so blue anymore. Maybe if these trolls spent less time caring and actually went for a walk they would feel a little better too with an endorphin hit.'

In her original sponsored post (pictured), Ruby told fans she was 'apprehensive' about sharing her results from an eight week program that saw her lose a significant amount of weight

Ruby shares two sons, Rocket, five, and Mars, four, with her ex Ryan Heywood, and a newborn daughter named Holiday with her fiance Shannan Dodd.

In her original sponsored post, Ruby told fans she was 'apprehensive' about sharing her results from an eight-week program that saw her lose a significant amount of weight.

'I've been very apprehensive in sharing my results from my eight week challenge because for me it really wasn't about the physical transformation and I don't want new mothers to feel pressure to bounce back or look a certain way,' she wrote.

She went on to praise the weight-loss program, saying she previously 'hated exercise' before joining.

Ruby told fans to sign up to the program using a discount code, insisting: 'Join in on the journey with the most amazing supportive group of women and one I promise you won't regret!'

'I literally showed up every day of this transformation. I held myself accountable and I have never felt stronger or more focused!' she said, before clarifying that she didn't want to share the amount of kilograms she'd lost 'because it's more about how I feel rather than a number.'

Ruby then told fans to sign up to the same program using her discount code, insisting: 'Join in on the journey with the most amazing supportive group of women and one I promise you won't regret!'

She also shared a video of herself posing in a bikini via Instagram Stories, explaining to fans that she'd started her weight loss journey 'a few weeks after' giving birth.

She also shared a video of herself posing in a bikini via Instagram Stories, explaining to fans that she'd started her weight loss journey 'a few weeks after' giving birth

Dutch Minty re-shared her post on Sunday night, drawing fans' attention to a white area behind Ruby's hips in the 'before' photo.

Critics promptly flooded Ruby's page with comments accusing her of misleading fans and promoting 'unrealistic expectations' for new mums.

'Omfg as someone who just gave birth to their first child 8 days ago I am so bloody angry seeing this,' one angry fan wrote.

Critics promptly flooded Ruby's page with comments accusing her of misleading fans and promoting 'unrealistic expectations' for new mums

'This is so messed up and even if let's say it was an inside joke with her partner, she should delete immediately. This is not healthy and not cool at all.'

'This is so damaging to young women,' said another.

'@RubyTuesdayMatthews how upsetting that you have such a major platform & instead of using it for good you're doing stuff like this,' commented a third.

Others rushed to her defence, however, with one commenting: 'What an incredible achievement, taking ownership of your physical and mental health with 3 babies.'

'You look amazing and good on you for being a busy mum of 3 running a business but also ensuring you put yourself first and looking after your mental health,' another agreed.
Booka Nile is almost at the end of her pregnancy journey and on Sunday she celebrated with a lavish baby shower.

The 33-year-old gave her followers a look inside the joyous occasion by sharing a series of photos from the special day to Instagram.

Guests at the event were treated to tasty food, drinks, and a variety of games.

Booka Nile is almost at the end of her pregnancy journey and on Sunday she celebrated with a lavish baby shower. Pictured: Booka, right

Booka showed off her growing belly in a form-fitting mustard coloured dress.

She shared photos from the event, including one of her posing with her cake, which was decorated with a green and purple topper with the words 'baby boy' written across it.

Also attending was Booka's former MAFS co-star and fellow bride Beck Zemek.

The Perth-based rocker gave her followers a look inside the joyous occasion by sharing a series of photos from the special day

She shared photos from the event on her Instagram page, including one of her posing with her cake, which was decorated with a green and purple topper

Booka announced she was pregnant with an unnamed male friend in September, telling fans on Instagram that while the news was unexpected, she's looking forward to the challenge.

Holding up a tiny white jumpsuit, Booka wrote: 'Motherhood was not something I ever thought I'd experience.

She continued: 'It just didn't feel like it could or would ever happen for me.'

Also attending was Booka's former MAFS co-star and fellow bride Beck Zemek

Booka showed off her growing belly in a form-fitting mustard coloured dress

Booka said she came to the realisation that while the circumstances may never be right, she has accepted it.

'I don't think they'll ever be 'right' but my baby boy does not really gaf about that,' she joked.

'Against all odds he has made himself a little home inside my belly and is growing bigger and stronger every day.'

The reality star went on to say that both herself and the baby's father were excited to welcome their little child.

Booka announced she was pregnant with an unnamed male friend in September, telling fans on Instagram that while the news was unexpected, she's looking forward to the challenge

'It just didn't feel like it could or would ever happen for me,' she wrote. 'Against all odds he has made himself a little home inside my belly and is growing bigger and stronger every day'

'After giving it a lot of thought we realised we wanted to be his mum and dad, even though we aren't together and have no plans to be,' Booka wrote, saying she plans to co-parent

'After giving it a lot of thought we realised we wanted to be his mum and dad, even though we aren't together and have no plans to be,' she wrote.

'I'll never be able to express how grateful I am to my son for being the ONLY one in the world who was able to pull me out of the darkness I was in. He is the miracle I didn't know I needed.'

She finished by saying she is counting down the days until she meets him.

Booka did not reveal the identity of the father in her post.

Booka was partnered with electrician and psychology student Brett Helling on Married At First Sight in 2021, but they split before the final vows.

Booka went on to say that her baby boy has changed her life, giving the 'saddest, most defeated version of myself joy, happiness and hope again

She finished by saying she is counting down the days until she meets him

Helling later said the pair had 'tunnel vision' on the show, and realised their relationship wouldn't last in the outside world.

'Booka and I were hanging out one day and we were just having a chat about life and all kinds of things. I think we both just came to the realisation that it wasn't something we wanted to pursue outside of the experiment,' he said.

Booka was later romantically linked to tattooed musician Corey Freear after they were spotted holding hands in Perth.
Married At First Sight bride-turned-sex worker Hayley Vernon has made a shocking confession about her career as a high-class escort.

The 35-year-old took to Instagram on Sunday night to reveal that she will no longer be working as a sex worker and Melbourne tour will be her last.

Hayley explained she will instead be focusing on creating content for her OnlyFans account.

Married At First Sight bride-turned-sex worker Hayley Vernon (pictured) has announced that she will no longer be working as an escort and her upcoming Melbourne tour will be her last

'Moving forward I will not be continuing with this aspect of adult work,' she began.

'I wanted to say thank you to all those who have supported me or gave me advice.

'I have loved being able to use my profile to help destigmatise this space, as well as providing a safe space to have honest conversation for a profession that can still be taboo.

'I will still have my site which will continue providing fresh content.'

'Moving forward I will not be continuing with this aspect of adult work,' she began. 'I wanted to say thank you to all those who have supported me or gave me advice'

Hayley had previously revealed that she had signed up to Scarlet Blue, a private escort directory, where she offered in-calls and out-calls for customers.

Hayley is understood to have charged clients between $750-$950 an hour.

She had also recently announced that she had made more than $1.3 million since joining OnlyFans in August 2020.

The former reality television star has been open and candid about her work, and has received a lot of support from her followers.

Hayley has also been vocal about her experience with psoriasis, and has shared her journey to self-love and body positivity with her fans.
Lord Alan Sugar has come under fire after sharing a tweet about HIV regarding a new EastEnders storyline after one of the characters was diagnosed.

After sharing his thoughts on the new plot, the business mogul, 75, was accused of 'spreading misinformation' on HIV by his Twitter followers.

Among them was former Apprentice candidate from 2021 Amy Anzel, who blasted: 'Urgh, seriously! Educate yourself before commenting on things you clearly know nothing about.'

Blasted: Lord Alan Sugar has come under fire after sharing a tweet about HIV regarding a new EastEnders storyline after one of the characters was diagnosed

The BBC soap storyline is following Zack Hudson [James Farrar] after his human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosis.

Viewers will see Zack's reaction to his diagnosis, treatment options as well as watching him come to terms with life following the news.

Airing his views on the show, Lord Sugar wrote: 'So Zack might be HIV positive. If he is then the baby growing inside Tiffany could also be HIV,' the businessman began.

Unimpressed: Among them was former Apprentice candidate from 2021 Amy Anzel, who blasted: 'Urgh, seriously! Educate yourself before commenting on things you clearly know nothing about'

Fuming: After sharing his thoughts on the new plot, the business mogul, 75, was accused of 'spreading misinformation' on HIV by his Twitter followers (pictured Amy Anzel)

He added: 'If Zack gets tested and he is positive, he will have to tell Tiffany, she will have to decide if to terminate the pregnancy.'

However some online users were displeased by the factually incorrect information, claiming that it wasn't a fair representation of living with HIV in the present day.

One person noted: 'Terminate? What on earth. It's HIV and not a terminal life limiting disease. Get with the times.'

Another said: 'Please fix this with correct up to date scientific facts tweeted to you by @THTorguk and consider meeting @iangreen too.

'Your platform could be put to good use to help so many people realise how different things are now and I think you'll be surprised by it all too.'

One person noted: 'Terminate? What on earth. It's HIV and not a terminal life limiting disease. Get with the times'

Another said: 'Please fix this with correct up to date scientific facts tweeted to you by @THTorguk and consider meeting @iangreen too'

A third person commented: 'The baby can be delivered with a reduced risk of getting HIV. The baby can be treated from birth to reduce chances of developing HIV'

Another person urged: 'You should delete this incorrect information'

A different person, said: 'This isn't the way HIV transmits to the fetus ESP before child birth'

A third person commented: 'The baby can be delivered with a reduced risk of getting HIV. The baby can be treated from birth to reduce chances of developing HIV.

'Modern medicine can mean, the baby if HIV +ve, can receive medication and care. Stop stigmatizing HIV.'

Another person urged: 'You should delete this incorrect information.'

A different person, said: 'This isn't the way HIV transmits to the fetus ESP before child birth.'

One other said: 'Highlighting the inaccuracy of the TV star's tweet, a follower reminded him: 'Life with HIV is very very different now. Science is amazing.'

Onscreen: The BBC soap storyline is following Zack Hudson [James Farrar] after his human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosis

'Being on HIV treatment, with an undetectable viral load, lowers the chances of the baby being born with HIV to just 0.1%', replied another, quoting numbers from the Terrance Higgins Trust.

Lord Sugar also incorrectly named the character as Tiffany, when it is actually Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) who is expecting Zack's baby.

In an interview with Metro Dr Kate Nambiar, Medical Director of the Terrence Higgins Trust, broke down the misconceptions surrounding passing on HIV and pregnancy.

When questioned if Whitney's baby will be okay, Dr Nambiar said: 'All pregnant people in the UK are offered an HIV test to reduce the number of babies born with the virus. Thanks to this and the incredible treatment advances, vertical HIV transmission rarely happens in the UK now.'

She added: 'People living with HIV do give birth to HIV negative children. If someone who is pregnant tests positive for HIV, they'll be advised to start treatment straight away.

'This is a crucial way to prevent the virus being transmitted to the baby during pregnancy or birth.'
The Menu fans are joking that the film is responsible for closing down one of the world's most creative restaurants, after its chef announced it would be closing its doors in 2023.

Rene Redzepi, 45, is widely considered one of the world's top chefs and thanks to his kitchen alchemy Noma has been named the world's best restaurant five times and boasts three Michelin stars.

He said his Copenhagen flagship restaurant, which first opened in 2003, will become a giant test kitchen, dubbed Noma 3.0, in 2024 - only opening in 2025 for short periods at a time.

Hilarious: The Menu fans are joking that the film is responsible for closing down one of the world's most creative restaurants, after its chef announced it would be closing its doors in 2023

In an interview with The New York Times, he said the 'unsustainable' nature of the global fine dining scene - which commands long hours in the kitchen and painstakingly high standards, along with the pandemic had helped him make the decision to shut up shop.

However, the internet has different ideas, and says that the Ralph Fiennes' movie The Menu is to blame.

The dark comedy centres on a couple played by Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult, who travel to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant run by pretentious chef Slowik (Ralph).

Impressive: Rene Redzepi, 45, is widely considered one of the world's top chefs and thanks to his kitchen alchemy Noma has been named the world's best restaurant five times and boasts three Michelin stars

Closing: He said his Copenhagen flagship restaurant, which first opened in 2003, will become a giant test kitchen, dubbed Noma 3.0, in 2024 - only opening in 2025 for short periods at a time

Slowik present outlandish food dishes, such as a 'Breadless Bread Plate', 'Chicken Tacos with Scissors in it' and, for the finale, 'Smore's'.

The film is a satire about the over-the-top ridiculousness of food and drink today, but also the class politics and elitism that often comes with it.

The movie was released late last year, and just became available online on Disney+ and HBO Max this month, after which Noma announced it would be closing down.

Plot: The dark comedy centres on a couple played by Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult, who travel to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant run by pretentious chef Slowik

Satire: Slowik present outlandish food dishes, such as a 'Breadless Bread Plate', 'Chicken Tacos with Scissors in it' and, for the finale, 'Smore's'

Fans are now joking that The Menu was 'the nail in the coffin for Noma' and at fault for Rene's decision, and are taking to Twitter to voice their amusement.

One said: 'The Menu comes out on HBO Max and a day later the Noma guy announces he is closing the restaurant lol'.

Another echoed: 'I firmly believe Rene Redzepi saw The Menu and realized thats what ppl thought of Noma and was like were DONE and thats why Noma is closing'.

A third agreed, writing: 'The Menu comes out on HBO Max, next week later Noma shuts down. sometimes correlation does equal causation'.

A fourth quipped: 'i cant believe the menu (2022) singlehandedly shut down noma', while another praised: 'anya taylor joy single-handedly shut down Noma with her performance in the menu'.

Someone else wrote: 'noma chef saw The Menu and said welp it's time to go', while another person joked: 'you think the cia maybe put The Menu on streaming right before Noma went outta biz on purpose?'

And one Twitter user pointed out: 'Watching The Menu yesterday and seeing Noma is closing today... hard not to link these two in my mind'.

While another added: 'my theory is that rene redzepi watched the menu and subsequently decided to shut down noma'.
Jen Shah has been ordered to take psychiatric medication and get mental health counseling after her release from prison, according to documents obtained by TMZ.

The 49-year-old Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City star has a little more than a month to go before she is supposed to surrender to federal authorities and begin serving her sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud on February 17.

On January 6, a judge sentenced the Real Housewives of Salt Lake star to 6.5 years behind bars at a federal penitentiary in Texas, but with good behavior, she could be out in about five-and-a-half years.

Prison: Jen Shah, 49, Jen Shah has been ordered to take psychiatric medication and get mental health counseling after her release from prison, according to documents obtained by TMZ

At her sentencing hearing, Jen entered 'sensitive' information about her mental health saying that, 'Longstanding untreated mental issues caused me to create my own fractured reality. With the proper medication I can now see what happened.

'I wish I could have stood outside myself. I am sorry. I have found solace in my volunteer work, with anti-racism organizations and the LGBT community.'

With that in mind, conditions for her parole include entering a court-approved mental health facility and continuing to take her medication, unless her doctor determines otherwise.

The reality star faced up to 30 years in prison for bilking thousands of people across the US, many of them elderly, vulnerable women and the disabled, in a telemarketing scheme that made tens of millions of dollars.

During the hearing the judge noted that Jen and her operation had 'brazenly continued and hid her activities including moving operations overseas.'

Conditions: The sentencing judge attached conditions to her release, which include continuing medication and mental health treatment at a court approved facility; seen January 6 in NYC

Medication: During sentencing Jen and her attorney entered 'sensitive' information into the record, and she told the court, 'Longstanding untreated mental issues caused me to create my own fractured reality. With the proper medication I can now see what happened'

Crime: The reality star faced up to 30 years in prison for bilking thousands of people across the US, many of them elderly, vulnerable women and the disabled, in a telemarketing scheme that made tens of millions of dollars; seen January 6

Assets: Prosecutors say Jen 'hid her activities including moving operations overseas.' Those assets, believed to be hidden if Kosovo or Cyprus will be seized by the government; seen January 6

Those assets, believed to be hidden if Kosovo or Cyprus will be seized by the government.

Other conditions of her sentence include forfeiting $6.5 million and paying up to $9.5 million in restitution. According to tweets from Inner City Press, which followed the proceedings live, Jen, who sold merchandise about the case through a third party vendor, will use proceeds from that endeavor as part of the restitution.

The judge told Jen she would be under supervised release for five years 'to make sure you don't end up committing another crime.'
Pamela Anderson wants to set the record straight.

The 55-year-old actress, who refused to watch the Pam and Tommy series or read a note written by actress Lily James meant to reassure her about the series, is releasing her memoirs and a Netflix documentary telling her side of things January 31.

In an interview with People, the former Baywatch star said her sons, Brandon, 26, and Dylan, 25, whom she shares with ex-husband Tommy Lee, 60, encouraged her to come forward.

Having her say: Pamela Anderson, 55, is telling her side of things in a new memoir and documentary. Both are being released in January 31 (Pictured in Marbella, Spain in May 2017)

'It's just one girl's story of how I made it through: a small-town girl going to Los Angeles and just going through all the wild and crazy adventures I did and then circling back and going home.'

The City Hunter actress, who has released two prior autobiographies and four novels, is proud of her work and asserts she wrote Love, Pamela without the help of a ghostwriter.

She equates the process of compiling the book to 'therapy, going through my life from my first memory to my last memory.'

New memoir: The actress said she did not have a ghostwriter for her memoir Love, Pamela, and wrote it herself. She has previously released two autobiographies and four novels

Documentary: Pamela, A Love Story, will be released on Netflix January 31. The actress, who often appears on camera without makeup, admits 'I put myself in crazy situations... and survived them'

Therapeutic: Pamela told People that the creative process of writing the book and shooting the documentary have been good for her. 'I had no idea how much anger I had inside, or how therapeutic it was going to be for not just me, but for people around me'

'I had no idea how much anger I had inside, or how therapeutic it was going to be for not just me, but for people around me, like my mother,' she revealed.

'It's been a healing process. I'm so happy to share it and hopefully people will be inspired.'

In a trailer for her documentary, Pamela, A Love Story, the Canadian beauty declared 'I want to take control of the narrative for the first time.'

Curves: The former Playboy model is more well known for her curvaceous figure than her talent, and while she used those assets to her advantage, she was often the butt of jokes in the media

The former Playboy model is more well known for her curvaceous figure than her talent, and while she used those assets to her advantage, she was often the butt of jokes in the media.

Pamela, who often appears on camera without makeup, admits 'I put myself in crazy situations... and survived them.'

In finally coming forward, the Dancing with the Stars alum contended 'I just wanted there to be a true, authentic, real record of my life, adding, 'I really felt like it was very, very important for me to write it all down, from beginning to end.'
The Kardashians producer-star Kim Kardashian shared an Instagram slideshow tribute in honor of her 'twin' Chicago West's fifth birthday on Sunday.

The 42-year-old SKIMS/SKKN CEO shared four snaps of herself, back when she was platinum blonde, posing with her youngest daughter in the bedroom of their $60M Hidden Hills mansion.

'My twin. Happy 5th birthday. I really can't believe you're 5!' Kim  who boasts 457.3M social media followers  gushed.

'My twin': Kim Kardashian shared a sweet slideshow of snaps on Sunday to mark the fifth birthday of her daughter Chicago

Adorable: The tot, who was born via surrogate, is the third of Kim's children with now ex-husband Kanye West

'I'm so so proud to be your mom, it's the best feeling in the entire world. You are the cuddliest sweetest silliest most independent caring girl in the whole world and I just love you so much!'

Kardashian has three other children  daughter North West, nine; son Saint, seven; and son Psalm, three  from her six-year marriage to ex-husband number three Kanye 'Ye' West, which ended in 2021.

The canceled 45-year-old just 'married' his Yeezy head of architecture, Bianca Censori, but the Beverly Hills ceremony was not legally binding as they did not obtain a marriage certificate.

Ye only finalized his divorce and 20/80 custody arrangement with the half-Armenian beauty in November, which requires him to pay her $200K/month in child support.

'Happy 5th birthday!' The 42-year-old SKIMS/SKKN CEO shared four snaps of herself, back when she was platinum blonde, posing with her youngest daughter in the bedroom of their $60M Hidden Hills mansion

Pulled out all the stops: The reality star also posted a TikTok video showing the pink-themed birthday celebrations for the little girl

Kim flaunted her admiration for her youngster as she dressed in a short-sleeved t-shirt emblazoned with the sentence 'I love you Chicago.'

She was typically stylish as she paired the tee with light wash denim with slits at the knees and a pair of pointy-toe heels.

And North dressed festively for her baby sister's birthday bash, appearing on TikTok in a velvet blue getup with feather trim.

Big brother Saint was all smiles, showing off a toothy grin as he stood in front of a Hello Kitty painting station at the event.

Celebratory: North dressed festively for her baby sister's birthday bash, appearing on TikTok in a velvet blue getup

Having fun: Saint was all smiles, showing off a toothy grin as he stood in front of a Hello Kitty painting station

Family portrait: Kardashian has three other children  daughter North West, nine; son Saint, seven; and son Psalm, three  from her six-year marriage to ex-husband number three Kanye 'Ye' West (R), which ended in 2021; seen in 2020

Final couple portrait: The canceled 45-year-old  who just 'wed' Bianca Censori  only finalized his divorce and 20/80 custody arrangement with the half-Armenian beauty in November, which entails him paying her $200K/month in child support (pictured in 2020)

Kim's momager Kris Jenner also shared a substantial birthday tribute to little Chicago with a total 10 Instagram posts.

'Happy birthday to my beautiful granddaughter Chi Chi!' the 67-year-old grandmother-of-12  who boasts 76.6M social media followers  wrote.

'You are our little doll who lights up every room. You bring the sunshine and the smiles every day and are so kind, sweet, loving, artistic, creative, generous, funny, and give the best hugs.

'Happy birthday to my beautiful granddaughter Chi Chi!' Kim's momager Kris Jenner also shared a substantial birthday tribute to little Chicago with a total 10 Instagram posts

The 67-year-old grandmother-of-12 wrote: 'You are the most amazing daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin, niece, and friend and I am so blessed God chose me to be your grandmother! I love you more than you will ever know! Lovey xoxo!'

'You are the most amazing daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin, niece, and friend and I am so blessed God chose me to be your grandmother! I love you more than you will ever know! Lovey xoxo!'

That same day, Kardashian and Jenner flew her $150M private jet back to Los Angeles after attending the funeral of Tristan Thompson's mother Andrea at Last Days Pentecostal Ministries in Canada.

Kris (born Kristen Houghton) spoke at the ceremony and called the Jamaican matriarch 'the most amazing, dedicated, devoted, and selfless mom and such a loving, kind, and fabulous grandmother' on Instagram.

Paid their respects: That same day, Kardashian and Jenner flew her $150M private jet back to Los Angeles after attending the funeral of Tristan Thompson's (second to left, pictured in 2018) mother Andrea (L) at Last Days Pentecostal Ministries in Canada

'I am so heartbroken': Kris (born Kristen Houghton) spoke at the ceremony and called the Jamaican matriarch 'the most amazing, dedicated, devoted, and selfless mom and such a loving, kind, and fabulous grandmother' on Instagram

2016 family portrait: Andrea  who suffered a heart attack on Saturday  was the primary caregiver for her epileptic 16-year-old son Amari (L), who also arrived in Los Angeles with his 31-year-old brother (M) and the Kardashian-Jenner clan on Sunday

Andrea  who suffered a heart attack on Saturday  was the primary caregiver for her epileptic 16-year-old son Amari, who also arrived in Los Angeles with his 31-year-old brother and the Kardashian-Jenner clan on Sunday.

Khloe Kardashian has two children  daughter True Thompson, four; and a four-month-old son  from her onoff five-year romance with Tristan, which ended in December 2021.

Fans can catch more from the famous family in the 10-episode third season of The Kardashians, which began production in September.
Anais Gallagher cut a stylish figure as she sat front row at the JW Anderson pre-Fall fashion show in Italy on Sunday.

The daughter of Oasis frontman Noel, 22, looked effortlessly chic in a blue bodysuit with a large palm tree printed on the front.

She added a unique pair of black wide legged trousers with the number which boasted a midi coordinated skirt over the top.

Chic: Anais Gallagher cut a stylish figure as she sat front row at the JW Anderson pre-Fall fashion show in Italy on Sunday

Anais added inches to her frame in a pair of eye catching green woven sandals and accessorised with a simple gold chain necklace.

The beauty styled her long blonde tresses in loose waves as they cascaded past her bust from a centre parting.

She applied a flawless palette of makeup to showcased her beauty while posing with actor Callum Scott Howell, 23.

Stunning: The daughter of Oasis frontman Noel, 22, looked effortlessly chic in a blue bodysuit with a large palm tress printed on the front (pictured with actor Callum Scott Howell, 23)

Looking good: She added a unique pair of black wide legged trousers with the number which boasted a midi coordinated skirt over the top

The It's a Sin star cut a casual figure in a red waterproof jacket and dark blue jeans as he also sat front row at the Men's fashion show in Milan.

Also in attendance was actor Kit Connor, 18, who looked dapper in an all black ensemble.

The Heatstopper star wowed in a bold double breasted jacket and wide leg trousers as he posed for photos.

It comes after Anais has reportedly split from her long-term farmer boyfriend Julius Roberts, who she was in a relationship with for three years.

All smiles: She applied a flawless palette of makeup to showcased her beauty while posing with actor Callum Scott Howell, 23

But a source has revealed they have 'ended their relationship' and she is moving back up to London, after splitting her time between the city and his family farm in Dorset.

Anais addressed the criticism surrounding 'nepotism babies' and admitted she is 'grateful' for the 'privilege' her upbringing has given her.

She opened up about her opinions on 'nepotism babies', which refers to children born into affluent or famous families at the end of last year.

She confessed she would be 'tone deaf and irresponsible' if she didn't admit the 'leg up' in life her upbringing has given her, saying it is something she will be grateful for 'until the day I die'.

Dressed to impress: Also in attendance was actor Kit Connor, 18, who looked dapper in an all black ensemble

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she explained: 'I would be tone deaf and irresponsible if I didn't admit to how privileged my life has been and how much of a leg up my upbringing has given me.

'I'm really, really, extremely grateful for the situation my parents have been able to give me, and I'll be grateful until the day I die.

'Whether it's being able to attend university or have job opportunities, I'm incredibly grateful for everything they've given me.'

Anais said she thinks there is 'justification' around hiring nepotism babies as she addressed criticism that they have access to opportunities which other people don't.

However, she said she believes the pressure should be on employers to hire people from different backgrounds, rather than the criticism falling on the nepotism babies.

Anais, who has recently graduated from university with a photography degree, said she never felt any push from her parents to launch a music career, joking that she was 'born with no musical talent'.

She said she instead plans to pursue a career in photography and is currently taking internships to gain more experience as she described herself as a 'very creative' person.
Kim Kardashian has long been suspicious of her ex-husband Kanye West's new 'wife' Bianca Censori, according to a new report.

While news of the troubled rapper's secret 'wedding' took fans by surprise last week, an insider says Bianca has been on Kim's radar for some time.

'Kim hates her. She's pretty. And Kim hates pretty girls,' a source close to the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star, 42, told Page Six on Sunday.

Kim Kardashian (left) has long been suspicious of her ex-husband Kanye West's new 'wife' Bianca Censori (right), according to a new report

The insider also claimed Kim had sensed 'there was a certain frisson' between Kanye, 45, and Bianca, 27, prior to news of their secret 'nuptials' last week.

After the non-legally binding ceremony made headlines, Kim shared a series of cryptic quotes on Instagram, including one that read: 'I'm really in my quiet girl era, I don't have much to say. Just much to do.'

Another read: 'Just remember, the black sheep usually turns into a goat. Keep doing you.'

While news of the troubled rapper's secret 'wedding' took fans by surprise last week, an insider says Bianca has been on Kim's radar for some time. 'Kim hates her. She's pretty. And Kim hates pretty girls,' a source told Page Six on Sunday

The insider also claimed Kim had sensed 'there was a certain frisson' between Kanye (pictured) and Bianca prior to news of their secret 'nuptials' last week

Kanye 'wed' Bianca, who is employed as the 'Head of Architecture' at his fashion brand Yeezy, two months after his divorce from Kim was finalised in November.

The hip-hop superstar is said to have held a private ceremony with the Australian designer, with the pair later spotted wearing wedding rings.

The Stronger hitmaker wore his band on a lunch date last week. Sources say the ring symbolises his commitment to Bianca following the ceremony.

After the non-legally binding ceremony made headlines, Kim shared a series of cryptic quotes on Instagram, including one that read: 'I'm really in my quiet girl era, I don't have much to say'

Another read, 'Just remember, the black sheep usually turns into a goat. Keep doing you.'

However, the union is not legal because the pair do not appear to have filed a marriage certificate, DailyMail.com reported.

A Kim Kardashian lookalike through-and-through, Melbourne-born Bianca left Australia in November 2020 shortly after graduating with a Masters of Architecture, and moved to Los Angeles to work for Yeezy.

Curiously, she is not registered with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria, which is a requirement for Victorian residents who refer to themselves as an 'architect'.

Kanye (left) 'wed' Bianca, who is employed as the 'Head of Architecture' at his fashion brand Yeezy, two months after his divorce from Kim (right) was finalised in November

The hip-hop superstar is said to have held a private ceremony with the Australian designer, with the pair later spotted wearing wedding rings. (Pictured: Bianca Censori)

To get on the register, you must have two years of practical experience and pass the Architectural Practice Examination.

In April last year, Bianca gave a lecture to the University of Malta about working with Kanye, telling students: 'At Yeezy we were able to develop a Donda language, an aesthetic with Kanye, which has informed both of our design aesthetics.'

Bianca also showed students several housing projects she was working on at Yeezy, saying: 'I developed a space where you can sit, listen to water trickle, and watch how it comes in and out of your residence.'

Kim filed for divorce last February after nearly seven years of marriage. The former couple share four children, North, nine, Saint, seven, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three (all pictured)

Last month, Kanye paid tribute to his 'wife' by releasing the track Censori Overload, a play on her last name

Last month, Kanye paid tribute to his 'wife' by releasing the track Censori Overload, a play on her last name.

In the lyrics, he revealed he stayed celibate before tying the knot, singing: 'And The Bible said, I can't have any more sex 'til marriage.'

The song appears to reference his split from Kim, opening with the lines, 'Waking up to "I can't do this anymore" text,' before adding: 'I know it's 'cause the headlines / Why she wanna leave?'
Karl Stefanovic has slammed Prince Harry's controversial new memoir Spare, after the Duke of Sussex made several damning claims about the Royal Family.

The Today show anchor, 48, was discussing Harry's book on Monday with journalist Sarrah Le Marquand and Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie.

Stefanovic, 48, called Spare 'cheap rubbish' and said anyone could 'take down their family' with a tell-all tome if they wanted to.

Karl Stefanovic (pictured) has slammed Prince Harry's controversial new memoir Spare, after the Duke of Sussex made several damning claims about the Royal Family

The discussion began with Le Marquand saying she 'likes' Prince Harry, describing him as 'a boy frozen in trauma at the age of 12 when his mum died'.

'That's how he starts the book, it's very deliberate,' she added. 'Obviously he's going after the media in a way that is really misplaced and you can hear this wounded boy.

'He has a right to tell his story and I'm actually on his side. The point of this book is clearly that the whole idea is everyone has blamed every decision he has made as a young adult on Meghan.

'And he is clearly saying, "I've been at odds with my father since I was 12 years old."'

The Today show anchor, 48, was discussing Harry's book on Monday with journalist Sarrah Le Marquand and Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie

An unimpressed Stefanovic responded: 'Everyone could take down their family if they wanted though. It's just cheap rubbish.'

In his explosive memoir, Harry claims his wife Meghan Markle was left 'on the floor sobbing' by a row with her sister-in-law Kate Middleton over Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid's dresses.

He also discussed how his penis became 'frost-nipped' during his trip to the North Pole, and revealed he is uncircumcised.

'Everyone could take down their family if they wanted though. It's just cheap rubbish,' he said

Amid other revelations, the royal confessed he took cocaine, ketamine, cannabis and Nepalese hashish temple balls, and said he sought help from a medium who said she could prove she was talking to his late mother from beyond the grave because Diana was 'giggling' at Archie breaking an ornament of the late Queen.

The Duke of Sussex, who was known as 'Captain Wales' in the military, also wrote that he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

He said did not think of those killed 'as people' but instead 'chess pieces' he had taken off the board.

He has since declared he and Meghan will never move back to the UK and become working members of the Royal Family.
Blake Jenner has pleaded no contest to Driving Under the Influence in a deal that will keep him out of jail.

The actor, 30, was arrested in July in Burbank, California after police said he drove through a red light and failed a sobriety test.

This was not the Miami native's first run-in with the law.

No jail: Blake Jenner has pleaded no contest to Driving Under the Influence in a deal that will keep him out of jail. The actor, 30, was arrested in July in Burbank, California after police said he drove through a red light and failed a sobriety test (Pictured in Los Angeles in August 2022)

The Paradise City star was arrested in 2014 on another DUI charge, but evaded time behind bars by entering a reckless driving plea.

In 2015, Blake was picked on charges of driving without proof of insurance and driving with a suspended drivers license. The What/If actor was let off after entering a no contest plea to driving without a valid drivers license.

The former Glee actor's legal troubles will be included in the upcoming documentary series, The Price of Glee, debuting Monday in Discovery+, which will look at his legal problems in addition to allegations of domestic abuse leveled by his ex-wife, Melissa Benoist, 34.

Plea deals: The Paradise City star has evaded jail time twice before after pleading guilty to reckless driving after a DUI arrest in 2014 and for driving without a valid drivers license in 2015 (Pictured in New York in November 2021)

The couple were married from 20152017, and divorced citing 'irreconcilable differences.'

In 2019, the Supergirl star spoke about experiencing domestic abuse, without naming the perpetrator. The actress later confirmed she was referring her her then-husband in 2020.

After those allegations, The Edge of Seventeen actor confessed he had 'emotionally, mentally and yes, physically' harmed his former spouse.

Documentary: The former Glee actor's legal troubles will be included in the upcoming documentary series, The Price of Glee

Domestic abuse: In 2019, Blakes' ex-wife Melissa Benoist, 34, spoke about experiencing domestic abuse, and later confirmed she was referring to Blake. He confessed to the allegations, but accused her of abuse as well (Pictured in Beverly Hills in June 2015)

'There are many things that I wish I could have done differently; and while I wish it did not take the pain that was suffered throughout the course of our relationship, I will never regress to making the same mistakes ever again.' he admitted.

The Billy Boy actor accused his ex of abuse as well. It was the domestic abuse allegations that may have lead to Blake being replaced by Paul Mescal in musical Merrily We Roll Along, which is set to be filmed over a 20 year period.

Melissa did not respond to those allegations. The CW star her Supergirl co-star, Chris Wood, 34, in 2019 and the couple welcomed their first child, Huxley, in 2020.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.

For help with alcohol and substance abuse call the National Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Information Center 1-800-784-6776.
Al Brown, the actor who played the corrupt police Major Stan Valcheck on HBO's classic crime series The Wire, has died at 83.

The film and television actor died on Friday in Las Vegas following a battle with Alzheimer's disease, his daughter Jenny told TMZ.

Brown's moment in the spotlight was in the second season of The Wire, when his petty feud with the leader of a longshoremen union launched led to Baltimore Police Department and FBI investigations of Greek drug traffickers.

Brown got into acting relatively late in life, as his first credited role wasn't until 1995, when he appeared on Homicide: Life On The Street.

Signing off: Al Brown, the actor who played the corrupt police Major Stan Valcheck on HBO's classic crime series The Wire , has died at 83; still from The Wire

Brown's daughter shared that he was a veteran of the Air Force and served two tours in Vietnam well before he transitioned to acting.

She added that he 'loved' his job and was happy to stop and chat with fans who recognized his face.

Brown played one of the more despised members of the BPD in The Wire.

His character Valchek had a habit of making inside deals to help himself ascend the ranks, and his primary concerns were politics and optics rather than crime fighting.

Late bloomer: Brown's daughter shared that he was a veteran of the Air Force and served two tours in Vietnam well before he transitioned to acting in the 1990s; still from The Wire

Corrupt: Brown played one of the more despised members of the BPD in The Wire. His character Valchek had a habit of making inside deals to help himself ascend the ranks, and his primary concerns were politics and optics rather than crime fighting; still from The Wire

Although he was most prominently featured in The Wire's second season, he was a supporting player in all five seasons of the popular series.

Although the series received only modest ratings and was shut out of most major awards during its run, the HBO show has since become one of the most acclaimed television series of all time for its frank portrayal of the drug war and police abuses in inner-city Baltimore, Maryland.

The Wire was Brown's longest-running role, but he also had brief guest spots on Marc Maron's comedy Maron and Dennis Leary's Rescue Me.

His film work included small roles in the Terry Gilliam's Bruce Willis and Brad Pittstarring science fiction thriller 12 Monkeys and the Silence Of The Lambs prequel Red Dragon.
Three-time Oscar nominee Tom Cruise once gave his Eyes Wide Shut castmate  three-time Oscar nominee Todd Field  advice on making his feature directorial debut after disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein nearly chopped it to pieces.

When the 58-year-old SoCal native was having difficulty adapting Andre Dubus' 1979 short story Killings, the New Yorkborn 60-year-old actor scoffed: 'You're just making excuses. Figure it out.'

Todd eventually wrote the script, got the rights, cast Tom's first cousin William Mapother, and debuted his 2001 indie drama In The Bedroom at the Sundance Film Festival.

Pals: Three-time Oscar nominee Tom Cruise once gave his Eyes Wide Shut castmate  three-time Oscar nominee Todd Field  advice on making his feature directorial debut; seen in June 2022

Colleagues: Cruise starred in Stanley Kubrick's 1999 classic Eyes Wide Shut (pictured), while Field (R) played a major supporting role as an old friend who gets him into serious trouble

But when Miramax Films acquired In the Bedroom, Field was devastated because he worried CEO Harvey Weinstein would 'recut his movie to shreds.'

'I was weeping in the bathroom,' the Tar filmmaker recalled to The New Yorker on Saturday.

'I called up Tom Cruise and said, "Something terrible has happened." He basically said, "This is how you're going to play it. It's going to take you six months, and you'll beat him, but you have to do exactly what I'm going to tell you to do, step by step."'

Cruise told Todd to allow the 70-year-old convicted sex offender to re-edit his film, wait for it to test poorly, and then convince the disgraced movie mogul to release the original version.

Stop complaining! Field, (L, 58) was having difficulty adapting Andre Dubus' 1979 short story Killings, the New York-born 60-year-old (R) scoffed: 'You're just making excuses. Figure it out'

It's all who you know! Todd eventually wrote the script, got the rights, cast Tom's first cousin William Mapother (L), and debuted his 2001 indie drama In the Bedroom at the Sundance Film Festival

'I was weeping in the bathroom': But when Miramax Films acquired In the Bedroom, Field was devastated because he worried CEO Harvey Weinstein (R, pictured in 2002) would 'recut his movie to shreds'

After test audiences rejected the reedited version that Weinstein championed, Field was able to convince Miramax to go back to the original director's cut, which had played so well for Sundance audiences.

In the Bedroom went on to amass an impressive $44.8M off a $1.7M budget, and it earned five Oscar nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.

'We had Todd Field work with Sydney Pollack, the late great director who is known for so many great films, including ones that Tom Cruise was involved with,' Harvey Weinstein's rep told DailyMail.com.

'As a result of Miramax' and Harvey Weinstein's input, the film was successful and received five academy nominations. We saw the performance of Little Children, that was not a Weinstein film, and hope that Todd can see the same success of In the Bedroom with his new film Tar and wish him well.'

The Tar filmmaker recalled to The New Yorker: 'I called up Tom Cruise and said, "Something terrible has happened." He basically said, "This is how you're going to play it. It's going to take you six months, and you'll beat him, but you have to do exactly what I'm going to tell you to do, step by step"' (pictured in 2001)

The Others executive producers: Cruise told Todd to allow the 70-year-old convicted sex offender (R) to re-edit his film, wait for it to test poorly, and then convince the disgraced movie mogul to release the original version

Critically-acclaimed hit: In the Bedroom went on to amass $44.8M off a $1.7M budget, and it earned five Oscar nominations and three Golden Globe nominations

For his new movie Tar, Field is nominated for seven trophies  including best picture, director and screenplay  at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards, which air Sunday night on The CW.

Tar star Cate Blanchett  who already won the Golden Globe last Tuesday  is up for best actress at the Critics Choice Awards, the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards on February 26, and 38th Independent Spirit Awards on March 4.

The AFI Conservatory grad's canceled conductor drama is also up for seven trophies  including best picture, director, and screenplay  at the 38th Independent Spirit Awards on March 4.

Meanwhile, Top Gun: Maverick's theme song Hold My Hand is nominated for a trophy at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards on February 5, and its stunt team is up for a trophy at the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards on February 26.

Airing Sunday night on The CW! For his new movie Tar, Field is nominated for seven trophies  including best picture, director, and screenplay  at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards

Frontrunner: Tar star Cate Blanchett  who already won the Golden Globe last Tuesday  is up for best actress at the Critics Choice Awards, the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards on February 26, and 38th Independent Spirit Awards on March 4
An aircraft with 72 people on board crashed in Nepal on Sunday, Yeti Airlines and a local official said.

"There are 68 passengers on board and four crew members... Rescue is underway, we don't know right now if there are survivors," the airline's spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula told AFP.

He said the plane crashed between the old and new Pokhara airports in central Nepal.

The wreckage was on fire and rescue workers were trying to put out the blaze, said local official Gurudutta Dhakal.

"Responders have already reached there and trying to douse the fire. All agencies are now focused on first dousing the fire and rescuing the passengers," Dhakal said.

#WATCH | A passenger aircraft crashed at Pokhara International Airport in Nepal today. 68 passengers and four crew members were onboard at the time of crash. Details awaited. pic.twitter.com/DBDbTtTxNc  ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2023

Nepal's air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.

But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.

The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.

The Himalayan country also has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.

Aircraft operators say Nepal lacks infrastructure for accurate weather forecasts, especially in remote areas with challenging mountainous terrain where deadly crashes have taken place in the past.

The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating treacherous flying conditions.

In May 2022, all 22 people on board a plane operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air -- 16 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans -- died when it crashed.

Air traffic control lost contact with the twin-propeller Twin Otter shortly after it took off from Pokhara and headed for Jomsom, a popular trekking destination.

Its wreckage was found a day later, strewn across a mountainside at an altitude of around 14,500 feet (4,400 metres).

About 60 people were involved in the search mission, most of whom trekked uphill for miles to get there.

After that crash authorities tightened regulations, including that planes would only be cleared to fly only if there was favourable weather forecast throughout the route.

In March 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crash-landed near Kathmandu's notoriously difficult international airport, killing 51 people.

That accident was Nepal's deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu.

Just two months earlier, a Thai Airways aircraft had crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.
Taiwan Vice President William Lai was elected as the new chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Sunday, setting the stage for him to run in presidential elections early next year.

Lai was the only candidate for taking the helm of the DPP. President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as party chairwoman in November after the DPP was trounced at local elections.

Lai has not directly said whether he intends to run in the presidential vote but is widely expected to do so now he is DPP chairman. Tsai cannot run again as president due to constitutional term limits.

The DPP's acting secretary general Sidney Lin told reporters in Taipei that Lai had won the election. He formally assumes the role on Wednesday.

Lai, in a statement, pledged to win back public trust for the party and to "firmly protect Taiwan and promote Taiwan's democracy, peace, and prosperity in a complex and changeable international situation."

Lai has previously angered Beijing, which views Taiwan as merely a wayward province, not a country, with his staunch support for the island's sovereignty and separate identity.

A former premier and mayor of the southern city of Tainan, Lai has been Tsai's vice president since 2020 following the DPP's landslide election win.

He has taken on an increasingly high-profile international role over the past year, briefly speaking with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in January last year while they were both in Honduras, one of 14 countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

In 2018, while still premier, Lai told parliament he was a "Taiwan independence worker" and that his position was that Taiwan was a sovereign, independent country.

China's influential Global Times tabloid responded at the time by saying China should issue an international arrest warrant for him to face prosecution under the country's 2005 Anti-Secession Law.

The DPP won the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide by pledging to defend Taiwan against China and not submit to Beijing's threats.
As the sun came up, 13 Thai Eastern Sarus cranes were released over a rippling reservoir in northeast Thailand, the latest effort to revive the almost-extinct species in the kingdom.

More commonly known as Thai cranes, the birds nearly disappeared from the country roughly 50 years ago -- they were last spotted in the wild in 1968 -- before a collaboration between the Thai government, Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo and United Nations to save them.

Also Read: Extinction crisis puts 1 million species on the brink

A breeding programme, using fowl donated by Cambodia, began in 1989, with the first reintroduction in 2011.

Sarus cranes are classed by the ICNC as "vulnerable", with an estimated 15,000 remaining in the wild -- with the Thai sub-species having been thought to have disappeared from Thailand's wild wetlands.

But since 2011, more than 150 captively-bred birds -- which can grow to up to six feet (1.8 metres) and weigh almost seven kilograms (15 pounds) -- have been released in Buriram province.

"It is the only place where the Thai cranes are able to live and reproduce on their own," said Governor Chaiwat Chuntirapong.

The birds were transported in large, specially adapted boxes -- their red-feathered heads watching through mesh windows -- from the Wetland and Eastern Sarus Crane Conservation Center where they were bred to the Huai Chorakhe Mak Reservoir.

The latest flock of 13 cranes were released all at once on Christmas Day. The tall birds loudly honked and clumsily flapped as they unsteadily took to the skies accompanied by cheering children and spectators.

Also Read: Deaths of 3 endangered Cambodian dolphins raise alarm

It was the final moment in a long journey for the researchers, who carefully nurtured the cranes from hatching, gradually introduced them to the wild and then took them to their final flight to freedom.

"The herdsman wears a suit that hides her body and wears a bird's head puppet on her hands to teach the birds everything from feeding to familiarising them with nature," said Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo researcher Tanat Uttaraviset.

As a result of the long process, roughly 60 to 70 percent of the birds survive in the wild, he said.

Prior to their release, each bird is micro-chipped and tagged, allowing researchers to track them and improve the conservation efforts.

As well as rearing and releasing the cranes, an important part of the programme has been educating people about the species and the environment.

Huai Chorakhe Mak Reservoir was chosen partly thanks to its natural proliferation of water chestnuts -- an important food source for cranes in the dry season.

But their habitat remains threatened by the "widespread invasion of agriculture", said director of Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo Thanachon Kensing.

The zoo has established a learning centre, teaching tourists and locals about how to better care for the environment the birds need to survive.

"Changing villagers' attitudes is difficult," Thanachon admitted.

"But if we can communicate with them... this project will be successful," he said.

Watching his red-headed charges soar off over the sparkling waters, researcher Tanat had just one hope.

"The ultimate goal is to secure the crane population," he said.
Prepared for any contingency along LAC, says Army Chief...
Prominent leaders from Ladakh staged a protest on Sunday as part of a campaign to press for their four demands including full statehood for the Union Territory and safeguards under sixth schedule of the Constitution to the region.

The protest demonstration was jointly organised outside the Press Club Jammu by the powerful Leh-based Apex body of peoples movement for the 6th schedule and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).

They also announced a protest calendar which includes a rally in Delhi in the third week of February.

"We have decided to stay away from the high-powered committee constituted recently by the ministry of home affairs as the government ignored our four-point agenda and also paid no heed to our suggestion about the composition of the panel," former MP and chairman Apex body Thupstan Chhewang told reporters.

Also Read | Kanjhawala accident: Hang the accused, demand family members, neighbours during protest

Flanked by his deputy Tsering Dorjey Lakruk, KDA co-chairpersons Qamar Ali Akhoon and Asgar Ali Karbalai besides other senior leaders affiliated with different non-BJP parties, he said they are not against the dialogue with the government on the issues concerning the people of Ladakh.

"The apex body had two separate meetings with the home minister, while the KDA had one meeting. We have joined hands to safeguard the interests of the people of Ladakh and want the government to make sincere efforts in resolving our demands," Chhewang said.

Former minister Karbalai said they have been peacefully agitating for their four-point agenda, which also include the creation of two separate parliamentary constituencies for Leh and Kargil districts, recruitment and job reservation for the youth of Ladakh along with creation of a public service commission

"Given the attitude of this government, we have decided to intensify our agitation and today's programme was part of it. We will move to Jantar Mantar, Delhi in the third week of February and will follow it up by village, block and district level protests across the UT of Ladakh. We will go for strikes if our demands are not met," he said.

He said they have already forwarded their reservations over the constitution of the high powered committee to the government and "we want the government to include our demands in the agenda of the dialogue and also give due representation to the representatives named by the apex body and the KDA".

Dorjay, also a former minister, said the entire population of Ladakh are with them. "They (BJP Ladakh unit) were also part of the apex body but later distanced themselves (after the demand for full statehood was raised). They are welcome if they wish to join us again," he said.

Both the apex body and KDA, which is a separate amalgamation of socioreligious, political and youth organisations of Leh and Kargil districts, were formed after the August 5, 2019 development when the centre abrogated the special status of J&K and bifurcated it into Union territories of J-K and Ladakh.

Sixth schedule seeks to safeguard the rights of the tribal population of a region through the formation of Autonomous District Councils (ADC). ADCs are bodies representing a district to which the Constitution has given varying degrees of autonomy within the state legislature.
The Haryana Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested one more person in connection with the murder of BJP leader Sukhbir Khatana here, police said.

He has been identified as Deepak, a resident of Buapur village in the Sector 65 area, and a close aide of gangster Vikram alias Papla Gujjar, they said.

It is the 10th arrest in the murder case, a senior officer of the STF said.

The murder of BJP leader Khatana had taken place on September 1 last year at a Raymond showroom located on Gurudwara Road in Gurugram.

Khatana, a resident of Rithoj village, along with his friend, had gone to the showroom to buy clothes. As soon as they entered the shop, four persons opened fire at them and fled.

An FIR was registered at the civil line police station in this connection, police said.

According to the STF, at least 10 cases are already registered against Deepak in Badshahpur, Sector 56, Manesar, Bhondsi police stations in Gurugram and Nangal Chaudhary police station in Mahendergarh district.

The first case was registered against him in 2015 on the charges of causing hurt and criminal intimidation in Badshahpur police station. He was booked for murder and under the Arms Act in 2017. Deepak has also been involved in other criminal activities along with gang leader Papla Gujjar, it added.

He carried a reward of Rs 10,000 for his arrest in the murder case, the STF said.

On September 4 last year, the crime branch, Gurugram, had arrested a shooter, Yogesh alias Seelu, a resident of Rajasthan, in connection with the BJP leaders murder. Later, the investigation in the case was transferred to the STF.

On September 22, the STF arrested the main accused, Chaman alias Pawan, brother-in-law of deceased Khatana.

Chaman revealed that Khatana had a love marriage with his sister in 2008 and due to this, he had developed enmity with his brother-in-law, police said.

Later during interrogation, it came to the fore that the murder plan was hatched by one Joginder Khatana, brother of JJP leader Rohtash Khatana. Joginder instigated Chaman and also gave him around Rs 25 lakh, they said.

The STF had also arrested Joginder and questioned gangster Papla Gujjar in the case, according to police.

We have arrested one more accused involved in the BJP leader's murder. We are questioning him, Deputy Superintendent of Police (STF) Javeer Singh Rathee said.
With cattle fairs being cancelled this year in the state, this time due to rise in lumpy skin disease (LSD), this will be the third consecutive year that the important rural activity is being missed. For the past two years, fairs were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

These fairs are vital trade events with transactions worth Rs 25 lakh in smaller fairs at an average. Bigger fairs saw transactions worth Rs 2.5 crore, according to organisers. At fairs, a cow might fetch between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1 lakh. Buffaloes cost between Rs 25,000 and Rs 90,000. A minimum of 600 cows participate in small cattle fairs and farmers sell at least 50 to 60 bovines. In big fairs, over 2,000 cows participate and at least 500 are sold.

Before the pandemic, around 100 cattle fairs were held at the end of the year or in January. Some include the Suttur, Mudukthore and Chunchunakatte cattle fairs in Mysuru district, Hemagiri fair in Mandya district, Siddaganga Mutt cattle fair in Tumakuru district, Ghati Subramanya cattle fair in Bengaluru rural district and Birur cattle fair in Chikkamagaluru district.

H N Nanjappa, co-ordinator of the Suttur cattle fair says, "Many farmers feed cows well to sell them during the fairs. Some even sell because of financial difficulties. These fairs also provide a platform for buyers to get good breeds. Now, all of that is lost."

As of January 5, as many as 2,90,330 domesticated bovines in the state were suffering from LSD. About 25,621 have died due to the disease in 17,798 villages after September 2022, according to sources in the department of animal husbandry. On an average, over 2,000 cases and 200 deaths are reported in the state in a day.

The infection spreads through the pox virus. Bovines suffer from visible nodules on their skin and legs. Cattle suffering from respiratory symptoms are dying.

The disease seems to be afflicting cows the most. In Mysuru, for example, out of 3,736 bovines, only 4 to 5 buffaloes suffer LSD, according to officials of the department of animal husbandry. None of the buffaloes died.

Farmers are also suffering losses as they are unable to sell milk from cows having LSD. It takes a bovine about 7 to 15 days to recover. As a result, farmers suffer a loss of at least Rs 5,000 a cow.

Of the 1.14 crore cattle heads in the state, 87% are vaccinated. "Around 9,34,070 doses are in the stock," says Shadakshari Swamy, deputy director, Department of Animal Husbandry.

Farmers are getting ex gratia of Rs 5,000 for the death of a calf, Rs 20,000 for milk-yielding female bovine and Rs 30,000 for male cattle used for ploughing.
A man has been arrested after a suspected kidnapping in which a person was driven around west Belfast in a van before being assaulted.

The victim, a man in his 30s, suffered injuries which are not believed to be life threatening during what police called a terrifying ordeal on Saturday night.

The arrested man remains in custody.

Detective Sergeant McCartan said: It was reported just after 12pm that a man was forced into the back of a blue Citroen Berlingo van by two men in the Upper Dunmurry Lane area before it was driven away from the Michael Ferguson roundabout.

At this stage we believe the victim, aged in his 30s, was driven around in the van for two to three hours, and at one point he was taken to a nearby property where he was assaulted, sustaining a number of injuries which are not believed to be life threatening at this stage.

A short time later, police arrested a man aged in his 30s on suspicion of a number of offences. He remains in custody at this time.

This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and as our inquiries progress, we are keen to speak to anyone who was in the Upper Dunmurry Lane, Colin, Poleglass or Twinbrook area of Dunmurry yesterday between 12pm and 4pm and saw anything which could assist us.

People with information, including any video footage, are asked to give it to police through calling 101 and quoting reference 709 of 14/1/23, using the PSNIs non-emergency reporting form online, or contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.
A new Amazon Prime subscription tier is currently under test in India. The report first came from a website named OnlyTech and was later corroborated by Gadgets360. Aptly named Amazon Prime Lite, the new Prime plan could come at 999 membership price and offer a trimmed-down list of benefits. Heres what that could include:

Amazon Prime Lite vs Amazon Prime: Whats different?

First of all, Amazon Prime Lite could cost 999 a year which was the earlier annual subscription price of the regular Amazon Prime membership. The latter is now costlier at 1499 and perhaps the 999/year Prime Lite plan could be to attract those users who are hesitant to pay up.

The 999 Amazon plan could offer an ad-supported SD Prime Video experience. As for other missing features, Amazon Prime Lite doesnt bundle Prime Music subscription, Prime Gaming, free eBooks, and no-cost EMI option while shopping on the Amazon India website.

So, while you are getting a cheaper plan, you are losing out on some important features too. If you dont care about those, the rest of the offering is said to be the same as the regular Prime subscription.

Amazon Prime Lite availability

Amazon Prime Lite is reportedly under test in certain parts of the country. Once the beta testing is done, it should be rolled out to mainstream users. Lets see if the new 999 Amazon Prime Lite offering finds substantial user interest.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
A huge Moto G73 leak involving press renders, promo materials and spec details have come out. The leak courtesy of TheTechOutlook also shares some of these things about the Moto G53 also. Moto G73 comes with a MediaTek chip while the Moto G53 sides with a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC. Here are the full details about the upcoming Motorola phones.

Moto G73 specs and features (Expected)

Moto G73 renders

As per the leak, Moto G73 could ship with a similar design footprint as the G72. Its dimensions could be 161.42 x 73.84 x 8.29 mm

The front of the phone could be an LCD stretching 6.5 inches with FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The hole punch in the middle could be home to a 16MP sensor.

The back of the Moto G73 could present a 50MP camera and an 8MP ultrawide cum macro shooter.

Internally, the setup could comprise MediaTek Dimensity 930 chip, a 5000mAh battery (w/ 30W charging support), and up to 8+256GB memory configuration. The software layer on top of this hardware could be Android 13 with a stock-ish interface.

Moto G53 promo material

From the same source, we also get to see the Moto G53 leaked renders and press images.

Since it is already available in China, we know the phone has a Snapdragon 480+ processor, Android 13 OS, a 6.5-inch HD+ 120Hz LCD screen, up to 6+128GB memory, a 5000mAh battery with 18W charging support, a 50MP+2MP dual rear camera setup, and an 8MP front camera.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
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I Wish, the organisation inspiring teenage girls towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers, is encouraging female students in Louth to sign up for the I Wish STEM Showcase hybrid event on February 28 2023 in the RDS Dublin.

The one day in-person event will also broadcast live to teenage girls in Ireland and around the world. Schools and students may sign up via iwish.ie/register



I Wish is also announcing the first confirmed headline speakers for the STEM event. Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland will address the audience of teenage girls on promoting gender equality, human rights and social justice globally.

Female STEM entrepreneurs and co-founders of payments start-up Xelda, India Healy OConnor and Portia Healy OConnor will also speak at the event as important female STEM role models.



Additional speakers confirmed to date are Elora Kelkel, Software Engineer at Stripe; Jessica Dino, Senior Automation Engineer and Certified Machine Safety Expert at Johnson & Johnson Vision; and Arushi Doshi, Manager in Cybersecurity and Forensics with Deloitte.



Gillian Keating, co-founder of I Wish comments: We are hugely excited to confirm the line-up for the 9th annual I Wish STEM showcase hybrid event. Our organisations mission, to increase female participation in STEM by breaking down the barriers that persist, is founded in the vision of a future where girls are enabled to shape a better world through STEM.



She continued: We are urging teenage girls and schools around the country to sign up for the STEM showcase on February 28th. We want to provide access for as many as possible to the fantastic female role models in STEM.

"Last year the I Wish STEM Showcase drew an audience of 17,036 second-level students from all 32 counties in Ireland as well as from 28 countries across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and South America.



The 9th annual I Wish STEM hybrid event 2023 is expected to host an audience of 3,000 teenage girls from around the country in-person, with the virtual TV style live broadcast aiming to reach more than 10,000 teenage girls globally.



The aim for I Wish is to continue to provide female STEM role models, and STEM work experience opportunities; to develop policies that address gender differences in STEM after graduation, which deplete the pool of role models; to improve and better inform access to STEM subjects for all Senior Cycle students; and enhance focus on STEM-related careers in the Junior Cycle curriculum. I Wish advocates for engagement in STEM from early years education.
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One of Dundalks greatest exports, The Corrs, now have their very own dedicated podcast thanks to Norwich superfan Simon Wilkie, creator of the CorrsCast Podcast Series.

In lockdown 2020, he took it upon himself to create the first Podcast show focused on The Corrs to bring fans together and to help celebrate the story of their success and development of the bands first album.

In his eleven episodes so far, Simon, who says hes seen the band play dozens of times, has interviewed those who worked alongside the band in the studio and beyond back in the early 90s.

Many of these have since progressed into Grammy and Emmy award winning work and are celebrated as pillars of the music industry today.

The interviews give an insight into what it was like to work with the band in developing and recording their now iconic sound.

Simon told the Democrat that his love of the Dundalk group started when he saw them play a St Patricks Day gig at the Royal

Albert hall in 1998 that was broadcast on BBC 1.

I remember sitting and watching that with my father and just thinking, wow this is really raw, this is a fantastic sound that Ive never really encountered before.

It was my first encounter with anything that had an Irish music flavour to it.

The Corrs sound is very unique in many ways, the blend of that Irish traditional and pop rock I think hadnt been seen globally.

It had been seen in Ireland of course, but not elsewhere before The Corrs kicked off with their first album.

The idea for the podcast came when, like many of us, Simon found himself at a loose end during Covid lockdown in 2020.

Id listened to a lot of music commentary podcasts when we went into lockdown here in the UK. We couldnt do anything and, like everyone else, I was just sitting at home.

I just thought, Ive been a fan of this band for years, Ive a lot of content that Ive amassed over the years that no other fans really have, and theres no Corrs related podcast out there, theres just nothing.

I was very inspired by these other musical podcasts and decided to try to do something similar, at the very least I knew Id enjoy trying to talk to these people to understand more of the story of the history of the band and their development.

Because it was lockdown, I just reached out on a limb, with no prior experience of making a podcast or anything, to the people who worked with them in the studio and because they also were doing nothing within their industries; they all said yes.

It was partly because everyone else had nothing to do and we could all use zoom, but also, they were very fond of the time when they worked with the band and were happy that someone was interested in telling that story.

They were more than willing to discuss what went on and how appreciative they were of their work at that time.

The podcast has had a huge fan response with 1000s of listeners from a huge variety of countries and growing.

It just kind of blossomed and now thousands of fans are listening from all over the world and in the last couple of months its gotten to no.2 and no.3 in the Irish music podcast charts for commentary.

So its growing at a phenomenal rate and its lovely to be able to naturally see this story unfold, not from me trying to force a narrative or a record company spin on anything.

Its all literally from the horses mouth from those who were in the studio, laying the tracks down, making the demo, the session musicians, etc.

Its a lovely journey that I hope to continue. Season one is focused on the first album and the demos that lead to it. I have no intention of stopping. In the future, I might move on to the second album and beyond.

With so many varied contributors Simon says its hard to pick a favourite but says the fan response to music industry executive Jason Flom was hugely positive.

[He was] the A&R guy who originally said yes to them and allowed them to be signed to Atlantic Records which then got them in touch with David Foster to produce the album.

It was nice to hear about such a pivotal part of their success directly from that person and how he describes having the band come into his office in America and play a demo tape, and about how he knew on the spot that he had to sign the band.

Such is Simons fascination with the Dundalk quartet, he has even visited Dundalk four or five times to have a pint in McManus to see where it all began.

You have different levels of fandom and when you have an appreciation for a group you get curious for where this all came from and I think a huge part of their nature is that hometown feel that comes from a place [Dundalk] that is very different from anywhere in England.

Simon is currently half way through season 1 of the podcast with 11 episodes produced to date alongside special episodes such as a round table discussion with those who attended the bands recent triumphant return to the stage in their One Night Only gig in Australia.

The CorrsCast Podcast is available on Spotify, iTunes and YouTube, among other places.
Local photographer Fra Lucchesi has made it to the finals of two wedding awards.

The talented photographer, from Dundalk, is a finalist in The Irish Wedding Awards 2023 and the weddingsonline Awards with the hope of being crowned Wedding Photographer of the Year.

Fra first took up photography in 2013 and started doing weddings two years later and has been doing it ever since.

As the popular wedding photographer's reputation grew so did his clientele and he is now very much in demand from couples' wanting him to capture their special day.

Fra, speaking to the Dundalk Democrat, said: Ever since Covid restrictions lifted things have really taken off and they don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon, which is just amazing.

I am still in awe of it all and always feel so lucky that I get to do something I truly love.

I'm delighted that I have made into the finals of the Irish Wedding Awards for Wedding Photographer of the Year and into the finals of the weddingsonline Awards.

As always thank you so much to everyone for the support over the years and to all the couples that have let me be part of their special day.

The Irish Wedding Awards 2023 aim to recognise and reward those within the wedding industry that work towards making the big day as perfect as possible and Fra is among those chosen.

The black-tie ceremony will take place at the end of this month in Dublin, where top specialists and establishments that have gone above and beyond in the sector will gather to celebrate their achievements.

A spokesperson for The Irish Wedding Awards 2023 said: These Awards are now recognised as the leading celebration for showcasing those that have demonstrated excellence in the wedding industry.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of The Irish Wedding Awards and we are delighted to be celebrating not only the finalists but how far the industry has come in the past few years.

The competition is tough this year but it is time to acknowledge everyone who has shown dedication and professionalism in their workplace; two key features that make individuals and businesses stand out from the rest.

With more entries than ever before, we would like to wish the finalists the best of luck and we cant wait to welcome our guests at the ceremony and celebrate the winners with them.

The weddingsonline Awards is now in its 14th year and was set up to recognise excellence within the wedding sector and to reward those businesses that stand out from the crowd.

Their Gala Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, March 27th.

You can vote for Fra Lucchesi in the Irish Wedding Awards on https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/The5thIrishWeddingAwards2023
Above: Representing Louth at Showcase 2023 are local makers Yvonne Mullen of LORE Natural Skincare, Designer Caroline Duffy, Designer Sophie Hunter, Caoilfionn Murphy OHanlon of Cushla of Gullion and Maria Morgan of Esker Fields. They are proudly supported by Local Enterprise Office Louth, represented here by Sarah Mallon. Visit www.showcaseireland.com for more information. Photo: Pause Time Photography

Louth is home to some stunning creative industries, artists and makers whose creations are exported and enjoyed across the world. Showcase is Irelands creative expo and were thrilled to bring five emerging local makers to this years event, explains Sarah Mallon of Local Enterprise Office Louth.

Taking place at the RDS from 22-24th January, this trade event attracts top international retail buyers to sample Irelands finest creations. Sarah continues Each year Louth County Council and the Local Enterprise Office use this event to showcase emerging creative businesses from Louth.

It so important for buyers to experience products for themselves. They get to touch, smell and see the products and packaging and they can anticipate how their customers will respond. It is a huge opportunity for each of the makers and we are delighted to offer it to them.

The featured makers for 2023 are:

Created by Yvonne Mullen, LORE Natural Skincare, uses ethically-sourced sustainable ingredients and premium essential oils to create a beautiful skincare range. She combines traditional methods and ingredients with contemporary scientific knowledge to create her face creams, cleansers, face oil, body lotion bars, lip balms and soaps.

Yvonne places a huge emphasis on sustainability and her packing is eco-friendly and recyclable. Discover more by visiting: lorenaturalskincare.ie

Caroline Duffy, of Caroline Duffy Designs, is an artist and designer. With a passion for creating from nature and flowers, she combines her exuberant floral paintings with her signature feminine uplifting style.

With a focus on the energizing, healing power that nature and colour have on well-being, Carolines collection includes a range of silk scarves and dresses, woven blankets, original art, prints and notebooks. View her collection on carolineduffydesigns.com

Designer Sophie Hunter believes that we often overlook the beauty of nature that is all around us. So she has created a collection of real, pressed and framed botanicals and feathers, showcasing and celebrating natures works of art.

She collects botanicals and flora from country and coastal walks around Ireland, while feathers are naturally shed. Be inspired by Sophies collection by visiting instagram.com/sophiehunterdesign

Visual artist Caoilfhionn Murphy OHanlon, of Cushla of Gullion, creates stunning wall art and home accessories. She uses naturally dyed wool and silk to create pieces that celebrate the myth, magic and rugged beauty of Irish landscapes.

Her pieces hang in homes all over the world, using memories and nostalgia to evoke memories of home. Visit cushlaofgullion.com to see her work.

Esker Fields, founded by Maria Morgan, is a range of natural skincare products inspired by nature and handmade with love. Each product is made using natural ingredients and pure essential oils, creating a delightful sensory experience.

Esker Fields users report improvements in the appearance of their skin, easing of stress and anxiety, relief from muscle aches and better sleep. Visit Eskerfields.ie to learn more.

In addition, other Louth designers exhibiting at Showcase this year include Garrett Mallon Jewellery, Sarah McKenna Ceramics, Edmund McNulty Knitwear, Karen Lavelle of Soilse Candles and the team from Branigan Weavers.

Sarah Mallon of LEO Louth concludes Buyers at Showcase are looking for unique, handcrafted, Irish products to sell to their customers all over the world.

We are so proud of the local enterprises that are attending Showcase this year and hope that this event opens up new opportunities for them and their products.
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Seafront properties are a rare commodity so if you are looking for a home with uninterrupted sea and coastal views, Mandalay is the one for you.

Beautifully positioned along the Coast Road, Blackrock, Dundalk, this detached dormer bungalow occupies an amazing seafront position on a superb site.

Seldom does a property of such potential and location come to the market offering a rare combination of easy access to a wide range of amenities and services while at the same time being quietly tucked away at the south end of Blackrock's popular village.

For those searching to realise their vision and design, this fine red brick dormer bungalow is just waiting be transformed into a magnificent cutting edge dream home.

Accommodation: Light filled spacious entrance hall with open tread oak staircase, open plan living room, dining room, kitchen and sunroom, all with superb sea views ,utility room, Master bedroom ensuite, bedroom 2. Large garage. First floor: Bedroom 3 and bedroom 4 one ensuite, wc. Blackrock Village has so much to offer including: An eclectic mix of acclaimed restaurants, coffee shops, bars, boutique shops, all within a short walk. 2 excellent primary schools, park, sporting amenities including a wide range of water sports.
Fallen soldier Private Sean Rooney was remembered at special month's mind masses in Newtowncunningham, Dundalk and Lebanon at the weekend.

On Saturday, one month on from Private Rooney's tragic death on December 14, family, friends and colleagues gathered to remember the 24-year-old.

Private Rooney was serving with the 121st Infantry Battalion of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) when he was shot dead when the vehicle he was driving came under attack in the Al-Aqbieh area of south Lebanon.

Members of the 121st Battalion gathered at Camp Shamrock to honour their fallen comrade.,

To accommodate the huge crowd, the largest building in the camp, the dining complex was converted, the Battalion said.

There was no shortage of volunteers to help honour Sean, from setting up the dining complex to taking part in the Mass.

All done with pride and dignity for one of our own. He will never be forgotten.

At All Saints Church in Newtown on Saturday, Fr Philip Kemmy celebrated a month's mind Mass, attended by members of Private Rooney's family, including his mother, Natasha McCloskey, and his fiancee, Holly McConnellogue.

Fr Kemmy told how Private Rooney had left a 'ripple effect'.

Seans life, far too short, has a ripple effect way beyond the years that we might have expected for him, he said.

That ripple effect of his life, so well lived and so lived full of love, that will go on in your lives and even into other generations.

We cant get inside your heart and live that grief for you, its all your own but you dont have to bear it on your own.

Another month's mind Mass was held in Dundalk on Sunday.

Private Rooney was a native of Dundalk and had lived in Newtown for the last decade. A former student at St Eunan's College in Letterkenny, Private Rooney served with the 27th Infantry Battalion in Dundalk.
People should have to verify their identity before being able to send messages and make comments on social media, the Social Protection Minister has said.

Heather Humphreys made the call in response to reports of female politicians being abused online.

She said there is a case for verifying accounts in order to make users more accountable for what they say.

A debate on harassment and the safety of public representatives was held recently after a bag of cow excrement was thrown at a junior minister and a TD at a public meeting.

Gardai have offered security advice to members of the Oireachtas following the incident, with Justice Minister Simon Harris saying an attack on any public representative is an attack on our democracy.

Ms Humphreys told Newstalks On The Record programme on Sunday: I think that we shouldnt have to accept comments from people who we dont know who they are.

Some of them dont even have names, theyre anonymous people, and I think that there should be a requirement, if youre going to put online media or put online comments in that domain, that they should be accountable for what they say.

Because you have to be accountable for what to say when youre speaking publicly Why should people be allowed to make comments and we dont know who they are?

The Fine Gael minister was responding to an Irish Times article in which female politicians anonymously spoke about their experiences of abuse online and in person.

It shouldnt be happening, added Ms Humphreys.

We should try and stop it, and we should try and deal with those perpetrators.

Theres not that many of them, but its very upsetting for people when (there are) nasty comments. Some have had to go to court over it. Its not acceptable and I feel we just need to deal with it.

Last summer, a man pleaded guilty to harassing Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, having sent her 13 messages, including three explicit videos, during the 2020 general election campaign. He was given a one-year suspended sentence.

Whether its intended frivolously or in a more threatening way, sending unwanted sexual content is not normal, Mrs Carroll MacNeill said following the court case.

As little as I ever like to admit it, there just can be an additional complexity to being a woman in politics; there shouldnt be, there neednt be  but there can be.

There have also been incidents where protesters have gathered outside ministers homes in recent years.

Ms Humphreys said she hopes that stories of harassment will not deter women and others from getting involved in politics.

I hope that it wont deter women from getting involved, because we need a balance in decision-making in all walks of life, and its important that this doesnt stop them.

Its not easy sometimes, its very difficult. If youre a rural TD and you have a small family, theres no doubt about that.

But I certainly want to see more women getting involved in politics.
The restoration of Tehran-Riyadh relations may very well occur seven years after Iran severed diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia over Riyadhs execution of Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr. After Irans foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian stated that both parties are searching for ways to normalise relations between the two sides, it is thought that there is a chance for bilateral restoration of relations between the two west Asian enemies.

There was an agreement in our points of view to continue with the Saudi-Iran dialogue in what would eventually normalise relations between the two countries, Amirabdollahian told a group of reporters on Friday in Beirut, while referring to the meeting with his Saudi counterpart in Jordan last month.

This was the highest level of interaction between Saudi Arabia and Iran since 2016.

We welcome the restoration of normal relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Amirabdollahian said. The hope, he added, is that eventually we reach an agreement on reopening diplomatic missions and embassies in Riyadh and Tehran.
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.

Toxic forever chemicals are still being used in UK cosmetics, an investigation from BBC News published Friday revealed.

Through a Freedom of Information request, BBC News learned that the brands Revolution, Inglot and Urban Decay  which is owned by LOreal  are still selling dozens of products that contain the environmental toxins known as PFAS (poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances).

Consumers should be concerned about low-level contamination in products because of the limited information on the long-term toxic effects, Toronto University environmental chemist Professor Miriam Diamond said, according to a summary of her remarks provided by BBC News.

PFAS are a class of chemicals that have been used in non-stick, stain- or water-resistant products since the 1940s, according to the Independent. They have been used in cosmetics and makeup to make the products water resistant and easier to apply, according to the UKs Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA).

For example, water and oil resistance can create long-lasting skincare and make-up products which are more comfortable to wear, CTPA added. These properties can also give a smooth high-gloss finish and frizz protection to hair fibres.

However, there is growing concern about the use of PFAs in beauty and other industries because they have been linked to various health impacts including cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, immune suppression and cholesterol problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They also do not break down in the environment, and have been found everywhere from drinking water to rain water to human blood. There are concerns that this widespread contamination could harm non-human animals as well, such as when they evade wastewater treatment plants and pollute rivers.

Some PFAS have already been linked to health impacts in marine animals such as reduced immune, liver, blood and kidney function in bottlenose dolphins or thyroid hormone disruption in marine birds, and its likely only a matter of time for other health impacts to be recognised, Marine Conservation Society chemicals policy manager Dr. Francesca Bevan told BBC News.

As concerns mount, so have attempts to regulate the chemicals. The U.S. EPA set new safety guidelines in drinking water for two of the most common PFAS last year and proposed listing them as hazardous substances under the Superfund law.. And the same day the BBC investigation was published, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden sent a proposal to the European Chemicals Agency to restrict PFAS.

The investigation was thanks to the UKs efforts to learn more about the chemicals and their impacts via an Environment Agency review of the use of PFAS in the UK, BBC News explained.

As part of the review, CPTA told the agency that nine PFAS were still used by the industry, but their names did not make it into the final report. The BBC then obtained those names through a Freedom of Information request and checked them against the ingredients lists of popular UK cosmetics.

The investigation revealed that the PFAS PTFE and Polyperfluoromethylisopropyl Ether were present in numerous products, including

Relove High Key Shadow Palette

Revolution Power Shadow Palette 90S Baby

I Heart Revolution Mini Match Palette Fried Egg Fred

Urban Decay NAKED Palettes 2

Urban Decay NAKED Palettes 3

Urban Decay Smoked Palette

Inglot X Maura Beautiful Storm Eyeshadow Palette

Inglot Evening Kiss Eyeshadow Palette

Inglot Complexion Perfection Essentials Palette Deep

In response, LOreal told BBC News that it had decided to phase out PFAS in 2018.

The phase out and substitution plans are well underway and we have already removed PFASs from the majority of our products, a spokesperson said.

Both Revolution Beauty and Inglot emphasized that PFAS were legal in the UK and EU, but Revolution Beauty said it was phasing out the chemicals and Inglot said it was researching the possibility of doing so.

Only 1.5% of CTPA member companies reported use of PFAS ingredients when surveyed in 2020, CPTA Director General Dr. Emma Meredith said in a statement posted on the CPTA website. Cosmetic scientists have developed innovative alternatives that offer people the same product benefits they value. CTPA is working closely with Government as it shapes an action plan on PFAS for the UK. We welcome all new scientific studies into this large group of substances because these will contribute to a science-led and risk-based approach to the use of PFAS by all industries in the future.

In May of 2022, a group of more than 30 non-governmental organizations called on the UK government to ban all non-essential PFAs.

The only way to effectively prevent PFAS pollution in the UK environment, and to protect future generations from the impact of the most persistent human-made chemicals known to date, is to implement an urgent and timelined phase-out of all unnecessary uses of all PFAS, the letter read.

The first step in regulating PFAS in the UK is a report on their health impacts from the Health and Safety Executive, which should be published shortly, according to BBC News.
Adnec Group in cooperation with the UAE Ministry of Defence has held a meeting with a group of ambassadors and representatives of official diplomatic missions and military attaches in the UAE to brief them about Idex and Navdex.

The events will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE from February 20 to 24, 2023, at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Adnec Group is organising the 16th edition of the International Defence Exhibition (Idex 2023) and the 7th edition of the Naval Defence & Maritime Security Exhibition (Navdex 2023), in cooperation with the UAE Ministry of Defence.

Initiatives and preparations

The meeting, attended by a number of ambassadors, representatives of diplomatic missions and military attaches in UAE, focused on the initiatives and preparations carried out by Adnec Group to host an exceptional edition of the events. The upcoming editions will coincide with the 30th anniversary of Idex and 12th anniversary of Navdex, the biggest events of their kind in the world, which aim to showcase the latest technologies and equipment developed by defence sectors from all over the world.

The exhibitions serve as a global platform to highlight the latest innovative technologies and equipment developed by defence industries. They seek to shed light on the development of the UAEs national defence industries, and encourage partnerships with various participants and major global companies, which are specialised in defence and military industries.

The meeting was attended by Major General Staff Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Higher Organising Committee; Major General Dr Mubarak Saeed Ghafan Al Jabri, Deputy Chairman of the Committee; Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Group CEO of Adnec Group; and committee members and senior officials from a number of government entities.

In his opening speech, Major General Al Mazrouei said: Our wise leadership places a major significance on Idex and Navdex as they support its efforts to accelerate the development of national industries, including defence industries, as an integral part of its future vision. In line with its aspirations to achieve the comprehensive and sustainable development of the nation in the next fifty years, our wise leadership aims to advance the UAE into an incubator for global creativity and an engine for innovation and development in several vital and promising sectors.

Defence industry leader

This years edition is an exceptional one as it marks the anniversary of 30 years since the launch of Idex, which has contributed throughout three decades to consolidating Abu Dhabis leading position as a leader in the global defence industries. I am confident that the next editions of Idex and Navdex exhibitions and the accompanying International Defence Conference will be successful on all levels. This will be possible through the efforts of all national entities that have contributed to organising the events in a way that strengthens the UAEs leading position on a regional and global scale, he added.

He added: We look forward to welcoming people from all over the world to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the land of tolerance and the home of coexistence.

Al Dhaheri said: This years edition, which is one of the largest in the history of the event, embodies a 30-year success story for the Idex exhibition and a 12-year milestone for the Navdex exhibition. These events come as part of Adnec Group's efforts to support economic diversification and provide opportunities that contribute to the development of vital sectors. The events also align with the pivotal role of Adnec Group in developing the national defence industries sector and in establishing Abu Dhabi's position as a destination for major events, in addition to providing an ideal platform for international companies to strengthen their presence in the regional markets.

Record participation

The upcoming edition of the exhibitions will receive record participation from major international companies, and will be attended by high-ranking official delegations. We at Adnec Group have carried out the necessary strategies and organisational plans that guarantee the success of the event in accordance to the highest international standards, by utilising all resources and work teams to host an exceptional edition on all levels, he added.

Idex and Navdex exhibitions provide a world-leading platform for showcasing the latest innovations and technologies of the international defence sector, as well as the latest technologies and equipment developed by defence sectors from around the world. The previous edition of the two exhibitions in 2021 achieved remarkable success, as it had received more than 62,000 visitors and more than 900 local, regional, and international companies from 59 countries, in addition to 35 national pavilions.-- TradeArabia News Service
Wyoming wants to phase out sales of new EVs by 2035 It's a symbolic gesture aimed at states like California.

While jurisdictions like California and New York move toward banning the sale of new gasoline-powered cars, one US state wants to go in the opposite direction. Wyomings legislature is considering a resolution that calls for a phaseout of new electric vehicle sales by 2035. Introduced on Friday, Senate Joint Resolution 4 has support from members of the states House of Representatives and Senate.

In the proposed resolution, a group of lawmakers led by Senator Jim Anderson says Wyomings proud and valued oil and gas industry has created countless jobs and contributed revenue to the states coffers. They add that a lack of charging infrastructure within Wyoming would make the widespread use of EVs impracticable and that the state would need to build massive amounts of new power generation to sustain the misadventure of electric vehicles.

SJ4 calls for residents and businesses to limit the sale and purchase of EVs voluntarily, with the goal of phasing them out entirely by 2035. If passed, the resolution would be entirely symbolic. In fact, its more about sending a message to EV advocates than banning the vehicles altogether. To that point, the final section of SJ4 calls for Wyomings Secretary of State to send President Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom copies of the resolution.

One might even say tongue-in-cheek, but obviously its a very serious issue that deserves some public discussion, Senator Boner, one of the bills co-sponsors, told the Cowboy State Daily. Im interested in making sure that the solutions that some folks want to the so-called climate crisis are actually practical in real life. I just dont appreciate when other states try to force technology that isnt ready,

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While the resolution has the markings of a political stunt, it does allude to genuine economic anxiety. Wyoming produced 85.43 million barrels of oil in 2021, making it the countrys eighth-largest crude oil producer that year. The states Carbon County is also home to one of the largest wind farms in the US. Something thats not talked about enough when it comes to climate change is how the world transitions to a zero-emissions economy in an equitable way. People in many rural US states are rightfully mistrustful of so-called green technologies because they havent benefited from more recent technological shifts as much as their urban counterparts. Take the advent of the internet, for instance. In 2018, Microsoft found that many rural communities dont have access to broadband internet. Thats something that has contributed to diminishing economic opportunities in those places.
The Defense Forces of Ukraine are closely monitoring the movement of the enemy, - Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, commander of the grouping of forces and assets of defense of Kyiv, wrote on Telegram. Among other things, potential threats that may be associated with joint flight exercises between Russia and Belarus are being monitored, he said.


The incoming Slovenian Minister for Infrastructure, Alenka Bratusek, has renewed hopes of the country establishing a new flag carrier, three and a half years following the collapse of the former national airline Adria Airways. Ms Bratusek noted that a task force is examining the feasibility of setting up a new state-backed carrier. "I believe that somewhere by the middle of the year we will be able to come up with an answer based on sound facts and data, she said. Ms Bratusek, who was the Minister for Infrastructure when Adria Airways declared bankruptcy in September 2019, campaigned during last years election with the promise of establishing a new national carrier. The incoming Slovenian Minister for Infrastructure, Alenka Bratusek, has renewed hopes of the country establishing a new flag carrier, three and a half years following the collapse of the former national airline Adria Airways. Ms Bratusek noted that a task force is examining the feasibility of setting up a new state-backed carrier. "I believe that somewhere by the middle of the year we will be able to come up with an answer based on sound facts and data, she said. Ms Bratusek, who was the Minister for Infrastructure when Adria Airways declared bankruptcy in September 2019, campaigned during last years election with the promise of establishing a new national carrier.





Ms Bratusek previously said she repeatedly warned against the sale of Adria Airways to the German capital fund 4K Invest, noting that the then government of Slovenia should have found a strategic partner within the aviation industry that would have ensured the long-term existence and development of the carrier. Key people at 4K Invest are under investigation over their role in Adrias collapse and are accused of fraud and theft. The General Manager of operator Fraport Slovenija, Babett Stapel, said last year, I cannot decide whether Slovenia or the state should establish a national carrier. However, I can say that if it is established, it will be more than welcome on our part. We support any development that is sustainable and increases connectivity.





Slovenias current political establishment has direct links to Adria. The carriers former CEO, Klemen Bostjancic, who led the airline in 2011 and 2012, now serves as Slovenias Finance Minister. Mr Bostjancic implemented wide-scale cost cutting measures at the airline, which stabilised the carriers finances. However, it came at a cost, with the company diminishing its route network, resulting in a major plunge in passenger numbers. Furthermore, Rok Marolt, who was the head of the Slovenia Civil Aviation Agency, and served as Adrias Chief Operating Officer in 2012, is the countrys Secretary General at the Ministry for Finance. Slovenias President, Natasa Pirc Musar, had a short stint as a member of Adrias cabin crew and recently expressed her deep regret at the airlines collapse.




Montana State University officials are violating a students right to free speech after she questioned her sororitys insistence members identify themselves with preferred pronouns, alleges a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court of Montana.

The lawsuit also alleges campus officials are infringing on the students rights with a no-contact order  one without an end date or due process  after she was allegedly victimized by a fellow sorority member who is LGBTQ.

The student and plaintiff, Daria Danley, is suing Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian, MSU President Waded Cruzado, and Kyleen Breslin, director of MSUs Office of Institutional Equity.

Plaintiff Danleys protests against the harassment inflicted upon her by an LGBTQ student as well as her objections to preferred pronouns constitute speech protected by the First Amendment, as well as the Montana Constitution, the lawsuit said.

Danley had told a sorority leader she was being stalked by the other sorority member, the lawsuit said. Danley did not file a police report, her lawyer said.

The Greek chapter characterized the concerns she raised to the sorority leader about the alleged stalking and pronouns as hate speech, and the sorority and campus punished her, the complaint said.

However, in sanctioning Danley, the lawsuit said MSU officials are illegally silencing speech that might be deemed offensive to LGBTQ students.

Thats despite a duty to ensure policies dont discriminate based on political ideas.

Defendants Christian and Cruzado breached this duty by allowing a discriminatory policy at MSU that tolerates offensive speech made by LGBTQ students while punishing similarly situated non-LGBTQ students who engage in protected speech deemed offensive to LGBTQ students, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit said a similar alleged violation of free speech by MSU cost the institution a $120,000 settlement.

In that 2017 case, student Erik Powell alleged a free speech violation after he was suspended for being critical of a transgender student to a professor in a private meeting, the complaint said.

MSUs vindictiveness toward student criticism of the LGBTQ community is not new, the complaint said.   In settling the Powell lawsuit, MSU was required to expunge the plaintiffs record of disciplinary marks and pay him.

Bozeman lawyer Matthew Monforton represented Powell and is representing Danley.

In a brief phone call Friday, Monforton criticized the flagships Title IX office. Those offices generally oversee discrimination allegations.

MSUs woke Title IX office is punishing victims because they object to preferred pronouns in speech that LGBTQ students found offensive, Monforton said.

MSU did not respond Friday to an email requesting comment, and neither did a spokesperson for the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

The lawsuit outlines the events that led up to the court filing:

Danley has been enrolled full-time at MSU since 2020 and joined the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, which has since dissolved its Bozeman chapter, the lawsuit said.

The fellow sorority member routinely made inappropriate sexual comments in the presence of other AGD members, and she repeatedly asked Danley to accompany her to her apartment despite Danleys rejections, the lawsuit alleges.

Another member of the chapter warned Plaintiff Danley never to be alone with (the sorority member), as that member had observed (her) attempting to take advantage of women when they were intoxicated, the lawsuit said.

The fellow sorority member is not a defendant in the lawsuit and the Daily Montanan is not naming her in this story.

The complaint also said the alleged stalker repeatedly ogled Danley, making her extremely uncomfortable.

After she alleged stalking and complained about the use of pronouns, MSU punished her for hate speech and imposed a no-contact order against her, which meant she couldnt go to any sorority events or even enter a building where her alleged harasser was present, the lawsuit said.

Then, MSU officials charged her with discrimination in a sham administrative complaint, one it later dismissed, the lawsuit said. At MSUs suggestion, the sorority evicted her, the complaint said.

Danley applied to the sororitys national headquarters for reinstatement, and her request was granted, the complaint said.

Still, MSU wont rescind the no-contact order, the lawsuit said.

It said Danley doesnt want to be part of her specific sorority chapter because she just happened to get into a bad chapter, but she does want to participate as an alumna member in activities other alumnae continue to organize.

I still care greatly for Alpha Gamma Delta as a whole, and I know it does so much good for women, Danley said in the lawsuit.

But she cant do so because of the no-contact order of unlimited duration, the lawsuit said.

MSU has rejected repeated requests by the victim to rescind the order and has never explained why the order remains necessary or elaborated on why it was imposed in the first place, the lawsuit said. Nor has MSU ever given the victim a hearing to challenge the order.

In the complaint, Danley alleges the defendants are violating her free speech rights, which prohibit government officials from subjecting citizens to retaliatory actions in response to protected speech.

Danleys protests against the harassment inflicted upon her by an LGBTQ student as well as her objections to preferred pronouns constitute speech protected by the First Amendment, the lawsuit said.

It also said the order violates her freedom of association, and MSU has provided her no opportunity to be heard, therefore violating her right to due process.

A person has a protected liberty interest in his or her good name, reputation, honor and integrity, of which he or she cannot be deprived without due process, the lawsuit said.

It alleges violations of the Montana Constitution as well.

Danley requests a judgment the no-contact order violates her First Amendment rights and that the defendants clear her name in their records.

The post Montana State University student alleges free speech violations appeared first on Daily Montanan.
Vietnam earned $37.566 billion from textile and garment exports in the year 2022, an increase of 14.7 per cent over the previous year, as per preliminary data from customs IT and statistics department, general department of customs, Vietnams ministry of finance. The shipment fell short compared to a target of $43 billion for the last year.

The US accounted for a major share (about 46.20 per cent) totalling $17.359 billion in the textile and garment exports of Vietnam during the period under review. Japan and South Korea were the other major destinations with exports of $4.072 billion and $3.309 billion, respectively, according to the latest figures.

Vietnams yarn exports, however, decreased by 16 per cent to $4.713 billion compared to the same period of last year. Of this, China imported around 46.28 per cent or $2.181 billion worth of yarn, followed by India that imported yarn worth $120.996 million. In volume terms, Vietnam exported 15,73,872 tons of yarn which was 18.4 per cent lower than the exports during the corresponding period of last year.

Vietnam earned $37.566 billion from textile and garment exports in the year 2022, an increase of 14.7 per cent over the previous year, as per preliminary data from customs IT and statistics department, general department of customs, Vietnam's ministry of finance. The shipment fell short compared to a target of $43 billion for the last year.

Vietnams exports of textiles and garment inched up 0.3 per cent in December 2022 compared to the previous month. The shipment was recorded at $2.9 billion in the last month of the year 2022. Overall, a tough time for exports continued and the growth slowed down, but Vietnam managed to remain in green zone in recent months.

In 2021, Vietnams textile and garment exports earned $32.750 billion, registering a growth of 9.9 per cent over the exports of $29.809 billion in the previous year, while yarn exports increased by 50.1 per cent to $5.609 billion from $3.736 billion in 2020.

For 2022, Vietnam has set a target of $43 billion for its textiles, garments, and yarn exports, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
Germanys total value of exported goods in November 2022 reached 143.6 billion, a 14-per cent increase compared with November 2021, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The countrys exports to US, which is the most important destination of German exports, increased by 30.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 14.4 billion in November 2022.

The countrys exports to Russia in November 2022 were down by 52.8 per cent, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Germanys other important trading partners in terms of exports were France (10.5 billion; up 12 per cent) and the Netherlands (10.1 billion; up 13.7 per cent), as per Destatis.

Germany's total value of exported goods in November 2022 reached 143.6 billion, a 14-per cent increase compared with November 2021, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The country's exports to US, which is the most important destination of German exports, increased by 30.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 14.4 billion in November 2022.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / January 13, 2023 / Canadian North Resources Inc. (the "Corporation") (TSX-V:CNRI; FSE:EO0, which is "E-O-zero") announces that further to its news release issued December 22, 2022 (the "December 22nd News Release"), there was an error in the disclosure of the number of common shares issued on the second tranche of its offering of common shares ("Flow-Through Shares") on a flow-through basis pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada). The number of Flow-Through Shares indicated in the December 22nd News Release was 218,520 Flow-Through Shares and should have been indicated as 429,520 Flow-Through Shares. The total gross proceeds raised on the Flow-Through Offering was $4,841,704.80.

About Canadian North Resources Inc.

Canadian North Resources Inc. is an exploration and development company focusing on the metals for clean-energy, electric vehicles, battery and high-tech industries. The Corporation is advancing its 100% owned Ferguson Lake nickel, copper, cobalt, palladium, and platinum project in Nunavut, Canada.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information and statements in this news release contain certain forward-looking information. This forward-looking information relates to future events or the Corporation's future performance. In particular, this document contains forward-looking information and statements regarding the use of proceeds of the Flow-Through Offering. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is subject to certain risks and uncertainties and may be based on assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking information. These assumptions include that, in respect of the use of proceeds, historical costs and expenses will be representative of future costs and expenses. The Corporation's actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking information, and accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur or, if any of them do, what benefits that the Corporation will derive from them. The Corporation's forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise 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.

For further information contact:

Dr. Kaihui Yang, President and CEO

Phone: 905-696-8288 (Canada) 1-888-688-8809 (Toll-Free)

SOURCE: Canadian North Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/735227/CORRECTION-Canadian-North-Resources-Inc-Announces-Error-in-Prior-News-Release
London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - January 14, 2023) - Strategy5000, a leading provider of investment management services, is proud to announce the launch of its copy trading account for investors. The new account allows investors to copy the trades of top performing traders, reducing the time and effort required to manage their own investments.

The copy trading account is designed for both novice and experienced investors, providing them with a simple and efficient way to access the financial markets. The account is fully customizable, allowing investors to select the traders they want to copy, and set their own risk tolerance levels.

The account also offers a variety of tools and resources to help investors make informed decisions, including real-time market data, analytics, and educational materials. Additionally, the account is fully transparent, providing investors with a clear view of all trades made by the traders they are copying.

"We are thrilled to offer our clients this new and innovative way to invest," said John Richards, CEO of Strategy5000. "Copy trading is a great way for investors to access the financial markets without the need for extensive market knowledge or experience."

The copy trading account is now available to all Strategy5000 clients. To learn more about the account and start copying trades today, visit the company's website at www.strategy5000.com.

Contact:

John Richards

CEO, Strategy5000

+447417468697

www.strategy5000.com

info@strategy5000.com

This press release is intended for informational purposes only. The information contained herein is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/151356
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2023) - Dione protocol and its mission to democratize Green Energy has been described as a project powering the crypto revolution using renewable energy. The project has now announced that they are building a blockchain, a safe and secure wallet, and a cross-chain swap for seamless transactions between blockchains.





Dione Protocol: A New Power in Charge



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8717/151359_254cadfa54146a21_001full.jpg

Dione has so far accomplished every one of its milestones and may well achieve where many other popular projects have failed. Dione is one of Saturn's moons, and it has more meaning than meets the eye.

Its purpose - from information gathered from its team members - is the achievement of its dedicated mission motivated by what the team calls an 'About-Face,' meaning "the mission that looks to accomplish what was once started." Dione Protocol is on a mission to democratize green energy. In other words, looking to make renewable energy available to consumers, bridging the gap between the supplier and the consumer.

Despite being a new cryptocurrency, Dione has already delivered the 'Dione Wallet' live in the App Store and Google Play. They have also delivered the 'Dione Decentralized Exchange' well within the initially set timelines.

Dione's next step is to deliver its Layer 1 blockchain powered by renewable energy. Comparatively, a Layer 1 blockchain is Ethereum, and currently, the market cap is $150,000,000,000 (150 Billion USD). Presently, the market cap of Dione Protocol is $3,000,000 (3 Million USD).

Dione Team

Dione Protocol has captured a great deal of attention, with the recent announcement revealing Ryan Arriaga and Jacob Smith as key team members. In addition, the team revealed another member, Brandon Kokoski, as the project advisor.

Funding Secured

"Funding for Dione Blockchain is secured. It's go time," said the Head of Blockchain Development for Dione Protocol, Ryan Arriaga. This is a major statement, as estimates describe the cost of building Blockchains running well into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars (USD).

Very few cryptocurrency projects see worldwide attention, especially during a bear market as is currently experiencing, but Dione Protocol is defying all expectations and continues to deliver time and again.

Ryan Arriaga is Head of Blockchain for Dione Protocol.

A couple of reasons why there has been a massive attraction from crypto-twitter (CT), building into the thriving community known as "Dionists" are:

Experienced leadership - One of the most important factors why Dione Protocol has managed to capture the interest of the enthusiasts is the experienced leadership behind the project.

Teamwork - There are effective communication channels between the various teams behind Dione, thus helping execute tasks and eliminate bugs faster.

User-oriented policies - Every decision at Dione is taken considering its effects on the end user, all thanks to the team, and the idea has been successful in the past.

Clear objectives - Clarity with respect to objectives is essential and a vital requirement at Dione, thus helping the project achieve every one of its goals.

Ryan Arriaga - Head of Blockchain

Ryan is a passionate entrepreneur with three previously acquired tech companies and over 8 product lines launched in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) under his leadership. As an executor, Ryan served previously as Global Head of Products, launching a wallet from start to finish and serving as CEO for Reflex Finance whilst launching over 5 DeFi centered implementations in under 6 months.

Jacob Smith - Head of Web Development

A backend and frontend Senior Website Developer for the past eight years, his passion currently is NextJS/NodeJS, with knowledge of PHP as well. Jacob worked as a Lead Website Developer.

Brandon Kokoski - Project Advisor

Brandon has been in the DeFi space for over 2 years as a competent investor/advisor and has tallied up a lot of exposure to business relations, community building, and crypto-specific marketing strategy. Prior to cryptocurrency, Brandon accrued five years of business experience in the marketing and e-commerce industry. He volunteered in the Emergency Services industry, stemming from a passion for helping people find their best selves.

The CEO, Head of Nebra, Head of Energy, Legal Team, and Senior Development Consultant are yet to be revealed, sparking many questions and speculations as to who else is behind Dione; a project with the most potential seen throughout this past year and a slow trickle of exciting releases.

What to look for in the upcoming quarters

The delivery of the blockchain will be broken down into two phases: Blockchain V1 and Blockchain V2. The Dione team has reported that sometime in 2023, V1 of their Layer 1 blockchain will be delivered and launched. This delivery will be broken down into 2 additional phases, what Dione Protocol calls Orbit 3 and Orbit 4. These phases have yet to be released and present an opportunity that has not been witnessed in years.

Any new project in this space lives or dies through its willingness to collaborate and facilitate delivery. This is emerging as a key difference between the short-lived 'hype-coins' versus the projects with real utility, and Dione is a prime example of the latter. Tracking timelines from their launch, Dione has proven to be punctual at each milestone. Tracking who supports Dione through social media, Dione has proven to be a fan favorite. Checking in on their community via Twitter and Telegram, Dione has a passionate community of "Zionists" that has displayed perseverance, commitment, and support. The past development, execution, and planned delivery of a V1 Layer 1 blockchain powered by renewable energy are the reasons experts believe Dione is on the path to success.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-kokoski-9b3761190/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanarriaga/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-smith-9a0462122/

Media Contact:

Contact name: Brandon Kokoski

Company: Dione Protocol LLC

Email: marketing@dioneprotocol.com

City: Toronto

Country: Canada

Website: https://www.dioneprotocol.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/151359
On December 29, 2022, Ambassador Zhang Jianwei met with Kuwaiti Minister of Justice, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Minister of State for Integrity Promotion Affairs Abdulaziz Al-Majed. The two sides exchanged opinions on judicial cooperation between the two countries.

Ambassador Zhang briefed Abdulaziz on the 20th CPC National Congress, the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-GCC Summit, and the meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the summit, saying that the recent meeting between President Xi Jinping and Crown Prince Mishal was productive with important common understandings reached between the two sides, including enhancing bilateral cooperation in various fields, which will provide strategic guidance for future development of China-Kuwait relationship. The Chinese government respects and protects peoples freedom of religion, treats all ethnic groups and religions equally, and ensures the freedom of religious belief among Muslims in China in accordance with law, stressed Ambassador Zhang. It was made clear at the 20th CPC National Congress that China will continue to follow the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, uphold the law-based governance of the country and advance the rule of law in China. China will take the opportunity of the successful first China-Arab States Summit and the China-GCC Summit to strengthen judicial cooperation and exchanges of state governance experience with the Kuwaiti side and promote exchanges and dialogue between the Chinese and Islamic civilizations, so that our journey of mutual learning and wide-ranging cooperation will continue.

For his part, Abdulaziz said that the meeting between leaders of Kuwait and China and the successful conclusion of the first China-Arab States Summit and the China-GCC Summit will create new opportunities for us to scale up cooperation, adding that Kuwait is ready to deepen cooperation with China in justice, inter-civilizational dialogue and other domains, so as to elevate Kuwait-China relations to a new height.
On the evening of November 16 local time, President Xi Jinping held talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali. The two presidents reached the important consensus of jointly building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future and agreed to take the tenth anniversary of the establishment of comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries next year as an opportunity to open up new prospects for high-level cooperation.

President Xi and President Widodo first watched the operational trial of the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway through video link and a video presentation on the achievements of China-Indonesia cooperation.

The two presidents heard the briefing on the progress of the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway. The Chinese and Indonesian drivers of the trial train each reported that the train was ready.

The two presidents gave the command, Begin. The dashing brand-new trial train slowly pulled out of Tegalluar station and gathered speed. The venue burst into applause.

The Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway is the first high-speed railway in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Once put into operation, it will reduce travel time from Jakarta to Bandung from the current more than three hours to 40 minutes.

The two heads of state then held talks.

President Xi congratulated Indonesia on hosting a successful G20 summit. He said that China-Indonesia cooperation has delivered tangible results, which have not only benefited the two peoples, but also had a positive impact on the region and the world at large. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) identified the central task of the CPC on the new journey in the new era. Indonesia is also making faster progress towards realizing Vision Indonesia 2045 set for the countrys centennial. China is ready to join hands with Indonesia for the two countries to be partners and companions and support each other on the journeys ahead.

President Xi noted that China stands ready to keep forging synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and Indonesias Global Maritime Fulcrum and bring about the early completion and operation of the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway. The two sides will continue to advance the development of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor and the Two Countries, Twin Parks to elevate bilateral cooperation to a higher level. China will continue to support Indonesia in building a regional vaccine production center, and advance the joint research and development of vaccines. We welcome more competitive products from Indonesia to enter China. We will continue to encourage outstanding Chinese companies to participate in major infrastructure construction projects in Indonesia, take part in the development of Indonesias new capital and the North Kalimantan Industrial Park, and expand cooperation in digital economy, green development and other areas.

President Xi underscored that as representatives of major developing countries and emerging markets, China and Indonesia must uphold true multilateralism, focus on key areas such as poverty alleviation, food security and development-oriented financing, build signature projects of the Global Development Initiative, contribute to stronger, greener and healthier global development, and foster a more just and equitable global governance system. China supports Indonesias ASEAN rotating Chairmanship next year and efforts to focus on development and cooperation, foster a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home in the region, and build an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

President Joko Widodo said he would like to once again congratulate President Xi in person on his reelection as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. Just now, he and President Xi jointly witnessed the operational trial of the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, a symbol of the strategic cooperation between the two countries. Indonesia is ready to work with China and make every effort to ensure that the railway will be put into operation next year as scheduled. Indonesia is happy with and thanks China for bilateral cooperation in such areas as the research, development and production of COVID vaccines, and is ready to further strengthen medical and health cooperation with China. Indonesia will work with China for the success of major projects including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor, the Two Countries, Twin Parks, and the North Kalimantan Industrial Park. He hoped that the two sides will deepen strategic cooperation and practical cooperation, and jointly build a China-Indonesia community with a shared future. Indonesia is ready to actively promote the growth of friendly and cooperative relations between ASEAN and China.

The two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of a Plan of Action for Strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of Indonesia (2022-2026), a cooperation plan regarding the Belt and Road Initiative, and cooperation documents covering such areas as economy and trade, digital economy, vocational training and medicinal plants.

The two sides issued the Joint Statement between the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of Indonesia.

Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi and He Lifeng, among others, were present at those events.
On the afternoon of 17 November local time, President Xi Jinping met with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. in Bangkok, Thailand.

President Xi noted that China always views its relations with the Philippines from a strategic height. During their phone call in May, the two leaders reached a series of important consensus on growing bilateral ties in the new era and identified agriculture, infrastructure, energy and people-to-people exchanges as four priority areas of cooperation. The two sides need to create highlights in cooperation and enhance the quality of cooperation to the benefit of their peoples. China will work with the Philippines to carry forward their friendship and cooperation, commit to national development and rejuvenation, and write a new chapter in China-Philippines friendship.

President Xi underscored Chinas readiness to maintain regular communication with the Philippines and to continue to accommodate its concerns. The two sides need to further deepen the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Philippines Build, Better, More program, ensure the success of the Davao-Samal Bridge project, explore cooperation on Two Countries, Twin Parks, and strengthen cooperation on clean energy, education, and public health. China is willing to import more quality agricultural and sideline products from the Philippines. The two sides need to take more concrete steps to increase people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cement public support for China-Philippines friendship. On the South China Sea, the two sides must stick to friendly consultation and handle differences and disputes properly. As two developing countries in Asia, China and the Philippines need to keep strategic independence, uphold peace, openness and inclusiveness, and stay the course of regional cooperation. They should work together to reject unilateralism and acts of bullying, defend fairness and justice, and safeguard peace and stability in the region.

President Marcos Jr. once again extended congratulations on the success of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and on President Xi Jinpings re-election as the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. He noted that this brings greater stability not only to the future development of China but also to the region and the world. The Philippines and China share a millennium-long history of friendly exchanges, and bilateral cooperation across the board has made steady progress since the establishment of diplomatic ties. China has made important contributions to the national development of the Philippines by giving support and assistance. Mutual trust between the two countries is being increasingly strengthened. The Philippines looks forward to working with China to unleash potentials and expand cooperation in such areas as infrastructure, energy, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges, in an effort to build a more robust and strong bilateral relationship. Marcos Jr. stressed his consistent view that relations between the two countries should not be defined by maritime issues and that both sides may further enhance communication in this regard. The Philippines will continue to adhere to the One-China policy, uphold the principle of peace, stay committed to an independent foreign policy, and will not take sides. The Philippines is ready to engage in active consultations with China and find ways to advance the joint exploration of maritime oil and gas resources.

Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi and He Lifeng were present at the meeting.
On December 19, 2022, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a video meeting with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna.

Wang Yi said that the past year has witnessed the intertwined forces of changes and turbulence in the international situation, with geopolitical tensions on the rise and the global economy under mounting downward pressure. Thanks to the strategic guidance of the two heads of state and the joint efforts of both sides, China-France relations have withstood the test of changes and turbulence, maintained overall stability, and showed positive growth momentum. The successful meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Emmanuel Macron in Bali not long ago has enhanced mutual understanding and mutual trust, and expanded consensus and cooperation. China is ready to work with France to maintain close high-level exchanges, and strengthen planning and design to enhance the stability and predictability of China-France relations. Wang noted that it is important to deepen practical cooperation in economy, trade, agriculture, and aviation, among others, tap the potential of cooperation in such fields as green energy, medicine and health, and scientific and technological innovation, and hold a new round of China-France high-level dialogue on people-to-people exchanges at an early date, so as to promote greater development of China-France comprehensive strategic partnership in the new year.

Wang Yi said that China attaches importance to France's status as a core major country in the European Union (EU), and appreciates France's commitment to the strategic autonomy of the EU. China is ready to work with France to strengthen strategic communication, make China and Frances voices heard on global challenges and regional hotspot issues, and demonstrate the high-level nature of China-France comprehensive strategic partnership, so as to inject new impetus into the practical cooperation between the two sides, and contribute to the sound development of China-EU relations and world and regional peace and stability.

Wang Yi stressed that as the COVID-19 pandemic enters a new stage, China will continue to act on the philosophy of putting people and their lives front and center, take well-coordinated steps to balance COVID response and economic and social development, and continuously improve and recalibrate COVID response measures to facilitate cross-border flow of people. China's economic outlook remains good, and its massive market potential will be unleashed at a faster pace, which will bring greater opportunities to France and other countries.

Colonna said that France is ready to work with China to make good preparations for high-level exchanges between the two sides in the next stage, draw up roadmaps for cooperation, and consolidate and deepen France-China comprehensive strategic partnership which has maintained sound momentum of growth. She said that France is optimistic about, and ready to help China advance, its modernization drive. France, which has also gone through several waves of COVID-19 outbreaks, appreciates China's new measures to tackle the pandemic, and expects to reactivate cultural and people-to-people exchanges with China and gradually restore the normal cross-border travel between the two sides. France speaks highly of China's role as the president of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), and its contributions to COP15's major success. France will continue to strengthen multilateral coordination with China to jointly tackle global challenges.

The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine, the nuclear issue on Korean Peninsula, among others.
On January 12, 2023 local time, President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Libreville.

Qin Gang first conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to President Bongo. He said that the China-Gabon friendship, which was jointly forged by the older generation of leaders of the two countries, has stood various tests and remained rock-solid. China and Gabon have firmly supported each other in safeguarding their respective core interests and major concerns, upholding basic norms governing international relations, and defending international fairness and justice. China is ready to work with Gabon to implement the important common understandings reached between the two heads of state, consolidate strategic mutual trust, and expand pragmatic cooperation, so as to elevate the China-Gabon comprehensive cooperative partnership to higher levels.

Qin Gang briefed President Bongo on the essential requirements and distinct features of Chinese modernization. He stressed that China will continuously support Gabon in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions, increase experience sharing on state governance, seek greater synergy between development strategies, pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and help Gabon advance the "Gabon Emergent" strategic plan, so as to realize win-win cooperation and common development.

Bongo asked Qin Gang to convey his best wishes to President Xi Jinping, and expressed heartfelt appreciation to the Chinese side for its all-round and strong support for Gabon's economic and social development. He said that the Gabon-China friendship had been upgraded as the two sides worked to promote common development and safeguard common interests. Gabon highly endorses China's development approach, and expects to deepen cooperation to bring more benefits to the two peoples. Gabon appreciates the fact that China speaks up for justice in the international community and fulfills its responsibilities as a major country. He said that Gabon will always be a trustworthy friend of China, and expressed readiness to strengthen coordination and collaboration with the Chinese side to jointly safeguard the legitimate interests of developing countries and work for a greater say of African countries in international governance.

During his visit to Gabon, Qin Gang also held talks with Gabonese Foreign Minister Pacome Moubelet-Boubeya. The two sides said that China and Gabon will continue to firmly support each other, further tap the potential for cooperation, and forge more cooperation highlights.
David from Texas in need of advice DESPERATELY

Would like to start by thanking everyone in advance for their time in reading and replying to this as I understand that time is valuable. Im super new here so please excuse any poor manners (and or typos). Im a single father of two and very much a regular old blue collar guy. Dont have a lot but what I do is mine, I try to live simple and keep God first. I live in a small town in centra Texas called Madisonville.

Recently my 06 F-150 4x4 had a catastrophic failure of the engine. I fully plan on having the engine replaced when time and finances allow (gonna have to save up). In the mean time I have the opportunity of buying a 99 F-350 Crew cab from a local man I know w 247,000 miles on it (thats all I know about it other than the radiator has been replaced and the heater coil has been by-passed due to failure) Im aware of the triton spark plug problems and from what Ive read (here on the forum) I believe they also have manifold bolt issues. Really hoping and praying someone could advise me on how to properly check this truck out and make an informed decision before spending my last few bucks on it. Not gonna be a highway driver or long haul truck. Just around my small town truck, drop the kids off at school head to the ranch and back home. Any and all advise is greatly appreciated.



proud to be a ford guy
In the span of a day, sometime between April 7 and April 8 last year, in one of Brownsville's tonier residential neighborhoods, a stretch of curb changed colors without warning.

Now a local man  whose home does not front the aforementioned street  faces a charge of criminal mischief. As a felony. A trial is set for February.

An observant motorist may sense the color somewhat off the norm for a no-parking zone, more lipstick than fire engine red.

A more observant pedestrian may notice it's not the neatest of paint jobs.

Asked about its sudden appearance, a couple who lives nearby said they can't talk to the media because they're witnesses for the prosecution. But, the man added, it's a wild story.

"Only in Brownsville," he said, as he retreated inside.

To the grand jury

The city received "multiple" complaints when the red curb made its debut on Butte Street at the corner of North Avenue, Brownsville City Administrator Scott McDowell said. They wanted to know if it was done at the city's direction.

It was not.

"Public Works Superintendent Karl Frink and I investigated the complaints and contacted the Sheriffs Office since the curb painting was not authorized," he said by email.

The Linn County District Attorney's Office initially filed the case in July as a misdemeanor at Brownsville Municipal Court, which has since merged with the Justice Court in Lebanon. The red curb defendant did make an appearance in Brownsville, McDowell said. It may have even been among that court's last sessions.

Misdemeanors are as serious a criminal offense heard in those courts.

But in November, a grand jury upgraded the charge to a felony, and the case moved to Circuit Court in Albany. Other court documents identify the city of Brownsville as the victim of the alleged crime.

Reads the charging document, the accused:

did unlawfully and with the intent to damage property, damage or destroy the curb of a roadway, the property of the city of Brownsville, having no right to do so ... contrary to the statues and against the peace and dignity of the state of Oregon.

In Oregon, the maximum sentence for criminal mischief in the first degree is up to five years in prison and fines of $125,000.

Rather than plead out, "the defendant in the case decided to pursue a trial," McDowell wrote. A jury trial is scheduled for two days in February.

That defendant is Allen Buzzard. He's not exactly a hardened criminal. His record shows only a traffic infraction, a violation of the basic speed rule, from 1999. Apparently, he fought that as well, because he was found not guilty.

"We're innocent until proven guilty by a competent court," Buzzard said in a phone interview.

Who is Allen Buzzard?

The now-retired instructor who taught technology and social studies at Sweet Home Junior High School is more gadfly than alleged hooligan. He would regularly attend Brownsville City Council meetings, opining on a variety of subjects, everything from the former transient tax rate which hurt his side hustle as an Airbnb super host to the bank with which the city should do business.

"Allen is a retired teacher. Shih-Lin is a nurse. We love to visit different countries, cultures, and people from the world over," reads his bio on Airbnb, where a "farm stay" he manages costs $270 a night. He touts his knowledge of all things "Stand By Me," the 1986 classic movie shot at several locations in town.

Close Jack Wenz competes in the 8-12 age group of the Stand By Me Day pie eating contest on Saturday, July 23 at Brownsville Pioneer Park. Kayla Buell points out where Jordan Buell should eat next in her pie at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. A large crowd gathered to cheer on competitors, who had three minutes to eat as much blueberry pie as they could stomach, at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Thomas Soto leans back as he eats a bite at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Before the pies were consumed at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022, a costume contest was held and judged by audience applause. Allen Snyder (center, clad in a white shirt) won the competition. Clinton Gregg holds up his empty pie plate at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Jack Wenz licks his lips after competing in the blueberry pie eating competition. Kate Leonard glances at her competitors at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Sophie Richardson placed second in the 8-12 age group competition at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Johnathan Nicholos competes in the adult category at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. A group gathers to cheer on Clinton Gregg. Sammy Wren prepares for his pie eating competition. ToniRae S Maez laughs as Thomas Soto picks up his plate with his teeth. Johnathan Nicholos glances up during the competition. Before the competition Ima Blueberry performed Stand by Me with the crowd singing along. Clinton Gregg emptied his pie from the plate before eating. Alan Wren takes a large bite. The audience cheers for their favorite costume. Each round had three minutes to eat as much of one pie as they could. Kayla Buell holds the hair of Jordan Buell while she competes. Competitors relax after their three minutes. Gallery: Stand by Me Day pie eating contest Jack Wenz competes in the 8-12 age group of the Stand By Me Day pie eating contest on Saturday, July 23 at Brownsville Pioneer Park. Kayla Buell points out where Jordan Buell should eat next in her pie at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. A large crowd gathered to cheer on competitors, who had three minutes to eat as much blueberry pie as they could stomach, at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Thomas Soto leans back as he eats a bite at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Before the pies were consumed at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022, a costume contest was held and judged by audience applause. Allen Snyder (center, clad in a white shirt) won the competition. Clinton Gregg holds up his empty pie plate at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Jack Wenz licks his lips after competing in the blueberry pie eating competition. Kate Leonard glances at her competitors at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Sophie Richardson placed second in the 8-12 age group competition at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Johnathan Nicholos competes in the adult category at Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on Saturday, July 23, 2022. A group gathers to cheer on Clinton Gregg. Sammy Wren prepares for his pie eating competition. ToniRae S Maez laughs as Thomas Soto picks up his plate with his teeth. Johnathan Nicholos glances up during the competition. Before the competition Ima Blueberry performed Stand by Me with the crowd singing along. Clinton Gregg emptied his pie from the plate before eating. Alan Wren takes a large bite. The audience cheers for their favorite costume. Each round had three minutes to eat as much of one pie as they could. Kayla Buell holds the hair of Jordan Buell while she competes. Competitors relax after their three minutes.

"I go around Brownsville picking up trash because I love this town," he said.

Buzzard has run for City Council three times  always placing just out of reach of victory  and served on the city's budget committee. In 2021, he applied to serve another term on that committee, as well as the Park Board, but the council selected other applicants.

A precipitating event

A 2018 collision between a pickup truck and a man in a wheelchair trying to cross Main Street moved Buzzard to advocate for safer streets, according to City Council minutes and the man himself.

By 2019, Buzzard was on a crusade to improve crosswalk safety. An Albany Democrat-Herald article from May that year reported that he informed councilors about a petition effort to collect signatures from those who want to see crosswalk improvements.

"Supporters want to work with Linn County to reduce speed limits near the city limits, repair and repaint crosswalks citywide and develop a program by which property developers financially support traffic-impact analysis studies," the paper wrote.

Buzzard said he and the accident victim  Ed Peterman, who has since passed  left believing "the decision had already been made" on city officials' part not to take action.

As late as October 2021, weeks after Peterman's death, Buzzard is recorded in city minutes complaining about speeding on city streets, though there's no talk of Butte Street among several mentioned.

The nexus between the 2018 accident and the Butte-North intersection is not clear. Buzzard said he needed to guard his comments about the case at hand.

"I'm preparing a vigorous defense," he vowed. "I'm prepared to go all the way to the Oregon Supreme Court" if necessary.

His lawyer  who Buzzard described as from the very best criminal defense firm in Benton County, a purposeful out-of-county choice  Corvallis-based Stephen Ensor, declined to comment.

Past conflicts

Buzzard's interactions with McDowell appear strained. In the same meeting in which Buzzard fretted about speeds, according to the Oct. 28, 2021, minutes, unpleasantries bubbled to the surface.

"Mr. Buzzard has made disparaging comments, such as calling Mr. McDowell a 'dictator' on public record," the minutes quote McDowell as saying.

That comment was relayed by a community member the prior meeting. She submitted a statement, typed but with many hand-written addenda, about how she was approached by Buzzard to run for council, to fight off the conservatives by pretending to be one.

Except the woman was a conservative. So, she gave the council a piece of her mind.

"Alan (sic) Buzzard said Scott is a dictator who's suspect because apparently Scott's kids go to Christian school," Veronica Christie wrote in a statement for the record.

According to the minutes, this is exactly how McDowell responded at the next meeting: "There have been many things said by Mr. Buzzard that are not accurate."

McDowell declined to speculate if enmity is motivating Buzzard to dig in his heels.

So why Butte Street?

Of all the streets accommodating both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, Butte Street at North Avenue would likely not make the average Brownsville resident's Top 5 most dangerous list.

Butte features sidewalks. It's 22 feet across, McDowell said.

"The street presents no hazard to the motoring public in my opinion," he wrote in an email.

Twenty-two feet seems gulf-like compared to the minimum proscribed in Neighborhood Street Design Guidelines posted by the state.

"Generally, on streets that carry less than 1,000 vehicles per day, a clear lane width of 12 to 14 feet is adequate for two-way traffic," the publication says.

The International Fire Code, on which Oregon bases its fire code, requires roads to have an unobstructed width of not less than 20 feet for fire department access.

Regardless, both standards are met on Butte. Buzzard was itching to explain more but held his tongue.

"I'm under a gag order by advice of my attorney," he said.

It is one intersection, however, that Buzzard must traverse daily to get about. He lives around the corner.

So how does one go about determining whether a curb should be red? McDowell said first the city would contact the Brownsville Rural Fire District because red curbs are used for fire and emergency vehicles.

There are some general guidelines, but the city may also consult with its engineer, McDowell said.

"Otherwise, it is based on volume of traffic, vision clearance and any other safety parameters that may be applicable to the given situation," he said.

Meanwhile, the Butte Street curb remains red despite its dubious origins.

"Council instructed staff to not return the curb to its original color until the case was finalized," McDowell said.

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The organization that puts on the annual Veterans Day parade in Albany went through a rocky transition of leadership in 2022  and is still reeling with internal conflicts following what all players agree was a fabulous parade.

A clash of personalities in various veterans groups has resulted in a power grab for leadership, complicated efforts to gain nonprofit status and sparked disagreement over what to do with excess funds.

Drawing thousands of people every year and claiming to be the largest veteran parade west of the Mississippi," the Linn County Veterans Day Parade is an event that requires a lot of planning and volunteers.

But after the last group that spearheaded the event in pre-pandemic days lost their tax-exempt status and dissolved, new parade organizers essentially started from scratch in 2022. Some community members fretted the 2022 parade wouldnt happen.

Despite a two-year hiatus and that rocky leadership transition, however, the Linn County Veterans Day Parade attracted thousands of people and thousands of dollars, drawing a surplus of about $20,000.

But success did not breed contentment.

In several meetings post-parade  Mid-Valley Media representatives were able to attend personally  event organizers disagreed what to do with the leftover funds. They also debated who was at fault for a delay in achieving nonprofit status for the new organization, and a power struggle for who would guide this year's parade unfolded.

At one point, a whole new organization was created, made up of mostly American Legion members from local Post 10. That group has since disbanded, and the American Legion has withdrawn from the Veterans Day Parade Committee.

The parade is now in the hands of a third group, though the 2022 head organizer has returned.

Its a mess. There is a lot of animosity on both sides, said Karen Force of the American Legion.

Excess cash

The parade committee, which operated in 2022 under the umbrella of the American Legion, included around 25 people, said Christine Ferguson, head organizer of the 2022 parade.

Flush with surplus funds following the event, Ferguson had hoped they could be dispersed to help disabled vets. That didn't sit well with others, though.

We started out with zero this year, and I can see no reason why we can do the same next year, Mark Lamberty, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 584, said, who also wanted to funnel the money to veteran groups that care for disabled vets.

Lamberty said he was upset that some American Legion members didn't even entertain the idea. He felt that veterans in the community were financially struggling, and this was a tangible way to help.

Ferguson believed the charitable move could set a precedent to help others in the community and give the parade an over-arching mission.

When the topic was raised at a Nov. 30 meeting, the motion to donate the excess funds was rescinded, led by American Legion members who favored stashing the funds in a separate account to earmark them for the next parade.

Because the funds were donated specifically to support the parade, they must only go toward the parade unless donors were told they may be directed elsewhere, said Milton Farley, who said he consulted the IRS website.

The pot of money would not be touched until it could be handed off to the new parade committee for the 2023 year, commander of the American Legion, David Solomon, said at the November meeting. A group trying to achieve nonprofit status would then have access to the funds.

But which group?

Conflict in leadership

The group that formed in early 2022 to organize the parade never made much headway in gaining the nonprofit status everyone agreed was needed.

By the time the parade was over, a new slate of officers was elected to launch the nonprofit that would spearhead the parade next year. Four out of five of them were affiliated with the American Legion, Lamberty said. As a representative of the VFW, he was the only nonmember.

These are the members of the second, short-lived committee in charge:

Milton Farley, a member of American Vets Post 1919 which meets at the American Legion, was to be president.

Lamberty was to be senior vice president.

Charlie McCarthy was to be vice president.

Al Severson, an American Legion member and the only organizer who stayed aboard from the parade committee's pre-pandemic days, was to be treasurer.

Solomon was to be secretary.

Solomon disputes Lamberty's contention that the latter was the only token non-American Legion member.

The members represented different veterans' groups, he said, such as the VFW and American Vets Post 1919. Some of them may be a part of the American Legion too, he said, but what was important was they represented various veterans' groups.

The Veterans Day parade should be made up of veterans, Solomon said.

Solomon was part of the first group that formed in early 2022, but he said at that time, it was difficult recruiting veteran volunteers. That's when Ferguson joined and assumed many leadership responsibilities.

But in the group's second iteration, Ferguson was not asked to join because the group was to be made of veterans, Solomon said, and she's not one.

Lamberty said he was unsure of why Ferguson was not asked to be a part of the 2023 parade as she had a year under her belt and did a terrific job.

Following the formation of the second group, in December, those who were involved in the original 2022 lineup, sans Solomon, held their own meeting and elected Ferguson as chair.

Robin Nygren, president of the Linn County Veterans Memorial Association, the group that puts on the annual memorial at Timber Linn Memorial Park, presented to Ferguson a challenge coin, a military tradition designed to show membership in an elite group.

It was her organizations way of showing gratitude, Nygren said. When Ferguson first reached out for support, her organization recognized her as someone that aligned with their mission, Nygren said.

For those of us who agreed to support her, we were fulfilling our promise, she said.

With two competing groups trying to organize this fall's parade, something had to give.

After a Wednesday Jan. 11 meeting, Farley announced that the second parade committee, mostly members of the American Legion, would not be going forward with creating the nonprofit. All paperwork would be destroyed.

When we first started the nonprofit to work under, there was a lot of disagreement over that," Farley said. "My reason for coming tonight is to let the committee know the five people I work with have decided not to do that.

Solomon, who was not at the Jan. 11 meeting, later said in a phone interview that the decision was ultimately based on a conflict of personalities.

Taking a step back

For the 2022 parade, the American Legion supplied the insurance, offered its facility for meetings, cars for dignitaries, pulled the permits, did the bookkeeping and provided food continuously at the end of the parade, Solomon said.

Solomon served as vice president, while two other American Legion members, including Force, held positions of leadership. But Force left early on, before the parade, because she felt the proper meeting procedures were not followed.

Now American Legion members hold no leadership in the parade committee. The Legion still would help, however, if asked, Solomon said.

The money remains in a completely separate bank account but still under American Legion control, Solomon added.

We will give it to the proper people according to IRS and guidelines, he said.

He wanted to do everything with close attention to the law and with proper documentation, so that the money would only be used for the parade, Solomon said.

"The parade in 2022 was the biggest and best Linn County has ever seen. And I'm hoping that it is just as big or bigger, Solomon said.

Going forward

The officers in charge of the 2023 Linn County Veterans Day Parade were made official in the Jan. 11 meeting. Ferguson will retain her position as chief organizer with the title of chair, while Kathy Baker will be treasurer; Jennifer Martin is the secretary.

None is a veteran, although Martin is the spouse of a vet.

Subcommittee positions are yet to be decided, and they will soon be in the works of pursuing nonprofit status, Ferguson said.

Despite the initial conflicts, Ferguson is confident that next year's parade will hit the streets and have more community participation than even the previous year.

Im really optimistic. Last year was a steep learning curve, and I learned a lot, she said. "This year I hope we have even more community participation outside Albany and get all of Linn County involved."

Ferguson's late husband did serve, she added. She said he suffered negative effects of Agent Orange and also from post-traumatic stress disorder. It is her experiences with him and other veterans that have impassioned her to the cause, she said.

Nygren said that she recognizes that Ferguson does not have much experience, but she had shown bravery, and her leadership matched the tenor of the parade, even if she's not a veteran..

This is a community-sponsored event, and that's what it has traditionally been, she said.

With community members involved, such as Linn County Commissioner Will Tucker and various other groups and veterans' organizations, Nygren believes the parade is in good hands.

The event is a treasured community event and at the end of the day, its about honoring veterans, Nygren said, many of whom she believes are still feeling the repercussions for their service  some physically, some mentally.

It's a beautiful way to honor veterans. It never really ends for them, she said. Even though there is disagreement, I think it comes from a place where everyone can agree this is something we want in our community.

Solomon also believes the parade will continue to march on, whether he is behind the scenes or not.

Regardless of the conflicts, the community will not suffer and will get the best parade, Solomon said. There is a strong presence of love for this parade.

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Madam,

It is time for our countrys leaders to make intelligent decisions and take the necessary action to resolve the political crisis we are currently experiencing in the country. The nation is in an unprecedented state of insecurity. There is a fearful atmosphere prevailing in the country, both among members of the security forces and the general population. It is well-known that insecurity is one of the biggest obstacles that prevent any country from progressing. It is impossible for a reputable investor to invest in a country that is unstable. In the event the political situation within the country does not improve, there is a possibility that a number of companies may look to relocate to safer shores. Our country's economy will decline as a result of this. In a country with the highest unemployment rate, particularly among young people, the unemployment rate will rise even further.

As a liSwati, I am particularly heartbroken by the current state of affairs in our country. Several sectors, including transport, education and health, are being adversely affected as the country's political situation continues to deteriorate. In the past, when we encountered problems, we would sit down and have a peaceful dialogue to find a solution that would work for everyone. Around the world, it was widely known that our national fabric was woven with peace. We were envied by every country for our peace and stability. Where have we lost that?

It would be a worthy new year's resolution for our leaders to reflect on the nations problems and then take wise steps to restore peace in the country.
Europe gears up to send Western tanks to Ukraine

International News Jan - 15 - 2023 , 11:38

The Western alliances response to Russias invasion of Ukraine received a shot in the arm this week as multiple European nations for the first time answered President Volodymyr Zelenskys longstanding call to supply modern battle tanks to Kyiv.

France, Poland and the United Kingdom have pledged to soon send tanks for the Ukrainian military to use in its efforts to protect itself from Russia. Finland is considering following suit.

Britain plans to send a dozen Challenger 2 tanks and additionally artillery systems as part of efforts to intensify support for Ukraine, Downing Street said. Zelensky thanked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners after the two leaders spoke by phone Saturday.

Speaking alongside Zelensky in the Ukrainian city of Lviv on Wednesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said he hoped tanks from a range of Western allies would soon sail through various routes to Ukraine and will be able to strengthen the defense of Ukraine.

The moves have piled pressure on Germany, which last week said it would transfer infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv but is yet to commit to sending tanks. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted that any such plan would need to be fully coordinated with the whole of the Western alliance, including the United States.

Western officials told CNN said that the decision by some countries but not others to send more tanks was part of a broader assessment of what was happening on the ground in Ukraine. NATO allies have spent recent weeks talking in detail about which countries are best placed to provide specific types of assistance, be it military equipment or money.

One senior Western diplomat suggested that more countries could increase their levels of military support in the coming weeks as the war enters a new phase, and a fresh Russian offensive could be just around the corner as the anniversary of the invasion approaches.

But Germanys support is seen as crucial. Thirteen European countries, including Poland and Finland, are in possession of modern German Leopard 2 tanks, which were introduced in 1979 and have been upgraded several times since, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

While any re-export of the tank by these nations would typically need approval from the German government, Berlin has suggested it would not block their transfer to Kyiv.

Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Thursday that Berlin would not stand in the way of other countries re-exporting Leopard tanks.

Germany should not stand in the way of other countries taking decisions to support Ukraine, independent of which decisions Germany takes, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Thursday said on the sidelines of a Greens party meeting in Berlin.

German deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said Friday that it had not received an official request from Poland or Finland.

There is no question to which we would have to say no. But were saying right now that we are in a constant exchange about what is the right thing to do at this point in time and how we best support Ukraine, Hoffmann told reporters.

credit: CNN
MBABANE  Government has reiterated its statement that the national dialogue would have long taken place.

However, it became risky to hold it because of the foreign sponsored terrorists, who plowed the country into violence through the random killing of the national security services officers.

In a statement, government said the national dialogue would have taken place already but thwarted or disturbed by the destruction of both public and private properties, through arson attacks and many acts of intimidation and threats perpetrated by unknown people. The kingdom has clearly maintained one position on the question of dialogue, that is a national dialogue would have taken place already if it was not for the foreign sponsored terrorists, who plow the country into violence through the random killing of the national security services officers, destruction of both public and private properties through arson attacks and many other acts of intimidation and threats perpetrated by some unknown people, reads the statement issued by Alpheous Nxumalo, the Government Press Secretary.

non-binding oxymoronic

He said the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini would not be deterred by non-binding oxymoronic (contradictory, conflicting and paradoxical) reports and policies by other countries or non state actors in those particular countries. He said Eswatini had adopted an old aged foreign policy of non - interference in other nations affairs. This policy has worked well for emaswati in as far as diplomacy, partnership and cooperation are concerned, he said. The government press secretary said government would not endeavour to dignify or ratify contents reports from Human Rights Watch (HRW) and reportedly the ANC resolutions on certain political groups with a response. He said government still maintained the national dialogue would happen when the time was right to hold it. While the government welcomes relevant and informative questions, Nxumalo said it was not under any obligation or impression to entertain ill-advised and malicious interrogations, but any balanced approach would be always welcomed.

Paradoxically, he said the Human Rights Watch, in its annual report on Eswatini, did not mention the people who died because of terrorism and the properties that were stolen, vandalised or burnt.

The government spokesperson said the HRW was possibly quite oblivious to the Eswatini problems; hence it couldnt report that the dialogue could not take place because of the sinister elements that unleashed terror in the name of achieving the fictitious revelation they called winter revolution. He said government wished to thank emaSwati who refused to be used as canon fodders for the opportunistic elements. True, emaswati are and will be always welcome to constitutionally engage in dialogue for their political, social, academic and economic future, Nxumalo said.

ANC resolutions

Pertaining to the ANC resolutions, he said the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini did not deal with the ANC a political party, hence it was not much concerned about what type, scope and nature of relations it established with other political parties in the world. He said the Eswatini Government dealt with the Government of the Republic of South Africa, currently formed by the majority and the ruling party - the ANC. Therefore, he said government could only respond to resolutions taken by the Government of South Africa or at state level, not at the ruling party or political party level. He said the two States operated within a clearly crafted and functional diplomatic framework through which matters of mutual interest, concerns and benefits were handled.

special relationship

He said: It may suffice to mention quickly though that the ANC as a political party has a long-standing and special relationship with the Monarchy of the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Nxumalo added: the spirit of Ubuntu or buntfu can only detect and impose upon the current crop of the ANC leadership to preserve that kind of relationship. He said ancient wisdom has it in good authority that one should not damage or destroy the bridges between where he was today and from where he had been yesterday or where he came from. He then advised the ANC against being used as smokescreen by political enemies of the Kingdom of Eswatini through enacting or taking hostile resolutions on the country.

MSF differs

Sikelela Dlamini, the Secretary General (SG) of the Swaziland Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), said instability caused by parties in dispute was a facilitating factor for the dialogue.

He said the MSF, as non-partisan, called for the dialogue because of a violent situation on the ground. He said it was a lame excuse that the environment was not conducive for the national political dialogue. They are now running away from the issue, he said. The SG mentioned that the talks would not be held in an open area such as a stadium but in a controlled place with high level security. As the dialogue takes place, Dlamini presumed that the party, unknown as it were, would stop any element of violence. I dont think theres someone who can continue to cause violence at the time when the things he complains about are being discussed or given due attention, he said. He said the situation could become explosive if the dialogue was not held.

In its annual report, the Human Rights Watch said absolute monarchy in Eswatini continued to face waves of demonstrations that began in June 2021, against the drastically deteriorating human rights situation in the country, and the lack of democratic reforms. It is said that intervention in November 2021 by South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa, then-chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation, of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), resulted in King Mswati agreeing to a national dialogue facilitated by SADC.

dialogue format

The HRW stated that there had been no progress toward instituting the Sibaya or Peoples Parliament dialogue format proposed by the King. According to the organisation, the dialogue format has been rejected as undemocratic by the Multi-Stakeholder Forum, an umbrella body of political parties, churches, local businesses, student groups and civil society organisations.

Following the series of protests that began in June 2021, it is reported that authorities continued to use excessive force and the threat of violence against activists and critics, some of whom were assaulted and harassed. The organisation also reported that the Members of Parliament (MPs) who voiced support for the protests have also been targeted.

It said MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube have remained in custody since they were arrested in July 2021, after calling for democracy. It also said they were facing trumped-up charges of terrorism under the Suppression of Terrorism Act, and for the alleged murder of Siphosethu Mntshali and Thando Shongwe, who were knocked down and killed by a car in Mbabane during the June 2021 protests. Another former MP, Mduduzi Simelane, fled to South Africa, following weeks in hiding, after the police issued a warrant for his arrest in July 2021, the HRW reported. It quoted media reports to the effect that a militarised police unit of the King, the Operation Support Service Unit, has repeatedly used excessive force, including firing live bullets into crowds, to break up sunset rallies.

anti-monarchy campaign

It went on to say that the rallies were a part of an anti-monarchy campaign tagged Turn Up the Heat organised since March by the Communist Party of Swaziland. In February, the authorities detained, and allegedly tortured student union leaders, according to media reports, following protests by university students demanding scholarships and refund of hostels fees unused during the Covid-19 lockdowns. It is reported that riot police in April fired tear gas and evicted protesting students from university campuses in Mbabane and Manzini. Concerning the media, the Human Rights Watch said Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini published an order in July 2020, declaring South African-based online publication, Swaziland News, and its editor, Zweli Martin Dlamini, terrorist entities. He made the order on the recommendation of the Attorney General, Sifiso Khumalo, who accused Dlamini of publishing articles that instigated violence, the burning of public and state property, the seizure of state power and the overthrow of lawful government.
Ghana to begin tracking its natural capital next year

Kweku Zurek Jan - 15 - 2023 , 10:10

Ghana will from next year begin tracking and publishing data on its natural capital, thanks to a two-day training workshop organised by the Ghana Statistical Service in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Ministry of Environment Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the United Nations Environment Program-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).

The inception workshop on Capacity Building on Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) for Sustainable Development and Decision Making opened on January 12, 2022, in Accra.

It was held to provide participants with a methodology and procedures to compile and publish a Natural Capital Account, which is crucial in measuring a country's wealth and sustainable development. Funded by the United Kingdom Darwin Initiative, it will be completed in March 2024.

The project will be implemented using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) framework.

The SEEA EA is a statistical standard to organise information on the state of ecosystems and the services they deliver to the economy and society. It has been produced under the auspices of the United Nations Statistics Division to complement the System of National Accounts and was adopted as an international statistical standard in 2021.

In an interview on the sidelines of the workshop, Edward Esuo Afram of the GSS said NCA would enable his outfit to produce Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures which would take into account natural resources.

He said this would enable the country to account for how much its natural resources contribute to its GDP and generate policies to safeguard the use of its natural resources.

In his speech, the CEO of CSIR-Technology Development and Transfer Centre, Dr. George Owusu Essegbey, emphasized the importance of natural capital accounting in the fight against illegal mining, which he said was causing enormous environmental damage to the nation.

He also highlighted the significance of natural capital accounting in the context of the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Kunming-Montreal Agreement, which was adopted by governments in December 2022.

Dr. Essegbey mentioned the efforts made in the past in this regard, such as the CONNECT Project, which aimed at Mainstreaming Biodiversity information at the heart of decision-making in Ghana, and the research estimates the cost of reclamation of lands and restoration of water bodies in the Western Region to be $250 million.

He also commended the Ghana Statistical Service for boldly taking the leadership position in the implementation of the Natural Capital Accounting project in Ghana.

He said: "Natural capital accounting is very important for every country that seriously wants to achieve sustainable exploitation of its natural resources. Costa Rica is a country that is cited for one of the best examples of strategizing for nature restoration. Between 1943 and 1983, Costa Rica lost about 50% of its rainforest resources. Currently, through the implementation of various national policies and strategies and with the collaboration of key stakeholders, Costa Rica has been able to halt the loss and restore 60% of its rainforests. It has one of the highest percentages of protected land - 26%. In 2019, the UN named Costa Rica the Champion of Earth for its efforts in climate change action and protecting nature.

"What Costa Rica has done is not beyond Ghana. A core pillar in emulating the Costa Rican example is generating the data for evidence-based planning in our management and exploitation of nature. The decision-makers in our relevant ministries and agencies and indeed at the Presidency must have the researched data and statistics pertaining to our biodiversity resources. In fact, there must be a genuine paradigm shift in our economic planning, from the over-reliance on purely economic and monetary information to the appreciation of the value of nature in its tangible and intangible dimensions".

For his part, the Principal Programmer Office, National Focal Point/Accra, Kwame Fredua said it had become increasingly evident to the government and the citizenry that reliable and timely data and information on the environment and natural capital was vital to inform these strategic actions and decisions at all levels.

He added that indicators such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had not adequately told the hidden stories of the growth process concerning social inclusion, the flow and stock of natural capital, the explicit and intrinsic costs of environmental degradation and the unsustainable exploitation of natural capital.

"Environmental Protection Agency, working with critical institutions like the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Ghana Statistical Service, and the Ministry of Finance, among others recognize the need to strengthen capacity in the valuation of natural capital and its use in development planning and policy decisions. This recognition and determination have brought us here today," he said.

"The EPA is confident in this partnership with the Darwin Project and the Ghana Statistical Service, and we expect that the set objectives of the Project will be realized".

The workshop brought together experts from various fields, including environmental scientists, economists, and statisticians, to discuss the importance of natural capital accounting and to learn about the latest methods and techniques for data collection and analysis.

"We are excited to be part of this initiative, which will give us a better understanding of our natural resources and how to use them sustainably," said one of the workshop attendees, an environmental scientist.
Parliament in retrospect: Unprecedented developments overshadow Third Meeting of Second Session of Eighth Parliament

Nana Konadu Agyeman Politics Jan - 14 - 2023 , 10:54

The Third Meeting of the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament was adjourned on December 21 last year amid unprecedented occurrences that played out right from inception of proceedings on October 25 till the last day.

Even before the House could commence its meeting, out of the blue some 86-plus Majority members of Parliament (MPs) initiated an agenda to push for the dismissal of the Finance Minister, a development that took place on the blind side of their leadership.

The dismissal chorus the MPs sang gained strength when the Minority Caucus hinted of its decision to impeach the minister yet lost the motion when the Majority abandoned them at the 11th hour during a vote on the censure motion.

Other developments were a ruling by the Speaker of Parliament to allow the plenary, not the Privileges Committee, to decide the fate of three absentee MPs as well as the approval of two Supreme Court nominees.

Demand for Finance Ministers dismissal

First, even before the House could commence the meeting on October 25 last year, the 86-plus Majority MPs held a press conference to call on President Akufo-Addo to remove the Finance Minister from office to restore confidence in the ailing economy.

The group had warned that it would not do business with government, including the hearing of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government, if the President failed to heed their call.

We are by this serving notice and indeed notice is being served now that if the President fails to act, we will not do business with him," the groups spokesperson, Andy Appiah-Kubi, said.

Minoritys demand

Not long after that press conference, the Minority Caucus also held a press conference to give a hint into the intention by the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, to move a motion for impeachment of the Minister of Finance.

The First Deputy Minority Whip, Ibrahim Ahmed, who addressed the media, said the move was based on the poor economic mismanagement, inconsistencies, non-performance and the lack of performing statutory obligations.

Speakers ruling on absentee MPs

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, hinted of his decision to give a ruling on the report of the three MPs who absented themselves from Parliament for 15 sittings without the permission in writing of the Speaker.

Delivering the ruling the following day based on the report submitted by the Privileges Committees that probed the three MPs, Mr Bagbin ruled that it was within the rights of the House to receive and consider the report of the Privileges Committee and make the final determination arising from its recommendations.

He said it was the plenary that had to consider the reasonability of the excuses given by the absentee MPs to the Privileges Committee for their absence from Parliament.

Delivering a ruling in respect of a preliminary objections raised by the Majority Leader to the report of the Privileges Committee presented for the decision of the House on October 26 last year, Mr Bagbin said he found the preliminary objection raised by Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu untenable.

It goes without saying that the preliminary objection of the Majority Leader to the admissibility of the motion for consideration of the report of the committee is hereby dismissed in limine, he said.

Why preliminary objection?

During the Second Meeting of the Second Session of the current Parliament on July 28, 2022, the Majority Leader raised the preliminary objection as to the listing of one motion on the Order Paper of that day.

The motion was for the adoption of the report of the Committee on Privileges on the alleged breach of article 97(1)(c) of the constitution.

The Majority Leader alluded that the motion should not have been listed on the Order Paper and thus same should be withdrawn, arguing that the determination of the committee was conclusive and same should not be subjected to the House in plenary for a debate and determination.

The Privileges Committee has presented its report and, in my considered opinion, based on the constitution and not sentiments, is that there should be that automaticity, once the committee makes a determination. I disagree that the decision should be taken by the House, he said.

Referred MPs

On April 5, 2022, on the conclusion of an attendance audit by the Table Office, based on a number of petitions, the Speaker referred the three absentee MPs to the Privileges Committee for their failure to attend Parliament without the permission in writing of the Speaker for 15 sitting days.

The MPs are the MP for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo; the MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, and the MP for Ayawaso Central, Henry Quartey.

They were referred by the Speaker to the Privileges Committee to explain reasons for their absence.

We wont support censure motion

Ahead of the day the Minority Leader was to move the censure motion on the floor on November 10, 2022, the Majority Caucus expressed its unwillingness to support the Minority Caucuss motion on the vote of censure to impeach the Minister of Finance.

They claimed the seven grounds of allegation against the minister were premised on falsehood and propaganda.

Ad hoc committee

The following dayNovember 11saw the Speaker referring the Minoritys motion on the vote of censorship against the Minister of Finance to an eight-member ad hoc committee to probe the allegations against the minister.

The committee investigated the veracity or otherwise of the allegations made by the Minority and afforded Mr Ofori-Atta the opportunity to put up his defence.
President Akufo-Addo attends Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week

Donald Ato Dapatem Politics Jan - 15 - 2023 , 11:19

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo left Accra on Saturday, January 14, 2023, for the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) is a global initiative championed by the UAE and its clean energy powerhouse Masdar to accelerate sustainable development and advance economic, social and environmental progress.

Established in 2008, ADSW brings together heads of state, policy makers, industry leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and youth  who all have a stake in the future of the planet  to discuss and engage on bold climate action and innovations that will ensure a more sustainable world for future generations.

President Akufo-Addo will depart Abu Dhabi on Thursday, January 19, 2022 for London for a six-day private visit.

The President was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway; Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh; Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor; Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, officials from the Presidency and Foreign Ministry.

President Akufo-Addo will return to Ghana on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, and, in his absence, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.
A team from University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany examined the various aspects of e-scooter associated injuries using one of the largest cohorts to date, and reported their findings and recommendations in an open-access paper in Scientific Reports.

E-scooter rentals became widely available in Hamburg starting in June 2019; since then, the authors reported, their emergency department has seen a sharp increase in the amount of e-scooter related injuries.

For their analysis, the authors screened the electronic patient records of emergency department admissions for e-scooter related injuries between June 2019 and December 2021. Patient demographic data, mechanism of injury, alcohol consumption, helmet usage, sustained injuries and utilized medical resources were recorded.

Overall, they found that:

268 patients (57% male) with a median age of 30.3 years were included; of those, 252 (94%) were e-scooter riders themselves, while 16 (6%) were involved in crashes associated with an e-scooter.

Patients in non-rider e-scooter crashes were either cyclists who collided with e-scooter riders or older pedestrians (median age 61.2 years) who tripped over parked e-scooters.

While e-scooter riders involved in a crash sustained an impact to the head or face in 58% of cases, those under the influence of alcohol fell on their head or face in 84% of cases. This resulted in a large amount of maxillofacial soft tissue lacerations and fractures.

Extremity fractures and dislocations were more often recorded for the upper extremities.

83 (33%) e-scooter injuries were sustained under the influence of alcohol. E-scooter crashes with riders who consumed alcohol were associated with more severe injuries, especially to the head and face.

E-scooter riders under the influence of alcohol were found to have a significantly higher risk of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) / intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) (29% vs. 8%, p

An impact to the head or face was recorded for 147 (58%) of all e-scooter riders. Two (1%) e-scooter riders wore a helmet.

This study comprises one of the largest cohorts of e-scooter associated injuries to date. Non-rider injuries, especially of the elderly who tripped over e-scooters, may possibly be prevented by considerate parking or designated parking areas. Alcohol consumption is established as a risk factor for more severe and especially injuries to the head and face regions. Therefore, enforcement of drunk driving laws for e-scooters is required and the usage of a helmet must be recommended. These measures could enhance the safety of e-scooters and increase their acceptance as a valuable means of urban transportation. Kleinertz et al.

Resources
PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Academy of Our Lady of Guam

Business hours 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday to Friday. For inquiries, email acad@aolg.edu.gu.

Registration is ongoing for school year 2022-2023. Applications are available online or at the business office. Visit aolg.edu.gu or call 671-477-8203 for more information.

Register as an AOLG alumnae at aolg.edu.gu.

Prayer requests for living or deceased can be made at aolg.edu.gu or call 671-477-8203.

Schedule for this week:

No classes today due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

No classes today due to Martin Luther King Junior Day, classes resume Jan. 17.

F.B Leon Guerrero Middle School

Breakfast meals will be served 12:30-1 p.m. starting Jan. 10.

COLLEGES

University of Guam

The University of Guam Green Growth Conservation Corps is recruiting 12 members to work during the five-month workforce development program focusing on renewable energy, zero waste, watershed restoration, endangered species preservation, agriculture, aquaculture, circular economy, invasive species removal and more.

Members could gain professional development opportunities, 10 continuing education units from UOGs Global Learning Engagement program for every 10 hours worked and a bi-weekly stipend of $1,300-1,500.

To apply, visit guamgreengrowth.org. Deadline Feb. 1.

SCHOLARSHIPS

AANAPISI

The Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution Scholarship Program is offering scholarships from one-time $2,500 awards to multi-year $5,000 awards to students attending APIA Scholars AANAPISI partner campuses, including Guam Community College. Eligibility requirements:

Be able to describe their ethnicity, heritage or ancestry to the countries, territories or lands in Asia or the Pacific Islands.

Be a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the United States. Citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau are eligible.

Enrolled as a full-time student in an undergraduate degree-seeking program during the Fall 2023 semester.

Completed the 2023-24 FAFSA application.

Deadline is Thursday. Awards are distributed in Fall 2023. For more information, go to apiascholars.org.
Hilton Guam Resort & Spa team and Guam Community College ProStart culinary team leaders and students, from left: General Manager Hiroki Sugie; Angelo Diaz; Commercial Director Sheila Baker; GCC Associate Dean Christine Sison; Pastry Chef Katie Lusk, acting director of food & beverage; Executive Chef Joel Aranas; Timothy La Rosa; Rosen Arcala; Alessandra Pagdilao; Cyle Sarmiento; Culinary Food Service Department Chair Kennylyn Miranda; Philip Callos; Karen Quitugua; Regine Olarte and Director of Finance Linh Carlson.
MBABANE  Government has not yet engaged a consultant to carry out the much-anticipated review of salaries for civil servants.

This is despite that in November 2022 the Ministry of Public Service issued an expression of interest (EOI) for consultancy services to conduct the salary review exercise. The exercise is expected to cost E15 million, as announced by Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg in his budget speech back in February 2022. However, this publication understands that government failed to attract the interest of consultants to carry out the exercise, something that the Minister of Public Service, Mabulala Maseko, has described as odd. As a result of this lack of interest, the ministry has now issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the provision of the consultancy services to conduct the exercise.

first notice

Noteworthy is that in the first notice, government issued and EOI and in the second it issued an RFP. Explaining the difference between the two, Rosemary Gillespie, who has worked on thousands of tenders, bids and proposals to government, private and listed companies, says EOIs are used by government, large and listed companies to test the market, often to identify options for delivery of a future service or project. EOIs ask a series of questions about your companys skills, experience and an outline of how you would deliver the project or service. The main difference between an EOI and a formal request for tender or bid is that pricing is rarely asked for, she said. For RFPs, Gillespie says these are exactly like tenders; a company or government issues a Request for Proposal for a project, service or product that it needs.

proposal

Companies responding to a formal Request for Proposal are respondents. Just like RFTs (Requests for Tenders), RFPs can be very prescriptive about how the service, product or project needs to be delivered. At other times, though, even a formal RFT will ask for a proposal  that is, ideas about how the product, service or project can be delivered, she further explained. In the EOI that government issued in November 2022, it was stated that evaluation of applicants would follow the Public Procurement Regulations of 2020. Following this process, it is the intention to invite the short listed firms to provide proposals for the requested services, the notice stated. With the RFP, which government issued on Friday, January 13, 2023, it is stated that proposals would be evaluated on a quality and cost basis and the resulting contract would be a lump sum.

A similarity in the EOI and RFP issued by government is with regard to the requirements for the Team Lead, which reads: A high level of competency in the field of Management Sciences, with specialised training in any of the three key areas of the assignment, namely; job evaluation, job grading and salary structure development. He/she must have 10 years proven experience in leading similar projects. There is a difference though in the years of experience that is required; the latest RFP states that the team should be well capacitated in management services with at least seven years of involvement in organisational design and compensation, while the previously issued EOI required 10 years.

analytical

Just as the EOI, the RFP also requires the team to have strong analytical skills and report writing with experience in research, as well as be fluent in English and SiSwati and be able to work with and facilitate diverse stakeholder groups. Mabulala Maseko, the Minister of Public Service, when asked, as to what had necessitated the RFP advert yet an EOI had been issued last November, confirmed that no one responded to the initial advert. It was shocking to us and when we asked why that was the case, the consultants said they did not see the advert, he said. The minister said this was likely to cause a delay in the conclusion of the salary review, which normally takes 12 months. Had the consultant been engaged already, the process would have been expected to be concluded by the end of 2023, he said. This means that there is likelihood that the exercise could be completed in early 2024. However, the exercise can still be completed this year (2023) because the period is determined largely by the capacity of the consultant that has been engaged. If we engaged a large firm of consultants, then the exercise will be completed this year, he added.

enquiries

The minister referred further enquiries to Principal Secretary Sipho Tsabedze, who, however, could not be reached as he did not answer his mobile phone when called. It is worth noting that the salary review is expected to also address an outstanding grievance by junior police and Correctional Services officers that they were excluded from a salary restricting exercise that was carried out in 2014 to the benefit of only senior officers. The junior officers embarked on an unprecedented protect action and marched to the Prime Ministers Office as well as to the Public Service Ministry to demand implementation of the restructuring. Government reacted by giving the junior officers an offer to cushion their salaries by increasing them by four per cent. Although the officers initially rejected the offer, they eventually accepted it after government implemented the increase and deposited it into their accounts, saying those who did not want it were free to leave it there.

Meanwhile, Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General Lot Vilakati said that the latest advert was just a delaying tactic from the government. Vilakati said the government was supposed to make that advert after consulting with stakeholders. He further questioned why the government opted to bring in the second advert yet there was another one that was issued in November last year. Vilakati alleged government was simply wasting resources because there was no money to implement the exercise.

delaying

Its a delaying tactic to advertise and start the exercise after April until next year alleged Vilakati. The SNAT president further alleged government knew very well that the exercise would drag the whole 12 months. Vilakati said the salary review was needed this year but now the government wants to implement it next year (2024). On the other hand, National Public Services and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) President Oscar Nkambule said the advertisement was news to them as they had been ignored as key stakeholders. Nkambule said the exercise was a result of the stakeholders, not just the government. He said the terms of reference were drafted by the stakeholders and if there were challenges they should have communicated. Nkambule further mentioned that if the government had faced challenges on the first advert, she should have returned to the stakeholders. We do not believe all the companies did not have interest in the first advert, said Nkambule. It is expected that the salary review exercise will further increase the wage Bill.

alarming

Minister Rijkenberg stated in bis budget speech that the wage Bill soared at alarming rates for five years before the hiring freeze policy was implemented. The accelerated increase began in 2013/14 when the wage Bill increased by 13.5 per cent from E4 billion to E4.5 billion. It increased by a further 7.5 per cent to E4.8 billion in 2014/15, another 10.7 per cent in 2015/16 to reach E5.3 billion and then a further increase by 22.5 per cent to E6.5 billion in 2016/17 due to the salary review. In 2017/18 the wage Bill grew by 6.3 per cent to reach E6.9 billion.

Over the five years from 2013 there was a total growth of 61 per cent in the wage bill.
GVB celebrates 50th anniversary of sister city partnership with Taipei, charter flights to bring more than 700 travelers
After more than a week of heavy rain, Guam should start to see less wet weather and more sun within the next few days  just in time for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend.

Fortunately, that wet pattern is starting to break down  and were starting to see a little bit of more sunshine ... Weve had a lot more sun this morning than most of us have seen over the last week so that is the good news, said Landon Aydlett, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service Guam Forecast Office.

Practice caution

Although the heavy showers and gloomy weather may be clearing up, Aydlett said that people should still remain cautious as some rain is still expected.

So, a little brisk out there with the winds, but play it safe, especially if youre gonna be out in the water because we do have surf advisories still in effect and the small craft advisory in effect for Guam and the CNMI through this evening, said Aydlett. But if sea conditions dont subside as planned, those advisories could be extended a little while longer. So be safe  especially if you will be at the beach or in the water, or near the water the next couple of days for the holiday.

As the sun was already shining out on the beaches of the Gov. Joseph Flores Memorial Beach Park and Matapang Beach in Tumon, the high surf advisory report will remain in effect at least until Monday.

Tumon lifeguards

Despite the heavy rain the island experienced for the past week, residents and visitors were undeterred by potentially hazardous conditions and still came out to enjoy the islands beaches. While trained lifeguards were on duty, they did mention that with limited equipment on hand, lifeguard staff can be limited in performing some procedures.

We cant stop people from coming to the beach, said Ypao Beach lifeguard Miguel Viches, explaining that the only time lifeguards usually close the beaches is if thunder and lightning is visible.

The surf picks up, and then the current gets pretty hard here. So we try to do our best to let the locals know if its too rough out there. Dont go towards the reef or stay where you guys can stand, Viches said. And if the little kids can have their parent available with them at all times and stuff like that, it just really would help out a lot.

Viches said that in weather conditions like the island had last week, more lifeguards on duty as well as updated equipment would help make their job of water safety easier.

Prior to the pandemic, Matapang Beach Park lifeguard Michael Benito said that the lifeguards were able to have rescue jet skis and were able to go out further along the beach lines. However, that equipment is no longer available, which could hamper rescue efforts.

Right now, the way my protocol goes, if I see something thats getting dangerous, or it could lead into something dangerous, Im already calling on (Guam Fire Department), Benito said.
Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) recently celebrated three of its employees achieving the Certified Islamic Arbitrator and Expert (CIAE) certification.

The employees had successfully completed a training programme arranged by the International Islamic Centre for Reconciliation and Arbitration (IICRA). The employees participation in the programme comes as part of the banks efforts to investing in and developing its human capital.

The employees, Waleed Tameem, from Collections, Hamad Al Thawadi from the Managing Director & CEOs office, and Jassim Aqab, from Compliance were received by Abdulhakeem Alkhayyat, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of KFH  Bahrain in a recognition meeting. During the meeting, Alkhayyat commended the employees for their efforts in achieving the CIAE certification, on behalf of all KFH - Bahrains representatives.

Commercial arbitration

CIAE is a comprehensive, international programme covering all Shariaa, legal and practical aspects in Islamic finance transactions. The programme also focuses on several topics related to international commercial arbitration, including the concepts and practices of approved arbitration, the methods of dispute resolution in accordance with Shariaa regulations, the applications and methods of Islamic banking financing and trading, as well as the practical aspects of drafting documents, contracts, trade and insurance instruments in a Shariaa compliant manner.

Alkhayyat commented: At KFH - Bahrain, we continue to foster a supportive environment conducive to the growth and development of all our employees to further enhance their professional development and success. We continue to establish partnerships and initiatives that provide talent development opportunities, which is an essential element to our human capital development goals and organisational development.-- TradeArabia News Service
By William Schwartz | Published on 2023/01/14

Lee Hanee had not been an active force in South Korean popular culture in 2022, as she was pregnant and gave birth during that year. But the thirty-nine year old actress is well on her way to a comeback that begins with the release of "Phantom" on January 18th where she plays a credited leading role. In a recent interview, Lee Hanee remarked that working again felt like a form of cosplay because it's been so long. Nevertheless, Lee Hanee described herself as extremely happy.

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"Phantom" takes place in 1933, and deals with an anti-Japanese spy organization during the Korean Occupation and efforts to identify a spy at an isolated hotel. Lee Hanee plays the highborn daughter of a Korean family who works for the government's correspondence and cryptography departments. When asked to explain why she joined the project, Lee Hanee said there was no good reason not to as he character was good, director Lee Hae-yeong and her co-stars were all good.

Lee Hanee had especially high words of praise for Sol Kyung-gu, saying that working with him was an honor. Lee Hanee admitted to having doubts about herself as an actress, but claimed that looking at the people she was working with, it was hard to see herself as anything but a success. Lee Hanee mentioned that she often thinks of pride that she is an actress who can breathe the same space as Sol Kyung-gu.

Lee Hanee claimed that this hyping up of herself was highly necessary, as the two characters needed to feel like equals for the climax to be satisfying. In regard to the character played by Park So-dam, Lee Hanee made a cryptic statement about love and living for death rather than life which seemed design to obfuscate potential spoilers. This may also have been a reference to the thyroid cancer diagnosis Park So-dam received in December 2021 after filming for "Phantom" was complete.

Park So-dam has since recovered enough that she is now helping to promote "Phantom" in South Korea. Lee Hanee claimed that everyone was surprised to hear about Park So-dam's undergoing such a tough filming, and worried about her as the youngest lead credit. Lee Hanee also discussed her daughter, noting with surprise that she looked like a sweet potato when born and with relief that she looks more like her husband now, despite sharing Lee Hanee's distinctive smile.

Written by William Schwartz

___________

"Phantom" is directed by Lee Hae-yeong, and features Sol Kyung-gu, Lee Hanee, Park So-dam, Park Hae-soo, Kim Dong-hee, Seo Hyun-woo. Release date in Korea: 2023/01/18.
Beyon Cyber, part of the Beyon Group, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in DTS Solution, a leading regional Cyber Security Advisory, Consulting, and Engineering firm headquartered in Dubai.

The deal was signed by Beyon Chief Digital Growth Officer Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and DTS CEO Vahe Daghlian, during a ceremony which took place at the Beyon Campus in Hamala, Bahrain.

DTS Solution, established in 2011, is a leading cybersecurity provider, offering various advanced services and solutions to combat cybercrime and uplift compliance through its team of highly certified cybersecurity experts. Beyon Cyber is a cybersecurity provider operating the largest private sector CSOC (Cybersecurity Operations Centre) in Bahrain, and offering advanced end-to-end cybersecurity solutions, with managed services and advisory to organizations across Bahrain and the region.

The acquisition of DTS Solution will support Beyon Cybers strategic plans to expand its geographical footprint and portfolio of cybersecurity offerings, to ensure the delivery of industry leading cybersecurity products and services that address the challenging security needs.

Shaikh Mohamed said: This is an important milestone for Beyon Cyber that supports its vision of becoming a global cyber security player, and also represents a major step in Beyons wider regional expansion strategy.

The acquisition of DTS will enable Beyon Cyber to bring additional cybersecurity capabilities to its growing base of customers across the Middle East region and beyond.

Beyon Cyber CEO Dr Shaikh Khalid bin Daij Al Khalifa said: We are excited by this acquisition, as DTSs proven track record helps realise our ambition for regional expansion and brings world class expertise to our customers. Through our combined strength of over 60 cybersecurity experts, world leading technology partners, and unique managed services, our customers now have access to a wide range of cybersecurity services such as advisory and consultancy, security solutions, cyber defense services, OT security and FinTech security among others.

Daghlian, speaking following the signing, said: DTS Solution is delighted to join hands with Beyon Cyber through this transaction, which will see our unique cybersecurity value proposition reach a wider base of customers and new markets.

Our vision has always been to create value and deliver laser-focused cybersecurity services and solutions, helping our clients improve their risk posture and strengthen their defenses against cyber-attacks. We look forward to continuing with our journey, working with Beyon Cyber in serving the growing needs of the industry, which is experiencing a huge shift through digital transformation, in the region and further afield, he added.

The Beyon Group of companies is focused on creating an international, thriving, and diverse portfolio that spans across a variety of sectors, including financial services, IT Solutions, Govtech, cybersecurity and more. -TradeArabia News Service
ExxonMobil has reached an agreement with Bangchak Corporation to sell its interest in Esso Thailand that includes the Sriracha Refinery, select distribution terminals, and a network of Esso-branded retail stations, delivering on its commitment to strengthen value and overall competitiveness.

The transaction will be executed by ExxonMobils affiliate, ExxonMobil Asia Holdings, which holds 65.99 per cent interest in Esso Thailand.

Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Product Solutions, said: As we execute our strategy, ExxonMobil is focusing its investments on global production facilities to meet the worlds demand for lower-emissions fuels and high-performance products, while divesting assets where others see the potential for greater value. We appreciate the talent and determination of our colleagues in Thailand who have safely provided reliable product supply to the Thailand and Greater Mekong markets for more than 125 years, and we thank them for their dedicated service.

ExxonMobil will continue to supply the Thailand market with branded finished lubricants and chemical products through a new company to be formed. ExxonMobils upstream operations through its affiliate ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Khorat, and ExxonMobils Bangkok Global Business Center, which employs about 2,000 people, will not be impacted, according to the company.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023, subject to standard conditions and applicable legal requirements, including approval from regulatory authorities. TradeArabia News Service
Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company has unveiled a demonstration tyre composed of 90% sustainable-materials. This demonstration tyre has passed all applicable regulatory testing as well as Goodyears internal testing.

This demonstration tyre also tested to have lower rolling resistance when compared to the reference tyre, made with traditional materials. Lower rolling resistance means this demonstration tyre has the potential to offer better fuel savings and carbon footprint reduction.

In addition, after announcing the capability to demonstrate a 70% sustainable-material tyre in January 2022, Goodyear, working with its supply base, plans to introduce a tyre with up to 70% sustainable-material content in 2023 as a limited run.

Further collaboration

Bringing a 90% sustainable-material tyre to market will require further collaboration with the companys supply base to identify the scale necessary for these innovative materials to produce that specific tyre at high volumes.

We continue to make progress toward our goal of introducing the first 100% sustainable-material tyre in the industry by 2030, said Chris Helsel, senior vice president, global operations and chief technology officer.

The past year was a pivotal one toward achieving this goal. We researched new technologies, identified opportunities for further collaboration and utilised our teams tenacity to not only demonstrate our capabilities to produce a 90% sustainable-material tyre, but to also produce a tyre with up to 70% sustainable-material content this year. Our team continues to showcase its innovation and commitment to building a better future.

The shift to sustainable materials is evident in some of Goodyears current product lines. Today, eight product lines, and some racing tyres, include soybean oil. In addition, Goodyear has more than doubled its use of RHA silica in its product lines since 2018. With the introduction of a tyre with up to 70% sustainable-material content, Goodyear is demonstrating tangible commitment with in-market solutions to building a better future.-- TradeArabia News Service
Wizz Air, one of Europes fastest growing and globally most environmentally sustainable airline, has officially inaugurated two new connections from Saudi capital Riyadh to Budapest and Bucharest, the capitals of European nations of Hungary and Romania.

The new routes will be served twice a week - on Mondays and Fridays.

As a launch offer, Wizz Air is giving away tickets on Riyadh-Bucharest sector for prices starting as low as 24.99 ($26.73) and on Riyadh-Budapest sector at 44.99 ($48.1), said a statement from the top European carrier.

This comes close on the heels of Wizz Air's inaugural flights to the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam from Austria and Italy last month.

It is part of a line-up of 24 new routes to Saudi Arabia announced in recent months by Wizz Air, underpinning the airline's commitment to supporting the country's growing tourism sector by bringing more than 1 million passengers to the kingdom in the coming year, it added.

One of the leading European ultra-low-cost carriers, Wizz Air said it had started similar operations from the Saudi port city of Jeddah to the capitals of Hungary and Romania in addition to Italian capital Rome. Its debut flight from Jeddah International Airport took off to Bucharest on January 9, to Budapest on January 10 and Rome the next day. All these new routes will be served twice a week, it stated. The flights on Budapest - Jeddah sector will operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays with prices starting at (54.99 onwards); while Bucharest - Jeddah sector will be on Mondays and Fridays (24.99 onwards) and Rome - Jeddah on Wednesdays and Saturdays with prices starting from 74.99 onwards. With these flights, Wizz Air has kicked off 2023 operations on a grand scale, further boosting its presence in Saudi Arabia and bringing a new era of affordable, hassle-free and direct travel opportunities to Riyadh and Jeddah from the European capitals, it stated. The airline is currently operating 12 routes to the kingdom from its main hubs in Europe.

The airlines growing presence is in line with the Vision 2030 Programme, a strategic and ambitious goal to triple passenger traffic in Saudi Arabia in the next seven years, it added.

Wizz Air President Robert Carey stated: "It is with great pleasure that we kickstart 2023 inaugurating two new connections from Budapest Airport and Bucharest Airport to Riyadh in addition to the flights to Jeddah. These two routes will unlock an eclectic mix of travel opportunities between the European capitals and the kingdom, thus benefiting from the immense historical, artistic and cultural heritage that the Saudi Kingdom has to offer its visitors."

"Furthermore, with the two additional routes on top of the recently announced ones within our network to Saudi Arabia, Wizz Air once again confirms and strengthens its commitment to Saudi Vision 2030, where it keeps innovating and will carry forward the banner of low-cost flying for the benefit of Saudi residents and visitors and the country's diversifying economy. I am pleased to announce that we now fly from Riyadh to four different destinations in Europe," he added.

Wizz Air said it had last year signed a MoU with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia which was supported by the Air Connectivity Programme, a Ministry of Tourism initiative aimed at boosting the development of Saudi tourism sector.

It reflects a shared vision between the parties on the potential Wizz Air could bring to the kingdom with its incredibly low fares to stimulate tourist demand, thereby making a significant contribution to Saudi Arabias planned growth.

Saudi Tourism Authority CEO Fahd Hamidaddin said: Saudis partnership with Wizz Air continues to go from strength to strength. Already one of the largest partnerships in the world, the announcement of two new connections from Budapest and Bucharest to Riyadh ensures it will remain an exciting destination for Europeans to visit and explore."

"The announcement also re-affirms our commitment to an accessible and affordable Saudi experience," he added.

Air Connectivity Programme CEO Khalil Lamrabet: With the new flights, we are continuing to break new ground in Saudi-European travel. The opening of these new air routes is a result of the joint efforts of Wizz Air and the Saudi tourism and aviation ecosystems stakeholders."

"Working together as one, we are forging a new path forward to ensure that millions of travellers can enjoy the variety of experiences that both Riyadh and the rest of the kingdom have to offer. As the Saudi Air Connectivity Program, we are working closely with all stakeholders to support growth into the kingdoms booming tourism market and stimulate further inbound tourism through air connectivity, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Student Lael Pavlak assisting at the Friendship Center Food Pantry in North Adams.

Gabriel Abbott Memorial Student Recognized for Service Leadership

FLORIDA, Mass.  Lael Pavlak, an eighth grader from Gabriel Abbott Memorial School was recently selected as Florida's 2023 Project 351 Ambassador for her ethic of service and values of kindness, compassion, humility, and gratitude.

According to a press release, Project 351 is a non-profit organization that empowers a youth-led movement for change powered by an eighth-grade student representing every city and town in Massachusetts.

"Lael is a student that is always concerned about how she can help others. She was just a natural choice to be Project 351 ambassador," said Tim Rougeau, Lael's English and Social Studies teacher.

On Jan. 14, Pavlak will unite with more than 425 Ambassadors and Alumni mentors for Project 351's 13th annual Launch and Service Day in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & Coretta Scott King. Launch Day kicks-off 12 months of leadership development through unifying service, Alumni mentorship, and enrichment through Project 351's Service Leadership Academy.

Over their year's term, ambassadors develop the skills and confidence to mobilize schools and communities in four statewide service campaigns: Spring Service, benefitting Cradles and Crayons, Hope & Gratitude Walk benefiting nonprofits selected by Ambassadors; 9.11 Tribute Service with the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund; and Fall Service, which seeks to eradicate hunger through support of hundreds of hometown Food Pantries.

At the close of their service year, Ambassadors are invited to continue to hone skills and lead communities as a member of the Alumni Organization.

Launch Day will celebrate the Class of 2023 and honor the legacy of the Kings, with a tribute of the "The Embrace," the Commonwealth's first memorial to Dr. and Mrs. King. Highlights include a kick-off program at Faneuil Hall and an end-of-day celebration.

Ambassadors will dedicate the afternoon to high-impact service with 10 nonprofit organizations including La Colaborativa, Cradles to Crayons, Hope & Comfort, and the Wonderfund. United across 351 cities and towns, Ambassadors will address

issues including hunger, educational opportunity, childhood poverty, mental health and wellness, and care for military and veterans  impacting thousands of neighbors across Boston and the Commonwealth.

"The 35ONE generation is compassion-in-action. We're honored to welcome our 13th Class of leaders, dreamers, and doers," said Carolyn Casey, Project 351's Founder and Executive Director. "We are proud of their commitment to unite as the Class of 2023 to

build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead the change they wish to see in the world."

Since 2011, 4,492 Ambassadors have impacted more than 1.2 million neighbors through unifying statewide service.
Veteran Spotlight: John Harding Jr.

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  John Harding Jr. served his country with bravery and distinction as a corporal in the Marine Corps from 1963 to 1966 and in the Vietnam War.

Harding said he enjoyed his basic training at Camp Geiger, Marine Corps Base Lejeune.

"Boot camp was probably one of the best times for me ... had no idea what it was like to be a Marine and most people in my platoon were out of shape, I was in good shape," he said. "My commander was tough but a good guy. I excelled and made PFC [private first class]. I was proud as hell."

Harding's first assignment was with the grunts at Camp Pendleton in California. "I was originally supposed to go to Sea School but they sent me to Pendleton. Then I received orders to go to Okinawa, Japan," he said. "We did rigorous training every day. I loved Okinawa and the people treated us great."

His first tour was the Gulf of Tonkin aboard the aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge, where he was on duty for two months.

"Then the [expletive] really hit the fan in Da Nang. I was aboard the USS Lanahan. They gave us a presentation on what it would be like. It was a big shock to me," he continued. "Went to Hill (22) I was squad leader and an M60 machine gunner. We were supporting the air base at Da Nang. What really bothered me at first, was seeing those metal coffins  that stayed with me. I was on edge..when we got to Vietnam, all we did was search and destroy missions.

"The higher-ups ordered that we don't shoot at the enemy first, it made no sense, it really bothered me," he remembered.

When asked about the holidays Harding shot back quickly, "we never had any holidays ... we were always in foxholes."

Was he ever afraid? "If you said you were never afraid during war, you are lying. I had insomnia, if I got two hours

of sleep a night, that was a good night," he said. "One night I was so worn and fatigued ... my Marines stood by me though, I never lost a man," he said proudly.

Corp. Harding shared another powerful story of when his squad was lost on a search and destroy mission.

"All of a sudden, we were in a firefight with our own men  it was chaos. Our guys thought we were the [Viet Cong]. Our squad leader got hit in the chest, we had bullets hit the ground and the dirt flew up in my mouth. Somebody yelled out and said we were shooting at our own guys," he said. "It really affected me. We went back to camp and

I was in complete shock. I couldn't understand how guys could go out in battle, then come back and sleep like a baby."

Harding said the doctors sent him to a hospital in Guam where he kept pacing the floor.

"I didn't know anything about PTSD. I stayed in that hospital for seven months. There were three suicides, it was like 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.' One guy hung himself with his feet still on the ground" he recalled, shaken

by the memory. "PTSD really affected me. My own brother didn't recognize me when I came home. I had severe mental fatigue."

Thoughts on his service? "I have always been patriotic," he responded. "I love my country. My men knew I did my job and were proud of me."

Corp. John Harding Jr., thank you for your service to our great country and welcome home.
Kathmandu, Jan 15 (UNI) At least 68 people were killed on Sunday when a domestic flight crashed in Pokhara in Nepal, the country's Civil Aviation Authority said.

The Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to the tourist town of Pokhara crashed on landing before catching fire.

Local resident Deeveta Kal told the BBC news how she rushed to the crash site after seeing the aircraft plunge from the sky shortly after 11:00am local time (05:15 GMT).

"By the time I was there the crash site was already crowded. There was huge smoke coming from the flames of the plane. And then helicopters came over in no time," she said.

"The pilot tried his best to not hit civilisation or any home," Deevta Kal added. "There was a small space right beside the Seti River and the flight hit the ground in that small space."

The flight set out with 68 passengers on board, including at least 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members, according to BBC news.

According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the 15-year-old twin-engine ATR 72 stopped transmitting position data at 05:05 GMT and the last signal from the aircraft was received at 05:12.

Hundreds of Nepalese soldiers are involved in the operation at the crash site in the gorge of the Seti, just one and a half kilometres from the airport.

"We expect to recover more bodies," an army spokesman told media, saying the plane "has broken into pieces".

Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal called an emergency meeting of his cabinet and urged state agencies to work on rescue operations. A panel to investigate the cause of the crash has been set up.

Of the passengers, 53 are said to be Nepalese. There were five Indian, four Russians and two Koreans on the plane. There was also one passenger each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France among others.

Aviation accidents are not uncommon in Nepal, often due to its remote runways and sudden weather changes that can make for hazardous conditions.

A Tara Air plane crashed in May 2022 in the northern Nepalese district of Mustang, killing 22 people.

In early 2018, 51 people were killed when a US-Bangla flight travelling from Dhaka in Bangladesh caught fire as it landed in Kathmandu.

UNI XC GNK
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* The real estate startup that wants to profit from rising sea levels caused outrage * Dissolving the alleged sales launch: digital asset manager growney as the originator of the initiative * A previously underestimated climate protection measure: sustainable financial investment HAMBURG, Germany, Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In recent weeks, the real estate startup "THE RISE" sparked controversies: In the typical style of investment videos, its charming CEO advertised the ingeniously unscrupulous idea of selling parcels of land far from the coast, which might be by the sea soon  due to rising sea levels. YouTube ads, provocative social media posts, and billboards in Northern Germany ensured that the idea quickly became a heated topic. Disaster as a business model The media and climate activists were appalled: Are investors so unscrupulous as to make a profit on climate change? On the other hand, numerous enquiries poured in, expressing interest in the properties. What is now clear is that the company does not exist. The digital asset manager, growney, is behind the initiative. "In times of crisis, people try to invest their money safely - real estate is a top-rated one. In the process, sustainability is often ignored as a factor", says Thimm Blickensdorf from the growney executive board. In times of increasingly extreme climate protests the campaign creatively draws attention to the possibility of sustainable investment. "THE RISE" is now called "STOP THE RISE". The message: Everyone can contribute to climate protection  be it through donations, their own actions or sustainable investments. Hamburg-based creative agencies Philipp und Keuntje and fischerAppelt conceived and implemented the campaign. About growney growney is one of the largest digital asset managers in Germany. Founded in 2014 in Berlin, the FinTech company manages funds for private and corporate clients. growney has received several awards for its investment strategies, low costs and service. Press contacts growney GmbH Dirk Hempel +40 (0) 173 39 222 70 dirk.hempel@growney.de fischerAppelt, relations GmbH Louis Sternberg +49 (0)151 63 444 910 louis.sternberg@fischerappelt.de View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/financial-service-provider-growney-founds-fake-real-estate-company-in-germany-to-draw-attention-to-rising-sea-levels-301719388.html
If you thought that All Shark Tank India judges including Vineeta Singh, Ghazal Alagh, Anupam Mittal, Namita Thapar, Ashneer Grover Peyush Bansal and Amit Jain are making crores of money, this Linkedin user has burst the bubble for many of us. This post going viral on social media claims that apart from BoAt co-founder Aman Guta, all of the investors on the show are suffering huge losses.

Shark Tank India judges are drowning in losses

SonyLiv

Ankit Uttam, an Authorpreneur and Marketer, took to LinkedIn to revealed why Shark Tank India never worked for him, not even the first season, in comparison to the show's US counterpart.

He wrote, " In the US version of the show, every judge (Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, and Kevin O'Leary) is running businesses that actually turn a profit instead of riding on VC money or drowning in huge losses."



SonyTV

Also Read: Fan Tells Aman Gupta 'Shark Tank India Ko Indian Idol Mat Banana', BoAt Co-Founder Responds

As he dug deeper into the businesses of each shark starting from Season 1, here's what he found.

"Vineeta Singh's SUGAR Cosmetics reported a loss of INR 75 Cr in FY22 up from INR 21.1 Cr in the fiscal year FY21."

"Ghazal Alagh's Mamaearth for the first time since inception had posted a profit for FY22 at INR 14.44 Cr after suffering losses of Rs. 1,332 crore in FY21 and 428 crore in FY20. Also the company has reported a 4 crore net profit for the first half of FY23. So the company has just lately begun turning profitable. Also a recent Mint news report states that they are going for an IPO at a valuation figure of INR 24000 Cr. 24000 Crore when the profits are just 14 crore !!!!!! 

"BharatPe's total loss stood at Rs 5,594 crores in FY 2022. In FY 2021, the company had recorded a total loss of Rs 2,961 crore. Ashneer Grover was recently removed from the company so these losses will be also under his leadership since he was the CEO for the major part of the FY22.

"Anupam Mittal is the owner of brands like Shaadi. com, Makaan .com, Mauj Mobile. Except Shaadi other brands are either dead or not making enough money. Even Shaadi's financials are NOT known in public except one recent report about its future IPO that may or maynot arrive since one such attempt was also made in 2009.

"Peyush Bansal's Lenskart posted a consolidated loss of INR 102.3 Cr in FY22. Enough said!

"Namita Thapar is NOT the founder of her company Emcure Pharma. It's her father who started it and still is its CEO. So her credentials seem similar to that of Ananya Pandey in Bollywood. (Did somebody hear nepotism )

"Amit Jain's CarDekho posted losses of 246.5 crore in the financial year 2021-22.

"Aman Gupta's Boat is the only company that has been profitable since its inception."

The Linkedin user called Shark Tank India Ekta Kapoor's rendition of the more interesting US version of the show.

You can read his post here:

Also Read: 'Shark Tank Hai Ya Bigg Boss': Sharks Fighting For Deals To Create High-Voltage Drama Irks Fans

(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.)


In order to prevent more nationalities from requesting asylum in the United States, the United States announced that it would extend COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions, known as Title 42, to expel migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border back to Mexico.



The White House also announced that it would provide more legitimate entry points for people from those countries who wish to apply for immigration from abroad.



Why are immigrants barred from entering under COVID regulations?

In order to quickly send migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border back to Mexico or other countries, border agents are permitted to use Title 42, which was issued by U.S. health authorities at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Under Republican former President Donald Trump, whose administration sought to severely restrict both immigration, the order was put into effect. In order to stop the spread of COVID-19 in crowded detention settings, the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated at the time that it was necessary.

Reuters

The order has drawn criticism and opposition from some public health professionals, Democrats, and advocates who claim it illegally prevents migrants from requesting asylum and exposes them to dangers like kidnapping and assault in Mexico. Republican states have sued to keep the order in place while immigrant advocacy groups have sued to have it lifted. The legal battle is still ongoing.

Biden's handling of Title 42

Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden, who took office in January 2021, ran on a pledge to overturn Trump's restrictive immigration laws.

While working to lift some of Trump's restrictions, Biden left Title 42 in place for over a year, exempting unaccompanied minors but enabling the US to deport tens of thousands of migrants, including families.

Reuters

Record numbers of migrants have been apprehended trying to enter the United States from Mexico since Biden took office, posing both operational and political difficulties for his administration. Many people have repeatedly crossed into nearby Mexican border cities after being kicked out under Title 42.

And yet initially, only a few nationalitiesincluding Mexican citizens and immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvadorwere welcomed back. The expulsions were extended to include Venezuelans in October. Other nationalities have typically been permitted entry into the country to pursue their immigration cases, which has put a strain on some border cities like El Paso, Texas, where many migrants have recently arrived.

Why did the Supreme Court decide the Title 42 case?

AP

In April 2022, the CDC declared that Title 42 would be repealed because, in light of vaccines and other medical advancements, it was no longer necessary to control the spread of COVID-19. However, a federal judge in Louisiana overturned the decision following a legal challenge brought by a group of 20 Republican-led attorneys general from US states who claimed that increased migration would increase costs for their states.

On November 15, 2022, a judge in Washington, D.C., invalidated Title 42 in a separate lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other organisations on behalf of immigrant families who claim that the law hurt them. Title 42 was found to be in violation of federal regulatory law, but U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan postponed the decision's implementation date until December 21 to allow for preparations.

After the decision, a group of Republican-controlled U.S. states filed a request with the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the case and defend the continuation of Title 42.

AFP

The states argued that ending Title 42 would "cause an enormous disaster at the border" and leave them bearing the cost of services for new arrivals in a manner similar to that used in the Louisiana case. The policy should continue in effect while the case is being reviewed, the conservatively inclined Supreme Court ruled in December 2022.

Why does Biden want to broaden Title 42?

Following the Supreme Court decision, the Biden administration announced it would begin returning to Mexico under Title 42 migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti who had previously been permitted entry to the country to pursue their immigration cases. The action builds upon an October policy that started expelling Venezuelans while also allowing thousands of migrants from that nation to enter by air if they applied from abroad and could show they had a U.S. sponsor under a new "humanitarian parole" programme.

AFP

According to Biden's proposal, that programme would be expanded to include more nationalities and could accept 30,000 migrants per month from all four countries combined. People can apply to enter the country legally by air if they have a sponsor in the United States and fulfil certain requirements.

Prior to now, human rights organisations and immigrant advocates have criticised Title 42's expansion of the nationalities that can be expelled because they claim it no longer has a basis in public health and restricts the availability of asylum.
Singapore is famously known as the financial hub of the world and is also popular for its clean and hi-tech infrastructure. Along with being one of the most popular destinations for vacations, the country is also renowned for being highly densely populated.



Unsplash





Video Of Singapore Train Blinding The Windows Near Apartments Goes Viral

Singapore is one of the few countries where the privacy of a resident is given enough importance that they came up with an ingenious solution to avoid trains invading the space of many citizens who reside in apartments.



Since the country is so densely populated, metro rails pass through residential areas. These train tracks are high enough and close enough to give a clear view inside a persons house living in these apartments. To counter this invasion of privacy which can even lead to criminal activity, the country came up with the idea of automatic blinds.

These blinds are simply white screens that pull up at the trains windows whenever the train passes by a residential area. The idea is a genius stroke and has been taking over the internet, with a video of the same going viral. On Twitter, an account posted the video with the caption, "A train in Singapore with windows that automatically blind when passing residential blocks."







A train in Singapore with windows that automatically blind when passing residential blocks. pic.twitter.com/geGtxuKB4E  Fascinating Footage (@FascinateFlix) January 11, 2023

The Train Is Part Of The Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit

Unsplash

The train in the video is Singapores Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit, aka LRT. According to the Singapore Trains website SGTrains, "The smart misting glass windows of these trains are well-known over the Internet, with netizens intrigued by this innovative feature to protect the privacy of residents living adjacent to the LRT line."



On Twitter, the video met with compliments and criticism. One user wrote, "Just close your building window blinds at night. Problem solved."

Just close your building window blinds at night. Problem solved.  Don Dee (@Don_Dee_Real) January 11, 2023

Another user had doubts about the system, saying it was "Too good to believe."



While some simply lauded the innovation, Great. Very Aesthetic imaginative system. . Great indeed.



 raghavan Sunder72 (@r_sunder72) January 14, 2023





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A shared passion for medieval history, music, Man United, and Harry Potter books worked its magic for Rachel McCarthy and Trevor McCarthy.

Rachel, from Cork city, and Trevor, from Kilmallock, County Limerick, have lived in the brides native Togher for the past eight years and it was there they exchanged wedding vows, in October, in the Church of the Way of the Cross, in a Mass led by Fr John Walsh.

Agnieszka Stodolny, of Bracket Studio, was behind the lens, with the photoshoot continuing to their reception venue, at the Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork.

Rachel McCarthy and Trevor McCarthy with their wedding party

Rachels grandparents, Tom and Eileen McCarthy and Mary Lane, and Trevors grandmother, Peggy Sheedy, raised a glass to their future together, as did the mother of the bride, Catherine Lane-McCarthy, and Rachels father, Tom McCarthy, and the grooms father, Denis McCarthy. My mum Siobhan passed away in April 2020 but was lovingly remembered during the ceremony and reception, says Trevor.

Rachels friend Lynsey Blake was by her side as her maid of honour, as were her sisters, Sinead and Roisin McCarthy, as bridesmaids; and the couples daughters, Emily-Belle McCarthy (7) and Katie-Rose McCarthy (3), as flower girls.

Rachel and Trevor and their daughters Emily-Belle and Katie-Rose with the bride's family

As I had lost my mum during the pandemic, we felt that a small and tightknit family wedding was best for us  a day where we could reconnect with family and friends that we had not seen much because of the pandemic, celebrate our love for each other and our two little girls who would be at the very centre of the day, says the groom.

Rachel organised a remembrance table for those we loved who were no longer with us.

Sean Shiels was the best man, while Trevors brother Kieran McCarthy and brother-in-law Tomas McCarthy were the groomsmen.

Rachel and Trevor and their daughters Emily-Belle and Katie-Rose with the groom's family

It was Tomas who helped bring Rachel and Trevor together. I had already been friends with Tomas since 2008 from involvement in historical re-enactments, so when I moved to Cork to study archaeology in UCC in 2012 I was lucky to already have a readymade social circle, says Trevor.

Trevor McCarthy with Sean Shiels with Kieran McCarthy and Tomas McCarthy

Tomas is also a talented musician, adds the groom, who would regularly attend his gigs around Cork city as a student. And it was at one such performance, in 2013, in the Old Oak, Oliver Plunkett Street, that Rachel and Trevor started chatting. We discovered that we'd previously briefly met years before in 2009 in Charlesfort, Kinsale, at a re-enactment event for Heritage Week, adds Trevor.

It was over a shared interest in medieval history, music, politics, Man United and a thousand other little things that we initially struck up a deep friendship.

Rachel McCarthy with Lynsey Blake, Sinead and Roisin McCarthy

They almost got engaged during a romantic break in Edinburgh to celebrate a landmark birthday. Rachel had always wanted to visit Edinburgh, both the castle and the city, as it's the birthplace of the Harry Potter books, so it seemed like the perfect place to bring her for her 30th birthday, says Trevor.

It was here, on top of Edinburgh Castle, looking across the Firth of Forth, on Rachel's 30th, with my arms around her that I said, What will we do for dinner? I had missed my opportunity  I didn't forget or chicken out from nerves, it genuinely never occurred to me that I had inadvertently created the absolute perfect scenario in which to propose!

Trevor seized the chance when one cropped up again, at the Kinsale Hotel & Spa in June 2021: Kinsale was where we first met, many years before, and this was the perfect opportunity and one I was not going to miss a second time!

Rachel sourced her dream wedding dress, a Mori Lee design, in Vows, Blarney, Co Cork, and the groom and his party were dapper thanks to Morleys Suit Hire, Cork.

The newlyweds travelled in a vintage Daimler, supplied by Mercier Vintage Vehicles. Stalks and Stems Florist, Tramore Road, Cork City, created the floral arrangements.

My best man, groomsmen and close friends formed a guard of honour of crossed swords outside the church as we left  this was a nice nod to how we first met in Kinsale, says Trevor.

The newlyweds returned to Edinburgh for their honeymoon.

Rachel is a florist at Stalks and Stems Florist, Tramore Road, Cork, and Trevor is a horticulturist at Woodies DIY, Turners Cross, Cork.

Rachel McCarthy and Trevor McCarthy

If you would like your wedding featured, email eve.kelliher@examiner.ie
The arrival in Kerry this Tuesday of a glove which belonged to Padre Pio is like having an All-Ireland medal in your pocket, the parish priest leading devotions to the saint has said.

Padre Pio is venerated by Catholics for having healing powers. Known also as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, many miraculous healings have been attributed to him.

This fingerless glove is one he used to cover wounds on his hands while a priest in Italy before his death in 1968.

Padre Pio who was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

These wounds were known as stigmata and he also carried wounds on his feet and side, in an echo of wounds inflicted on Jesus Christ during the crucifixion.

Fr Mossie Brick has led calls for a Padre Pio relic for Castleisland, and he described the moment he heard from the National Shrine of St Pio as special.

When he rang and said we were getting the glove, it was an amazing message. Its really magical, he said.

It means, first of all, that its presence alone is like having an All-Ireland medal in your pocket, in a small parish.

"It means that glove is going to spread devotion to St Pio, it is going to enhance devotion to St Pio and is going to have his name revered.

The glove belonging to St Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, will arrive in the Church of Saints Stephen and John in Castleisland on Tuesday.

The parish already holds devotions to Padre Pio on the third Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm. This glove will now play a key role.

Amazing things have happened through these gloves, he said.

The real connection with the glove is what we call faith, if one doesnt have the faith, sure its only a glove. The faith is the connection with it really.

The glove is being delivered by the national director of the Padre Pio Apostolate in Ireland Fr Bryan Shortall.

We will be obligated to pass this back if ever devotions die out, Fr Brick said.

Pope John Paul II pictured at the canonisation ceremony of Padre Pio at the Vatican in 2002. File picture: Vincenzo Pinto/AP

You are obligated to pass this back, and then it is passed on. There is a massively long waiting list, we waited 16 years.

Fr Brick is hopeful the glove will draw parishioners and visitors to devotions.

Castleisland is very central, its only 12 miles from Abbeyfeale in West Limerick, and were not too far from the county bounds here into Cork, he said. People would have phenomenal devotion to this, and devotion or faith is important. He added:

The glove will always bring numbers. There should be a big crowd. Its as precious now as a Cork All-Ireland medal.

The relic is enclosed in glass for safety, and he would not say exactly where they will store it for fear of theft.

It does carry with it a massive responsibility, he said.

Fr Brick explained why the gloves are so closely associated with the saint, saying: They could find no physical or human reason for the stigmata.

Italian police officers wipe a statue of Padre Pio with handkerchiefs handed to them by the faithful in Messina, Sicily, in 2002 after the statue was reputed to have started weeping. File picture: Francesco Saya/AP

The church authorities decided he could never appear in public with those sores exposed so he wore fingerless gloves.

He was allowed to say Mass without the gloves, but otherwise he wore them.

The National Shrine of St Pio in Dublin contains authentic relics linked to the saint. These include Crusts of the Wounds of the Hands of St Pio and an authentic portion of a night shirt with his blood stains.
At least 68 people were killed on Sunday when a domestic flight crashed in Pokhara in Nepal, the country's Civil Aviation Authority said, in the worst air crash in three decades in the small Himalayan nation.

Hundreds of rescue workers were scouring the hillside where the Yeti Airlines flight, carrying 72 people from the capital Kathmandu, went down.

Officials late in the evening called off the search operations for the day, saying they will resume on Monday.

Local TV footage earlier showed rescue workers scrambling around broken sections of the aircraft. Some of the ground near the crash site was scorched, with licks of flames visible.

The weather had been clear and there was no immediate indication of what caused the crash.

The crash is Nepal's deadliest since 1992, the Aviation Safety Network database showed, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashed into a hillside upon approach to Kathmandu, killing all 167 people on board.

The plane made contact with the airport from Seti Gorge at 10:50 a.m. (05:05 Irish time), the aviation authority said in its statement. "Then it crashed."

Police official Ajay K.C. said rescue workers were having difficulty reaching the site in a gorge between two hills near the tourist town's airport.

"Half of the plane is on the hillside," said Arun Tamu, a local resident, who told Reuters he reached the site minutes after the plane went down. "The other half has fallen into the gorge of the Seti river."

A passenger plane with 72 people on board has crashed near Pokhara International Airport in Nepal (Ashish Puri/AP)

Khum Bahadur Chhetri said he watched from the roof of his house as the flight approached.

"I saw the plane trembling, moving left and right, and then suddenly its nose-dived and it went into the gorge," Chhetri told Reuters, adding that local residents took two passengers to a hospital.

The government has set up a panel to investigate the cause of the crash and it is expected to report within 45 days, the finance minister, Bishnu Paudel, told reporters.

Series of crashes

Nearly 350 people have died since 2000 in plane or helicopter crashes in Nepal - home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Everest - where sudden weather changes can make for hazardous conditions.

The European Union has banned Nepali airlines from its airspace since 2013, citing safety concerns.

Those on the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft included three infants and three children, the Civil Aviation Authority's statement said.

Passengers included five Indians, four Russians and one Irish, two South Korean, one Australian, one French and one Argentine national.

The journey to Pokhara, Nepal's second largest city tucked under the picturesque Annapurna mountain range, from the capital Kathmandu is one of the Himalayan country's most popular tourist routes, with many preferring a short flight instead of a six-hour-long drive through hilly roads.

Pokhara Airport spokesman Anup Joshi said the aircraft crashed as it approached the airport, adding that the "plane cruised at 12,500 feet and was on a normal descent." The weather on Sunday was clear.

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said on Twitter the Yeti Airlines aircraft was 15 years old and equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data. It added that the last signal from the transponder was received at 0512 GMT at an altitude of 2,875 feet above mean sea level.

Pokhara Airport is located at about 2,700-2,800 feet above mean sea level, according to FlightRadar24.

The ATR72 of European planemaker ATR is a widely used twin-engine turboprop plane manufactured by a joint venture of Airbus and Italy's Leonardo. Yeti Airlines has a fleet of six ATR72-500 planes, according to its website.

"ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer," the company said on Twitter.

Airbus and Leonardo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On its website, Yeti describes itself as a leading domestic carrier. Its fleet consists of six ATR 72-500s, including the one that crashed. It also owns Tara Air, and the two together offer the "widest network" in Nepal, the company says.

- Reuters
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
Facing a new opponent, will Cha Eun Woo and Kim Nam Gil be able to defeat the lust demon and fulfill their duties in protecting Lee Da Hee? Keep on reading to know what happened in "Island" Episode 6!

'Island' Episode 6: Yo Han Happy Reunites With Chan Hee

Yo Han finally meets his brother on a ship and discovers his living condition. He invites him over to where they're staying.

The priest gets emotional and excited to be reunited with Chan Hee.

Meanwhile, Van (Kim Nam Gil) meets up with Gong Tan (Sung Joon). He wants to fight him, but Gong Tan provokes him instead. He mentions Wonjeong/Won Mi Ho (Lee Da Hee) and tells the demon-slayer the reason he killed her eventually - both were betrayed and used.

While in the middle of the confrontation, Gong Tan's words about Wonjeong makes Van freeze.

At home, Yo Han invites his brother in. Won Mi Ho comes back and greets them. A flashback of Gong Tan encouraging Chan Hee to kill Wonjeong comes in mind, so he could finally be free and feel no pain.

Chan Hee Possessed by Lust Demon To Kill Won Mi Ho

Chan Hee then starts his mission and sneaks into Mi Ho's room. He tries to attack her, but Van interferes.

The young priest wakes up due to the noise and stops the demon-slayer from killing his brother. Chan Hee immediately escapes.

Due to what he saw, Yo Han already knows that his brother is a lust demon, and he is having a hard time accepting it.

While chasing Chan Hee, Gong Tan appears. He easily overpowers and strips Van from his weapon. Gong Tan points out that Van gets even weaker when he's around Won Mi Ho.

Before they part ways, he warns Van. Either join forces with him or die.

The demon-slayer returns to the place of rocks, and he is gravely wounded. He stays there for a while until Mi Ho comes in crying, asking for help.

She wants to know what's going on.

Won Mi Ho Learns Her True Identity From Van and Baek Joo

Van explains to her she's Wonjeong reincarnation, but must not be awakened. He tells her that this is why demons are after her.

He explains it's her fate, and there's also an "unfinished work" from her past life.

After hearing the truth, Mi Ho is determined to wrap things up and asks Van to stay by her side. He informs her he has a promise to fulfill but doesn't elaborate further.

Not satisfied with what she already knows, Mi Ho decides to see Baek Joo (Ko Do Shim), who explains that Wonjeong is someone who fixes everything. She elaborates that the evil spirits were captured and put inside Tamra. The barrier stone is broken, and the demons are escaping as a result.

Won Mi Ho asks how to create the barrier and be awakened as Wonjeong, but the grandma tells her no one can do it but her.

Baek Joo tells her when light shines from her scar and embraces Tamra, she'll become Wonjeong.

Yo Han Kills His Brother

Meanwhile, Yo Han goes back to his brother. Chan Hee asks him to end his life, but the young priest refuses and tries to perform an exorcism, but fails, and is unable to free his brother from the evil spirit inside his body.

At Van's place, Baek Joo appears and tells him the karma's circle is hard to break but it seems it might happen and that Wonjeong wants to help them out.

Later on, Yo Han interferes and asks Van to tell him how to become like him, to fix his brother. But he refuses, so Yo Han goes to Mi Ho and begs for help.

She immediately agrees, and they go together where Chan Hee is. Won Mi Ho places her hand into Chan Hee's hand, but he turns into a demon. He is about to attack her, but Yo Han is quick to take the hit for her.

Van shows up and fights with the demon. He overpowers Van momentarily and goes to kill Mi Ho.

But Yo Han is quick to stab his brother resulting in Chan Hee's death. The young priest is heartbroken by his loss.

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramastars.

KDramastars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
New and old faces of brilliant stars in "The Glory" impressed viewers with their respective performances. However, this actor from the series is not just good at acting, but also a top-notch student at Korea National University!

Can you guess who he is?

Kim Gun Woo's Past Interview Goes Viral Because of This

As Netflix's original series "The Glory" enjoys its global recognition, its cast members are also receiving applause. Apart from Song Hye Kyo, Lee Do Hyun, and Lim Ji Yeon, even non-main characters are being praised for their amazing acting skills.

Among them is actor Kim Gun Woo!

In "The Glory," he plays the character of Son Myeong Oh, and attracted the viewers' attention by exhibiting his charisma with long hair tied up.

Despite his bad boy aura in the show, Gun Woo is indeed the opposite of his role in real-life.

As "The Glory" season 1 concluded, viewers began to know more about its cast.

In particular, Kim Gun Woo's past immediately circulated online.

In 2020, the hunk star appeared in a video released by the YouTube channel "GOODPEOPLE."

It has been said that he had a conversation with the production team while drunk. Up to this day, the production team who had a conversation with the actor said that they heard gossip that Kim Gun Woo attended the prestigious Korea National University of Arts on a scholarship.

And it's not just that. He was also the prestigious school's top student!

In the video, the "Fight for My Way" star shyly nodded and explained that there are schools with six departments. He added that each school has a top student and each department also has a top student.

Kim Gun Woo humbly confessed that he was the top student at the "School of Drama" department.

'The Glory' Scene-Stealer Impresses Many With His Talent

The actor also mentioned that Yang Se Jong, who is his same-age friend as him at the Korea National University of Arts, was the department's top student at that time.

When the video went viral, many responded explosively and were impressed by Kim Gun Woo for being a total achiever not just in acting but also in school.

Others commented, "I was immersed in 'The Glory' thanks to Kim Gun Woo," and, "He is really good at his craft."

The drama's writer Kim Eun Sook also praised the actor. Upon seeing the audition videos sent by Director Ahn, one of the many candidates for Myeong Oh was Gun Woo. She already had her eyes on him as he is the perfect fit for the character.

What can you say about Kim Gun Woo's performance in "The Glory"? Share your thoughts/replies in the comments!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramastars.

KDramastars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
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People embrace during a mass in St. Roch-de-l'Achigan, Que., Sunday, January 15, 2023, in memory of the victims of a propane explosion just outside the town on Thursday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
IN PHOTOS/VIDEO: Pleasant Prairie residents light up the night during 2022 Holiday Lights Tour

The Pleasant Prairie Convention & Visitors Bureau is back with a Christmas season edition of the Holiday Lights Tour, featuring 21 decorated homes in the village, and a contest. After visiting the homes  and checking out the festive decorations  participants can go online and vote for their favorite location.

You have through Dec. 30 to take part in the voting but choose carefully. You can only vote once. The top five winners will receive gift cards, a trophy and lots of swag from the visitors bureau.

For a tour map, go online to visitpleasantprairie.com/things-to-do/holiday-lights-tour/

Its simple to take part: Download the map or print it out and hit the road. After viewing all the homes, you can fill out a voting form on the same Visit Pleasant Prairie website.
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

In this episode, we follow Houda Bouhmam, a radiology resident, as she struggles to deliver the devastating news to a patient that there is no cure for their disease. Despite the emotional toll it takes on her, Houda perseveres and shares the difficult news, shining a light on the strength and resilience of health care workers. Tune in to hear Houdas powerful story.

Houda Bouhmam is a radiology resident.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, There is no cure for your disease.

The Podcast by KevinMD is brought to you by the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience.

With so many demands on their time, physicians today report record levels of burnout. Burnout is caused by many factors, one of which is clinical documentation. Studies indicate physicians spend two hours documenting care for every hour spent with patients.

At Nuance, we are committed to helping physicians do what you love  care for patients  and spend less time on clinical documentation. The Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience, or DAX for short, is an AI-powered, ambient clinical intelligence solution that automatically captures patient encounters securely and accurately at the point of care. Physicians who use DAX have reported a 50 percent decrease in documentation time and a 70 percent reduction in feelings of burnout, and 83 percent of patients say their physician is more personable and conversational.

Rediscover the joy of medicine with clinical documentation that writes itself, all within the EHR.

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As I was walking between classes as a pre-medical undergraduate student in 2018, I saw that the Student Assembly for Gender Empowerment was distributing hats that read PROTECT ROE v. WADE. I picked one up and stepped into my classroom, only to be greeted by a classmate who said, Protect Roe v. Wade? Why would it need protection?

Fast-forward four years, I sat in my bedroom, selfishly thankful that I had been accepted into a medical school in Illinois, a state that serves as a reproductive rights haven for the Midwest. I knew that the SCOTUS ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health would have profound negative impacts on patients throughout the country; however, it was not until I began medical school that I started to understand its repercussions on current and future health care providers.

Following the SCOTUS decision, restrictions on abortion access were enacted immediately in many states through trigger laws. However, in the 2022 midterm elections, voters chose to protect access to abortion in California, Vermont, and Michigan, and voters in Kentucky and Montana rejected ballot measures that would have made protecting abortion much more difficult in the future. Despite this strong outward support for reproductive rights, even in historically swing and red states, abortion remains highly restricted in 14 states. Just as equal access to abortion hangs in the balance, so does access to training in abortion care for medical trainees.

This is not the first time medical trainees have had to advocate for preserving access to abortion education. In 1993, Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) was founded to address the deficit of abortion education in medical training. There are now more than 220 chapters at medical schools worldwide. These chapters work to improve family planning education for students at their schools and advocate for pro-choice policy changes. Through MSFC, medical students have the opportunity to travel, even internationally, for abortion training. Such opportunities are a vital lifeline after the SCOTUS decision but depend on a students significant investment in time and effort; this is even more the case for any opportunity outside MSFC. For residents who are already swamped, acquiring a thorough training in abortion care would introduce an additional burden. There may not be sufficient training alternatives for the many employed by programs where it is presently banned.

While students going into obstetrics and gynecology will most certainly attempt to seek this training, what may not be understood by all medical students is how profoundly abortion can affect every physician. Many specialties, especially in primary care, will have to deal with the complex reproductive and sexual challenges their patients face, and all physicians will treat patients who have had abortions. This means there is an ethical imperative to provide more robust abortion training at the medical school level to all trainees.

Considering the midterm election outcomes, it is not unrealistic to expect that abortion will regain legal status slowly throughout the United States. Providing abortion training to all trainees is even more important, given the nationwide shortage of OB/GYN physicians. In states where abortion is still legal, it is unlikely that there are enough providers to support the huge increases in demand. It would be irresponsible not to invest resources into bolstering family planning training in medical school and residency curricula to mitigate the exacerbation of a provider shortage. Many medical students and residents train out of state and can carry their skills wherever they establish their practices. Additionally, with a base level of training and exposure, medical students may feel more comfortable matching into a state where abortion access is restricted.

Moreover, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that abortion training be continually integrated into medical school education as it is crucial to reproductive health care. However, only one-third of medical schools have at least one abortion-related lecture, and less than half provide clinical exposure to abortion. Half of the schools surveyed have a family planning elective, but 17% have no formal abortion education at all. Throughout the country, students are dissatisfied with the amount of training they receive. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) do not require medical schools to provide abortion training to receive accreditation. While incorporating abortion training into accreditation standards is the larger goal, schools should irrespectively strive to offer this education. In states like Illinois, where abortion remains legal, and rates have recently risen, the need for increased training and providers is evident. All medical schools must teach their students about essential health care, and training in abortion, especially now, is certainly essential.

Shreya Sridhara is a medical student.
Green Party Cllr Maria Dollard has welcomed the announcement by her colleague Minister Catherine Martin for the funding of arts in Kilkenny.

Kilkennys flagship and one of the best known and longest running Arts Festivals in the country has been awarded funding of 580,000. In addition the magnificent Butler Gallery has been awarded 505,000 as well as funding of 88,000 for KCAT and 90,000 for The Young Irish Film Makers.

These decisions will enable people of all ages and from all backgrounds to experience the very best of the arts. Following significantly increased investment in recent years, these funding commitments will consolidate the position of these critically important organisations.

"The arts in Kilkenny are characterised by inclusion and supporting minority and community projects. KCAT arose from the creative expression of people with disabilities in Camphill and have been seen as a unique and important contributor to the inclusion of disabled people in their communities. Currently one of their artists Brianna Hurley is exhibiting alongside Pauline Bewick and Dali. So many other young people have enjoyed the courses with the YIFM and Tomm Moore, one of those young people went on the do amazing things in the field of animation with Cartoon Saloon.

Kilkenny is so lucky to have our own gallery and free to all. I am currently enjoying the Brat Bride printmaking course in Butler Gallery with artist Michelle McMahon who is leading a group of local women on a journey to discover the Divine Feminine and explore the goddesses of pre Christian Ireland. This is how funding for the arts makes a difference on the ground to local artists and people in communities in Kilkenny, added Cllr Dollard.








Dreams on hold: Afghans in exile struggle to create a new life in mid-Missouri
Asha Thapa reported from Kathmandu, Sugam Pokharel reported from London and Kathleen Magramo wrote in Hong Kong. CNN's Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report from Paris.
President Joe Biden is seen at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the White House in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2023.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, alongside his daughter wearing a winter jacket, views a new type of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during an on-site inspection of the missile launch at Pyongyang International Airport, Nov. 18, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap



A North Korean nuclear test might be inevitable while China, despite its perceived influence in Pyongyang, may be unwilling to help prevent such a test from taking place, former U.S. nuclear negotiator Victor Cha said.



Cha also insisted that Beijing may not have the means to prevent North Korea from conducting a nuclear test even if it wanted to in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency.



"I think it's inevitable. I think it's seventh nuclear test is inevitable and I think another Hwasong-17 (intercontinental ballistic missile) test using a solid fuel propeller, I think that's inevitable because in the New Year speech, they said that," said Cha, currently a senior vice president and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.



North Korea test-fired its largest Hwasong-17 ICBM in November, as part of its record 69 ballistic missile launches in 2022 alone. Its previous annual record of ballistic missile launches was 25.



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said his country will work to secure an "exponential" growth of its nuclear arsenal this year.



"North Korea is a very opaque country, but they seem to be very transparent about their intentions with regard to nuclear weapons because they state them in every new year speech and they have basically done everything they talked about in the new year speeches," said Cha.









Seoul and Washington have traditionally looked to Beijing to use its widely believed leverage over North Korea to stop Pyongyang from taking any provocative actions.



The former U.S. negotiator in the six-party talks, which included China, Russia, Japan and both Koreas, argued Beijing may not have as much influence in Pyongyang as it wants others to believe, adding that North Korea's three-year voluntary lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that.



"But I think the COVID lockdown has shown that China ... can't really do much because even if you sanction them, it doesn't really do anything. They (North Korea) have basically had trade cut off with them (China) for three years and it hasn't made them more willing to come to the negotiating table," Cha said.



"The whole idea was they may use carrots to get them to the table, but threaten the removal of those carrots to try to get them to agree to denuclearization. But what COVID has shown is threatening the removal of these things may not have an impact because North Korea had everything taken from them during COVID and they still haven't changed," he added.





Victor Cha, senior vice president and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the Washington-based think tank on Jan. 12. Yonhap
President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee, on a state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), listen to an official speak during their visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, Sunday (local time). Yoon is the first Korean leader to make a state visit to the Middle Eastern country. Yonhap









By Nam Hyun-woo







ABU DHABI  President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Abu Dhabi Saturday (local time), on the first leg of his eight-day tour to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Switzerland, to promote Korea's arms and power plant exports.







Yoon became the first Korean leader to make a state visit to the Middle Eastern country."







Recently, the scope of cooperation between Korea and the UAE has expanded from energy, construction and infrastructure to healthcare, medicine, defense and culture," Yoon said during a meeting with Korean nationals in the UAE, Saturday.







"The UAE, which is preparing for its post-oil era, and Korea, which has innovative ideas and technologies, are optimum partners. On the occasion of this state visit, I will pave the way for a breakthrough leap forward for the common prosperity of the two countries in the future."







Yoon is scheduled to have a summit with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan later Sunday and will be staying in the Middle Eastern country until Tuesday. He will then fly to Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos from Wednesday to Thursday.







According to senior presidential secretary for public relations Kim Eun-hye, more than 100 Korean business leaders and eight ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho and Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang, will join Yoon to assist the president's efforts to improve Korean firms' presence in mega projects pursued by Middle Eastern countries.







"The president and seven ministers boarded the presidential jet to create opportunities in this country," Kim said.







"Once the environment minister joins Yoon, eight ministries will be working together to seek opportunities for Korean companies' exports, as if all of them are industry ministers. The president and the ministers are on this trip with a spirit of finding a breakthrough for (Korea's) economic rebound in mega projects pursued by Middle Eastern countries," she added.







During his New Year message, Yoon pledged to make efforts to overcome the full range of economic difficulties through exports and an economy-centric diplomacy.







Senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Choi Sang-mok said in a press briefing before departing on the trip, "The UAE is the optimum partner for our economy-centric diplomacy in the fields of nuclear reactors, defense and infrastructure."







Director of National Security Kim Sung-han also said, "We will strengthen strategic cooperation with the UAE in the fields of nuclear power, energy, investment and defense, and the bilateral partnership will deepen by signing multiple MOUs."







President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee disembark from the presidential jet upon their arrival in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Saturday (local time). Yonhap





As part of his efforts to elevate the Korea-UAE partnership in nuclear energy, Yoon will visit the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, which houses the first reactor that Korea exported and is the first nuclear power plant in the Middle East.







Of the four reactors that make up the Barakah plant, two are now in commercial operation, and the third reactor's construction will be completed within this year.







Yoon's visit to the plant will likely be a symbolic measure promoting the two countries' partnership in nuclear power. However, it also appears to be aimed at touting Korea's prowess in nuclear power technologies to buoy bids in other international nuclear power projects, particularly the one pursued by Poland.







Along with nuclear power, the two countries are anticipated to widen their partnerships across other industries during Yoon's visit.







Reportedly, the two countries are anticipated to sign around 30 MOUs during Yoon's stay, with high expectations of exporting Korean weapons to the UAE.







Last year, Korea signed a 4 trillion won ($3.22 billion) deal to export the domestically developed Cheongung-II medium-range surface-to-air missile system to the UAE. It marked the single most lucrative weapons export contract in the history of Korea's defense industry.







The Middle Eastern country's defense demands continue to increase amid the fast-changing regional order and observers expect further defense talks could be possible during Yoon's summit with the UAE president.


KL Saberi slot machines in Kangwon Land Casino / Courtesy of Kangwon Land



By Kim Jae-heun



Kangwon Land will export slot machines to the Sheraton Manila Bay Hotel in Manila, after signing a sales contract with RGB, the largest slot machine retailer in Southeast Asia, the company said Tuesday.



The company will first manufacture 30 slot machines and send them to the casino in the Philippines through RGB, where they will be installed for use by April.



"The slot machine manufacturing business is a highly anticipated project with many advantages such as fostering small and medium-sized domestic companies, creating jobs in local communities and earning foreign currency. We plan to make it a new growth engine of Kangwon Land," Kangwon Land CEO Lee Sam-kul said.



It is Kangwon Land's first overseas sale since it started producing the machines in 2017. The company said its contract with RGB is meaningful as it has built a base to enter the Asian market. The company also expects to take the opportunity to escape from its sluggish business affected by COVID-19.



Kangwon Land has been developing the overseas sales network for its slot machine brand KL Saberi with RGB since they inked a supply deal in 2019. So far, the company has exported 38 slot machines to five casinos in the Philippines under a trial contract.



The trial contract refers to a deal where casinos test new slot machines for a certain period of time and decide on purchasing the product if it has high marketability.



KL Saberi slot machines are currently in use at Kangwon Land Casino. The company has supplied 260 of its own machines to save 8.2 billion won ($6.58 million). It also supplied 13 units to Grand Korea Leisure in Seoul, a casino exclusively for foreigners, and six units to Golden Crown Casino in Daegu.


After becoming viral with the videos showing its' members' talents, XG announced on Thursday (05) the official date for the long-awaited comeback with the third single, "SHOOTING STAR".

Showing an avant-garde and electrifying concept, the release will be on January 25 and includes two extra tracks. The first teaser pictures released in the past week impressed ALPHAZ (fandom name) worldwide, who showed themselves very excited with the release and praised XG's bold and extravagant concept.

READ ALSO: XG Spoilers New Song on Season's Greetings Post Announcement

XG's third single will have three original tracks: 'SHOOTING STAR', 'NEO Romantic', and 'LEFT RIGHT'. The edition comes with a CD box that will also be part of the release. Meeting fans' demands, the members have been very active on social media, showing XG's young and shiny concept. The photo shoot with the concept for the track 'NEO Romantic', released on Tuesday (10) shows a different vibe from the previous pictures. The creative and unique photos, full of surrealist editions, wrapped the concept of the song yet to be released.

The wait for XG's long-awaited comeback ends on January 25 at midnight. The music video for 'SHOOTING STAR' will be released at 6 AM (BRT) on the same day.

The group - which has an influence of hip-hop and R&B - consists of JURIN, CHISA, HARVEY, HINATA, JURIA, MAYA, and COCONA. Together they debuted in 2022 with the single "Tippy Toes", gathering attention due to their irreverence and innovative performances. The first comeback with "MASCARA" reached the top of iTunes in 17 regions and was included on Spotify's Viral 50 playlists in 21 regions. XG's impact became more evident after the release of the video with the rap performance "GALZ XYPHER", which popped their fans' bubble and made the group be considered revolutionary by artists like Jackson Wang.

For more info about XG and the release of "SHOOTING STAR", follow the group's social media.

XG

3rd Single "SHOOTING STAR"

January 25, 2023.

Tracks:

1. SHOOTING STAR

2. NEO Romantic

3. LEFT RIGHT

XG Official Website http://xgalx.com/xg/

XG Instagram: https://instagram.com/xgofficial

XG YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@xg_official

XG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xg.official

XG Weverse: https://weverseapp.page.link/p3i5

XG Twitter: https://twitter.com/XGOfficial_

XG Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/XGOfficial

XGALX Official Website http://xgalx.com/

RELATED ARTICLE: Girl Group XG Goes Viral on SNS Due to Their Talents in Rap
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42 Abu Dhabi, the UAE capitals innovative and disruptive coding school, has collaborated with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to host 400 Emirati high school students to explore their potential as future coders.

The event was organised as part of ADIAs Early Preparation Programme (EPP), which identifies and develops talented Emirati high school students with an interest in subjects relevant to the future of investing, such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This aligns with ADIAs ongoing commitment to contributing to the growth of Abu Dhabis talent pool by building the skills needed to excel in the future.

During the event, students were provided with an in-depth understanding of computational thinking, algorithms, abstraction and pattern recognition problem-solving techniques. These skills are core to computer science and many other subject areas and careers. Following the session, students completed an online problem-solving challenge related to computational thinking and computer science.

Innovative campus

Once the students successfully completed the challenge, they explored the schools innovative campus, and took a deep dive into 42 Abu Dhabis peer-to-peer learning methodology, which fosters young talents to enable them to build innovative solutions and accelerate the Emirates digital economy.

The students also learned of the importance of developing interpersonal skills such as collaboration, adaptation, creativity and critical thinking, all of which are covered at 42 Abu Dhabi.

Marcos Muller Habig, Acting CEO of 42 Abu Dhabi, said: We are honored to support ADIAs EPP by hosting 400 young Emirati students with an interest in pursuing science and technology studies, as these are skills that are increasingly important for Abu Dhabis future development.

This event was an opportunity for us to highlight 42 Abu Dhabis leading role as a talent incubator that is developing and upskilling the Emirates youth in the coding field. This is in line with our strategic vision to equip UAE nationals with the skills to pursue specialised careers in vital industries and create a community which enables people from all walks of life to learn how to code, he added.

42 Abu Dhabi is part of the global 42 Network, brought to Abu Dhabi by ADEK, to offer the worlds most disruptive coding and software development study program. 42 Abu Dhabi has evolved to become a hub that inspires a whole new generation of people to become coders who are empowered to shape the world that they live in through technology. -- TradeArabia News Service
Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 15 (ANI): The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), organised the Auto Trade Dialogue at the Auto Expo 2023 and discussed emerging policies and trends in the global automotive industry.

The deliberations highlighted that with dynamically-changing automotive policy ecosystem, cooperation among the countries is of utmost importance in furthering the auto trade.

Also Read | Jharkhand Shocker: Man Beheads Wife's Lover After Finding Them In Compromising Position In Lonjo Village.

The event witnessed distinguished policymakers from the ministry of commerce and industry, the ministry of heavy industries, and the Indian Auto Industry along with experts across various regions including from Bangladesh, Europe, Germany, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Africa and the United Kingdom, SIAM said in a statement, released on Saturday evening.

Hanif Qureshi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, said, "With the auto industry's turnover of USD 123 billion, India is one of the largest markets globally. We hope to strengthen our relationship with governments, manufacturers and consumers, and build an ecosystem where the sector can thrive."

Also Read | Delhi Shocker: Neighbour Kidnaps, Murders Minor Girl, Dumps Body in Drain in Kapashera.

Srikar Reddy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said, "With the ambitious target of reaching USD 1 trillion total trade exports by 2030, we look forward to the Indian auto sector to contribute USD 100 billion in exports by the year 2030."

Anna Shotbolt, Deputy Trade Commissioner, British High Commission Indian and Nathalie Gminder, First Secretary, German Embassy were also present at the event.

Rahul Bharti, Chairman, SIAM International Relations and Trade Policy Group, and Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki India, said, "The auto sector has seen a paradigm shift with the introduction of electric, hydrogen-based fuels and biofuels. Decarbonisation is our responsibility and even the government is participating in the transition by introducing subsidies."

Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM, and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, VECV, said, "Auto trade policies have received desirable focus in the past years. As India becomes an important player in the global auto Industry, we aspire to be one of the leading economies with a strong export footprint."

Cedrick Crowley, Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission of South Africa, said, "Trade will be the vehicle to cement the relationship between India and South Africa." (ANI)

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Trichy (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 15 (ANI): Customs officials at Trichy international airport seized foreign currency of 29,950 Euros from a passenger about to board a flight, officials said on Sunday.

According to officials, the Air Intelligent Unit (AIU) of the customs department checked a male passenger who was about to board a Kuala Lumpur-bound Scoot Airlines via Singapore owing to suspicion on January 14. They found 29,950 Euros equivalent to Rs 25.8 lakh in Indian currency.

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According to officials, during the search, the foreign currency was found concealed in hand luggage.

"The seized foreign currency of 29,950 Euros equivalent to the Indian currency value of Rs 25.8 Lakhs was seized from a male passenger bound for Kuala Lumpur from Trichy via Singapore on January 14," officials said.

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In December 2022, The Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted a man and seized two gold biscuits, valued at over Rs eight lakhs, concealed inside a tin at Trichy Airport, officials had said.

The gold pieces weighed 147.5 grams and had a purity of 24 carats, the customs department had said.

Earlier in November, Trichy airport officials seized one piece of gold weighing around 145 grams from a female passenger at the Tiruchirappalli airport.

The gold piece was worth Rs.7,74,590 and was had a purity of 24 carats.

The officials extracted the yellow metal from 169 grams of paste-like materials concealed in the rectum of a female passenger.

"The female passenger arrived at Tiruchirappalli airport from Kualalumpur by Air Asia flight no-AK-23 on November 15," a statement had said. (ANI)

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Bengaluru, Jan 15 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday asked the army to be future-ready at a time when lessons should be learnt from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

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India's reputation has increased significantly in the international fora and this manifested in ceasing of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the leaders concerned to ensure safe evacuation of Indian students, he said.

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Speaking at the 75th Indian Army Day event at the Army Service Corps (ASC) Bengaluru, he called upon the armed forces to enhance their adoption capabilities and that in the coming days all major armed forces would boost their security mechanism.

Earlier, when India used to speak, no one would take it seriously, but now when we say, "the world listens to us carefully."

"An example of it is the evacuation of Indian students caught during the Russia and Ukraine war. There was an outcry to bring students back home safely," Singh said at celebrations here, which is happening for the first time outside the national capital.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukraine President ( Volodymyr) Zelensky, Russian President (Vladimir) Putin and US President Joe Biden and the war was stopped for a few hours during which students were safely evacuated," he said.

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New Delhi, January 15: A six-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and murdered in the Kapashera area of Delhi. The family members of the girls suspect the possibility of murder after rape in the case. Police are waiting for the autopsy report to find out whether she was sexually assaulted or not. Delhi Shocker: Neighbour Kidnaps, Murders Minor Girl, Dumps Body in Drain in Kapashera.

According to the official information, the incident occurred on January 12. The girl was playing near her house, and at the same time, a young man living in the neighborhood took the girl to a wooded area on the pretext of getting her chocolates. When the girl didn't return home, her family conducted a massive search but was unable to find her, so they filed a missing person complaint with the police.

The police have registered a case. Police seized footage of CCTV cameras installed in the area. In the footage, a man is seen taking the girl with him. The man was identified as the victim's neighbour and has been arrested in connection with the case. Mumbai: 43-Year-Old Man Harasses Minor Girl With Songs, Sentenced to 3-Years in Jail by POCSO Court.

Police sources told that the accused is known to the girl's family members. The girl lived with her family in the Kapashera area. Police recovered her body from a drain on Friday morning. Further investigation is underway.

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New Delhi [India], January 15 (ANI): Delhi MLA and Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bhardwaj on Sunday levelled a series of allegations against Lt Governor VK Saxena amid the ongoing power tussle between the L-G and the Delhi government.

Speaking to reporters, the AAP spokesperson said that the L-G has no powers to stop any work undertaken by the government and can only give suggestions.

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"The Delhi L-G has no power to stop or reject any developmental work. He will have to function according to the elected government. And if he doesn't agree with any decision of the government, he can only send it to the honourable President of India," said Bhardwaj.

He said that despite having no powers, the Delhi L-G has been continuously interfering in the works of the government.

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"Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met with the Lieutenant Governor and showed him copies of all the laws and Supreme Court orders regarding the limitations of his powers," he added.

"However, the Delhi LG still says that I am supreme and terming the orders of the Supreme Court as mere advice," said Bhardwaj.

He said that only the elected government can give advice to the L-G and it is binding upon the Lt Governor to listen to that advice.

"However the L-G says that he won't abide by the constitution," alleged the AAP spokesperson.

Raising questions on the ability of Saxena to remain in the position Bhardwaj said, "This is very unfortunate. Can a person remain in the constitutional post of L-G who himself says that he won't abide by the constitution?"

Speaking about the unavailability of medicines in the Mohalla Clinics of Delhi, Bhardwaj said that some officers acting on their own will stopped the supply of medicines and salaries of the doctors in the Mohalla clinics.

Calling it a litmus test for Saxena, Bhardwaj said, "The Chief Minister has written a letter on this matter to the L-G, now it is upto the Governor to prove whether he is with the poor people of Delhi or not."

"If the L-G doesn't take any action on the officers responsible, the people of Delhi will automatically come to know who is behind those officers," he added.

Earlier, addressing a press conference, Kejriwal alleged that during his meeting with Saxena, he had cited various Supreme Court and High Court judgments but the Delhi L-G claimed that he has been referred to as the 'Administrator' and enjoys the supreme authority. (ANI)

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New Delhi [India], January 15 (ANI): The 56th Vintage and Classic Car Rally was organised on Sunday during which 75 cars were flagged off from the Statesman House whereas more than 100 vintage cars participated.

Israeli ambassador to India Naor Gilon was present at the event as the chief guest and was accompanied by the Commissioner of Delhi Police Sanjay Arora. They congratulated and met various vintage car owners at the rally.

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NDMC Chairman Amit Yadav was also present at the event. While talking to ANI, he said, "NDMC ensured the hygiene and cleanliness of the event. The Delhi Police vehicles are also present here in the rally to ensure the safety and smooth traffic movement in the area."

Rakesh Jain, the rally's oldest judge and Ashish Gundal, the Director of the National Rail museum were also present.

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The Director of Statesman House Ravindra Kumar addressed the proper procedure that has to be followed to organise a Vintage Car Rally. He said, "The first rally was organised in 1964 and today the 56th Vintage Car Rally is being organised. For the preparations, we contact the vintage car owners and analyse how many cars are in working condition. After a close inspection, we send invitations to those car owners to participate in the rally."

"Due to the cold weather, many car owners couldn't participate in the event yet around 100 cars have made it to the rally. The rally will conclude at India Gate. Many cars would participate from Noida and India Gate too. One of the cars will be declared the winner based on its working condition and how old that car is," added Yadav.

Yadav informed that the oldest car from 1911 couldn't participate but a 1914 Jon Morris could make it to the event brought from the National Rail Museum.

"This event has been organised every year by the Statesman House except in 1971 and 1973. During the covid pandemic, the event couldn't be organised for two consecutive years," added Yadav.

The owner of the Ford Model A 1928 Arjun, who also participated in the event stated that his vintage car is around 100 years old. He often drives it during winter because there is a possibility of the tyre bursting or melting. He also has to take extra care while driving this car as many parts of the vehicle cannot be easily found for repair. (ANI)

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Thane, Jan 15 (PTI) Police have solved the case of theft of garments worth Rs 99.44 lakh from a godown in Maharashtra's Thane district with the help of empty mineral water bottles found there, an official said.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Jilted Lover Shoots Girlfriend for Rejecting Marriage Proposal in Meerut, Arrested.

The theft took place on January 8 at the godown located in Bhiwandi town following which a case was registered against unidentified persons, Bhiwandi zone Deputy Commissioner of Police Navnath Dhavle told reporters on Saturday.

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The police probe team worked on various leads including the CCTV footage of the area and intelligence inputs.

They also found empty bottles of mineral water and packets of chips at the crime spot, he said.

The labels on the water bottles found in the godown matched with those on water bottles in a hotel in the vicinity. Based on this, the police examined the CCTV footage and spotted a man who had purchased water bottles from the hotel, the official said.

The man, who has a criminal record, was arrested on Friday, he said.

The police carried out a search and recovered the entire stock of the stolen garments from the possession of the arrested accused, the official said. TI COR

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New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) Rajya Sabha MP and former law minister Kapil Sibal on Sunday accused the government of attempting to "capture" the judiciary and said it was trying its best to create a situation in which the NJAC in "another avatar" may be tested in the Supreme Court once again.

Sibal, 74, asserted the basic structure doctrine as enunciated in the Kesavananda Bharati verdict was very important in current times and dared the government to openly say if that is flawed.

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He claimed the government has not adjusted to the fact that it does not have the final word on appointments in higher judiciary and resents it.

"They are trying their best to create a situation in which the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) in yet another avatar may be tested in the Supreme Court once again," Sibal told PTI in an interview.

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His remarks come days after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is also the Rajya Sabha chairman, again criticised the scrapping of the NJAC Act by the apex court. Dhankhar had also questioned the landmark 1973 Kesavananda Bharati case verdict, saying it set a wrong precedent and that he disagrees with the Supreme Court ruling that Parliament can amend the Constitution but not its basic structure.

The NJAC Act, which sought to overturn the collegium system of appointing Supreme Court and high court judges, was struck down by the top court in 2015 which described it as unconstitutional.

Asked about Dhankhar's remarks, Sibal said, "When a high constitutional authority and a man who is well versed in the law makes a comment of this nature one has to first ask the question  is he speaking in his personal capacity or for the government."

"So, I don't know in what capacity he is speaking. The government has to confirm that. If the government publicly states that they agree with his views then it has a different connotation," the senior Supreme Court advocate said.

Asked about the Rajya Sabha Chairman's remarks on the Kesavananda Bharati case verdict, Sibal said if it is his personal opinion, he is entitled to it.

Sibal, however, came down heavily on Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for his critical comments against the judiciary and the collegium system, saying that it was "unfortunate" and a "matter of grave concern".

"I have said before that the Law minister is perhaps not well versed with the functioning of courts, nor is he familiar with court procedures. He is perhaps making such comments based on perceptions and incomplete facts. He apparently has not been properly briefed," Sibal said.

"But whatever it is, it is inappropriate to make such statements publicly," the former Congress leader said, hitting out at Rijiju.

Sibal alleged the objective of the government is quite clear and they want to "capture" the right to appoint judges to the higher judiciary and want their word to be final in this regard.

"If they manage to do that, that would not bode well for democracy. As it is, all institutions have been captured by them. The judiciary is the last citadel of freedom. If the final word on the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary is left to the government, they will fill these institutions with individuals whose ideology is aligned to that of the political party in power," he alleged.

"As it is, we are finding it difficult to match the juggernaut of this government which has taken over all institutions. We feel that these institutions act on the directions of the government or that they wish to please the government for reasons that are best known to them," he said.

Sibal said the country is in "great difficulty" in view of the Chinese "intruding into our territory both in Ladakh as well as in Arunachal Pradesh", the impending global recession; historic balance of trade in favour of China; absence of buoyancy in private investments; and household saving rates at a "historic low".

Instead of concentrating on real issues relating to our people, including on environment, education and healthcare, the government, by not taking action, is encouraging divisive forces that will ruin our social fabric.

In times like these an assault on the higher judiciary is "untimely and ill-advised", Sibal asserted.

"There is a deliberate design without any doubt to be critical of the Collegium system. Government does not like that appointments to the higher judiciary are in the hands of the Supreme Court collegium," he said.

Sibal also asserted that the Constitution is supreme as the power of judicial review resides with the court.

"I dare say that the government does not have the courage at this point in time to say that the basic structure theory is flawed," Sibal said while stressing that the theory was crucial for the present times. In fact, the basic structure of the Constitution needs to be strengthened, he added.

"I think in times like these we realize how the basic structure theory is important and how right Kesavananda Bharati (verdict) was to enunciate those features of the Constitution which are basic to our lives  right to free speech, right to life and liberty, the federal structure, the inclusive nature of our polity, the separation of powers and judicial review," he said.

Sibal said that though he was critical of the collegium system, at this juncture of our polity, appointments to the higher judiciary cannot be handed over to the government.

Meanwhile, Sibal hailed the Bharat Jodo Yatra, saying Rahul Gandhi has been able to bring together disparate elements of society and make them realise how important it is to ensure unity in the country.

Sibal, who quit the Congress last year, said the party's Kanyakumari to Kashmir Yatra "optically" seems to have succeeded and gotten the support of non-Congress elements as well.

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Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], January 15 (ANI): As Himachal Pradesh is prone to various types of natural disasters due to difficult topographical and climatic conditions, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has urged the Union Government to enhance the disaster fund for the state.

These Doppler Weather Radars have been established at Jot in the Chamba district and another at Murari Devi in the Mandi district of the State.

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While virtually addressing the inauguration function regarding setting up of two Doppler Weather Radar for the State, he said that these radars will be able to forecast heavy rain, thunderstorm and hailstorm within a 100-kilometre radius in all directions, especially for short-range forecasting.

"These radars will be able to forecast heavy rain, thunderstorm and hailstorm within a 100-kilometre radius in all directions, especially for short-range forecasting. These radars will be helpful to improve area-specific forecasts and warnings for the State. They will also enhance weather monitoring capabilities and generate accurate data that will help the administration in making pre-arrangements to reduce damages caused due to weather-borne disasters," Sukhu said.

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Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Doppler Weather Radars virtually from New Delhi on Sunday.

"One Doppler Weather Radar has already been installed at Kufri in Shimla district on January 15, 2021, and with the commissioning of these additional two radars, about 70 per cent area of the State will be covered for the weather forecast. Still, about 30 per cent area of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti district will not be covered under these Radars," Sukhu apprised this Union Minister.

Chief Minister urged the Union Minister of State to provide additional Radar for these districts so that these tribal districts could also be covered.

"Cloud bursts have caused heavy damages in Kinnaur district in recent years, thus it was vital that a proper weather forecast mechanism be evolved to take preventive measures in advance. These incidents of cloud bursts have caused heavy damage to the area, particularly the power projects," Himachal CM said.

Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, Principal Secretaries Onkar Sharma, R.D. Nazeem and Bharat Khera, Secretary Akshay Sood, Director Indian Meteorological Department M. Mahapatra and other senior officers were present on the occasion. (ANI)

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Jodhpur (Rajasthan) [India], January 15 (ANI): Within a few months of joining the Indian Air Force, the Prachand Light Combat Helicopter has started participating in joint wargames with the Indian Army and are performing very well.

The Prachand Light Combat Helicopters were inducted into the Air Force on October 3 last year and have been flying extensively in the desert sector since then.

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"We are carrying out integrated exercises with Army and we are fully prepared and ready to give support to Army in case of any future conflicts," Indian Air Force's Dhanush squadron's Squadron Leader Raunak Dubey told ANI.

He said the chopper is being flown extensively in the desert sector and performing very well.

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"We have flown this chopper quite a lot in our unit and we are highly impressed with its capabilities as it has been able to deliver on all its parameters. Its roles are to provide close air support to ground forces and take out enemy air defences," he said.

Sq Ld Dubey said the Prachand is one of the most potent combat helicopters in the world which possesses air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and has also got a 70 mm rocket pod as well as a 20 mm gun canon.

"It has performed very well during trials in both high altitude locations like eastern Ladakh and Siachen glacier. Its navigation system allows pilots to pick up targets and destroy them with ease," he said.

Squadron Leader Tanmai Manan said the made-in-India LCH l gives India an edge over other attack helicopters due to its payload-carrying capacities, stealth, speed and agility.

"The helicopter is highly manoeuvrable, agile and responsive. The airframe has been designed in a way to make it crash-worthy. LCH is the only combat helicopter to have proven itself in the world's highest battlefield. It can carry lethal weapons and destroy a plethora of targets in altitudes in excess of 6 kms," he said.

The Commanding Officer of the squadron Group Captain Deepak Vishnoi also showcased the flying capabilities of the helicopter as the choppers took off for a sortie over the nearby locations in the desert sector.

The Jodhpur air base also has the Weapon Systems Integrated ALH Dhruv helicopter squadron whose role is to take out enemy armoured vehicles in times of conflict and they are known as 'Tankbusters'. (ANI)

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Jammu, Jan 15 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Administration has approved a project worth Rs 91 crore for the revival and revitalization of silk industry in the Union Territory through technological interventions, an official said on Sunday.

The project which contains end to end interventions, right from availability of mulberry leaves to better seed and worm production and finally augmentation of reeling facilities, shall double the number of cocoons produced in J&K and boost value addition by establishment of an automatic reeling facility at Jammu, the official said.

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Jammu and Kashmir is known for its high-quality bivoltine silk and has the potential to become a major silk producing hub in the country.

The industry has faced challenges in recent years and there was a need for its development and modernization in order to meet the growing demand for superior silk which can match and replace not only the silk being imported to the country but also compete in its export requirements abroad.

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Sericulture is the only cash crop that ensures significant returns in a short span of time, earning it a special place in the rural economy. Although the state produces high-quality bivoltine cocoons, productivity and total cocoon output are low, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, Atal Dulloo said, highlighting the broad contours of the sanctioned project.

Similarly, he said cocoon yields are half of the national average and over the past few years the output from the sector has been shrinking.

Improving seed quality, rearing facilities and cocoon processing will provide a huge shot in the arm for the sector and improve income at farm levels, he added.

He said technological interventions to strengthen sericulture in J&K is one among the 29 projects, which were approved by the Jammu and Kashmir administration after being recommended by the UT Level Apex Committee for holistic development of Agriculture and Allied Sectors.

One of the main challenges facing the sericulture industry in J&K is the lack of access to modern technology. Many farmers still use traditional methods of silk production, which are time-consuming and labor-intensive as well as sub-par in terms of quality of output, Director Sericulture Manzoor Qadri said.

He said this makes it difficult for them to benefit from the 250-million-dollar export market for Indian Silk.

The project shall ensure that the global fame which silk from J&K has garnered will be regained, he added.

The official said the major interventions that are being undertaken in the project included planting 10 Lakh new mulberry plants in tree mode, doubling the silkworm seed production from 8 lakh to 16 lakh, increasing cocoon production from 700 MT to 1350 MT, establishing 100 new chawki rearing centers for supply of chawki worms to seri farmers, giving employment to 7,000 new silkworm farmers and skill development of existing 15,000 farmers.

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Lucknow, Jan 15 (PTI) Thirty-five-year-old Sonu Jaiswal, a liquor store owner who was among the five Indians feared killed in a plane crash in Nepal on Sunday, had gone to pay obeisance at the famed Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu after his wish for a son was fulfilled around six months ago, his relative said.

As the news of the plane crash reached Chak Jainab village in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh, the shocked villagers gathered at his house.

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Jaiswal has two daughters and he took a vow to visit the Lord Pashupatinath Temple if he had a son, his relative and Chak Jainab village head Vijay Jaiswal told PTI.

"Sonu, along with his three friends, had gone to Nepal on January 10. His main purpose was to pay obeisance to Lord Pashupatinath as his wish to have a son, now six months old, has been fulfilled. But the fate had something else in store for him," said a visibly emotional Vijay Jaiswal.

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Sonu Jaiswal ran a beer shop in the district. They have another house in Alawalpur Chatti but are currently living in Sarnath, Varanasi.

"Sonu's wife and children have not been informed about the incident yet. They are in another house," he said.

His friends were identified as Abhishek Kushwaha, 25, Vishal Sharma, 22, and Anil Kumar Rajbhar, 27.

Sharma belonged to Alawalpur Chatti village in the Badesar area, Rajbhar was a resident of Chak Jainab and Kushwaha of Dharwa in the Nonhara area, a police spokesperson said.

According to locals, Rajbhar operated a "Jan Sewa Kendra" (public service centre), Kushwaha was in the computer business and Sharma worked as a computer operator in a two-wheeler showroom.

Villagers said the four were to return to Ghazipur on Tuesday after paragliding in the popular tourist hub of Pokhra.

The fifth Indian in the plane was identified as Sanjay Jaiswal.

At least 68 people were killed when a Yeti Airlines passenger plane with 72 people on board, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in central Nepal's resort city of Pokhara on Sunday, officials said.

There is no information about any survivor so far, an airline spokesperson said.

Ghazipur District Magistrate Aryaka Akhauri told PTI over phone that the administration has reach out to the affected families.

"Our sub-divisional magistrate and other officials are meeting them. We are also in touch with the embassy.... We will do the needful after the recovery of bodies," she said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the deaths and said officials have been directed to coordinate with the Ministry of External affairs to bring the mortal remains of the deceased to the state.

In a tweet in Hindi, the chief minister said, "The plane crash in Nepal is very sad. Humble tribute to all the people including Indian citizens who were killed. My condolences are with the bereaved families. May Lord Shri Ram give place to the departed souls at his holy feet and speedy recovery to the injured."

"Officials have been instructed to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs to make arrangements to bring the mortal remains of the deceased people of Uttar Pradesh to the state," the chief minister said in another tweet.

Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport minutes before landing, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraft. The flight time between Kathmandu and Pokhara is 25 minutes.

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New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) State-owned CIL chief Pramod Agrawal has said that the coal behemoth should aim at providing electricity to the county at "just price" as 80 per cent of the company's supplies is directed towards coal-based power plants.

Coal India (CIL) accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal supply and three quarters of the country's power generation is coal-based.

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In a recent message to its employees, Agrawal who is the chairman and managing director of CIL said that "our role is to supply assured energy at affordable costs".

Stating that as there is a sizeable scope for energy expansion in the country for the next few decades, he said that the company has a greater responsibility to shoulder.

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"Aim for even loftier heights in the last quarter of the financial year and make FY23 momentous by shattering the annual targets as well. And, not rest there. Once we achieve 700 MT production target that should be a benchmark base for further growth," he said.

Agrawal asked the employees to make a concerted effort in meeting the country's energy and developmental goals with unrelenting commitment.

"All the three performance parameters -- production of 479 MTs (million tonnes), supplies of 508 MTs and OBR of 1,155 M, Cu.M, till December, were ahead of the respective progressive targets. What makes this milestone special is the formidable scale of targets, which we were able to breach. However, much more needs to be done," the message said.

CIL will achieve 1 billion tonnes of coal production target by 2025-26 as against the earlier timeline of 2023-24 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coal output by CIL in current financial year is expected to be 700 MT and there would be additional output of 200 MT from other sources, the coal ministry had earlier said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kathmandu, Jan 15 (PTI) At least 68 people were killed when a Nepalese passenger plane with 72 people onboard, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in central Nepal's resort city of Pokhara on Sunday, a rescue official said.

Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Killed in Yeti Airline Aircraft Crash in Pokhara, Says Rescue Official.

A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraft.

"So far, dead bodies of 68 people have been recovered from the crash site, an official at the Search and Rescue Coordination Committee of the CAAN told PTI over the phone.

Also Read | No-Confidence Motion Against PM: Pakistan Peoples Party to Support Shehbaz Sharif If There is a Confidence Vote, Says Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

However, the dead bodies are yet to be identified, he added. Efforts are on to recover four more bodies, he said.

Foreign nationals onboard the plane included five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans, an Australian, a French, an Argentine and an Israeli.

The five Indians have been identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, Bishal Sharma, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, Sonu Jaiswal and Sanjaya Jaiswal.

There is no information about any survivor so far, said Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson at Yeti Airlines.

The weather in Pokhara was absolutely fine and the engine of the aircraft was also in good condition, he said.

We don't know what has happened to the airplane, he said.

The search for the remaining four people onboard is underway.

However, some local media reported that the aircraft took a wider turn while attempting to land, which may have caused the accident. It was a new airport built under a Chinese soft loan and inaugurated just two weeks ago.

"An ATR-72 plane of Yeti Airlines crashed today near the Pokhara Airport while flying from Kathmandu. According to the info provided by Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, 5 Indians were travelling on this flight. Rescue operations are underway," the Indian mission tweeted.

The embassy is in touch with local authorities and is monitoring the situation, it said.

"Deeply grieved on hearing about the air crash in Pokhara, Nepal. Our thoughts are with the affected families," India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted and shared the helpline numbers of the Indian Embassy.

According to Tek Bahadur KC, Chief District Officer of the Kaski district, the plane crashed into the Seti river gorge. Rescue operations are currently being conducted, he was quoted as saying by The Himalayan Times newspaper.

Among the passengers were three infants, three children.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' held an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers following the crash.

The emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Sunday afternoon has decided to announce a public holiday on January 16 to mourn the victims of the Yeti Airlines plane crash.

He expressed sadness over the crash and directed the Home Ministry, security personnel and all the government agencies to carry out immediate rescue and relief operations.

The government formed a five-member probe committee under Nagendra Ghimire, former secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, to investigate the accident.

The government has also directed that every domestic airline's aircraft undergo rigorous inspections before taking a flight.

Following the Yeti Airlines aircraft crash, the Pokhara International Airport has been closed for today for all incoming and outgoing flights. Images and videos posted on social media platforms showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site.

Shortly after the crash, police reached and started a rescue operation.

However, the police said that it was not possible to deploy enough manpower. Police said that bringing the fire under control was difficult as the fire engine could not reach the gorge where the crash took place. As a result, the fire is yet to be brought under control.

Gyan Bahadur Khadka, police spokesman, Kaski, said that there was a problem in the rescue due to the difficult terrain.

After the aircraft crashed in the center of Pokhara, a crowd gathered around the accident site.

Spokesman Khadka said that this has hampered the rescue process. He said, "There is a crowd of thousands. Due to the crowd, there has been a problem in the rescue as even the ambulance and fire brigade has been hindered.

Nepal has had a fraught record of aviation accidents, partly due to its sudden weather changes and airstrips located in hard-to-access rocky terrains.

The last major air accident in Nepal happened on May 29 when all 22 people onboard, including four members of an Indian family, were killed as a Tara Air plane crashed in Nepal's mountainous Mustang district.

In 2016, all 23 people aboard were killed when a plane of the same airline flying the same route crashed after takeoff.

In March 2018, a US-Bangla Air crash occurred at the Tribhuvan International Airport, killing 51 people on board.

A Sita Air flight crashed in September 2012 while making an emergency landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport, killing 19 people.

A plane flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed near Jomsom airport on May 14, 2012, killing 15 people.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Cairo, Jan 16 (AP) An Egyptian court on Sunday handed down life prison sentences to 38 people, including a self-exiled businessman whose social media posts helped to spark anti-government protests.

Public protests are rare in Egypt where President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has overseen a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent. But a series of video and other social media posts by Egyptian businessman Mohamed Ali, who now lives in Spain, led to scattered street demonstrations in September 2019 over allegations of corruption and other issues.

Also Read | WATCH: Rafael Nadal Will Enter His Own Team for the Inaugural Season of the UIM E1 World   Latest Tweet by Reuters.

Twenty-three of those who got life terms were tried in absentia, including Ali, according to an Egyptian criminal court handling terrorism-related cases.

The court also sentenced 44 others including children to terms ranging from five to 15 years in prison over the same charges. Twenty-one were acquitted, according to defense lawyer Ossama Badawi.

Also Read | Uzbekistan Stops Power Supply to Afghanistan, Negotiations Continue Regarding Restoration.

Those sentenced were convicted of a set of charges that included inciting violence against security forces and state institutions. The case stemmed from the 2019 protests in the port city of Suez that sits at the mouth of the Suez Canal.

Authorities arrested hundreds of people at the time in Cairo and across the country. Many were released but others were referred to trials.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticised such mass sentencings in Egypt and called on authorities to ensure fair trials.

Egypt's government has in recent years jailed thousands of people, mainly Islamists, but also secular activists involved in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. (AP)

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New Delhi [India], January 15 (ANI): India has announced a donation of 12,500 doses of pentavalent vaccines to Cuba. The decision was announced during Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi's visit to Cuba from January 12-14.

During her visit, Meenakashi Lekhi held a meeting with Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel and discussed matters of bilateral importance and political and economic cooperation, according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Killed in Yeti Airline Aircraft Crash in Pokhara, Says Rescue Official.

Pentavalent vaccine provides protection to a child from 5 life-threatening diseases -Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Hib.

Meenakashi Lekhi tweeted, "Glad to call on H.E. Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, President of Cuba today and discuss with him the entire gamut of cooperation between our two friendly countries."

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MoS for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi was received by Cuban National Assembly Speaker Lazo Hernandez. The interaction between the two leaders included the development of indigenous vaccines against COVID and women empowerment.

"Pleased to meet H.E. Esteban Lazo Hernandez, President of Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power and discuss with him means of strengthening cooperation between parliaments of the two countries. @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @CubaMINREX," Lekhi wrote in a tweet.

Lekhi apprised Hernandez about policies of Indian government and stressed on the need to further bolster cooperation between the parliaments of India and Cuba, according to the statement released by MEA.

Esteban Lazo Hernandez appreciated India for its support for Cuba at the United Nations, assistance projects and LOC and in training Cuban nationals under ITEC and others subjects.

Meenakashi Lekhi also held a meeting with Cuba's Acting Minister of External Relations of Cuba Gerardo Penalver Portal. The two sides discussed issues of common interest and expressed readiness to enhance cooperation in development assistance programmes, trade and investment, energy, disaster management, culture, health and pharma, AYUSH, and biotechnology.

Furthermore, Meenakashi Lekhi and Gerardo Penalver Portal held detailed discussions on LiFE, CDRI, International Year of Millets 2023, sustainability and climate change, according to the MEA statement.

Lekhi also held a meeting with Cuba's Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso Grau and agreed on further strengthening ties in culture with increased exchanges and cooperation, including cinema.

During her visit, Lekhi visited Fidel Castro Centre in Havana and the 'panchakarma centre' in International Health Centre (La Pradera) that was set up in association with AYUSH Ministry.

She also held interactions with the La Pradera Director and practitioners of Ayurveda. She also paid floral tributes to Jose Marti at his monument in Havana. Furthermore, Lekhi paid floral tribute at Mahatma Gandhi's bust in Havana. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Colombo [Sri Lanka], January 15 (ANI): The Sri Lankan Navy welcomed the Indian Naval Ship (INS) 'Delhi', which arrived at the Port of Trincomalee on January 15. During the ship's stay, the crew will participate in several programmes organized by the Sri Lanka Navy to promote cooperation and goodwill between the two navies, according to the statement released by Sri Lankan Navy.

"The Indian Naval Ship (INS) 'Delhi' arrived at the Port of Trincomalee on a formal visit this morning (15th January 2023). The visiting ship was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in compliance with naval traditions," the Sri Lankan Navy said in a statement.

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Bodies Recovered From Yeti Airlines Aircraft Carrying 72, Rescue Operations Underway.

The INS 'Delhi' is a 163.2 metre-long destroyer and is manned by a crew of 390 and the ship is commanded by Captain Shiraz Husain Azad. The

Commanding Officer of INS is due to meet Commander Eastern Naval Area and Commandant Volunteer Naval Force, Rear Admiral Dammika Kumara at the Eastern Naval Command headquarters on January 16.

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Killed in Yeti Airline Aircraft Crash in Pokhara, Says Rescue Official.

During the ship's stay, the crew is expected to go on a sightseeing excursion in Trincomalee. Furthermore, Sri Lankan Navy personnel will engage in a training visit onboard INS Delhi. INS Delhi is scheduled to depart the island on January 17.

"In the meantime, the Commanding Officer of INS is scheduled to call on Commander Eastern Naval Area and Commandant Volunteer Naval Force, Rear Admiral Dammika Kumara on 16th January at the Eastern Naval Command Headquarters," the Sri Lankan Navy said in the statement.

"During the ship's stay, the crew will take part in several programmes organized by the Sri Lanka Navy, with a view to promoting cooperation and goodwill between the two navies. They are also expected to go on a sightseeing excursion in Trincomalee," it added.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to visit Sri Lanka next week to discuss the debt restructuring process, according to Sri Lankan President Media Division statement.

"India's Foreign Minister will be arriving in Sri Lanka next week. India is in debt restructuring discussions," Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said while addressing the "Pratibha Abhisheka 2022, on Wednesday.

Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the island nation will receive USD 2.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund and USD 5 billion from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, according to Sri Lanka's President Media Division.

He further said, "After that, we can get nearly 5 billion dollars from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The total will be USD 7.5 billion. Adding the USD 3 billion from the restructuring of unprofitable government agencies can add up to USD 10 billion, which will enable the economy to recover and bring the country out of this suffering." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kathmandu, Jan 15 (PTI) The treacherous terrain on the banks of the Seti River hampered the initial rescue efforts by local villagers who rushed to save the 72 passengers on the crashed Nepalese passenger plane, an eyewitness said on Sunday.

At least 68 people were killed when a Yeti Airlines passenger plane with 72 people onboard, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in central Nepal's resort city of Pokhara on Sunday, officials said.

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Killed in Yeti Airline Aircraft Crash in Pokhara, Says Rescue Official.

Arun Tamu, a local, whose house was situated near the site of the plane crash, recounts the chain of events following the latest aviation disaster that hit Nepal.

We heard a loud sound, and when we rushed to the scene (of the crash), we were the only people from the village. It took some time for the police to arrive at the scene, even as we began our rescue efforts, Tamu was quoted as saying by MyRepublica newspaper.

Also Read | No-Confidence Motion Against PM: Pakistan Peoples Party to Support Shehbaz Sharif If There is a Confidence Vote, Says Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Tamu said he and the rest of the villagers initially tried to douse the fire from the wreckage by bringing buckets of water.

We also took out 10-12 people, two of them seemed to be short of breath, the report quoted him as saying.

The rescue efforts were hampered because the airplane had crashed on treacherous terrain on the banks of Seti River, making it difficult for the villagers to go near the site of the crash, Tamu recounted.

It was difficult to go to the place where the plane had crashed, he said.

We are not likely to jump into the fire either. Also, there is risk of being swept away by water as the plane had fallen on the bank of the Seti River. There was an overgrown bush, and we were afraid that we would fall in the gorge while trying to rescue people, he explained.

Tamu conceded that rescue efforts were ramped up only after the police arrived.

Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraft.

Foreign nationals onboard the plane included five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans, an Australian, a French, an Argentine and an Israeli.

There is no information about any survivor so far, said Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson at Yeti Airlines.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' held an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers following the crash.

The Nepal government on Sunday formed a five-member commission of inquiry to probe the plane crash.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kathmandu, Jan 15 (PTI) The rescue and search operation in the Nepal plane crash that killed 68 people on Sunday has been halted and will resume on Monday to find the remaining bodies trapped in a deep river gorge surrounded by steep cliffs.

At least 68 people were killed when Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft with 72 people onboard, 68 passengers and four crew members, including five Indians, crashed on the bank of the Seti River in central Nepal's resort city of Pokhara.

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Bodies Recovered From Yeti Airlines Aircraft Carrying 72, Rescue Operations Underway.

The plane fell into the Seti River gorge. The 300-metre-deep gorge is considered dangerous for venturing because of the steep cliffs on its both sides. The river that flows deep down the gorge is not easily visible from above.

At least 32 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage site. According to officials, the rescue and search operation has been halted for Sunday and will resume on Monday.

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Killed in Yeti Airline Aircraft Crash in Pokhara, Says Rescue Official.

Identification of the bodies of those who died in the crash will start only after all the bodies have been collected, My Republica website reported.

All flights regular scheduled for Monday have been cancelled.

According to the airlines, only emergency and rescue flights will operate on Monday.

In mourning for the passengers who lost their lives in the accident of Yeti Airlines 9N-ANC ATR-72 500, we would like to inform you that all regular flights of Yeti Airlines for 16th January 2023 have been cancelled. However, emergency and rescue flights will resume, Yeti Airlines tweeted.

Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has a history of air crashes. According to the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety, there have been 42 fatal plane crashes in Nepal since 1946.

Sunday's crash is Nepal's deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it crashed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, January 15: In a first, a leading Pakistan daily, The Express Tribune, lauded India's expanding global footprint and its growing stature and heft on the world stage under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he has brought India to the point where the nation has begun to cast a wider net of its influence and impact.

The Op-ed column in the leading Pakistan daily further stated that under PM Modi, India's foreign policy has treaded skilfully and its GDP has grown to over three trillion USD. Calling it 'monumental progress', Shahzad Chaudhry, a noted political, security and defence analyst, writing in The Express Tribune, called India a preferred destination for all investors. Vande Bharat Express Train Connecting Secunderabad With Visakhapatnam Virtually Flagged Off by PM Narendra Modi (Watch Video).

The writer further reiterated that India has, under the chairmanship of PM Modi, established its own domain on the foreign policy front. India is also a big producer of agricultural products and the IT industry, Chaudhry noted in his column, adding that "in agriculture, their yields per acre are comparable to the best in the world and despite being a country of over 1.4 billion people, it remains a relatively steady, coherent and functional polity".

Citing data, Shahzad Chaudhry, in his piece, said India's system of governance has withstood the test of time and proved its resilience around fundamentals essential to a resolute democracy. G20 Presidency: India To Set Agenda Amid Global Challenges Including Russia-Ukraine War.

"Modi has done something to brand India that none before him could manage. Importantly, India does what it feels and to the extent it needs," he wrote. Earlier in November, Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan had lauded India's foreign policy, calling it free and independent. The PTI chief said although the country attained freedom along with Pakistan, their foreign policy remains independent as India stood by its decision to buy oil from Russia despite opposition from the US.

"I must take the example of India. The country became free along with us and now look at its foreign policy. It pursues a free and independent foreign policy. India stood by its decision, saying that they will buy oil from Russia," he said during a rally in Rawat town of Islamabad on Saturday.

Praising New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil in line with its national interests even in the face of pressure from the West, amid the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine, Khan said, "India and the US are QUAD allies but it has still decided to purchase oil from Russia in the interest of its citizens".

Again, in October 2022, the PTI chief applauded India's foreign policy saying New Delhi was able to import oil from Russia at will while Pakistan was a slave to the West as it is unable to take fearless decisions for the welfare of its people.

"The decisions of this nation must be made inside the nation. If Russia is giving cheap oil and if I have the choice to save my countrymen, no one should ask us. No one should be able to tell us. India can take oil from Russia but the slave Pakistanis are not allowed. I want to see a free country. Justice must prevail and people should be provided safety and security," Khan said.

Since his ouster from power in April, Khan has been alleging a US-led foreign conspiracy against him. While criticising the Joe Biden administration, Khan, on several occasions, lauded India for not giving in to pressure from the West and continuing to purchase Russian oil despite being a 'strategic ally' of the US.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad [Pakistan], January 15 (ANI): The police on Saturday lathi-charged a crowd, which stormed a truck loaded with subsidised wheat flour bags and pelted its driver and policemen with stones, reported Dawn newspaper.

This happened after people who had lined up to purchase flour bags raised slogans against the Pakistan government and broke the queue.

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Bodies Recovered From Yeti Airlines Aircraft Carrying 72, Rescue Operations Underway.

After stones were pelted at the truck driver and policemen, they retaliated and started charging the people. The truck driver managed to rush the truck to the assistant commissioner's office in Oghi.

The deputy commissioner later changed the distribution schedule of the subsidised flour and dispatched the consignment to Shergar and its adjoining localities, according to Dawn newspaper.

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Killed in Yeti Airline Aircraft Crash in Pokhara, Says Rescue Official.

The locals demanded the government to enhance the weekly flour quota for the people of Oghi.

"The district food department supplies only 670 wheat flour bags of 20kg to people in Oghi and its suburbs, which needs to be doubled to meet the local requirements," a consumer demanded as quoted by Dawn newspaper.

Amid the deepening food crisis in Pakistan, people were seen chasing a wheat truck on their bikes, risking their lives to get a bag of wheat.

Sharing the video, Professor Sajjad Raja, chairman of National Equality Party JKGBL, wrote that "this is not a motorcycle rally, but people in Pakistan are chasing a truck loaded with flour, in the hope that they will buy just one packet of flour. Do we have any future in Pakistan? This video is just a glimpse of what is happening in Pakistan".

In a video shared on social media, some people riding a motorcycle are seen chasing a truck carrying sacks of flour, and people can be seen chasing the vehicle to buy the lot. One of the chasers coming closer to the wheat truck shows the note and asks for a packet of flour.

He also advised residents in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to open their eyes. People in PoK have been at the receiving end of discrimination for over seven decades and the situation continues to remain so even today.

"This isn't a motorcycle rally, people in #Pakistan are desperately chasing a truck carrying wheat flour, hoping to buy just 1 bag. Ppl of #JammuAndKashmir should open their eyes. Lucky not to be #Pakistani & still free to take decisions about our future. Do we have any future with Pakistan?" he tweeted.

Pakistan is facing its worst-ever flour crisis with parts of the country reporting a shortage of wheat and stampedes reported from several areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan provinces.

Tens of thousands spend hours daily to get the subsidized bags of flour that are already short in supply in the market, according to a report in The Express Tribune. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Colombo, Jan 15 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday said his government is hoping to fully implement the 13th Amendment to its Constitution as mooted by India to facilitate unity among all the communities so that they could live as one.

India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment which was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987. The 13A provides for the devolution of power to the Tamil community.

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Bodies Recovered From Yeti Airlines Aircraft Carrying 72, Rescue Operations Underway.

President Wickremesinghe while addressing the national Thai Pongal festival-- a ceremony unique to the country's Tamil minority, in Jaffna, said a Social Justice Commission would be established to address grievances of all communities to create a Sri Lankan identity without discrimination.

His comments came days ahead of the visit to Colombo by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The minister is expected to raise the grievances of the minority Tamil community during his high-level talks here.

Also Read | Nepal Plane Crash: 68 Killed in Yeti Airline Aircraft Crash in Pokhara, Says Rescue Official.

The statement from Wickremesinghe also assumes significance as last week the main Tamil party expressed frustration over the lack of progress from the government on the talks held since mid-December.

The Tamils said they were skipping two days of talks to give the government an ultimatum of January 17 to come up with solutions to immediate issues.

Wickremesinghe said he would be making a statement on steps to be taken to achieve national reconciliation on February 4, which is Sri Lanka's 75th anniversary of independence celebrations.

A political party leaders' meeting would be convened next week to discuss the views of all parties on reconciliation.

He said the Tamil concerns on the disappearance of their kith and kin and a mechanism to grant relief to them would be announced.

Sri Lanka has had a long history of failed negotiations to end the Tamil claim of discrimination by allowing some form of political autonomy.

An Indian effort in 1987 that created the system of a joint provincial council for the Tamil-dominated north and east faltered as the Tamils claimed it fell short of full autonomy.

Tamils say that not enough power had been devolved to the provincial councils to make them meaningful.

Wickremesinghe himself tried an aborted constitutional effort between 2015-19 which too came to be scuttled by the hardline majority politicians. The Tamils put forward their demand for autonomy since gaining independence from Britain in 1948 which from the mid-70s turned into a bloody armed conflict.

Over the years, the Sri Lankan government has been aggressive against Tamilian groups following its war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The LTTE ran a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

According to Sri Lankan government figures, over 20,000 people are missing due to various conflicts including the three-decade brutal war with Lankan Tamils in the north and east which claimed at least 100,000 lives.

International rights groups claim at least 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed in the final stages of the war, but the Sri Lankan government has disputed the figures.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kabul, January 15: Electricity from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan has been disconnected due to technical issues, the country's power distributor, Da Afghanistan Bereshna Sherkat announced on Sunday, TOLO News reported.

Da Afghanistan Bereshna Sherkat (DABS) official Safiullah Ahmadzai said that Afghan officials were negotiating with Uzbekistan officials regarding the restoration of the power supply, as per the TOLO News report. He said that the company has started the Tarakhil thermal power station to address the issue of electricity shortage in Afghanistan's capital Kabul. Afghanistan: Displaced Families Face Tough Situation Due to Cold Weather in Nimroz.

"We activate thermal power stations for five and six hours at night which has a huge cost for us because our customers have electricity for one to two hours," TOLO News reported Safiullah Ahmadzai as saying.

DABS official Safiullah Ahmadzai said that it is not clear when the electricity from Uzbekistan will be reconnected to Afghanistan. He stressed that they have not received a positive response from Uzbekistan about the reconnection of electricity to Afghanistan, as per the news report.

"We didn't receive a positive response from Uzbekistan about when they will reconnect the electricity to Afghanistan," TOLO News reported Safiullah Ahmadzai as saying.

Two weeks back, Uzbekistan had extended the agreement for supplying power to Afghanistan. As per the agreement, Uzbekistan will provide 450 megawatts of electricity to Afghanistan during winter which cost USD 100 million.

Former DABS head Amanullah Ghalib said that Breshna must immediately connect the Turkmenistan electricity to Kabul and not wait for external help, according to TOLO News. Kabul residents have said that they are facing a tough situation due to continued blackouts during the winter. New Aid Package of $40 Million in Cash Reaches Afghanistan.

"Breshna has to immediately connect the Turkmenistan electricity line from Mazar-e-Sharif and the Pul-e-Khumri line to Kabul. And it should not wait for any external help," TOLO News quoted Amanullah Ghalib as saying.

As per the Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, the import transmission lines for Kabul electricity were made in 2008. They have the capacity of transmitting 300 megawatts of power and Kabul requires over 700 megawatts of power.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chennai, January 15: Tamil Nadu Police on Sunday took into custody two youths who were accused of raping a 20-year-old private company employee on January 11 after firing at their legs.

The incident occurred at Sriperumbudur near Chennai on Sunday. The arrested have been identified as Nagaraj and Prakash who belong to Tiruvallur. Police said that the duo are habitual criminals and accused in several cases. Tamil Nadu Shocker: College Student Gang-Raped in Front of Boyfriend in Kanchipuram, Five Accused Arrested.

The 20-year-old woman had lodged a complaint with the police stating that she was forcibly kidnaped by the two youths after identifying themselves as policemen and then taken her to a desolate place and raped her at knifepoint. Tamil Nadu Shocker: Jilted Lover Threatens To Leak Private Pictures of Woman on Social Media in Chennai, Arrested.

CCTV visuals led the police to Nagaraj and Prakash. When the police team zeroed in on the youths, they hurled country-made bombs at the police and tried to escape. The police had to resort to firing on the legs of the youth to capture them. The two are admitted at the Sriperumbudur Government hospital under police custody.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 15, 2023 04:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Lucknow, January 15: For the first time in Uttar Pradesh, thyroid cancer has been removed by robotic surgery. Doctors at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) have successfully operated on a 21-year-old woman, who was suffering from papillary thyroid cancer, through robotic surgery.

The hospital release said it was the first time in India that a cancerous thyroid gland was entirely removed through robotic surgery at a government institution. The patient, who hails from Prayagraj, had developed a lump in her, after which she was diagnosed at Kamala Nehru Cancer Hospital. UP Woman With Gender Dyphoria Clinically Transforms Into Man After Sex-Change Surgery at Delhi Hospital.

As surgery without making an incision in the throat was not possible due to complications, she was referred to the Lucknow hospital, Dr Gyan Chand, the robotic thyroid surgeon at SGPGIMS, said.

The patient -- a 21-year-old unmarried girl from Prayagraj -- had a thyroid lump in her neck, which was increasing continuously. After necessary tests at Kamla Nehru Cancer Hospital in Prayagraj, the doctors there told the family that it was a lump and it was malignant. Due to these complications, its surgery was not possible without making an incision in the throat. Rajasthan: Teacher Undergoes Sex-Change Surgery to Marry Student in Bharatpur (See Pics).

In such a situation, the patient and her family were very depressed and disappointed as this would leave the incision marks after the surgery. Doctors at Kamla Nehru Hospital then referred the patient to Dr. Gyan Chand, Robotic Thyroid Surgeon, SGPGI, Lucknow, for the surgery without making an incision in the neck.

After necessary tests, it was found that the patient had papillary thyroid cancer, which could be removed by robotic method. After the consent of the family, Dr Gyan successfully removed many lumps, including the cancerous thyroid gland, in the patient's neck, without making an incision in a four-hour operation. The patient is now recovering well.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 15, 2023 09:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Meerut, January 15: A man, who shot a 17-year-old girl in the Mavana area of Meerut for rejecting his marriage proposal, has been arrested. According to the police, the girl suffered a bullet injury under her left shoulder. She has been admitted to a hospital where she is undergoing treatment.

The police have identified the accused as Rajan Kumar, who is pursuing a course in mechanics from an industrial training institute in Hastinapur. Telangana Shocker: Jilted Lover Kills 19-Year-Old Woman After She Rejects His Marriage Proposal in Wanaparthi.

A police officer said, "A relative of the girl alleged that Rajan had stopped the bus and he opened fire at the girl while she was on way to her village in the Mavana area. After the incident, he fled the spot."

Circle Officer, Mavana, Ashish Sharma stated that a case under relevant sections of the IPC has been registered in this regard, based on a complaint by the victim's relative. A team of police officials have arrested the accused and are investigating the matter. Uttarakhand Shocker: Jilted Lover Kills Girl, Her Mother For Rejecting His Advances, Later Surrenders Before Police.

So far, the investigation has revealed that the accused had asked the girl for marriage, and had threatened her with dire consequences. He continued harassing her after the victim refused his proposal.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 15, 2023 10:13 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
A Social Security number is an identifying digit issued by the Social Security Administration. Financial institutions such as banks and credit companies usually ask for your Social Security number to allow you to open an account.

A Social Security number is also needed for work. It also determines your eligibility for Social Security benefits and other government services.

If you are a noncitizen allowed to work in the United States, you may also need to provide a Social Security number.

If you are considering changing your Social Security number, there are several factors to consider, such as confusion with the tabulation and distribution of benefits.

Individuals cannot change their Social Security number simply because they want to or because their card has been lost or stolen.

READ NEXT: SNAP Benefits 2023: January Food Stamp Payments in Texas

Change Social Security Number

The Social Security Administration (SSA) will assign a new number if more than one person is given or using the same number, CNET reported.

SSA will also determine a new Social Security number if sequential numbers assigned to members of the same family are causing concerns: If you are a victim of ongoing theft by someone using the original number, if you are being harassed or abused, or if your life is in danger.

SSA also considers changing your number if there is a religious or cultural objection to digits in the original number.

You can only apply for a new SSA number by submitting a new Form SS-5 in person at the nearest Social Security office. You cannot do it online.

Applicants will be asked to make a statement explaining the reasons for a new number, including "current, credible, third-party evidence documenting the reasons."

U.S. citizens must also bring two original documents stating their age, identity, and citizenship status, such as a passport, birth certificate, or driver's license.

On the other hand, noncitizens must show current immigration documents. For victims of abuse or harassment, documents should include supporting materials such as police reports, restraining orders, medical records, and letters from shelters.

Social Security Number

A Social Security number is useful in several things, such as determining eligibility and calculating your benefit payments. It is also used when getting private insurance or buying a home or a car.

Your employer will also use your Social Security number for state income tax reporting unless your state does not have an income tax.

When applying for a federal student loan, the government will use your unique identifying digits to make sure you are eligible for the loan.

The number is also used in certain types of public assistance such as unemployment benefits or Social Security disability income.

Social Security numbers are used to identify people and to ensure individuals are not claiming benefits to which they are not entitled.

When applying for a passport, the law also requires you to provide a Social Security number. The number is also useful when filing your tax returns.

READ MORE: Disaster SNAP Benefits Update in Florida

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: How Social Security Works - From CNBC




Embattled Congressman George Santos of New York is facing criticisms and calls for resignation from both Democrats and Republican colleagues.

The openly gay lawmaker is under fire for lying about his work history, education, heritage, and even his net worth.

Santos claimed he was Jewish, even though he was of Brazilian descent and a Roman Catholic. He also lied about working for big Wall Street companies like Goldman Sachs.

He also had a campaign staffer who impersonated Kevin McCarthy's top aide to secure campaign funds from wealthy Republican donors.

Santos also claimed to have a degree from Baruch College in New York in 2010 and was even a volleyball star there. However, the school said he was never enrolled there and did not play volleyball for them.

Because of these lies, fellow House Republicans kept their distance from the embattled lawmaker. Some GOP colleagues, especially from Long Island, even demanded that he resign.

READ NEXT: Republican Representative-Elect George Santos Admits to Lying About His Career

George Santos Net Worth: Embattled Lawmaker Claims He Is Worth $22 Million

George Santos' lies, which have been exposed one by one, have also placed scrutiny on his finances.

The New York congressman reportedly told Real America's Voice host David Zere that he was worth between $14 to $22 million despite claiming that his income in 2020 was only worth around $55,000.

Zere also said last month that Santos loaned $700,000 for his 2022 campaign, but the lawmaker has not been able to explain how he loaned it, Raw Story reported.

"How did he loan himself $700,000 for a successful '22 campaign, while he only claimed like making $55,000 last year?" Zere noted.

He added: "What was the point of everybody standing in the streets and fighting for election integrity all these years and accountability from elected officials if we're going to support fraud on our side, and just because it's an extra vote."

Santos earlier claimed that he made millions of dollars by selling second-hand luxury goods. He noted that he used to sell luxury goods at lower prices and with little documentation, the New York Post reported.

The embattled 34-year-old lawmaker said he put out feelers about selling luxury items like boats and planes, and a "couple of million-dollar contracts" landed.

He also told Semafor last month that his referral fee for a $20 million yacht can be "between $200,000 and $400,000," which all happened after earning only $55,000 in annual salary in 2020.

How Much Is George Santos Worth Now?

In his Personal Financial Disclosure Report filed last September 6, George Santos claimed that his assets were worth $11 million.

He noted that his assets included $1 to $5 million in his bank accounts, a condo in n Rio de Janeiro, Brazil worth between $500,000 and $1 million, and business interests of between $1 million and $5 million, The North Shore Leader reported.

Santos, an American-Brazilian dual citizen, did not disclose any U.S. property in his financial disclosure despite previously claiming to own mansions in Oyster Bay Cove on Tiffany Road and at the Hamptons on Dune Road.

He recently told some fellow Republicans that he was selling his Hamptons mansion for $10 million because he rarely uses it.

However, the outlet reported that a probe of Santos' alleged Hamptons mansion revealed that it is owned by someone else and the lawmaker has nothing to do with it.

It also reportedly has a market value of lower than $2 million. Federal prosecutors are already investigating Santos, with the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York looking into his finances and financial disclosures.

The Republican district attorney for Nassau County is also reviewing the alleged embellishments on his resume.

George Santos is also in trouble in Brazil, as Brazilian authorities plan to revive fraud charges against him. It is related to a 2008 incident involving using a stolen checkbook and a false name.

READ MORE: George Santos Campaign Staffer Impersonated Kevin McCarthy's Top Aide

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Republicans Ramp Up Pressure on Rep. George Santos to Resign - From NBC News
This file photograph taken on September 3, 2021, shows rental electric scooters parked in Paris. - / AFP

Parisians will be invited to vote on whether to allow electric scooter rental services to continue operating in the city as authorities weigh banning the controversial for-hire vehicles, the capital's mayor has said.

The issue is "extremely divisive," mayor Anne Hidalgo told the weekend edition of Le Parisien newspaper, with critics saying riders show only cursory respect for the rules of the road. They often defy bans on riding on sidewalks, or park without consideration, while some abandon the scooters in parks or even toss them into the Seine river.

Fans meanwhile praise the zippy fleets  totalling 15,000 scooters operated by companies Lime, Dott and Tier  as a fast, non-polluting alternative to cars or crowded public transport.

Ms. Hidalgo said Paris residents would be asked "a very simple question" in the referendum planned for April 2: "Do we or don't we continue with free-floating rental scooters?" The mayor said she herself was leaning towards a ban but would "respect Parisians' vote."

Read more France's electric scooter market continues to explode

A ban would make Paris an exception among major cities. In September, the capital already threatened the three operators with non-renewal of their licences, which expire in March, if they failed to limit reckless riding and other "misuses."

The operators in November came up with a number of suggested improvements, including equipping the scooters with licence plates that would allow easier tracking of riders running a red light, or travelling in pairs on the single-person vehicles  both common violations.

But David Belliard, Ms. Hidalgo's deputy in charge of urban transport, still said a cost-benefit analysis did not favour the rental schemes.

"They are in the way and they are dangerous," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP), saying he favoured a ban to "pacify our streets and pavements". There was "too much negative feedback" from citizens about the scooters, he said.

Ms. Hidalgo told Le Parisien meanwhile that privately owned scooters, also hugely popular in the capital, were not targeted in the referendum. They are "not a problem," she said.

Le Monde with AFP
Armenian protesters demonstrate outside a checkpoint near Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, December 27, 2022. ANI BALAYAN / AFP

The Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh declared itself independent from Azerbaijan in September 1991. Now cut off from the rest of the world for more than a month, its residents are trying to survive in the middle of winter in poor conditions, deprived of food, health care, and electricity and, for some, separated from their families back in Armenia.

Since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijani militants sent by the government in Baku have been preventing traffic on the only road linking the province to Armenia. They're demanding access to what they describe as "illegal mining sites" in parts of Nagorno-Karabakh controlled by the Armenians. Emboldened by its military success in the fall of 2020 war, Azerbaijan intends to exercise control over the entire region, including Nagorno-Karabakh. It does not envisage any special status for the province.

Along the Lachin corridor, the blockade is not total and a few vehicles from the International Committee of the Red Cross are managing to move around, carrying medicines and patients. Goods are sometimes transported by the Russian peacekeeping forces. But supplies are still insufficient, forcing the authorities of the separatist province to introduce a system of ration tickets, as well as restricting cash withdrawals and gasoline fill-ups.

"The situation is getting worse. There's a lack of food, fruit and vegetables. There's no more diesel, so no more agricultural work. On December 13, the gas was cut off and then restored. But it could be cut off again. We also have electricity cuts," explained Grant Safarian, head of agriculture in the province, during a videoconference held on Thursday, January 12, from Stepanakert  the capital of the enclave, where the authorities are trapped, along with the population.

Ruben Vardanian, the Yerevan-born former Russian investment banker who currently leads the government of Nagorno-Karabakh, was present at the meeting. He believes that an air bridge should be set up with the help of the international community, "like the one created to counter the blockade of West Berlin" by the Soviets between 1948 and 1949.

After a first war for the control of Nagorno-Karabakh, during the collapse of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Armenia clashed again in the fall of 2020. The conflict ended with Armenia's defeat, being forced to relinquish territory to Azerbaijan, including part of the separatist province. Despite the ceasefire agreement signed under the auspices of Russia, the embers of the conflict have never really been extinguished since then. In September 2022, fighting on the border between the two countries killed 286 people.

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Six Irish actors are contenders for top acting awards at Sunday night's 28th annual Critics Choice Awards (CCA).

The CCA, the second major ceremony of the awards show season after the Golden Globes earlier this week, is historically the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations and will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Irish actors Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Kerry Condon and Jessie Buckley are all up for awards tonight.

Sci-fi thriller Everything Everywhere All At Once leads the film contenders at the awards, having earned 14 nominations.

The film  starring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and James Hong  was nominated best picture and best comedy, as well as several acting nods. Both Yeoh and Quan earned nominations for best actress and best supporting actor respectively  both also having won Golden Globes on Tuesday.

The films other stars, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu, are both up for Best Supporting Actress, and the cast garnered a Best Acting Ensemble nomination.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is joined in the top category by Martin McDonaghs The Banshees Of Inisherin, which also received nine nominations in total.

The film takes on Babylon, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, RRR, Tar, Women Talking, Elvis and Steven Spielbergs The Fabelmans in the best picture category.

Blockbuster films Avatar: The Way Of Water, and Top Gun: Maverick also earned nods for best picture.

The CCA previously said that there were 11 best picture nominees this year due to an exact tie.

At the Golden Globes on Tuesday, Colin Farrell won the best performance by an actor in a motion picture: musical or comedy and Butler won the equivalent award for a dramatic motion picture.

The pair will battle it out for the CCA best actor award, and are joined by Brendan Fraser, Bill Nighy, Paul Mescal and Tom Cruise.

As well as Yeoh, CCA best actress nominees include Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, Danielle Deadwyler, Margot Robbie and Michelle Williams.

US comedy show Abbott Elementary leads the television contenders at the Critics Choice Awards, having earned six nominations.

It was also previously announced that Hollywood star Jeff Bridges will receive the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award at this years show.

The star-studded ceremony will take place at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles, and is due to begin at 3am UK time.

Full list of Critics Choice Award film nominations:

BEST PICTURE

Avatar: The Way of Water

Babylon

The Banshees of Inisherin

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Fabelmans

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

RRR

Tar

Top Gun: Maverick

Women Talking

BEST ACTOR

Austin Butler  Elvis

Tom Cruise  Top Gun: Maverick

Colin Farrell  The Banshees of Inisherin

Brendan Fraser  The Whale

Paul Mescal  Aftersun

Bill Nighy  Living

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett  Tar

Viola Davis  The Woman King

Danielle Deadwyler  Till

Margot Robbie  Babylon

Michelle Williams  The Fabelmans

Michelle Yeoh  Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Paul Dano  The Fabelmans

Brendan Gleeson  The Banshees of Inisherin

Judd Hirsch  The Fabelmans

Barry Keoghan  The Banshees of Inisherin

Ke Huy Quan  Everything Everywhere All at Once

Brian Tyree Henry  Causeway

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Angela Bassett  Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Jessie Buckley  Women Talking

Kerry Condon  The Banshees of Inisherin

Jamie Lee Curtis  Everything Everywhere All at Once

Stephanie Hsu  Everything Everywhere All at Once

Janelle Monae  Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

Frankie Corio  Aftersun

Jalyn Hall  Till

Gabriel LaBelle  The Fabelmans

Bella Ramsey  Catherine Called Birdy

Banks Repeta  Armageddon Time

Sadie Sink  The Whale

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

The Banshees of Inisherin

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Fabelmans

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

The Woman King

Women Talking

BEST DIRECTOR

James Cameron  Avatar: The Way of Water

Damien Chazelle  Babylon

Todd Field  Tar

Baz Luhrmann  Elvis

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert  Everything Everywhere All at Once

Martin McDonagh  The Banshees of Inisherin

Sarah Polley  Women Talking

Gina Prince-Bythewood  The Woman King

S. S. Rajamouli  RRR

Steven Spielberg  The Fabelmans

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Tar

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Banshees of Inisherin

The Fabelmans

Aftersun

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Whale

Living

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

She Said

Women Talking

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Avatar: The Way of Water

Empire of Light

Tar

The Fabelmans

Top Gun: Maverick

Babylon

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

The Fabelmans

Avatar: The Way of Water

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Elvis

Babylon

BEST EDITING

Babylon

Top Gun: Maverick

Avatar: The Way of Water

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Elvis

Tar

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Elvis

The Woman King

Babylon

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP

Babylon

The Batman

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Whale

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar: The Way of Water

The Batman

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Everything Everywhere All at Once

RRR

Top Gun: Maverick

BEST COMEDY

The Banshees of Inisherin

Bros

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Triangle of Sadness

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Guillermo del Toros Pinocchio

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Turning Red

Wendell & Wild

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

All Quiet on the Western Front

Argentina, 1985

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

Close

Decision to Leave

RRR

BEST SONG

Carolina  Where the Crawdads Sing

Ciao Papa  Guillermo del Toros Pinocchio

Hold My Hand  Top Gun: Maverick

Lift Me Up  Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Naatu Naatu  RRR

New Body Rhumba  White Noise

BEST SCORE

Guillermo del Toros Pinocchio

The Batman

Tar

Women Talking

Babylon

The Fabelmans
WHEN it comes to the use of contraception, Ireland has one of the highest rates in the world.

Thats according to a report from the United Nations, which revealed 66% of the women aged between 18 and 45 use contraception.

Limerick Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Dr Mary Ryan said that contraception is about what works best for each patient, and what is easiest for them to take.

There are over a dozen contraceptive options available , including condoms, female condoms, oral contraception, hormonal ring, UID, contraceptive injection, surgical sterilisation, implant, coitus interruptus, vaginal douche, calendar-rhythm method, diaphragm, as well as the contraceptive patch.

After having a bad experience while on the pill, University of Limerick student, Molly Cantwell, chose to use a different form of contraception.

I have the copper coil for over a year now. I had a really bad experiences on the pill, so I wanted to use something that didn't have hormones, she explained.

Although, Molly now wants to try out another method to regulate her period better.

Im looking at getting kind of like the lighter IUD, its the lighter hormonal one, just to have more control over my period, she said.

If it was available, her partner would be willing to try the male contraceptive pill.

Speaking of the possibility of male contraception, Molly commented: If there was an option for my boyfriend to be on birth control, Id 100% considerate it.

He said so many times that hed rather do that instead of me having to through side effects.

Limerick city resident, Ellen Gough, also chose the coil as a contraceptive method.

Ive had it for two and a half years now. I ended up getting the coil after trying out other types of contraception. Over 10 years ago, I started on the pill like so many, but I found that taking it every day was a problem for me. I used to get quite nauseous taking it, said Ellen.

For a couple of years, she used the patch  a method which releases a daily dose of hormones through the skin into the bloodstream to prevent pregnancy.

That worked pretty well for a while. But I noticed, that my mental health was absolutely rubbish on it. It would get really bad, it was like Id fall into a hole of despair. So, I ended up coming off of it because it was so bad, she explained.

After a visit to The Limerick Family Planning Clinic, Ellen was advised to try another method that would suit her body more  and she went with the coil.

Its been brilliant ever since, and my mental health has massively improved. Its definitely one of the best decisions Ive made in terms of contraception, Ellen commented.

According to Dr Mary Ryan, its about what works best for each patient, and what is easiest for them to take.

But theres one more method that she believes should be talked about more.

Once their families are complete, we advise women to encourage their partners to get a vasectomy, because we don't want women on hormonal treatment for life, explained Dr Ryan, who works out of Limerick's Bon Secours Hospital in Barringtons.

The endocrinologist is concerned about the effect contraception has on women.

A number of girls are being becoming sexually active at a very young age, and they'll be on the contraceptive pills for years. I suppose the studies aren't there to say, how safe is it for all these women to be taking all this hormonal pills for so long?, she questioned.

Speaking of vasectomy, she noted: Its a painless procedure, it takes minutes  in fact, only seconds.

For Dr Ryan, its in the interest of womens health.

Its necessary because this is something that will stop women being on hormonal contraception until they become menopausal.

It just means that it's not all left to the girl, which it should never have been. We're now in a country where women are equally empowered as men and should be treated equally. And if they have to always be taking the responsibility, well that's not very fair, and it also isn't very equitable, concluded Dr Mary Ryan.
EXCITEMENT is building for what promises to be an occasion to remember this Sunday when the communities of Cappamore, Murroe and surrounding areas, along with musicians from near and far will gather to pay tribute to and celebrate two significant events.

The Comhaltas branch based in Cappamore is marking 50 years since its foundation and also honouring one of the founding members, Peig Ryan, who is in her 100th year.

Both are two remarkable milestones. Originally known as Craobh Maigh Rua - An Cheapach Mhor, the branch was recently renamed to credit its longest standing teacher and founder; Craobh Pheig Ui Riain.

The commitment to preserve and teach traditional music was important to Peig and her late husband Mick. This passion drew interest from all around county Limerick and beyond county borders.

In honour of the rich tradition Peig and Mick created, the concert features a host of world class musicians, local students beginning on their musical journey and of most distinction Peigs own family and friends.

The committee is delighted to confirm Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, of trad band Danu and RTE fame, as MC for the event and she will be joined by her dad Fergie and uncle Mike on stage.

The concert showcases current students, teachers present and past, and features renowned traditional musicians Mick, Louise and Michelle Mulcahy from Abbeyfeale, box player Bobby Gardiner, Limerick native uilleann piper Mickey Dunne, box player Domhnall de Barra, percussionist Tommy Hayes, founding member of Stockton's Wing, The Moloney family from Cappamore, singing sisters Aedin and Orfhlaith Ni Bhriain, Murty and Noel Ryan Newport, Eamonn Moloney and the Newport connection, Micheal O Riabhaigh and the Pa McGrath House Band from Boher and Sean OSe, the original Poc ar Buile and Sean O Riadas Ceoltoiri Chualann and harpist Mary Kelly.

Branch members from years gone by will take a stroll down memory lane and reform the Seisiun group which entertained so many appreciative audiences.

The tribute concert takes place in Cappamore Community Centre, this Sunday, January 15, starting at 2pm.

Entry at the door, 10 per adult (no charge for children).
THREE road traffic collisions occurred in less than two hours on the same stretch of the M7 Limerick to Dublin motorway overnight.

The incidents occurred amid hazardous weather conditions. The road was closed for hours to allow emergency services to attend to the drivers and clear the scenes.

The first collision on Saturday night was eastbound between Birdhill and Nenagh.

A garda spokesperson said: "Gardai attended the scene of a single vehicle road traffic collision that occurred at approximately 10.25pm on on the M7 in the Ballinahinch area of Birdhill, County Tipperary. No injuries were reported. Enquiries are ongoing."

The second incident occurred a short time later in the same location but in the westbound lane.

"Gardai attended the scene of a single vehicle road traffic collision that occurred at approximately 11.15pm on Saturday, January 14 on the M7 in the Ballinahinch area of Birdhill, County Tipperary. No injuries were reported. Enquiries are ongoing," said a garda spokesperson.

The third collision occurred between Birdhill and Castletroy shortly after midnight. It is not known at this time the number of vehicles involved or if any injuries were sustained.

One motorist described road conditions as "treacherous" due to heavy rain and hail showers. Limerick Live understands a number of motorists were guided by gardai to drive at a maximum speed of 40kms.

Many Monaleen fans would have caught up in the road closures as they returned from watching their team being crowned All- Ireland intermediate club hurling champions in Croke Park.

That stretch of of the M7 has long been controversial due to the number of road traffic collisions and fatalities that occur there.

In 2021, Minister of State Niall Collins and Cllr Marin Ryan called on Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to investigate the M7 between Annacotty and Nenagh.

Mr Collins said he raised his concerns over "aquaplaning" as far back as 2018 through a Dail question and got a "piecemeal" answer from TII.

"What has to happen for them to take action? It cant be a coincidence that multiple crashes occur when there are hail showers or heavy rain.

"Motorways should be the safest of all roads but for some reason this isnt. There has to be something seriously wrong. It is a significant issue of public concern," said Mr Collins.
FOUR artworks on the Castletroy Greenway were kicked in by unknown perpetrators who left boot marks on them within two days of being erected.

The Castletroy Greenway, which officially opened last year, is a pollution-free pedestrian and cycle path which runs along the Dublin Road.

Colourful, three-dimensional steel artworks depicting pictures of butterflies and wildflowers, were erected along the greenway just before Christmas after they were created by Barrett Engineering of Newcastle West.

Ann OMalley, spokesperson for Limerick Tidy Towns, condemned the vandalism incident.

I myself, and any other people I spoke to, were absolutely shocked and amazed that within such a short period of time, two days at Christmas, it could have been vandalised. While nobody saw anything, evidence suggests that it was kicked quite high in the air and boot marks were left on it.

Limerick Tidy Towns is just one of the organisations supporting the greenway project, alongside Limerick County Council and URBACT - the European body backing the project.

Its really just incredible because there is so much support for the project in the community, so it is amazing that this happened so quickly, said Ms O'Malley.

The community had arranged events during the summer to show people what the initiative is about, to walk the area, to encourage public input - but it would appear that it is probably young people as it took great strength and agility to do the damage that is done, she added.

The steelworks were created by Barrett Engineering, who have since evaluated the damage to see what can be done to repair them.

It is a criminal offence to damage public property and a person found guilty of this offencecould be issued a fine, imprisonment of one year, or both.
A team from the Prime Minister's Office visited disaster-hit areas of Joshimath in Uttarakhand's Chamoli and inspected the situation, news agency ANI has reported citing an official.

"A team headed by Mangesh Ghildiyal had come from the Prime Minister's Office to visit the disaster-hit areas of Joshimath, mainly the Joshimath Auli ropeway tower which has cracks and is closed for the time being," District Magistrate of Chamoli, Himanshu Khurana said.

Life in the hill town of Joshimath in Uttarakhand has been disrupted in the last few days as residents took to the streets to demand action for the cracks that have developed in their houses.

Also Read: Supreme Court to hear plea on Joshimath land subsidence on today

Joshimath is also known as Jyotirmath. It is a city and a municipal board in Chamoli District in Uttarakhand. Located at the height of 6150 feet (1875 m), it is a gateway to several Himalayan mountain climbing expeditions, trekking trails, and pilgrim centres like Badrinath.

Since the incident of land subsidence occurred, teams of many scientists and other experts are constantly visiting the areas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is keeping an eye on this whole incident. The team reached Joshimath and visited all the places where cracks have been found, as reported by ANI.

All the teams of the Uttarakhand State Government are also visiting Joshimath continuously. Today Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Sinha also reached Joshimath.

Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha on Sunday inspected the landslide-affected areas in Uttarakhand's Joshimath and said that there has been an uptick in the number of cracks, but no new areas have faced damages.

The Secretary inspected areas including Auli Ropeway, Manohar Bagh, Shankaracharya Math, JP Colony along with geologists and senior officials.

Speaking to ANI, Sinha said that the teams are conducting tests to ascertain if there is any particular pattern of developing cracks.

"Relief and rescue operations are being conducted. There has been an uptick in the number of cracks in some places. Cracks haven't developed in new areas. There is a minor increase in the cracks of approx 1mm but we are monitoring them. We are also finding a pattern so that in the future there is no damage. All teams are conducting tests whether there is any pattern developing of the cracks. After the tests, we will take action based on it. The cracks have increased, but there is nothing to worry about," he said.

"The Central and state governments are making combined efforts during this period. Our all teams have reached here for investigation & now their research will tell what is the reason behind it. After that action will be taken on the same accordingly," Sinha added.

Apart from this, cracks have also started to appear in houses in Sharana Chai village of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. A local also told ANI that a wall collapsed in Joshimath's Marwari village on Sunday.

Multiple cracks appeared on houses on Sunday. "Natural calamities like cloud bursts occur more often," Dalip Singh Pawar, one of the residents, said while talking to ANI.

"In case of low magnitude earthquake whole village will be severely affected," said another resident.

"Today, Joshimath is on the brink of collapse, tomorrow the whole of Uttarakhand will be destroyed," he added.

Multiple cracks appeared on houses on Sunday. "Natural calamities like cloud bursts occur more often," Dalip Singh Pawar, one of the residents, said while talking to ANI.

He informed that the geophysical study of the affected area is being done by the NGRI Hyderabad. NGRI is studying the underground water channel. After the study, the geophysical and hydrological map will also be made available by NGRI. These maps will be useful for Joshimath's drainage plan and stabilization plan.

With Joshimath reeling under severe crisis after hundreds of buildings developed cracks due to shifting soil, an old video of late BJP leader Sushma Swaraj is surfacing where she warned of an imminent threat to Uttarakhand from dams being built on the Ganga river.

In the video being widely shared on social media and flashed on news channels, Swaraj is seen saying in Parliament that the dams being built on the Ganga and its tributaries will have to be scrapped to save Uttarakhand in the wake of the 2013 Kedarnath disaster.

Swarajs video was also shared by former Union minister and senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on her Twitter handle. Bharti whose attachment to Uttarakhand is well known has also been against the construction of dams on the Bhagirathi river.

Meanwhile, the number of houses that have developed cracks in Joshimath has now risen to 826, of which 165 are in the "unsafe zone", a bulletin from the Disaster Management Authority said on Sunday. So far 233 families have been shifted to temporary relief centres, it added.

(With inputs from agencies)
Actor Kamal Haasan who recently joined Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra said that he would have walked the streets of the national capital during the Emergency as well if he had that much sense of politics in the 1970s, news agency PTI has reported.

While speaking on the concluding day of the sixth Kerala Literature Festival, the actor-turned-politician also clarified that one should not mistake him leaning towards a party and he joined that yatra for a "united India".

"...if I had this much sense of politics in the 1970s and there was Emergency, I would have walked the streets of Delhi. Please do not mistake this (joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra) as my leaning towards a party; This was for a united India," Haasan said as reported by PTI.

The Makkal Needhi Maiam chief said he joined politics because he was "angry", adding that he wanted to give back to the society and the people that had given him so much love for over six decades.

"I came into politics because I am angry. I thought I must come into politics, I must have my effect on politics before it has its ill-effects on me," he stated.

The 68-year-old actor, who described himself as a "Centrist", said he was someone who "runs from the Right towards the Left while holding on to its Centrist views".

Plurality is what India is, which will take a "long act to kill", Hassan said while calling "monoculture" bad in every field -- be it agriculture, politics or writing.

"It will live on... Genocide is the only way to make secular India into a monocultural India, and we will not allow it. I used to be an angry young man, now I am an angry old man but India still remains young in my mind and will remain so," he said to thunderous applause.

Billed as one of Asia's biggest literature meets, the Kerala Literature Festival concluded at Kozhikode beach on Sunday, having recorded the participation of as many as 400 speakers from 12 countries over four days.

An eclectic mix of literary and culture icons, the list of speakers included 2022 Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunatilaka, Nobel laureates Ada Yonath and Abhijit Banerjee, American Indologist Wendy Doniger, writer-politician Shashi Tharoor, children's book author Sudha Murty and singer Usha Uthup.

The Yatra will reach Jammu and Kashmir on January 19 and culminate in a huge rally on January 30, Congress leader Rajani Patil told PTI on Sunday. He asserted that the J&K administration promised all support to the foot march. The yatra will culminate in Srinagar on January 30. From Maharashtra, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut will also join the rally in Srinagar, Patil added.

Meanwhile, the yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, will conclude in Srinagar by January 30 with Gandhi hoisting the national flag in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

It has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

(With inputs from PTI)
Stressing Panamas geographic location as a gateway to North and South America, the countrys foreign minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo batted for increased Indian investments in the Central American nation. Mencomo revealed that a business delegation of Indian pharmaceutical companies will be visiting Panama to explore possible investments. Speaking of the broader India-Panama relationship, Mencomo stated that New Delhis outreach and focus to Latin America has sharpened in recent years. Mencomo, who is the highest level visitor from Panama in 15 years, also argued her countrys relations with India and China, both of whom are emerging partners, should not be compared to each other.

We have seen a lot of focused Indian engagement with Latin America. What do you think is the reason behind this?

There has definitely been a gradual increase in Indias outreach to Latin America during the last five years. Countries engage on the basis of common interests and values. There has also been increased trade with the region, which may reach around USD 42-43 billion this year. So trade is a common interest but there are also common values. You can see common values since Panama and India are both democracies. There is also a strong influence of the Indian Diaspora in the Caribbean and in Panama itself. Panama was the first diplomatic mission of India in Central America and it remains home to the largest Indian diaspora in Central America. Indias footprint is growing globally and Latin America is a region that Indian business will be thinking of in terms of expansion.

While Latin America is a growing partner, Panama is only Indias 10th largest trade partner in the region. What are the opportunities for bilateral trade and investment?

Trade between Indian and Panama peaked in 2021 at USD 548 million and that is a higher number than some countries that are geographically closer to India. The economic relationship is more strategic. While Panama is a country of only 4.5 million people, it is a door to the region. It is geographically located in such a way that you can reach the United States, Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela in a short time. Panama is also a democracy and its growth is sustainable. Panama also uses the dollar, which makes our economy more stable. When you think about Panama, its impossible to think about just numbers. You have to think about the country in a strategic way considering that you can reach the rest of the region from Panama. The country also has the Panama canal and among the best logistics systems in the continent. The strategic asset is to have Panama as a hub and then enter the region.

Are there any key industries that India and Panama are targeting?

I believe there is hope for a lot of cooperation in the pharmaceutical industry. Panama is trying to develop a pharma hub and we have carried out a study by the UN to establish a roadmap to build that. I believe the Indian pharma sector is one of the most important allies of Panama in this.

Panama also has a very small population. We understand that Indian pharma companies are probably going to be more interested in the region broadly and we can offer our help. There is a strong interest in this. We are planning to organize a visit of some major pharma companies to Panama to show what we can offer and understand what these pharma companies need to feel that they are getting a supportive ecosystem for them to produce and re-export in the region.

Another area of cooperation is green hydrogen. Panama is planning to become a hub for hydrogen. Recently, we have noticed that around 29% of the ships crossing the Panama Canal are using diesel fuel. Our interest is to be part of a transformation towards green energy. Before coming to India, I saw that Prime Minister Modis cabinet had approved a package to make India a hub for hydrogen. So there are common interests and possibilities to link our efforts. We can do more than what we are doing right now

How do you view Indias outreach in the region when compared with China?

We dont see a competition between India and China in Latin America. We find that they complement each other. What we get from India is very different from what we get from other countries. We are diversifying and we live in a multipolar world. We cannot have relations with one country and ignore others. Our relations with India dont need to be measured in comparison with China. Panamas relations with the United States, China, India and the European Union complement each other.
DNIPRO/KYIV : Russia unleashed a new wave of major attacks on Ukraine on Saturday, hitting energy infrastructure across the country and killing at least 12 people in a missile strike on a nine-storey apartment building in the city of Dnipro, officials said.

Rescue teams toiled through the night in freezing temperatures in the aftermath of the Dnipro attack, in east-central Ukraine, with local officials saying people were still alive underneath the massive pile of wreckage.

"They keep sending SMS-es," Mikhailo Lysenko, deputy mayor of Dnipro said in a social media video. "We stop our work now and then to keep silence and we hear people scream from underneath the rubble."

Russian strikes also hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv and other places, with Ukraine's energy minister saying the coming days would be "difficult" with threats to the supply of electricity, running water and central heating at the height of winter.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the number of those killed in the Dnipro apartment attack was likely to rise and he issued a fresh appeal to his Western allies for more weaponry to end "Russian terror" and attacks on civilian targets.

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and Kyiv's other allies condemned Saturday's Russian attacks.

"More security assistance is coming to help Ukraine defend itself," Brink said on Twitter, calling the strike on Dnipro "horrifying."

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Zelenskiy's office, said 37 people had been rescued from the building and a total of 64 were injured. Zelenskiy said the second to ninth floors of the building's damaged section had collapsed.

Pictures posted on Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov's Telegram account showed residents with no equipment desperately removing what remained of a wrecked car and combing through rubble against the background of a large pile of metal and concrete. Wounded people were carried away on stretchers.

"You used to come to our city! We treated you as normal people, as relatives. What have you done to my son?" a woman, restrained by rescuers, shrieked in a video from the scene.

Another person was killed and one wounded in the steel-making city of Kryviy Rih where six houses were damaged in Zelenskiy's hometown, mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said.

FIGHTING FOR SOLEDAR

Further east in Ukraine's Donbas region - the focal point of Russia's drive to capture more territory - Ukraine's forces were battling to hold onto control of the small town of Soledar. Russia has sacrificed large numbers of troops and resources to try to secure a gain after months of setbacks.

In Soledar, where Russian forces have refocused attacks after failing to take the larger nearby centre of Bakhmut, Ukraine insisted that its forces were battling to hold the town.

Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of the town with a pre-war population of 10,000, in what would be a minor advance, but one holding psychological importance for Russian forces who have suffered months of battlefield setbacks.

But officials acknowledged the situation was difficult, that street fighting was raging and Russian forces were advancing from various directions.

"Our soldiers are constantly repelling enemy attacks, day and night," Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Saturday. "The enemy is sustaining heavy losses but is continuing to carry out the criminal orders of their command."

Reuters could not immediately verify the situation in Soledar.

ZELENSKIY: WE NEED MORE WEAPONS

In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy appealed to the West to supply more weapons and repeated Kyiv's stance that the only way to end the war was on the battlefield.

"What's needed for this? The kind of weapons that our partners have in stockpiles and that our warriors have come to expect. The whole world knows what and how to stop those who are sowing death," he said.

Saturday's attack comes as Western powers consider sending battle tanks to Kyiv and ahead of a meeting of Ukraine's allies in Ramstein in Germany next Friday where governments will announce their latest pledges of military support.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine last February, has been pounding its energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing sweeping blackouts and disruptions to central heating and running water. Ukraine shot down on Saturday 25 of 38 Russian missiles of different types, the Air Force said.

Missiles struck infrastructure in Kharkiv in the east and Lviv in the west, officials said. Zelenskiy said Kyiv region and Kharkiv regions had suffered the worst power disruptions.

President Maia Sandu of Moldova, the ex-Soviet state to the west of Ukraine, denounced the strikes, which left missile debris strewn just inside the country's border.

"We strongly condemn today's intensified attacks of Russia & stand with those who lost loved ones in Dnipro & across Ukraine," Sandu, strongly backed by Western nations, said on Twitter. "Peace must prevail."

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda called Russia a "terrorist state" that brings destruction, death and suffering.

"Atrocities, mass killings, attacks on residential buildings  like today in Dnipro  will never be forgiven& forgotten," Nauseda said on Twitter. "The time for accountability will come."

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
Others, Food, Wine, & Dining, Top Ten on Long Island, Community, Charity & Cause

By Long Island Published: January 15 2023

Based on a Survey conducted on our Facebook we have found Long Islands favorite type of bagel of all time.

If you start your morning off with a Bagel then today is an important day! Its National Bagel Day! A day to be celebrated and enjoyed with a cup of joe.

As you sit back and read this article ask yourself what is the best type of bagel of all time? Do you like to play things safe with a plain bagel, are you living life on the edge with an everything bagel or do you just enjoy the simple things and go with an egg bagel.

There are precisely 28 different types of New York- style bagels to our knowledge. This delicious breakfast carb has deep roots in our history dating all the way back to the 1300s in Europe.

This question is likely the debate of the century or at least for Long Islanders. We took it upon ourselves to ask you the community as to which type of bagel are your favorites and the responses were heard.

Here are some of the top choices the Long Island community suggested via Facebook:

Heidi Rabstejnek

Egg everything but Id take any bagel from Long Island!

Danielle Mcgee

Sesame with veggie cream cheese

Ana Mar

French toast with butter slathered on it!

Bruce Yearwood

Poppy

Alida Lyons

Cinnamon raisin

Our team scanned through the 500+ comments left on the questionnaire and we came to the conclusion that an Everything bagel is Long Island's choice of the best bagel of all time

Here are some of the most popular bagel variations (not in order) found in stores and restaurants across the United States.
On July 23, 2013, German Frank Hanebuth and 24 other people were arrested in a huge police operation dubbed Casablanca. Hanebuth was the leader of a Hells Angels chapter that had established itself in Playa de Palma. Its businesses were said to have been drugs trafficking, money laundering and shady financial dealings, extortion and prostitution.

Hanebuth is from a small town in the Hannover region. By the end of the last century, people feared and respected him in equal measure. Into the 21st century, and German investigators were on his trail, but he eluded them and eventually moved to Mallorca, where he was to create an organisation that allegedly controlled much of the underworld business in Playa de Palma.

He and others acquired a property well away from the resort. For two and a half million euros, a mansion was bought in Lloret de Vistalegre, which was where he was arrested in 2013.

He spent two years in prison. He was released on conditions in 2015. Able to travel to Germany, he was apparently welcomed back as though he were a head of state. In a white limousine, he toured the streets, where friends flocked to greet him. In 2017, he married Sarah; the reception was attended by some 700 people.

Four years ago, it was reported that the Spanish prosecution service had brought charges against him. Finally, on Monday, January 23, he is due to go on trial at the Audiencia Nacional high court in Madrid.
R'Bonney Gabriel became the new Miss Universe 2023 on Saturday, at the 71st edition since the pageant was first held.

The 28-year-old fashion designer, who represents the United States, won the crown in a tightly contested competition that has caused plenty of controversy.

After the announcement of R'Bonney Gabriel's victory, many on social networks have risen up en masse against the judges' decision and have even claimed that the contest was fixed, as they consider that the winner should have been the Venezuelan Amanda Dudamel, who finished as first runner-up.

A large majority of the public considered it unfair that the US representative prevailed over the Venezuelan candidate.

The decision came as a surprise after Amanda Dudamel became the favorite among viewers and social media followers, which is why there was so much indignation after R'Bonney Gabriel took home the crown.

The judges' decision did not leave the public happy. Many expressed disbelief after the crown was awarded to Miss USA and the signs of discontent are widespread.

The United States is now the nation with the most victorious Miss Universe contestants, with a total of nine winners. On the other side is Venezuela, a nation that has had seven beauty queens, a figure that could have increased, tied with the USA, if Amanda Dudamel had won this year.

The controversial Miss USA election

As far back as the selection of the national Miss USA pageant in October 2022, some fellow contestants complained that the selection of R'Bonney Gabriel was fraudulent.

"Most of the contestants feel very strongly that there was favoritism towards Miss Texas and we have the receipts to prove it," explained Miss Montana, Heather Lee O'Keefe.

R'Bonney Gabriel became the first Filipino-American woman to take home the title.

Who is R'Bonney Gabriel?

The new Miss Universe is a 28-year-old model born in San Antonio.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Fashion and Apparel Design from the University of North Texas, which she completed in 2018.

After graduating, R'Bonney created her own clothing line, while also managing to partner with Magpies & Peacocks, where she works as a master seamstress.

Sabotage, discrimination and more controversy at Miss Universe

The Miss Universe pageant is not without controversy. The issue has already started with the takeover of the international pageant by transgender businesswoman Anne Jakrajutatip, owner of the conglomerate JKN Global Group.

Allegations of discrimination, homophobia and attempts to sabotage the beauty queens plagued the build-up to the pageant.

Miss Bolivia's representative, Fernanda Pasivic, lost her place in the pageant when she mocked other candidates during a live broadcast on Instagram. Her comments against the representatives of Argentina (Barbara Cabrera), Paraguay (Leah Ashmore), Brazil (Mia Mamede) and El Salvador (Alejandra Guajardo) were called racist, discriminatory and homophobic.

In the preliminaries of the pageant, Miss Peru, Alessia Rovegno, paraded in a red gown representing the Amazonian sunset. However, her director, Jessica Newton, warned via Instagram that there had been an attempt to sabotage the Peruvian queen, suggesting her shoes and headdress were missing.

The group photo session with the Miss Universe candidates was not free of controversy either. Miss Ukraine, on seeing the Russian representative arrive, was uncomfortable and asked Miss Colombia, Maria Fernanda Aristizabal, to change her place to avoid being too close to the Russian model.

This was an image that went viral on TikTok, as did a backstage video of the pageant on January 11, in which several candidates claimed they had been ignored by the make-up artists of MUBA Cosmetics, official sponsor of Miss Universe, who preferred to attend to the Venezuelan Amanda Dudamel.
The Telegraph writer Bryony Gordon visited Prince Harry allthe way in Montecito, California for an extended interview. She published two versions, the one on the renowned publication and the one on her personal Substack account. One of the most alarming quotes is directly linked to undisclosed information about Prince William and King Charles III. Prince Harry revealed that his book was cut down almost in half, there was so much material he could write a second book if he wanted. He made a decision to tell his editor to cut it down for two reasons.

King Charles makes first public appearance since the release of Prince Harry's memoir

The first and most obvious reason was due to editorial purposes, the book needed to make some sense and have a structure. However, the other reason he decided to not include many parts of the story will definitely alarm the monarchy. Prince Harry revealed many interactions between he and Prince William weren't disclosed. Also, interactions with King Charles III were also omitted. The reason? Prince Harry knows they would never forgive him if he divulged that information to the public. That makes everybody far more curious about the parts that were omitted in the book. Prince Harry has damaging information about his family and nobody knows if he will use it. They better not force him to do so.

Prince Harry's revelation about Prince William

Here's what the prince said: "Because on the scale of things I could include for family members, there were certain things that - look, anything I'm going to include about any of my family members, I'm going to get trashed for. I knew that walking into it. But it's impossible to tell my story without them in it, because they play such a crucial part in it. And also because you need to understand the characters and personalities of everyone within the book. But there are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don't want the world to know.

"Because I don't think they would ever forgive me. Now you could argue that some of the stuff I've put in there, well, they will never forgive me anyway. But the way I see it is, I'm willing to forgive you for everything you've done, and I wish you'd actually sat down with me, properly, and instead of saying I'm delusional and paranoid, actually sit down and have a proper conversation about this, because what I'd really like is some accountability. And an apology to my wife."
JOHNSTOWN, Pa.  When Andrew Folmar was graduating from Cambria Heights High School in 1995, his sights were set on college, he said.

But his bank account wasn't.

"I joined the U.S. Army Reserves and I ended up loving it," said Folmar, who is now a sergeant first class with the branch. "I paid $90 to get my degree in business administration."

Today, Folmar shares that story as a recruiter for the reserves at a point when more teens need to hear it, he said.

There are more military scholarships  and unique ways to obtain them through military service  than ever before. But hundreds aren't being utilized across the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, he added.

Some programs don't even require volunteers to take basic training  including the Minuteman Campaign  or serve on overseas deployments. But informing high school students about the programs has become increasingly difficult, Folmar said.

'To open doors'

State Rep, Jim Rigby, R- Ferndale, gathered recruitment personnel from all four military branches with guidance counselors and administrators from a handful of area high schools Thursday for an information-sharing session at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College.

"The idea behind this (was) to open doors," Rigby said. "And also open a dialogue between recruiters and our schools."

He noted that many believe getting a scholarship from the military requires a full-time military commitment.

That's not the case, recruiters told counselors Thursday.

The Army Reserve Minuteman Scholarship, introduced a decade ago, is one alternate example  and college serves as part of the training, Folmar said.

Students must have a 3.2 GPA or better in high school and a minimum of a 1200 SAT score, and then can go straight into any ROTC-partner college and degree program.

That includes those offered at University of Pittsburgh and Penn State campuses, at IUP and others. Students would then dedicate one weekend a month and two weeks of their summer to reserve duty in their regions.

"You don't have to leave your local area to do this," Folmar said. "It's a part-time job that pays for your tuition, book costs ... and fees."

Enlistees' educations  in the degree paths they choose  prepare them to be come Reserve officers. After graduating, they continue serving the remainder of a 10-year commitment through continued one weekend a month, two weeks over the summer duties.

Folmar said he paid $90 for his degree by enlisting in an earlier program.

'To get degrees'

Fellow recruiters from the U.S. Navy, Air Force and National Guard also shared details about other programs, including the ROTC  which all branches offer  military academy training and the Navy's Nurse Corps, which enables nurses in a broad range of specialties to get valuable training through the branch's healthcare facilities, ships and research units.

"We want people to go to college. We want them to get degrees when they leave," said Navy Petty officer Christopher Capps, who has worked as a recruiter at the Johnstown Galleria since 2020.

He said the Navy does whatever it takes to support its service members  even those who might be sailing half a world away from their campuses. Satellite links enable online classes and professors have even been flown to students in the service to allow courses to continue.

For those who want to head straight to work, the service can be on-the-job training that leads to better jobs, they added.

"Yes, there's a commitment with pretty much everything we offer," Folmar said. "But everything in life is that way."

Conemaugh Township High School counselor Kara Duplin said the gathering was valuable and enlightening.

Duplin said it's common for Conemaugh Township students to choose the military after high school. But the vast number of programs the armed services offer can make that even more enticing for them  or even those who weren't thinking about it.

Many teens want to go to college. But even for those who are qualified, the high cost can put it out of reach, she said.

"For me being a first-year guidance counselor, this (event) was very convenient," Duplin said. "There are so many pathways to serve and receive an education ... and this enables me (to share it)."

Folmar urged counselors to educate teens earlier about the programs, because the screening process is far more detailed than it was decades ago  delving further into health backgrounds and even character, or "moral" checks.

"You can't just graduate from high school and sort of fall into the service," he said. "It's not for everybody. And even if you qualify, it might take a year of (paperwork) to go through."
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  Ohio's restrictive new election law significantly shortens the window for mailed ballots to be received  despite no evidence that the extended timeline has led to fraud or any other problems  and that change is angering active-duty members of the military and their families because of its potential to disenfranchise them.

The pace of ballot counting after Election Day has become a target of conservatives egged on by former President Donald Trump. He has promoted a false narrative since losing the 2020 election that fluctuating results as late-arriving mail-in ballots are tallied is a sign of fraud.

Republican lawmakers said during debate on the Ohio legislation that even if Trump's claims aren't true, the skepticism they have caused among conservatives about the accuracy of election results justifies imposing new limits.

The new law reduces the number of days for county election boards to include mailed ballots in their tallies from 10 days after Election Day to four. Critics say that could lead more ballots from Ohio's military voters to miss the deadline and get tossed.

This issue isn't confined to Ohio.

Three other states narrowed their post-election windows for accepting mail ballots last session, according to data from the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab. Similar moves pushed by Republican lawmakers are being proposed or discussed this year in Wisconsin, New Jersey, California and other states.

Ohio's tightened window for receiving mailed ballots is likely to affect just several hundred of the thousands of military and overseas ballots received in any election. Critics say any number is too great.

What kind of society do we call ourselves if we are disenfranchising people from the rights that they are over there protecting? said Willis Gordon, a Navy veteran and veterans affairs chair of the Ohio NAACPs executive committee.

Republican state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, who championed the tightened ballot deadline, said Ohio's previous window was an extreme outlier nationally. She said Ohio's military and overseas voters still have ample time under the new law.

While there is certainly more work to do, this new law drastically enhances Ohios election security and improves the integrity of our elections, which my constituents and citizens across the state have demanded," she said.

Republicans claims that Ohio needs to clamp down in the name of election integrity run counter to GOP officials' glowing assessments of the state's current system. Ohio reported a near-perfect tally of its 2020 presidential election results, for example, and fraud referrals represent a tiny fraction of the ballots cast.

Board of elections data shows that in the states most populous county, which includes the capital city of Columbus, 242 absentee ballots from military and overseas voters were received after Election Day last November. Of that, nearly 40% arrived more than four days later and would have been rejected had the new law been in effect.

In 2020, a federal survey administered by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission found that Ohio rejected just 1% of the 21,600 ballots cast by overseas and military voters with the 10-day time frame in place. That compared with 2.1% nationally, a figure attributed mostly to voters missing state ballot deadlines.

All states are required to transmit ballots to registered overseas and military voters at least 45 days before an election, or as soon as possible if the request comes in after that date.

Former state Rep. Connie Pillich, an Air Force veteran who leads the Ohio Democratic Partys outreach to veterans and military families, rejects arguments that the relatively small number of affected ballots is worth the trade-off.

These guys and gals stationed overseas, living in the sandbox or wherever they are, doing their jobs, putting themselves in harms way, youre making it harder for them to participate, said Pillich, who led an unsuccessful effort to have GOP Gov. Mike DeWine veto the bill.

I can tell you everyone I've talked to is livid and upset, she said.

Those familiar with submitting military ballots said applying for, receiving and filling out a mailed ballot requires extra time for those who are deployed. Postal schedules, sudden calls to duty, even extra time needed to consult family back home about the candidates and issues are factors. Ohios new law also sets a new deadline  five days earlier  for voters to request a mailed ballot, a move supporters say will help voters meet the tightened return deadline.

Neither the Ohio Association of Election Officials nor the state's elections chief, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, asked lawmakers to shrink the existing 10-day window for receiving mailed ballots.

Aaron Ockerman, a lobbyist for the election officials' group, said the seven-day post-election window called for in an early version of the legislation was a compromise that county election directors decided they could live with.

They felt the vast, vast majority of the ballots have arrived within eight days, he said. The group opposed making the window any shorter, on grounds that voters  including those in the military  would be disenfranchised.

Research by the Voting Rights Lab shows Ohio joined three other states  Republican-controlled Arkansas and Iowa, and Nevada, where Democrats held full control at the time  in passing laws last year that shortened the post-election return window for mailed ballots. Five states lengthened theirs.

Nationwide, a little more than 911,000 military and overseas ballots were cast in 2020. Of those, about 19,000, or roughly 2%, were rejected  typically for being received after the deadline, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

The Secure Families Initiative, a national nonpartisan group advocating for military voters and their families, is trying to push state election laws in the other direction, toward broader electronic access to voting for service members and their families.

Kate Marsh Lord, the group's communications director, said they were deeply disappointed to see DeWine sign the Ohio bill.

In fact, Im an Ohio voter  born and raised in Columbus  and Ive cast my Ohio ballot from as far away as Japan," she said. "HB458 set out to solve a problem that didnt exist, and military voters will pay the price by having their ballots disqualified.

Marsh Lord, currently in South Carolina where her husband is stationed in the Air Force, said mail sometimes took weeks to reach her family when they lived in Japan.

Even if I were to get my ballot in the mail a week ahead of time, a lot of times with the military postal service and the Postal Service in general, there are delays, she said. "So that shortened window doesnt allow as much time for things that are really out of military voters control.

She said it's even more challenging for active-duty personnel deployed to remote areas  the people on the front lines of the fight to defend our democracy and our freedom and the right to vote around the world. Those are the people who will be most impacted by this change.
CHERNIHIV, Ukraine (AP)  In a Ukrainian hospital ward for wounded soldiers, where daylight barely penetrates, a father talks to his injured son for hours. Serhii Shumei, 64, never scolded Vitalii for choosing to go to war. Even now, despite the damage done to his son's brain by an exploding artillery shell, Serhii feels pride, not pity.

Ive been constantly with him in the last five months, beside him, beside him, beside him," says Serhii, a retired former soldier himself. "Im not going anywhere.  except for a smoke.

Vitalii, a 34-year-old long-range anti-aircraft missile commander, was wounded in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that has become synonymous with horrific losses in ongoing fighting for both Ukraine and Russia. Quite how deadly isn't known  because neither side is saying. From the stream of wounded soldiers that are coming off frontlines to hospitals like the one where Vitalii lies, it's evident the costs are severe.

Both sides have poured troops and resources to capture or defend Donbas strongholds, fighting over months of grinding, attritional combat to what has largely become a bloody stalemate. After setbacks elsewhere in Ukraine for President Vladimir Putin's nearly 11-month invasion, Russia is looking for some sort of localized success in the Donbas, even if that just means taking control of a town or two pounded into rubble. Ukraine wants to make Russia's advances as costly as possible.

The Donbas towns of Bakhmut and Soledar have been turned into hellscapes as a result. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described them as completely destroyed, strewn with corpses and craters, and with almost no life left.

This is what madness looks like," Zelenskyy says.

Vitalii was wounded Aug. 25 on another section of the Donbas frontline, in Adviivka, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of Bakhmut. The shell that struck his dugout set off other explosives. The blast tore a crater in Vitalii's skull that is as deep and broad as half a melon. His brain injuries were so severe that doctors doubted he'd show signs of consciousness again.

Now, Vitalii sometimes seems aware of his surroundings. He blinks. He can swallow. But hes largely immobile.

Serhii refuses to give up on him.

We are seeing some progress, getting back on our feet. This is my opinion," he says.

He spends hours at Vitalii's bedside, sharing news from the battlefields, reciting from books, and reading out messages of support.

They're sent by grateful Ukrainians who urge Vitalii to Hold on to life! We really need you! and say You are strong! You will manage!

Serhii says tears roll down Vitaliis cheeks when he reads them to him. Other signs of improvement appeared in late December, when Vitalii started wiggling his toes, Serhii says. Vitalii also has started to frown, which Serhii interprets as meaning that his son is interested in what he's reading to him.

And recently, Serhii says, another breakthrough: audible responses from Vitalii.

Ive started asking him Do you know who I am? And he answered Dad.

Another of Vitalii's frequent visitors is Iryna Timofeyeva, a volunteer whose brainchild it was to collect messages of support.

"The love of the family, the attention of other people, very often helps the positive dynamics of the patient, she says. It is very important for the wounded that he is not alone. That is how he understands that he has to fight.

Vitalii is, for now, alone in his ward, after other patients were transferred for rehabilitation elsewhere. But the beds around him are unlikely to stay empty for long, given the ferocity of the fighting in the Donbas. Vitalii's hospital in Chernihiv, north of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, is among those where soldiers get long-term follow-up care after their wounds have been stabilized closer to the fronts.

Serhii feels that caring for his son is his contribution to the war effort.

I will put him back on his feet. This is my dream, he says.

Inclining to his sons ear, he asks: Ukraine will win, we will win, right?

The answer is silence.

___

Efrem Lukatsky in Chernihiv and John Leicester in Paris contributed to this report.
This mine is situated in the northwest corner of lot 995, 12th district, which lies adjacent to, and east of, the Columbia lot. Like the Columbia, this lot includes a section of Findley Ridge, with the various yellow and black belts of schistose saprolites, bounded on the north by the large dike of hornblende schist. The property, which includes the Preacher mill, located in the southeast corner of lot 986, is owned by four gentlemen, as follows: - A half interest, by Judge W. W. Murray, and a sixth, each, by Messrs. J. Frank Johnson, J. C. Clements, and D. T. Harris, of Dahlonega.



It is said, that this lot was first worked for gold, by a man, by the name of Dollison, about fifty years ago, evidence of his work being still seen, in what is left of two old inclines, which were begun at the top of the ridge, near the contact of the yellow and the north black belts, on two rich shoots in an auriferous quartz vein. The upper parts of these old inclines have been removed, in excavating what it now the central open cut, at the top of the ridge; but it is known, that the inclines went down, in a northeast direction, at an angle, agreeing with the dip of the schists, for about forty feet, when the trough-fault, described in another part of this report, was encountered, and Dollison lost his vein. It is said, that the schists of the trough-piece were slightly auriferous; but, that they were so much "leaner", than the vein, he had been working, that Dollison abandoned the inclines. It is expected, by the present owners, that they will find the lost vein, on the north side of the trough-fault. The ore, taken by Dollison from the two inclines, was hauled in wagons, two miles, to a 3-stamp mill, the stamps being of the wooden type, then in use, and the device, for saving the gold, being an ordinary riffle-box. This ore is said to have yielded an average of $20.00 a ton, even on this crude mill. The property, at that time, was leased by Dollison from its owner, Mr. James M. Brawner, of Elbert county, to whom the property was originally granted by the State. The work continued, for only a short time when the vein was lost. No work seems to have been done on the lot, from that time to 1885, when Mr. Marion Chester, a miner, found, in the black slates, lower down the ridge, a rich auriferous quartz vein. Having secured a lease on the property, from Rev. H. S. Rees, of Turin, Ga., its then owner, he, with Col. Robt. H. Moore and Mr. Robert Howell, began to work the vein. Three months after operations began, Mr. Chester sold his interest in the lease to Mr. Jno. L. Wallace; and work was continued, off and on, for four years, the entire work, during this time, consuming not more than a year. After working a rich shoot of the vein, for some distance down, a tunnel, with its entrance in what is now the northwest cut, about twenty feet above the base of the ridge, was driven, for 2 50 feet, to cut the vein lower down. From this tunnel, the rich shoot was then stoped out, up to where work had been discontinued in the incline; and the incline was continued further down, at an angle of 45, until it measured eighty feet below the tunnel floor.



The vein, at the surface, trends N. 55 E., and has a vertical position; but Mr. Chester informed me, that, at some distance down, it flexed under the ridge, occupying, thereafter, a position between the schists. He stated, that the vein was richest, along this fold. When the rich shoot, along which work had been prosecuted, had been excavated to a depth of 300 feet, thirty feet below water-level, the lessees were compelled to abandon it, on account of having to lift, with a hand-pump, an 80-foot column of water, in order to keep the shaft free. A further reason lay in the fact, that, as the ore became more pyritiferous below water-level, the amount of gold, which could be extracted by the mill, was constantly decreasing, with a consequent loss to the operators; though it is said, that, when work ceased, the ore was yielding $25.00 per ton, under the stamps.



When the incline had been excavated, for only fifty feet from the surface, the fault, elsewhere mentioned, in this report, was encountered, and Mr. Wallace withdrew from the enterprise. After some prospecting for it, the vein was found, about six feet north of where it had disappeared, and a few feet lower down.



The average width of this vein was about two feet; and the rich shoot extended twenty feet along the trend of the vein. This much of the vein was stoped out, to the bottom of the 300-foot incline. The ore, above water-level, consisted of free-milling, sacharoidal quartz, more or less cellular, and stained by iron oxide. Much of it is said to have shown free gold, in liberal quantity. Below water-level, the ore contained considerable pyrite.



Messrs. Moore, Howell and Wallace hauled their ore in wagons, at first to the old Columbia mill, but, later on, to the Lockhart mill, paying fifty cents per ton, and twelve-and-a-half cents per miner's-inch, additional, for water, at the former, and one dollar per ton, at the latter.



After abandoning the shoot, thus far worked, Messrs. Moore and Howell began work on another vein in the black belt, parallel with the first, and about thirty feet north of it, farther down the ridge. It was essentially of the same character, as the first vein; but, instead of one, there were three rich shoots, about ten or twelve feet apart, the shoots dipping a little more, than in the upper vein. The ore, too, of the second vein was of the same character, as that of the first. Work was begun at the surface, on the lowest or most western shoot, and the one next above it, the third not having been discovered, at that time; and, later on, when these inclines had been sunk to some little depth, a vertical shaft was sunk, farther east on the vein, to a depth of thirty-five feet, cutting through the two upper shoots, the topmost, which was entirely new, being supposed to be one of the two, on which the inclines had been started. From this vertical shaft, inclines were sunk, and the shoots were stoped out, to water-level. Both shoots were then stoped upward, to the point, where they were dislocated by the fault. Here, work was stopped by Messrs. Howell and Moore, after having stoped out the bottom shoot from above, to where the vein was faulted. Soon after these gentlemen discontinued work, Mr. ]. Frank Moore, a son of Col. Moore, and Mr.]. B. Clements began work on the mine, sinking the vertical shaft deeper, and encountering the lowest shoot, at about twelve feet below, thereby discovering, that there were three, instead of two, shoots. This firm worked the middle shoot twenty feet further, stopping at about twelve feet below water-level. The lowest shoot, they worked from the bottom of the shaft, till it was twenty-five feet below water-level; and from the bottom of the shaft, they stoped it out, in an upward direction, to the fault, a distance of about forty-five feet. I was informed by Mr. Clements, who kindly guided me over the property, that the fault line presented good slickensides; and that, by excavating, from the fault end of one of his inclines, for twelve feet, in an upward direction, at an angle of 45 toward the south, and along the slickensides, he drove into the end of the corresponding incline, where Messrs. Moore and Howell had stopped work. The tunnels and shafts, at the time of my visit, were not in such condition, that I could examine the faulted veins; but the dislocation was plainly noticeable, at the surface. Both veins were cut by the same fault, and they were similarly affected.



Messrs. Moore and Clements hauled the most of their ore, three quarters of a mile, to the Lawrence mill in Dahlonega, paying seventy-five cents a ton for milling; but about seventy-five tons of it was hauled to the Mary Henry mill on Yahoola creek, one and a half miles from the mine, the same tariff per ton being paid for milling. I was informed by Mr. Moore, who is a merchant in the town of Dahlonega, that the ore, worked by himself and Mr. Clements, averaged ten dollars per ton, under the stamps, notwithstanding the fact, that much of the ore was highly pyritiferous. This firm worked the lower vein, off and on, for about two years, the entire work, however, not consuming over six or eight months. Having reached the point, where they had to contend with too much water, for their outfit, and with an ore, constantly increasing in the unaltered condition of its sulphides, they abandoned the old shafts, and spent more than a year prospecting. Mr. D. T. Harris, of Dahlonega, was then taken into the firm; and, having leased the Stanley 5-stamp mill, they began work at the top of the ridge, in the yellow belt, by inclines and open cuts, hauling the saprolite, with included small quartz veins, in wagons, to the mill. They worked, in this way, continuously, for a year, when the lease on the mill expired. Up to this time, all work on the property, since 1885, had been done, under lease from its owner, Rev. H. S. Rees, a Baptist clergyman, who had purchased it from the heirs of his wife's father. But, in January, 1895, the property was purchased by Judge Murray, who, in April, following, sold a half interest in it to Messrs. Moore, Clements and Harris; and the four have worked it, continuously, since then.



The old Columbia mill had been removed; and, in May, these gentlemen began the erection of a 10-stamp mill on its site, which is known as the Preacher mill. They ran a line of 4-inch gas-pipe, from the mill to the top of the ridge, for the purpose of carrying water to the reservoir at that point, pumped from the Tan-yard branch at the mill. The reservoir was 104 feet long by 14 feet wide by 4 feet deep, with a working capacity of 35,000 gallons of water.



On the 4th of July, following, the firm began work, in the extreme northwest corner of the lot, at the foot of the ridge, in the north black belt, digging out the saprolite and its vein content, and flooding it twice a day, through a flume, to the mill, 1,1OO feet of the flume being supplied with riffles, and the remainder with false bottoms. This flume discharged its contents into the mill-house, the muddy water, bearing up much of the more finely divided gold, passing through the racks and into the Tan-yard branch, while the coarser material remained in the ore-bin, to be passed through the mill. It was ascertained by the firm, that the loss of a great deal of the gold attended this method of flooding; and Judge Murray, at the time of my visit, was taking steps, by which he hoped to obviate this difficulty. Four or five miners found it profitable business, to pan the debris from this mill, for a considerable distance down the Tan-yard branch; and it was their daily avocation.



At the time of my visit, the cut above mentioned, which I shall designate as the Northwest Cut, had been completely excavated, for about three hundred feet, in a line, S. 32 E., through the black belt, to the top of the ridge, where it was made continuous with an open cut, running 162 feet, along the top of the ridge, N. 68 E. These cuts varied, in width, from fifteen to forty-five feet, and, in depth, from about eight feet, at the bottom of the ridge, to something like fifty feet, in the cut at the top, which I shall designate as the Central Cut. The walls of this cut were, respectively, the north and the south black belts, the intervening yellow belt having been scooped out, to the bottom of the cut, and sent to the mill. From the lower part of a small cove, farther east, beginning at the north lot-line, another cut had been started, with a branch flume, connecting with the first, farther down toward the mill, the northwest cut not affording sufficient drainage. This cut was, at the time of my visit, 275 feet long, with a trend N. 47 E. Its widest point was 50 feet, and its deepest was about the same, with an average depth of, probably, forty feet.



Work on the yellow belt was being rapidly prosecuted; and only thirty-five feet of it was left between this cut and the east end of the central cut. Before my field-season closed, this entire mass. had been removed and milled, making a continuous cut from the foot of the ridge, where the work began, in the northwest cut, to the lower end of the Northeast Cut. This, however, was subsequent to my survey of the property. The northeast cut is wholly in the yellow belt, though the south black belt forms the lower end of the southeast wall, opposite which, forming the lower part of the northwest wall, is an apophysis of decayed hornblende-schist, from the large dike farther down the ridge.



In the lower end of this cut, the yellow schists have been mined to the south black belt, except a thin, wedge-shaped layer on the surface, which extends only a short distance up hill; but, on the north side, beyond the cut, there still remains about thirty feet of the yellow schists untouched, giving an approximate maximum width of eighty feet to the yellow belt. In the central cut, it did not exceed forty feet. While the central cut coincided with the trend of the belt, the northeast cut was diagonally across it, but, approximately, in the direction of the schistosity. The normal schistosity seems to be to the northeast; and the variation to the southeast is likely due to folding. In the upper end of the northeast cut, the yellow schists dip, along the southeast wall, at an angle of 25 to the southeast, and strike northeast; while, on the northwest wall, they dip at an angle of 35 to the northeast, and strike northwest, indicating an anticlinal fold.



In the central cut, along the north wall in its west end, the black slates dip 70 to the northeast, and have a northwesterly strike. On the same wall, at the other end of the cut, just beyond the trough-fault, they dip about 25 to the southeast, and strike northeast. On the south side of the cut, the dip of the schists of the south black belt varies from 25, at the east end of the cut, to 35, at its west end, being constantly to the southeast. The trough-fault, which crosses this cut, in an east and west direction, has been described elsewhere in this report. The fault, which dislocates the two auriferous veins described, is parallel with the trough-fault, in trend, and is eighty feet north of it. Still another fault crosses the lower end of the northeast cut, dislocating the yellow and black schists, with a throw of three feet to the south. This fault, like the others, is of the type, known as normal faults.



On this property, very beautiful specimens of auriferous saccharoidal quartz, containing plates of gold six or eight millimeters in width, have been found, occasionally. A handsome suite of these are on exhibition, in the State Museum.



Besides the black and yellow belts, the Fish Trap belt crosses this lot, on the south side of the ridge. So far as I was informed, however, no work has been undertaken on this belt. It may be well to add, that the only work, done on the south black belt, is the stoping, for a short distance, of a rich shoot.

Select Mineral List Type Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Detailed Mineral List:  Gold Formula: Au Reference: Minerals of Georgia: Their properties and occurrences. Robert Cook GGWRD Bull 92 Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 351-360.  'Hornblende' Reference: Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 351-360.  'Iron oxide' Reference: Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 351-360.  Pyrite Formula: FeS 2 Reference: Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 351-360.  Quartz Formula: SiO 2 Reference: Minerals of Georgia: Their properties and occurrences. Robert Cook GGWRD Bull 92 Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 351-360.

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification Group 1 - Elements  Gold 1.AA.05 Au Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts  Pyrite 2.EB.05a FeS 2 Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides  Quartz 4.DA.05 SiO 2 Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc.  'Hornblende' -  'Iron oxide' -

List of minerals for each chemical element O Oxygen O  Quartz SiO 2 Si Silicon Si  Quartz SiO 2 S Sulfur S  Pyrite FeS 2 Fe Iron Fe  Pyrite FeS 2 Au Gold Au  Gold Au

References

Sort by Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A) In-text Citation No.

Yeates, W. S., McCallie, S. W., and King, F. P. (1896), A preliminary report on part of the gold deposits of Georgia: Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 4-A; 351-360.

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS: 10290215

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
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France, which has the world's second-largest maritime territory, will sequence the genomes of thousands of species in its waters in order to draw up a "genetic map" to help efforts to conserve its marine biodiversity.

Over eight years, 4,500 plant and animal species will be studied as part of a programme called ATLASea, co-directed by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).

The project will receive 41 million in funding, the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research announced on Thursday.

Specimens of fish, mammals, algae and single-cell organisms will be collected on the coast and during expeditions to the open sea and deep sea starting in the second half of 2023, in mainland France and its overseas territories.

Potential new finds

Although most of the target species are already known, some may yet be discovered during the expeditions.

With 4,500 species studied, out of the approximately 12,000 recorded in metropolitan France, "we will have a vision of all the major groups that make up marine biodiversity", said Patrick Wincker, co-director of ATLASea.

The samples taken will be frozen and transferred to a sequencing centre near Paris.

High-tech equipment will make it possible "to extract long DNA chains before reconstructing the entire genome sequence", according to Hugues Roest Crollius, director of the programme for the CNRS.

70 million genes

The programme is counting on identifying some 70 million genes.

They will be stored in a database that will make it possible to trace the evolution of biological processes, as well as to compare genetic variations.

This will help to determine the level of genetic diversity within species, a key indicator for monitoring their state of conservation, according to the scientists.

In threatened species, such as large marine mammals like whales and dolphins, genetic diversity is decreasing.

"Often, before a species disappears, we realise that it is in danger because of this decrease," which makes it more vulnerable to changes in the environment, explains Wincker.

The programme should also help improving the management of fishing stocks, in particular by studying the impact of invasive species. It could also be used to identify new molecules for use in medicine and other fields.

Spanning nearly 11 million square kilometres, France's maritime domain is the largest in the world after the United States.

(with AFP)
Happy New Year cherished readers.

This article is a case of seeing who can win an election and has experience in winning elections. That is the simple way of framing this narrative.

After all the purpose of elections is to attain power. If you don't win an election, you do not get power.

Let me start this discussion with John Mahama's election record and experience. In strategy u can talk and talk about your strength and capabilities; but all of this will not count if you pretend your opponent or competitors do not exist.

Election Record of John Mahama in National Elections.

He has been on a ballot 7 times, since 1996.

In 1996, 2000, 2004, he contested elections and won as a Member of Parliament (MP).

In 2008, he contested an election as the running mate of Prof Mills. (Who remembers a then neophyte Bawumia as the running mate of Akuffo-Addo and NPP - He brought nothing to the ticket then). Prof Mills and Mahama won in 2008.

In 2012/2016 Mahama contested for elections as a sitting President. He won in 2012 and lost in 2016.

In 2020 he contested and lost (ex-president), 2024 will be his 8th.

As weak as he has appeared in some election cycles, in 2024, he will be quite formidable.

Bawumia s Election Record in National Elections.

Bawumia has been the Presidential running-mate on three (3) occasions 2008, 2012 and 2016.

In 2020 Bawumia was the Vice-President of Ghana and again, running mate.

In 2024 (assuming he wins as NPP's Presidential candidate), that will be his 5th time on a ballot.

Alan's Election Record in National Elections.

0 - Zero.

He has not contested any elections as an MP in our Political History.

He has contested 3 times to be NPP Presidential Candidate and lost on all these occasions.

His share of the votes has dwindled since 2007.

In internal NPP elections he garnered 32.3% in Record19.91% in 2011 and 4.75% in 2014.

Akuffo-Addos Electoral Record in National Elections

Juxtapose, this with 2008 Akuffo-Addo, who many say was next in line.

1996, 2000, 2004 - He had stood for and won elections as an MP.... 3 times.

2008 - was his 4th time contesting an election.

Next in line Mantra aka "Aduru me so".

Contrary to many "myths", there is no queue in NPP leadership elections.

Elections are contested and won at the Party Congress. It is never the case that whoever was second in previous elections is given the nod the next time.

President Kufuor did not place second (2nd) in 1992, he placed 3rd.

In 1996 Kufuor fought a very hard campaign and managed to beat Adu Boahen (some say the Kwame Pianim issue was a good fortune to his cause). Others like Akenten Appiah-Menkah attributed Kufuors success to his political nous after he lost in 1992. According to Lawyer Appiah-Menkah even though Kufuor placed third, he followed Adu-Boahen every where.

That was Kufuor making himself available to a wider electorate. For many delegates in 1996, it was a case of Kufuor was visible, and the allegations that bedevilled his candidacy were put to rest.

(NPP delegates in 1992 had accused him of being part of the PNDC government and they felt Adu Boahen had broken the culture of silence with his lecture titled The Ghanaian Sphinx: Reflections on the Contemporary History of Ghana, 1972-1987 - as part of the JB Danquah Memorial Lectures)

Kufuor again won in 1998 at Sunyani against a very powerful introductory speech by Christine Churcher for Nana Akuffo Addo. In spite of all the support from most of the Accra-based media houses and newspapers Akuffo-Addo placed second.

This aduro me so thing started with Akuffo-Addo and the Akyem Mafia. More so they felt it was the turn of Akyems to lead NPP. And alluded to Nana placing second in 1998.

However what many people fail to understand is that, in 2007, Kwame Pianim (who had been pardoned) could have made a claim that it was his turn. The likes of J.H Mensah could also have said it was their turn. Aliu Mahama the sitting Vice President and a Dagomba could also have said the same.

If Alan's supporters are saying it is " their turn", then the same case could also be made by Bawumia as a man from the Dombo side. Bawumia can say, Aliu Mahama suffered an injustice in 2007, so his Bawumias candidature is to remedy that injustice. But I believe this argument of it is my turn does not hold any candle.

Bawumias candidature should be judged on its own merits; that he is capable of leading NPP based on his track record. Nothing more, Nothing less. And the same should be said for any other candidate.

Elections are about perceptions, and in politics perception is reality. NDC are very ruthless and will play Alan like Mike Tyson, jabbing his opponent. They will eat him and spit him out.

Plus, it will feed the "perception", that NPP is an Akan Party.

A Bawumia candidacy is a dream for any political strategist. He has many paths to win a very difficult election 2024.

I don't have anything against Alan. I have supported him in the past, I think he will be a great Vice-President. His electoral record is very thin and will go against his electability.

Bawumia on this occasion presents NPP with great options to win.

Written by Kwadwo Kusi-Frimpong, a Financial Crime, Governance and Regulatory Expert, who has extensive experience working with banks and financial institutions in UK, Switzerland, and The Netherlands.

He is a graduate of University of Ghana (Political Science and Philosophy), Graduate Diploma in Law and LLM from University of Law (formerly College of Law), and a post graduate degree in Financial Strategy from Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Prophet Nicholas Osei, known popularly as Kumchacha has released lashes out at Member of Parliament (MP), Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.

The leader and founder of Heavens Gate Ministries claim the Assin Central legislator once described Bishop Charles Agyinasare of the Perez Chapel International as fake.

But according to Prophet Kumchacha, Mr. Agyapong recently visited a programme co-hosted by the man of God he despises and even asked for his prayers.

The Prophet, who is aspiring to become Ghanas president, during an interview on Accra-based Mama Radio, said the legislators presidential bid is soiled with dishonesty because of his past attitudes.

"With the advent of social media and the kind of world we live in today, whatever you do or say comes back to you in the future. If you decide to contest for office everything you have done in the past including from your school days will be brought up," he said.

He continued, Kennedy in the past said Reverend Agyanasare is not from God and that all the miracles he performed are not real. He said it on Net2 TV. The next thing we saw was Kennedy Agyapong attending a programme hosted by Reverend Owusu Ansah and Agyinasare.

The same Agyinasare who was accused of not being a man of God prayed for Kennedy Agyapong. You said he is not from God so how does he end up praying for you?" Kumchacha quizzes.
A Deputy Director in charge of protocol of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kwabena Frimpong has called on the party candidates to conduct a clean campaign devoid of vilification and personal attacks as it prepares to hold presidential and parliamentary primaries.

Frimpong is also urging delegates to respect the partys earlier directive which bars them from endorsing or campaigning for any presidential or parliamentary aspirant.

He was reacting to the recent endorsement of some presidential hopefuls by known party gurus, some of whom are party executives. Mr Frimpong fears such utterances could divide the party and further arm the opposition NDC with more campaign messages going into the 2024 polls.

I will commend the General Secretary for issuing this directive, Frimpong told Accra-based NET2 TV.

He added, Looking at events that rocked our 2007 primaries, it clearly tells you the party is being guided by past events. But I will use this opportunity to also urge our elected officers and by extension the party members to respect the partys position.

I am convinced the party will hold a free and fair election but then we should engage in a clean campaign in order not to arm the NDC with a campaign message in the 2024 elections and that to me would be suicidal.

The governing party is yet to announce the date for the presidential and parliamentary primaries.

Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen and Agric Minister Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto have resigned to pursue their presidential ambition.

Known faces like Vice President Bawumia, Kennedy Agyapong, Francis Addai-Nimoh, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, Joe Ghartey are likely to contest the slot.
John Dramani Mahama

15.01.2023 LISTEN

Former President, John Dramani Mahama has hit out at government over its inability to complete any of its Agenda 111 hospitals.

In a post on social media, the leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) bemoaned how none of the Agenda 111 hospitals have been completed although the project has entered its fourth year.

According to John Dramani Mahama, President Akufo-Addo's government must stop taking Ghanaians for granted and begin to take the citizenry seriously.

He also wants the government to put a stop to the plenty promises and sloganeering.

The Agenda 111 hospitals promise is in its 4th year, yet not a single hospital has been completed to support quality health care delivery. This is contrary to the lofty promise made in 2020. The NPP must learn to take Ghanaians serious. Enough of the slogans, ex-President Mahama posted on Twitter on Saturday.

The government launched the Agenda 111 Hospital projects a few years ago to improve health infrastructure in the country after the sector was exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government promised to build health facilities in the 16 regions.
The head of Turkey's Medical Association was convicted of terrorist propaganda this week, after she called for an inquiry into an alleged chemical weapons attack against Kurdish separatists. It came as rights groups warn of an increasing legal crackdown on civil society ahead of polls this year.

In the face of a heavy police presence, doctors joined by civil society groups and medical associations from across the world gathered outside Istanbul's court house on Wednesday demanding the acquittal of Sebnem Korur Fincanci, president of Turkey's largest doctors' union.

"What we hope today is the president of the Turkish Medical Association will be acquitted and be able again to speak freely and say what has to be said," said Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, chair of the World Medical Association, in a speech to the demonstrators.

But to no avail. Fincanci, a prominent forensic doctor, was convicted of terrorist propaganda for calling for an independent inquiry into allegations that the Turkish army used chemical weapons against Kurdish separatist group the PKK in Iraq, after she was presented during a television interview in October with photos apparently showing dead militants.

The military vigorously denies using chemical weapons.

Free pending appeal

"This court case should never have happened; this is a scandalous verdict. She only expressed a scientific opinion. We will appeal," declared Ozturk Turkdogan, one of Fincanci's lawyers and co-chair of Turkey's Human Rights Association.

With Fincanci's sentence under three years, she was eligible for release. She had been in jail since October, when she was taken from her home by police in an early-morning raid.

She was freed on Wednesday while she appeals the verdict.

'Disproportionate'

The arrest and conviction of Fincanci, a leading member of Turkish civil society, is seen by rights groups as sending a powerful political message.

"She made that statement in her capacity as a doctor who is a forensic medical specialist, who's looked at war crimes, who's looked at mass graves, who's looked at all sorts of things concerning chemical weapons as well," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher for Human Rights Watch.

"If someone like her can't question these things, who can?"

Any critical statements to the media risk being construed as an act of terrorism, according to Sinclair-Webb.

"It's a completely disproportionate response to prosecute someone like Sebnem Korur Fincanci," she said. "The larger issue here is that ... the government is very unhappy with Turkey's Medical Association because it has made critical statements about health issues."

As head of the physicians' union, Fincanci was an outspoken supporter of recent protests by doctors over conditions and the government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mounting pressure

With much of the media under government control, Turkey's civil society is one of the last remaining platforms critical of the authorities.

Philanthropist Osman Kavala, a prominent supporter of Turkish civil society, remains jailed in a case condemned nationally and internationally as politically motivated, a charge the government vehemently denies.

Rights groups warn pressure on civil society is likely to grow, with presidential elections due by June this year.

"It will increase because now we are in the election process. So they will, of course, target NGOs, human rights defenders, or [anyone] outspoken," predicts Sinan Gokcen, head of the Turkish branch of the Swedish-based Civil Rights Defenders.

"There is no isolated case in Turkey," said Gokcen.

"All are linked, or all such cases are part of a bigger plan to silence the human rights community. Not only the human rights community, but civil society in general. Because in an authoritarian regime, in any country  in Russia, in Belarus, in Hungary, Poland  the first target of the authoritarian regime is the truth."

But Fincanci's release from jail is seen by her supporters as a small victory.

Speaking to a small crowd of friends and supporters outside prison, she struck a defiant note.

"Doctors who struggle not only within these borders but also for people all over the world, for all living species, for this earth, for the universe, are natural human rights defenders," she declared.

"Therefore, jailing them or shutting down their professional organization is out of the question. Such attempts can be made; they have been made before. But in the end, they had to give up. We will keep on struggling for them to give up again."

The small crowd outside the prison cheered and sang songs celebrating Fincanci's release.

But with many of her supporters belonging to Turkey's civil society, they remain aware they are increasingly living in the shadow of arrest and prosecution.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, left Ghana on Saturday, 14th January 2023, to lead Ghana's delegation to the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) is a global initiative championed by the UAE and its clean energy powerhouse Masdar to accelerate sustainable development and advance economic, social and environmental progress.

Established in 2008, ADSW brings together heads of state, policymakers, industry leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and youth  who all have a stake in the future of our planet  to discuss and engage on bold climate action and innovations that will ensure a more sustainable world for future generations.

President Akufo-Addo will then depart Abu Dhabi on Thursday, 19th January, to London for a six-day private visit.

The President was accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, MP; Minister for Energy, Hon. Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh; Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor; Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Hon. Dr Kwaku Afriyie, officials from the Presidency and Foreign Ministry.

President Akufo-Addo will return to Ghana on Wednesday, 25th January 2023, and, in his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.
The Association of Road Contractors Ghana has called on the Akufo-Addo's government to urgently settle the GH5.9 billion owed to contractors to prevent their companies from collapsing.

In December last year, sector minister Kwasi Amoako Atta assured Ghanaian road contractors that government will pay them a chunk of its debt before the end of the year while gradually settling the rest.

But the National Chairman of the Association of Road Contractors Ghana John Afful Jnr. revealed in an interview with Citi News that the government only paid an insignificant amount of the total debt.

He has, therefore, called on the government to speedily pay significant amounts owed to contractors to help save their companies and also pay their creditors.

If you announce to the whole world that you are paying contractors by the end of the year and our suppliers, our creditors, and our banks are chasing us to bring the money into an account what do we do? The Ghana road fund owes contractors GH5.9 billion as of the end of October 2022, Mr Afful said.

Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Ahmad Nasir Yartey in response told Citi News, that the government will pay contractors as and when funds are released.

Every quarter, the ministry receives some releases for the road fund so as and when we receive some releases payments will be made.

citinewsroom
A Ghanaian young man, Curtis Jackson (not his real name) says he donates sperm for a fee of 2,500 every week.

His revelation is contained in a special feature by TV3 dubbed, Man Assisted Babies aired on News360 Saturday, January 14, 2023.

The feature by Emmanuel Samani explores sperm and egg donations in Ghana which has become the means of survival for many young unemployed youth who have to make ends meet.

Follow the conversation through the link below to find out the interesting comments people are giving after being asked if they were willing to also donate their sperm or egg for money.

3news.com
15.01.2023 LISTEN

Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia will on Tuesday, January 17 open the 74th Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC) at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon, Accra.

The three-day programme is on the theme: Positioning the African market for Sustainable Economic Development through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Mr Wamkele Mene, Secretary General AfCFTA, would deliver the keynote address for this year's Programme, which is under the auspices of the School of Continuing and Distance Education (SCDE), College of Education, University of Ghana.

Dr Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto, Director, 74th ANYSC/ Senior Lecturer, Department of Distance Education, SCDE, University of Ghana, who made the disclosure in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, said the Programme would consist of the Main School and Conference, and a Youth School.

He said the Main School and Conference was slated for Tuesday, January 17 to Wednesday, January 18, while the Youth School would be on Thursday, January 19, both at the Conference Room of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana.

We are expecting about 400 participants for the main School and Conference from civil society, government agencies, private sector, informal sector, academia and people from all walks of life, Dr Aheto said.

For the Youth School, we will be expecting a minimum of 350 participants from around the country.

Touching on expected outcomes of the Programme, Dr Aheto said one of the major outcomes of the Annual New Year School and Conference was the release of a communique at the end of the event.

He said the previous communiques had shaped policies and provoked discussions of the themes within the public space.

He reiterated that adequate opportunities would be created to ensure non-partisan discourse on the theme and widely disseminate policy briefs both locally and internationally.

He noted that this years Programme would contribute to the continent's quest in advancing trade and industry with the aim of building a robust African economy that could sustainably contribute to growth in member countries

He said the Annual New Year School and Conference had existed over the last 74 years; adding that in the course of the year, we shall be cutting sod for the Annual New Year School and Conference Multipurpose Digital Youth Village Complex on campus, a hub for youth training and development in Ghana and on the continent.

Again, this year's ANYSC coincides with the 75th Anniversary celebration of the premier University of Ghana, the institution that is affectionately called, Legon.

Dr Aheto told the GNA that the 74th ANYSC was creating a platform for every Ghanaian, every African to have a better understanding and involvement of the whole concept of the AfCFTA, an intra-continental trade space to promote.

Since its inception in 1948, the Annual New Year School and Conference has been the flagship programme of the University and attracts people from all walks of life to deliberate on topical issues of national and international interests.

It opens at the beginning of every new year.

At the end of every school and conference, a communique is issued, which captures the recommendations of participants and discussants.

The recommendations usually inform policy decisions and directions in the country.

GNA
The damage done to this country called Ghana by Nana Addo and his New Patriotic Party government. We can only pull ourselves from this abyss that Ghana find itself by someone who is effective and hungry for power.

The NDC must consider the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIUs) prediction that the National Democratic Congress will win the 2024 elections with a different presidential candidate.

The demeanor of the former President John Mahama is not someone who is hungry for power. even that the Crater created by the Nana Addo's government is so huge that John Mahama doesn't have the capacity to filled it.

The small hole he created in the economy during his tenure of office as the president, he was unable to resolved it, he sought an assistance from the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the citizenry bare all the pain the conditionality came with.

President John Mahama must spare himself further embarrassment, insults and vilification, Other former president in Africa who had the opportunity to be voted back as president didn't achieve much.

Presidents like late Mathieu Kerekou of Benin Republic, General Olushegu Obasanjo and the current president Buhari of Nigeria are typical examples.

President Obasanjo knowing, he didn't achieve much as he expected decided to change the constitution to extend his tenure of office for another term, which was fiercely resisted by the collective force of Nigerians.

The National Democratic Congress is not bereft of astute competent leaders. John Mahama's desire to lead the NDC at all costs has pushed potential candidates into hibernation.

Therefore, Dr Duffuor and Mr Kojo Bonsu must be commended despite all odds against them, they are very resolute in their conviction to lead the National Democratic Congress.

The probability of a different presidential candidate winning the 2024 presidential election for the NDC is very high than the former president John Mahama.

The 2020 general election results attest to it. most of the Members of Parliament are more popular in their constituencies and had more votes than the former president.

It is a fact pressure was mounted by candidate Nana Addo and his loyal militants that forced President John Mahama to sack Victoria Hammah for declaring an intent and threatened Dr Kwabena Donkor who almost completed the tasks he set for himself to resign.

The NDC have a presumptive leader and Members of Parliament who doesn't have that impetus to keep the NPP government on it toes and allowed this government to flout all rules with impunity...

Is it not strange some people to think President John Mahama whose action and inaction caused the NDC the crushing defeats of 2016 as the alternative for the 2024 presidential election.

2024 general elections is very crucial to the survival of the NDC. Nana Addo will not be on the ballot, therefore, let's buried blind loyalty for scientific pragmatism........

Mike Kalley

Sociopolitical Analyst.
Pan African revolutionary hero Ernest Ouandie was condemned to death by a neo-colonial court-martial in Yaounde, La Republique du Cameroun on January 5 1971 and executed in Bafoussam on January 15, 1971. He did not testify during the neo-colonial court-martial. He left on record, the following prophetic message full of historic and ideological significance to victims of colonialism and neo-colonialism in Africa and beyond which LRC and its court-martial were representative executioners:

 You will one day have to answer for this mockery of a conviction before history! As far as I am concerned, I am ready, under these conditions, to be executed rather than submit to a mockery of a trial.

This message relates to the sham independence which predatory neo- colonial France purported to have granted to Cameroun, its supposed structures of governance which were remote-controlled through colonial treaties and puppet leaders. The judiciary, the military and security architecture of the state are instruments of oppression under this neo-colonial contraption.

This explains why they were relied on to enforce the assassination of a leading voice of freedom from colonial rule and neo-colonialism in Africa. Because of his historic stand against colonialism and neo-colonialism, Ernest Ouandie must be celebrated as an African liberation hero and not as a citizen of La Republic du Cameroun.

It is hard for me to characterize him as a Camerounais. He may be one by birth but his revolutionary message resonated beyond La Republique du Cameroun. Albert Mukong, a revolutionary contemporary of Ernest Ouandie who spent time with him in Ghana and in the dungeon of La Republique du Cameroun prior to his assassination, told me that the revolutionary leader was not afraid of death because for him, alive of dead, the struggle for the total liberation and genuine independence for LRC and Africa will not abate and therefore, killing him was an exercise in futility.

The events that followed the assassination of Ernest Ouandie on January 15, 1971 validated the struggle for the genuine independence of La Republique du Cameroun Ernest Ouandie and his fellow freedom fighters which allegedly occurred on January 1, 1960.The assassination of Ernest Ouandie was followed by the invalidation of January 1. 1960 as the date of the independence of LRC and the annexation the Southern Cameroons by FranceAfriques predatory colonial vassal contraption bastardised as La Republique du Cameroun with its supposed date of independence as May, 20 1972. Therefore, La Republique du Cameroun colonial contraption was never independent at all. The assassination of Ernest Ouandie and other genuine opponents of colonialism and neo-colonialism underscored this reality.

The supposed independence of LRC was mired in the blood of genuine freedom fighters. On January 3, 1964, Tankeu Noe was assassinated and 15 freedom fighters were assassinated as part of the celebration of the fourth anniversary of the independence of LRC. No record of a genuine trial meeting international standards of a trial has been shown to exist of these freedom fighters.

The assassinations of these freedom fighters, in January makes January, and the purported independence of LRC in January1 1960, a month of the collective assassination of the freedom and independence of the people of LRC. The assassination of the freedom hero on January 15, which is the mid of the month of January, carries symbolic weight necessitating the individual and collective recommitment of all freedom lovers in Africa to the struggle against colonialism, neo-colonialism and a total rejection of FranceAfrique and its enslaving legacy of puppetry leadership.

By Chief Charles A. Taku,

Washington DC, 15 January 2023
As part of its preparation for the 55th Annual Greater Accra Maulid celebrations, the Islamic Foundation for Peace and Development (IFPAD) has organized a National Health Insurance renewal and issuance exercise for the people of Shukura and its environs.

The exercise which forms part of the activities heralding the Maulid celebration registered children and adults from the Shukura and other adjoining communities.

In an interview with the organizers of the exercise, they indicated their resolve to make sure a good number of residents within the Zongo communities were registered in order to enable them access quality and good healthcare.

On his part, the Deputy Secretary of IFPAD, Ibrahim Anyass Ahmed stated that the Maulid event was organized to celebrate the birth of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (SAW) adding that there is a need to make people within the community feel an impact of the Maulid.

The Health Insurance exercise he said was aimed at giving back to society and in an attempt to reduce the burden on philanthropists within the Zongo communities.

According to him most philanthropists are mostly overburdened with calls to meet the health needs of most individuals and getting people to acquire the card is spot on to reduce the burden on such philanthropists.

Ibrahim Anyass Ahmed revealed that the Greater Accra Regional Maulid is jointly organized by the IFPAD and the Supreme Council of Tijaniya Islamic Affairs Ghana, under the divine tutelage of Sheikh Yahaya Amin (RTA) who doubles as the founder/leader and deputy Supreme leader of both associations respectively.

The organizers extended their appreciation to the Greater Accra Youth Chief (Sarkin Samarin Ankara) Alhaji Salisu Maude and other individuals for their benevolence in making the exercise a success.

Mr. Ibrahim Anyass Ahmed opined in an interview that Sarkin Samari has always been available when we call on him to assist in making such initiatives a reality.

"The zongo communities will forever remain indebted to him for his benevolent and philanthropic acts to help change the narratives in our communities.

The main Maulid event shall be held on the 28th of January 2023 at the Lords Wembley plus in Shukura with dignitaries from across West Africa and the entire continent.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), a leading innovator in global cruise travel with a 56-year history of breaking boundaries, has announced the appointment of Jason Krimmel as its head of international business.



In his new role, Krimmel will oversee NCL's Sales, Marketing and Brand Communication efforts outside of the United States and Canada  including in the Asia Pacific region  to expand the brand's international footprint. With a specific focus on optimizing collaboration between regions, surfacing new sales opportunities, and driving impactful through-the-line campaigns. In this Miami-based role, he will report into Todd Hamilton, the Companys Senior Vice President of Sales.



"During his 19-year tenure at NCL, Jason has championed several roles and headed various departments across the organization," said Todd Hamilton, NCLs Senior Vice President of Sales.



"His vast experience, international mindset and exceptional leadership make him the right person to strengthen our Brands position with international trade and consumers while we're preparing to welcome five additional ships of our ground-breaking Prima Class and extend our capacity by 40% by 2027."



Since joining NCL in 2003 as Business Development Manager for North Texas, Krimmel has held various positions, including Director of Field Sales and Business Development, where he spearheaded all US-based Business Development Managers as well as Vice President of Trade Marketing and Engagement, a role targeted to strategically build trade awareness and convert travel agents to lifelong business partners.



In his most recent role as Vice President of International Marketing and Global Creative Strategy, he and his team successfully launched Break Free, NCL's most extensive international marketing campaign to date, with TV integrations globally.



"I'm excited to lead NCL's international business and further grow our most-promising markets," said Jason Krimmel. "The anticipated arrival of Norwegian Viva, the 19th ship in our award-winning fleet, and our return to destinations worldwide will allow us to fully capitalize on the unleashed pent-up demand for cruising worldwide and turn 2023 into NCL's most successful year to date."



Reporting to Krimmel, Ben Angell, Vice President and Managing Director APAC, maintains his responsibilities for the NCL brand in the Asia Pacific at a pivotal time for the return of cruise to the region.



Norwegian Spirit became the first NCL ship to sail Australian waters in almost three years in December 2022, while Norwegian Jewel returns to Asia from October 2023. Angell joined the Company in 2015 and has over 25 years of experience spanning Australia, New Zealand, Asia, UK, Europe and North America including 10 years of experience specifically in the Asia market.  TradeArabia News Service
It always saddens my heart when a man I so respect, a former leader of my motherland allows himself for public ridicule.

Well, I understand you read communications studies, so you do understand and know how to toy with our emotions and attention but on this case, you have just gotten everything wrong.

What gives you even the motivation to even speak about health-related issues in the country?

When the New Patriotic Party government led by the peerless JAK handed over to your party in 2009, the then government had just finished with the paperwork's and had secured funding for the 9 Eurojet projects ie; Afari hospital, Bekwai Hospital, Sewua hospital, among others.

How many of just the 9 hospitals were you able to complete?

How can 2020 - 2023 be four (4) years?

For records sake kindly make time and visit the various sites or locations earmarked for the project and confirm for yourself the progress of the projects.

Many of us are very much aware you havent still recovered from the 2016 and 2020 defeat but kindly try and go off the various social media platforms to save yourself from public embarrassment.

After your humiliating defeat in 2020 your desperation nearly plunged the nation into chaos if not for the Grace of God it was later revealed through your current Chairman (General Mosquito) that you knew you had lost the elections even before your press conference.

Your plan to shift attention from the good news about Ghana receiving its first consignment of the Oil for Gold deal wont wash.

The worst of the NPP government in terms of health care would still be better than NDCs best.

Ghanaians have not forgotten the freeze on healthcare employment,

Ashanti Region still remember how we lost loved ones through the capitation programme.

We havent forgotten how we lost two pregnant women and babes at Kasoa Hospital due to power outages.

We havent forgotten how the Ghana ambulance service was collapsed due to lack of vehicles.

To save yourself from future embarrassment you need to quickly reconsider your decision of contesting in the 2024 election which is already a done deal for the NPP.

If the arrival of the first consignment of the fuel is disturbing your peace, then wait till, we receive another consignment.

Theres no way you can kill this great news prepare; Ill tag you with a picture of any oil we receive through this deal Ill do that work for you freely.

I nearly forgot to wish you a happy new year, I wish you a wonderful year filled with only positive news about the NPP government.

Oheneba David Antwi - Boasiako (Director Of Communications Asokwa)
15.01.2023 LISTEN

The ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Peter Kwasi Nortsu-Kotoe, is calling on President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to invite the dismissed eight students of the Chiana Senior High School (SHS) to the presidency to give them some counselling.

He said this can be done after the students had finished serving their punishment.

According to him, the invitation will create room for the President to discuss extensively with the students why he didnt allow their education to be truncated but intervened.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) in a statement on January 13, 2023, made a U-turn and referred the dismissed eight students of the school to the committee after the President intervened in the matter.

Eight students of the school were dismissed for using some unprintable words against the President in a viral video in 2022 following the hardships in the country.

But speaking on Eyewitness News with Selorm Adonoo, the ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament opined that, Finally, the school authorities can recommend any other punishment. Theres one other thing I would like the President to do again, that is to invite these eight students to meet with him for him to talk to them so that they will know that as a father of the nation, he intervened just because he didnt want their education to be truncated. If this is done and students all over the country see it, they will know that tomorrow if any of them do such a thing, they will not have the opportunity to be treated like that.

Asked if the President will not be glorifying the students actions, the legislator for Akatsi North Constituency in the Volta Region said, no it depends on what the President will tell them. If a child misbehaves and the father talks to him/her on the consequences, at times they become agents of change.

citinewsroom
Property worth hundreds of Ghana cedis and an amount of GH15.000.00 got burnt to ashes when fire gutted a 4-bedroom house at Assin Adubiase in the Assin South District of the Central.

No deaths were recorded as occupants were not at home during the incident around 22:00 hours.

However, household items such as television sets, fridges, electric fans, and personal effects all were lost to the fire.

The distraught victims, one Mr Akwasi Morkwa and Mrs Mavis Ghartey occupants of the house, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said they could not comprehend how the house caught fire.

They wailed bitterly over the incident which had rendered them homeless and stranded.

Some residents in the area blamed the incidence on the intermittent electricity power fluctuations that occurred that night.

On his part, Divisional Officer Grade III (DOIII), Paul Tawiah of the Assin Fosu Municipal Fire Service, vehemently denied claims of their late arrival.

He said fire tendors were quickly dispatched to the scene as soon as a call was received on the incident and appealed to people to be accurate in giving directions as they found it difficult locating the scene.

He pointed out that investigations would be conducted to ascertain what transpired.

Mr Emmanuel Kweku Brewu, Co-ordinator of National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), in the Assin South District appealed to individuals, Non-Governmental Organizations and philanthropists to support the family in whatever capacity they could.

GNA
Majority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for Nsawam/Adoagyiri in the Eastern Region, Frank Annoh-Dompreh has called on the Ministry of Finance to review its decision and resolution on the Individual Bond Holders.

According to Annoh-Dompreh, he vehemently disagrees with the governments decision since he thinks it is unfair and untenable.

The Akufo-Addo-led government has modified its GH137.3 billion domestic bond exchange programme to include individuals, as part of efforts to restructure the country's debt.

This is to secure approval from the Management and Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion loan-support programme, to address Ghana's current economic crisis.

It would be recalled that days after the government announced the exclusion of pension funds in the debt exchange programme, it decided to include individual bondholders.

Individual investors were initially not part of the domestic debt restructuring.

However, the exemption of pension funds from the programme triggered the inclusion of individual investors.

The Majority Chief Whip reacting to the development in a post on his Twitter handle, tasked the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta with a matter of urgency to review it.

A release issued by the Finance Ministry stated that in addition to foregoing extensions, the government was Expanding the type of investors that can participate in the Exchange to now include Individual Investors.

Other modifications to the debt exchange programme included the setting of a non-binding target minimum level of overall participation of 80 percent of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of eligible bonds.

The release also said that: Offering accrued and unpaid interest on Eligible Bonds, and a cash tender fee payment to holders of Eligible Bonds maturing in 2023.

There would also be eight new instruments to the composition of the new bonds, for a total of 12 new bonds, one maturing each year starting January 2027 and ending January 2038.

The government has further extended the deadline for voluntary participation in the debt exchange programme to January 16, 2023, from the previous December 30.

Expanding the type of investors that can participate in the Exchange to now include Individual Investors, a statement from the Finance Ministry indicated an amendment to the terms of the domestic exchange programme was then announced after individual investors were included.

Individual bondholders now have until January 16 to sign up for the debt exchange programme or be in default.

Meanwhile, three groups representing individual bondholders have commenced mobilization to file legal suits against the government for including individual bondholders in the Debt Exchange Programme.

The Finance Ministry had earlier cautioned individual holders of eligible bonds who refuse to take the Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum under the Debt Exchange Programme provided by the State that they will find it difficult to obtain a judgment against the Government of Ghana.

Under a caption labeled Enforcement of Civil Liabilities in the 58-page Amended and Restated Exchange Memorandum to individual bondholders, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta emphasized that since Ghana is a sovereign state, any legal action taken by bondholders against the country would be difficult to materialize.

DGN online
15.01.2023 LISTEN

The Bishop Dr Yaw Owusu Ansah of the Resurrection Power and Living Bread Ministries International, has encouraged the populace not to relent in their efforts towards national development due to criticisms.

He advised them to work heartily and with all their might, having the mindset that they were working for God and not man.

The Bishop gave the advice on Sunday whilst delivering a sermon, in Accra.

He quoted from Colossians 3:23, which read, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

Bishop Owusu Ansah reminded them that God, whom they were working for, would require of them to render an account one day, as such, nothing should stop them from accomplishing their assigned tasks.

Dont forget that God will judge you and if you follow the negative comments of people, you will never be able to accomplish your work on earth. Never let anyone be the reason why you wont carry out your task, he said.

He urged them to desist from working haphazardly because it could result in their dismissal.

Never think you are irreplaceable. God is always preparing people in the waiting to fill your spot if you refuse to perform your work to satisfaction, he said.

He cautioned them against procrastination towards work and urged them not to take any opportunity lightly.

Not everyone has gotten the opportunity to do a particular work, so if you have gotten that opportunity, then dont take it lightly. Do it with all your might and prove yourself worthy of that opportunity.

He also quoted from Ecclesiastes 9:10, saying, Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

The Bishop charged them to be relevant in Gods house and diligently play their role in advancing the Gospel.

GNA
An early morning fire has gutted several shops, a restaurant and corn and fufu mill in Hohoe.

The fire, believed to have started at about 0430 hours on Sunday, destroyed goods running into thousands of cedis.

Master Dzayon Joshua, an eyewitness, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that at about 0430 hours, he saw smoke from the mill and rushed to the area.

He said by the time he got to the mill, the intensity of the fire increased and touched the electrical wires connected to the mill.

Master Dzayon said the fire then spread rapidly to the nearby shops.

Madam Hannah Amegbor, owner of Amen Chop Bar, one of the affected shops, said she received a distress call at about 0457 hours that fire had gutted her shop.

She said when she arrived, the first provision shop was already in flames and efforts to douse the fire proved futile.

Madam Amegbor said when they called the Hohoe Municipal Fire Service, they were told that the fire tender was spoilt, adding that the cause of the fire was unknown to her.

Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed, owner of one of the burnt provision shops, told GNA that he received a call at about 0500 hours and when he got to the scene, all goods were burnt, and he could not salvage anything.

Mr Wisdom Azumah, owner of the mill, said he had been operating since 1989 and it was the first time such an unfortunate incident had happened.

He noted that he had no faulty electrical connections that he deemed could be the cause of the fire as speculated.

Da Dzigbordi, Organiser, Hohoe Market Women Association, said they were appalled by the late response of fire officers and was disappointed that the fire tender at Hohoe was faulty.

Station Officer II (SOII) Osei Henry, Hohoe Municipal Fire Officer, told the GNA that at about 0500 hours, they received a call about the incident and when they arrived, the fire was well-lit.

He said the fire tender was faulty but a call was placed to the Kpando Division of the Service and they arrived at 0600 hours whilst the Hohoe officers were assisting in dousing the fire.

SOII Osei said at about 0700 hours the fire was brought under control, adding that the cause of the fire was still being investigated.

He noted that the callers called the 112 shortcode, which sent their information to Accra where Accra had to call Ho before Hohoe Division was then called by Ho.

SOII Osei noted that the Kpando Division came and assisted within a short period.

Mr Daniel Noble Awume, Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), visited the scene while the Police were present to provide security at the scene.

GNA
January 15, 2023

Ukraine Open Thread 2023-15

Only for news & views directly related to the Ukraine conflict.

The current open thread for other issues is here.

Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.

Posted by b on January 15, 2023 at 14:23 UTC | Permalink

Comments

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According to the U.S. Census Bureaus Vintage 2022 population estimates, from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, the Volunteer State experienced a population growth of nearly 83,000, making it the 7th largest gain in the nation.

After a historically low rate of change between 2020 and 2021, the U.S. resident population increased by 0.4%, or 1,256,003, to 333,287,557 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureaus Vintage 2022 national and state population estimates and components of change released today.

Net international migration  the number of people moving in and out of the country  added 1,010,923 people between 2021 and 2022 and was the primary driver of growth.

This represents 168.8% growth over 2021 totals of 376,029  an indication that migration patterns are returning to pre-pandemic levels. Positive natural change (births minus deaths) increased the population by 245,080.

There was a sizeable uptick in population growth last year compared to the prior years historically low increase, said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division at the Census Bureau. A rebound in net international migration, coupled with the largest year-over-year increase in total births since 2007, is behind this increase.

Regional Patterns

The South, the most populous region with a resident population of 128,716,192, was the fastest-growing and the largest-gaining region last year, increasing by 1.1%, or 1,370,163. Positive net domestic migration (867,935) and net international migration (414,740) were the components with the largest contributions to this growth, adding a combined 1,282,675 residents.

The West was the only other region to experience growth in 2022, having gained 153,601 residents  an annual increase of 0.2% for a total resident population of 78,743,364  despite losing 233,150 residents via net domestic migration (the difference between residents moving in and out of an area). Natural increase (154,405) largely accounted for the growth in the West.

The Northeast, with a population of 57,040,406, and the Midwest, with a population of 68,787,595, lost 218,851 (-0.4%) and 48,910 (-0.1%) residents, respectively. The declines in these regions were due to negative net domestic migration.

Changes in State Population

Increasing by 470,708 people since July 2021, Texas was the largest-gaining state in the nation, reaching a total population of 30,029,572. By crossing the 30-million-population threshold this past year, Texas joins California as the only states with a resident population above 30 million. Growth in Texas last year was fueled by gains from all three components: net domestic migration (230,961), net international migration (118,614), and natural increase (118,159).

Florida was the fastest-growing state in 2022, with an annual population increase of 1.9%, resulting in a total resident population of 22,244,823.

While Florida has often been among the largest-gaining states, Wilder noted, this was the first time since 1957 that Florida has been the state with the largest percent increase in population.

It was also the second largest-gaining state behind Texas, with an increase of 416,754 residents. Net migration was the largest contributing component of change to Floridas growth, adding 444,484 residents. New York had the largest annual numeric and percent population decline, decreasing by 180,341 (-0.9%). Net domestic migration (-299,557) was the largest contributing component to the states population decline.

Eighteen states experienced a population decline in 2022, compared to 15 and DC the prior year. California, with a population of 39,029,342, and Illinois, with a population of 12,582,032, also had six-figure decreases in resident population. Both states declining populations were largely due to net domestic outmigration, totaling 343,230 and 141,656, respectively.

Puerto Rico Population Changes

In 2022, Puerto Ricos population was 3,221,789. This reflects a decrease of 1.3%, or 40,904 people, between 2021 and 2022.

Puerto Ricos population decline resulted from negative net international migration (-26,447) and negative natural change (-14,457), where deaths outnumber births.

Components of Change for States

In 2022, 24 states experienced negative natural change, or natural decrease. Florida had the highest natural decrease at -40,216, followed by Pennsylvania (-23,021) and Ohio (-19,543). In 2021, 25 states had natural decrease.

Of the 26 states and the District of Columbia where births outnumbered deaths, Texas (118,159), California (106,155) and New York (35,611) had the highest natural increase.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia saw positive net international migration with California (125,715), Florida (125,629) and Texas (118,614) having the largest gains.

The biggest gains from net domestic migration last year were in Florida (318,855), Texas (230,961) and North Carolina (99,796), while the biggest losses were in California (-343,230), New York (-299,557) and Illinois (-141,656).

The Population Estimates Program uses current data on births, deaths and migration to calculate population change since the most recent decennial census date and produce a time series of estimates of population, demographic components of change, and housing units.

During 2023, the Census Bureau will release estimates of the 2022 population for counties, cities and towns, and metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, as well as national, state and county population estimates by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin. Population estimates by age and sex for Puerto Rico and its municipios will also be released.
Whole rooms are seen without walls on the second floor of a home the day after a tornado struck Dallas County near Selma, Alabama, Jan. 13, 2023.
Virginia school official knew 6-year-old who shot teacher may have had gun
Lambert here: Bad data wherever you look.

By Chris May, a journalist based in Washington, D.C. His reporting focuses on monopoly power, the Anthropocene, and public policy. Originally published at DeSmog.

A little over a decade ago, Gary Dye, then a gas measurement engineer at NW Natural, Oregons largest gas utility, lost faith in his employer to responsibly deal with what he believed to be systematic inaccuracies among the companys hundreds of thousands of gas meters.

On a quest to tame these inaccuracies, in late 2011, he proposed a simple technical fix that he claims will result in more accurate billing, extended meter lives, reduced landfill waste, and a more efficient utilization of [utility] personnel.

Dye had other suggestions for how the company should operate. A few months later, he decided to file an internal complaint stating that he had been told to discard a spreadsheet full of incriminating data that showed bad meter testing. Ultimately, he filed 21 internal ethical misconduct complaints against colleagues and top executives, including current NW Natural CEO David Anderson, later elevating his concerns to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC), the body that regulates NW Natural.

Several months after he approached the commission, NW Natural terminated his employment.

Internal corporate documents and public records reviewed by DeSmog support several of Dyes claims, including allegations that NW Natural executives downplayed or ignored employee concerns about billing accuracy issues associated with projects that facilitated extremely profitable energy market speculation.

In email correspondence to NW Natural and regulators in July 2021, nearly a decade after his termination, Dye raised fresh allegations that company practices and regulatory policies allowing utilities more time to replace inaccurate meters were resulting in insufficient customer reimbursements and unearned corporate profits associated with systematic overbilling.

Meanwhile, a version of Dyes proposed solution to this problem has been adopted by several other utilities, including the countrys largest gas distribution company, SoCalGas, which received the blessing of California regulators in 2019 to run a pilot project that has continued and grown since then.

Late last year, following DeSmogs repeated inquiries into Dyes allegations, the OPUC re-opened a previously closed investigation into NW Naturals gas meter testing program and billing practices. That investigation remains ongoing, according to agency spokesperson Kandi Young.

In addition, agency staff are currently weighing whether to expand their inquiries into the meter accuracy programs and testing, correction and refunding processes for all utilities operating in the state.

Faulty Meters Raise Questions About Profits

The gas meter on the side of a home or business represents the final toll station on a complex legal and economic network designed to deliver reliable, affordable, and safe energy to communities.

Similar to an electricity or water meter, gas meters measure the quantity of fossil gas that passes through them, recording usage and informing utility calculations of monthly customer bills.

Utilities regularly swap out equipment that falls below industry and regulatory standards, but at least 43,000 defective gas meters purchased by NW Natural in the early 2000s have contributed to a major spike in the number of meters requiring replacement in recent years, according to communications between the utility and regulators.

One of Dyes complaints alleges that several NW Natural employees manipulated meter test data to obscure the installation of a batch of defective meters in 2009  which remained in the field for seven years. Test result data reported by the company two years after Dyes complaint included a group of 953 meters matching Dyes description that were placed on the list to be removed due to accuracy issues. NW Natural did not reply to questions regarding whether meter test data was manipulated.

Dye further alleges that the company profited from defective meters in two ways: Meter inaccuracies resulted in customers being billed for more gas than they used, and utilities are also allowed to earn a return off replacing infrastructure, including meters. Most states dont require reporting of meter testing data and customer billing figures, and investor-owned utilities like NW Natural have few incentives to disclose information that could negatively impact the bottom line of company shareholders.

According to DeSmogs analysis of two different sets of company data from 2019 and 2019 through July 2021, approximately 95 percent of all excessively inaccurate meters ran fast, meaning they record overestimates of gas usage that translate to higher monthly bills.

A NW Natural spokesperson opposed the notion that the company has in any way inappropriately charged customers, writing in an email that NW Natural complies with our Commission-approved tariffs and rules.

Those rules have been part of the problem.

Per OPUC regulations, NW Natural currently has four years to replace faulty meters, and, thanks to a June rule change, must credit customers for any billing inaccuracies during the period in which a faulty meter was in use. (Prior to that change, rules allowed utilities to reimburse customers only for 12 months, if the utilities could identify when a meter became faulty, or six months if they could not; the OPUC is currently reviewing NW Naturals previous approach of only reimbursing customers for a six-month period).

OPUC spokesperson Kandi Young said that the recent rule change ensures customers are not harmed by the extended time it takes NW Natural to replace the meter by making sure the bill is credited to reflect the accurate amount.

In a report filed with regulators in March, NW Natural identified more than 50,000 installed gas meters that are at risk of exceeding a minimum accuracy threshold of 2 percent. The report also documented progress on removing inaccurate meters, identifying approximately 5,900 meters that had remained in the field in excess of two years, and more than 14,000 that had been on the list for over a year.

In a letter to the OPUC this May, NW Natural noted that once non-conforming meters are identified, the company typically replaces those meters by December 31st of the year following determination of the need for replacement. This leads to a wide range of replacement times; a meter tagged as faulty in January 2020 could be replaced as late as December 2021, nearly two years later, while one identified in December 2020 could be replaced within a year.

Prior to the June rule change, these extended replacement times mean that customers whose meters were running fast could have been paying for more gas than they were using. In July 2021, NW Natural Regulatory Compliance Manager Natasha Siores provided data to OPUC that showed that from January 2019 to date, NW Natural has processed 9,218 bill credits for commercial and residential customers whose meters were running fast. But questions remain about whether tens of thousands of other meters identified for removal and still in the field resulted in customers paying for more gas than they should.

A NW Natural spokesperson did not deny that the company has calculated customer bill credits using reimbursement periods that, in some cases, were shorter than the time it took for the company to remove these meters.

Repeated requests for information about average meter removal times and queries on whether the company tracks how long flagged meters remain in the field did not receive a response.

According to Young, OPUC staff are currently weighing options to further refine expectations for meter accuracy, including opening an investigation into metering accuracy programs for all operators, which would be expected to explore all operators testing, correction and refunding processes.

Company data also reveal that NW Natural has been removing and discarding millions of dollars worth of properly functioning gas meters for the last several years, due at least in part to the nature of the statistical analysis used to estimate meter accuracy. NW Natural doesnt know exactly which meters in a given group are actually inaccurate until they have been tested, which usually requires removal and transport to a company meter shop. This has contributed to a backlog that has left inaccurate meters in the field for over two years in some cases.

Company data covering 2019-2021 shows that about one-fifth of all the meters removed, on average, failed accuracy tests. All removed meters are discarded, according to the company.

Even though meters may test within parameters when removed from the field, from our experience, we also know that non-conforming meters get less accurate as time goes on, an NW Natural spokesperson noted. So its important to replace the non-conforming meters when the meter families they belong to are identified through our meter sampling program.

However, Avista, a gas utility also operating in Oregon, reuses removed meters, and some, like SoCalGas in California, employ a technical fix that takes into account industry understanding of how meter accuracy declines over time, rather than remove meters.

NW Natural has also flagged for removal at least 36,000 defective gas meters purchased from the multinational conglomerate Honeywell.

In a July 27, 2021 email to OPUC, Siores confirmed that the company had secured a warranty agreement with Honeywell acknowledging an unspecified number of meters as defective. Siores also identified at least 7,500 defective meters from the manufacturer Sensus and noted at the time that a warranty agreement was pending.

Neither manufacturer has acknowledged specific components or failure modes, Siores continued, only that the meters sold have become non-conforming within the warranty period.

While utilities cant earn a profit on some of the costs of doing business  such as fossil gas purchases and employee payroll  regulatory rules do allow them to earn a return on capital investments, like pipes and meters.

About half the costs related to regular meter replacement include a return, or profit, according to NW Natural spokesperson David Roy.

During company testimony in support of its recently approved rate hike, NW Natural Senior Manager of Financial Planning and Budget Tobin Davilla noted that the companys capital investment expense projections include meter and regulator equipment cost trends influenced by replacements of faulty or outdated equipment.

Whether utility customers will contribute to shareholder profits from replacing defective meters depends on two factors: first, how Honeywell and other manufacturers compensate NW Natural for the defective equipment, and second, whether NW Natural pursues a profit margin in addition to any replacement costs.

In one potential scenario, Honeywell could completely compensate NW Natural for the cost of replacing the defective meters. In another scenario, Honeywell could provide NW Natural a discount on the purchase of replacement meters  an expense passed on to customers along with added costs to cover shareholder profit margins.

Honeywell communications staff did not respond to questions about the companys practices for addressing defective meters and whether it has been proactive in informing utility customers about the problem.

Citing a non-disclosure agreement, NW Natural declined to discuss details of any warranty agreements. When asked whether the company profits from replacing defective meters, a spokesperson said that testing and replacing meters is not a key driver of revenue and that non-conforming meters identified for removal last year represented less than one percent of our net utility assets. However, 1 percent might not be as small as it sounds: In the companys latest rate hike request, it reported its net utility assets as $2 billion.

Young, the OPUC spokesperson, said that there is no rule requiring NW Natural or other utilities to notify regulators if there are issues with their meters. The agency is currently requesting additional data from NW Natural about its meter testing program.

The Cost of Unaccounted-for-Gas

Dyes complaints also alleged that utility customers have been overbilled by millions of dollars due to misreported gas costs.

A DeSmog analysis of Dyes claim, public financial reporting, and internal company data found that the utility could have been overestimating its gas costs by up to $4.3 million from 2002-2004. In response to questions regarding this analysis, a NW Natural spokesperson said, We stand by our audited financial statements, and any prior ratemaking treatment of unaccounted-for gas from 20 years ago, as it would have also been reviewed and approved by the OPUC. But neither NW Natural nor the OPUC provided access to key data capable of corroborating Dyes allegations.

Current rules allow gas utilities to be compensated by customers for purchases of gas that is lost or otherwise unaccounted for. According to the OPUC, when this process is working as designed, each core customer pays only actual gas costs, with no mark-up or profit for the company.

One source of unaccounted-for-gas costs is gas that is released into the atmosphere during the course of business operations. A component of a meter known as a regulator, for example, periodically burps off gas to relieve pressure. Dye alleges in one of his complaints that not only was NW Natural in the habit of venting gas to produce valid [rotary meter] test results, but that there were also pervasive attempts to conceal this practice.

Another major gas utility, SoCalGas, changed its rotary meter testing practices in 2019 to minimize operational emissions by avoiding testing methods that vent gas, according to regulatory filings.

Lost or unaccounted for gas can also be explained by differences of accuracy between sophisticated and highly sensitive meters on major gas pipelines and the less accurate versions attached to homes and businesses.

Shortly after starting his job at NW Natural in 2000, Dye discovered that the company was losing less gas than it assumed, partly because of inaccuracies in how the utility accounted for variations in temperature and pressure across its service territory.

NW Natural acknowledged these improvements in gas measurement and estimating in its 2004 annual report.

According to one of Dyes complaints, when he attempted to determine how these improvements were affecting the companys bottom line, he was led to believe that unaccounted-for-gas costs were updated annually.

Later, the complaint said, Dye learned that NW Natural was filing a historical level of 1 percent every year, at times about double what the company had previously disclosed in annual reports to shareholders.

Dyes complaint claimed that he let his director know the gap between 1 percent and the real UAG would look bad, but management did not want to give up the earnings produced by the discrepancy.

NW Natural did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding Dyes allegation.

That same year, NW Natural and other gas utilities applied for and received approval from the OPUC to create a definition of unaccounted-for-gas based on a five-year average, noting at the time that utilities had different methods of calculating annual gas costs because there was no formula defined by the OPUC.

Based on gas cost data in company SEC filings from 2002-2004, if NW Natural reported 1 percent unaccounted-for gas to the OPUC during this period, it would be overestimating its gas costs by $4.3 million. Exactly how much such an overvaluation might inflate final shareholder profits is unclear.

NW Natural denied multiple requests for information about the figures it used in gas cost reimbursement figures reported to the OPUC during this period. The company also did not respond to questions regarding its recorded percentages of unaccounted-for-gas, although a spokesperson claimed that annual mechanisms for truing up gas costs prevent any over-billing or under-billing of customers.

However, the companys 2004 annual report explicitly acknowledged that changes in unaccounted-for-gas estimates resulted in a $1.2 million profit margin increase for company shareholders in 2003. NW Natural did not respond when asked to provide an explanation for this discrepancy.

The company also declined multiple requests to make its CEO Anderson available for an interview or share details of its internal investigation into Dyes allegations, including whether top executives were interviewed or made aware of the substance of the allegations.

A Sidelined Solution

From 2004 to 2012, NW Natural expanded gas infrastructure across Oregon while executives downplayed employee concerns about billing accuracy issues resulting from the incorporation of lower-quality gas into the companys distribution system, according to internal emails obtained by DeSmog.

Sending that lower-quality gas out to customers opened additional storage capacity in the companys network of underground wells near Mist, Oregon, which allowed NW Natural to expand speculative energy trading activities that have proven extremely profitable.

Our interstate storage business, which has newly added capacity, remains a growth opportunity we expect to add significantly to our bottom line in the future, wrote former NW Natural CEO Mark Dodson in a 2005 annual letter to shareholders.

According to residential ratepayer advocates, years of foot-dragging by NW Natural and the OPUC cost customers millions by delaying the pursuit of an independent analysis in 2017 that recommended shifting a larger portion of the companys very substantial  and confidential  storage-related profits back toward NW Naturals utility customers.

While utility meters measure gas throughput, customer bills are ultimately based on the total amount of energy used, which is commonly measured in British Thermal Units, also known as BTUs or therms. Dye oversaw the accuracy of NW Naturals more than 700,000 meters from 2000 until 2012. During that time, interviews and written complaints revealed how he became increasingly concerned by what he alleges were repeated warnings from management to conceal sensitive and potentially damaging information and statements, from customers and regulators. Internal emails lend credence to these concerns.

Do you/we have some sort of a plan for where all this really low BTU gas is going to go for the next few years? asked Doug Tilgner, a manager at NW Natural, in a 2005 internal email. Id hate to think that we could get caught charging customers for 1040 BTU gas and be giving them 975 BTU (6% billing error), he added, nodding at the fact that utility regulations allow billing errors within a 2% threshold but that errors outside that threshold would need to be addressed.

After Dye echoed Tilgners concerns that BTU measurement disparities would result in NW Natural exceeding minimum billing accuracy thresholds established by the OPUC, his boss stepped in.

Gary, Doug  Id like this particular e-mail chain to end here, wrote Randy Friedman, who served as NW Naturals director of gas supply until 2021. I think you need to be more circumspect with language that could be taken out of context by a casual reader.

In Friedmans response to Tilgner and Dye in 2005, he explained that phrases the two had used in emails, like Id hate to think that we could get caught or one or more of our customers might discover this heating value error, and complain to us or the OPUC could lead to the impression that the company was not doing all it should to be accurate in its billing practices.







View note



Five years later, Friedman would dismiss similar concerns expressed by Cliff Crawford, then NW Naturals manager of system operations. This time, Dye himself would be involved in guarding the companys internal dealings from outsiders.

In an email chain forwarded to Friedman by Crawford in 2010, Dye and a co-worker unsuccessfully attempted to divert West Linn Paper Co. employees away from the question of whether their bill would be adjusted to reflect the fact that they had been receiving lower quality gas over multiple periods in which the efficiency of their industrial boilers dropped by 2 to 4 percent.

Paper mills are energy-intensive operations, using large quantities of natural gas to dry paper. According to Bob Hart, the engineering manager for Willamette Falls Paper Co. and its previous incarnation, West Linn Paper, gas-related energy constitutes about 5 percent of the total cost of producing a ton of paper.

While taking a close look at boiler operations following a 2010 equipment upgrade, Hart noticed fluctuations in efficiency that could only be explained by lower-quality gas, and contacted NW Natural.

Behind the scenes, Dye and his co-worker debated about how much information to provide their customers about NW Naturals billing practices.

My only caution in giving this customer or any customer the full story is that we have many inaccuracies, shortcomings, budget constraints, etc. that we as a business have had to accept in our measurement and billing processes that only we experts in the business can fully understand, Dye wrote to his coworker in 2010.

Before NW Natural terminated his employment, Dyes fear of OPUC oversight led him to file internal reports about what he described as a couple of things where we were doing things to try to evade the OPUC and not tip them off that there were some problems.

When the agency requested a meeting to discuss questions it had about the companys Meter Sample Program in 2005, Dye said he followed instructions to refrain from raising a number of known issues related to the meters associated with NW Naturals larger commercial and industrial accounts, and OPUC didnt raise any concerns about these issues either.

In an interview, Dye described how his attitude toward OPUC initially was one of fear and respect, but evolved over time.

At the very end, I kind of realized, no, theyre not some bogeyman that is looking and trying to catch us or something, Dye said, adding that he felt they were dummies who didnt seem to care.

Still, Dye continued to push for change at NW Natural  and at OPUC  even after he was no longer at the company. In addition to blowing the whistle on what he considers unethical behavior, hes also consistently advocated for a technical fix to the companys meter-related woes.

Instead of discarding thousands of meters once a small proportion creep over minimum accuracy thresholds, Dye suggested adding a calculation, based on meter accuracy data the company already collects, to customers monthly bills. Utilities already use a variety of billing modifications to improve accuracy, including adjustments that take into account varying temperature, pressure, and gas quality in different parts of their service territories.

A NW Natural spokesperson said the company would consider options like a calibration factor if we determined that it provided the most reliable, efficient, accurate and cost-effective results for our customers at that time. But NW Natural did not respond when asked whether any concrete steps had been taken to make that determination since Dye originally pitched his idea to OPUC in 2011 while working as a NW Natural employee.

Meanwhile, several West Coast peers, including the countrys largest gas utility, have adopted programs strikingly similar to what Dye has previously proposed.

In 2019, the California Public Utility Commission signed off on a pilot program for SoCalGas that is similar to Dyes original proposal. In August, the CPUC approved a request from San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to implement its own version of the idea.

Both utilities tout the ideas environmental and economic benefits. Each time technicians replace a gas meter, they are required to purge two cubic feet of gas, according to a SDG&E filing. Instead of proceeding with the replacement of a group of 71,000 inaccurate meters the company has identified, the program would adjust customer bills to make up for the inaccuracies of those meters, thus avoiding 142,000 cubic feet of methane emissions in addition to other emissions associated with meter technician vehicle travel. Furthermore, SDG&E estimates their program will save customers about $7 million to $9 million over two years.

For its part, SoCalGas calculated that between 2019 and 2021, the program avoided emissions roughly equivalent to the town of Murrietta, California, releasing a months worth of gas used by the city into the atmosphere once a year.

In the past four years, NW Natural reports flagged over 100,000 meters for removal due to accuracy concerns. The company removes groups of meters, known as families, from service once it estimates that more than 10 percent are beyond minimum accuracy requirements.

NW Natural testing data provided to DeSmog shows that, on average, less than 20 percent of those removed meters ultimately fail accuracy tests, but 100 percent are discarded.

However, Avista, another utility serving the Pacific Northwest, takes a different approach. Between 1997 and 2010, it identified approximately 86,000 faulty meters. Rather than remove them, it applied a billing adjustment to those accounts. This approach has provided accuracy for our customers and has been more cost-effective than replacing the meters, said Avista spokesperson Casey Fielder. Today, it costs approximately $300 to replace and install a natural gas meter. With the number of meters in the identified families, it is reasonable that the cost to replace these would have been over $10 million.

That context makes it unlikely NW Natural will adopt a proposal similar to Dyes absent pressure from regulators. But Dyes cachet with both his former employer and OPUC has been virtually non-existent since settling a wrongful termination suit in 2013.

In an email, Young, the agency spokesperson, said that DeSmogs analysis of meter removal costs does not consider costs to the customer for alternative testing protocols.

Young did not respond to multiple queries asking whether the agency has conducted its own analysis of the costs and benefits associated with Dyes proposal compared to the status quo.

Dye has taken his grievances to the political arena, where he has made several unsuccessful runs for public office in Oregon, citing his background as a whistleblower. Criticisms of the corporate culture of NW Natural and OPUC oversight over the company feature prominently in his campaigns as a Libertarian party candidate, but some of the targets of his criticism are reluctant to directly engage with him.

At multiple points during the course of reporting this story, NW Natural and OPUC communications personnel implied that Dye represented a threat to their staff. One NW Natural spokesperson requested their name be withheld, and employees from both organizations discouraged DeSmogs reporter from contacting individuals named in Dyes complaints.

In October 2021, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) received a referral from the U.S. Capitol Police after Dye made a post on a private social media page about taking out eight NW Natural employees.

After looking into it our investigator quickly learned there was no nexus to terrorism, said PPB Lieutenant Nathan Sheppard in an email. Someone was concerned over workplace violencebut the concerns were determined to be unfounded.

In an interview, Dye attributed the incident to a misguided attempt to raise eyebrows after smoking a little pot, and later recalled a story about the trauma he experienced during a 2012 family trip to see Santa Claus outside Portland on the day of the Clackamas Town Center shooting where two people were killed and another person was seriously injured when an assailant opened fire with an assault rifle.

Dyes idiosyncrasies and specialized expertise in a niche technical field have left him with few allies in his pursuit of regulatory reform, but he remains undaunted.

When the company made the decision that they were going to continue ignoring this stuff, and keep going on as they were, thats when I gave up on the company and went down to the OPUC, Dye told DeSmog.

Last summer, Dye met with OPUC Chief Administrative Law Judge Nolan Moser and DOJ Senior Assistant Attorney General Jason Jones regarding his ongoing allegations against NW Natural, according to internal agency emails obtained by DeSmog.

Both NW Natural and OPUC communications staff claim their organizations were unable to substantiate any of Dyes claims, but have been unwilling or unable to produce any documentation or evidence supporting those determinations.

In September 2021, in response to press scrutiny and the absence of any documentation related to OPUCs follow-up on Dyes earliest allegations, Jones suggested OPUC leadership consider reviewing the concerns anew, according to an internal agency email.

I may be paranoid, but worry that someone could say we have not taken the issue seriously without having access to [OPUC staffs] review and conclusion, Jones said.
(Natural News) Thursdays White House press conference was as contentious as you wouldve imagined after the announcement that President Joe Biden kept classified documents in the garage at his home in Delaware. The reckless disregard for Americas national security by carelessly leaving classified documents in three different places was such a big story that even the leftist media couldnt hide it from their viewers and readers.

(Article by Kevin Tober republished from NewsBusters.org)

First out of the gate was Chris Megerian from the Associated Press who asked: is the President willing to be interviewed by federal investigators about his handling of classified documents? White House press secretary and diversity hire Karine Jean-Pierre was once again unprepared for any substantive question posed to her: Im just not going to get into hypotheticals, she responded.

Yet Megerian didnt back down. Its not a hypothetical question. Theres an investigation ongoing. Will the President speak to investigators? he asked.

No matter how many times shes asked a question, Jean-Pierre proves she just isnt cut out for the job. After getting another shot at answering the question, Jean-Pierre replied: Youre asking me about something in the future, and I am telling you that Im not going to get ahead of what the Department of Justice is going to decide.

Megerian moved on to another angle by noting that this is the kind of thing that can cause government employees to lose a security clearance. This is a serious matter, as the White House has said.

Was the President sloppy in his handling of classified material if there are multiple locations where classified documents are being found? he asked.

Jean-Pierre simply read a statement from White House Counsel Richard Sauber who said, We are confident that their thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.

Later on in the briefing, things got much more heated when CBSs Ed OKeefe grilled Jean-Pierre on the administrations complete lack of transparency:

Megerian moved on to another angle by noting that this is the kind of thing that can cause government employees to lose a security clearance. This is a serious matter, as the White House has said.

Was the President sloppy in his handling of classified material if there are multiple locations where classified documents are being found? he asked.

Jean-Pierre simply read a statement from White House Counsel Richard Sauber who said, We are confident that their thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the President and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake.

Later on in the briefing, things got much more heated when CBSs Ed OKeefe grilled Jean-Pierre on the administrations complete lack of transparency:

The first set of documents were found in November at the Penn Biden Center here in Washington, but why did it take until yesterday and until this morning, apparently, for whoever it was to inform Robert [sic] Lausch that that final document was found? Was that because there were press reports earlier this week  And the hope was that nobody would find out?

In response, she claimed we did this by the book and that the moment that the lawyers discovered that the papers were there, or the documents were there, they reached out to the Archives, they reached out to [the] Department of Justice.

OKeefe wasnt done. He laid into Jean-Pierre over the lack of transparency: You talk about we are being transparent. Who is we? And what is the definition of transparent in this case?



She once again repeated how we take this very seriously and the President takes this very seriously.

Jean-Pierre claimed that theyve been transparent in this as well is that the White House Counsel has laid out in detail. Before she could even finish her rambling incoherent answer, OKeefe shot back that they havent laid out everything, Karine, and you know that.

The following heated back and forth took place following OKeefes stern response (click expand):

JEAN-PIERRE: First of all, I cant talk about this  right?  because it is  the Department of Justice is reviewing it. There is a review happening, Ed. Right? You know this. We just heard from the Attorney General. There is a review. I am limited in what I can say to this. OKEEFE: Then could Richard Sauber perhaps come here or Stuart Delery come here? JEAN-PIERRE: I think you should  I think you should reach out to the White House Counsel. OKEEFE: Were reaching out on a constant basis  JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. And  OKEEFE: but why not have them come here, to the room  JEAN-PIERRE: Okay, I am saying to you  OKEEFE: to take questions? JEAN-PIERRE: that we have put out lengthy statements. And you can reach out to them, as you all have been doing. And I will leave it there. Go ahead. OKEEFE: But why are they subjecting you to this, Karine, then? JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Justin. OKEEFE: Why not have them come and answer the questions? JEAN-PIERRE: I  they have been  they have been talking to you all pretty regularly the last couple of days. We have put out  they have put out lengthy statements on this. I just read out what Richard Sauber had to say. And I would refer you to the White House Counsel. I am limited in what I can say because  because the Department of Justice  we see them as being independent when it comes to these types of issues. And so, Im not going to go beyond what the President say  said. And Im not going to go beyond what the lawyers said. I have to go around. Youve asked about  OKEEFE: But can there be  JEAN-PIERRE: Youve asked me  OKEEFE: Can there at least be an acknowledgment then  JEAN-PIERRE: Ed  OKEEFE: that theres going to be a limit in transparency  public, non-legal transparency  in what can be shared and said by this White House  JEAN-PIERRE: I disagree. There has  OKEEFE:  given what weve learned today? JEAN-PIERRE: I disagree, Ed. There has not been a limit of transparency. That is  OKEEFE: These statements were lacking  JEAN-PIERRE: That is  OKEEFE: information on  JEAN-PIERRE: That is  OKEEFE: when exactly these  JEAN-PIERRE: There has not been a  OKEEFE:  things were found.

Next to the plate was Kristen Welker of NBC who challenged Jean-Pierre: You have said repeatedly and the President has said he takes classified documents very seriously, Welker said. If thats the case, why were these classified documents being stored in his garage?

Jean-Pierre repeated the line she used countless times during the briefing, that classified documents and information, he takes that very seriously.

Welker shot back: Does he think a garage as an appropriate place to store classified material?

She followed up by asking if Jean-Pierre acknowledges the fact that the White House did not reveal this to the public, despite the fact that youve known about it for months, undercuts the Presidents promise of being transparent with the American people?

They were transparent, Jean-Pierre muttered. But not to the American people, Welker shot back.

Last but not least, Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy referred to the Biden classified documents scandal as GarageGate. Doocy asked: what is the White House trying to hide?

Nothing, Jean-Pierre bluntly responded.

Someone gave the President a statement to read on Tuesday that was incomplete at best, misleading at worst. Who? Doocy asked.

Jean-Pierre claimed Biden did not know that the records were there, and that we take this very seriously and the President does as well.

Doocy followed up by asking: When will the White House release a log of visitors to the Wilmington house?

Jean-Pierre dodged the question and claimed that they instituted something that the last administration got rid of, which is putting out the White House, putting making sure that there was a White House log, an extensive White House log, so the American people got to see.

Tuesday wasnt any better for Jean-Pierre with many of the same characters at play, including Doocy, Mattingly, OKeefe, and Welker (with others such as the APs Zeke Miller, ABCs Cecilia Vega, NPRs Franco Ordonez, and even theGrios April Ryan).

For OKeefe, he spent a lengthy period duking it out with Jean-Pierre, calling her out for notanswer[ing] the questions, but were going to ask them. When he noted that Biden said on January 21, 2021, that the administration would be based on facts and transparency, Jean-Pierre whined that OKeefe didnt need to create this kind of confrontation and be contentious because we work very well together.

Doocy was also direct: [H]ow could anyone be that irresponsible? Isnt that what this President says about mishandling classified documents? Later, he even asked whether Biden could be trusted, moving forward, with Americas secrets.

Read more at: NewsBusters.org
(Natural News) The nation is laughing out loud after Congress hyena Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) preached an anti-gas stove sermon for the Church of the Greens this past week, claiming that natural gas causes brain damage in children. What AOC failed to mention, though, is that electric stoves are far worse.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields released by high-voltage power lines are possibly carcinogenic to humans. So far, not a single Democrat has addressed this fact in light of their push for more electric stoves, electric cars (EV), and electric everything.

Almost immediately after AOC started lecturing the world about the evils of gas stoves, a chorus of other Democrats, including Sen. Scott Wiener, did the very same thing  almost like they were all told to do this from a single source. And just like AOC, not a one of them mentioned anything about the dangers of the electric power lines that are needed to fuel their green utopia.

(Related: You know what else causes brain damage in children? Soybean oil, which is in just about everything.)

The green agenda is class warfare  the elite get all the nice polluting things while you cook your bugs on an electric burner

The most hilariously hypocritical element of this newfound anti-gas stove circus is that the vast majority of those involved have gas stoves themselves. Cooking with gas, after all, is superior, which is probably part of the reason why the elite want everyone else cooking with electric.

Gas stoves for me but not for thee pic.twitter.com/UrXzzlfziQ  Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 11, 2023

This is class warfare, in case you have not figured it all out yet. Under the guise of saving the planet, the political elite class is stripping Americans of their rights and liberties while at the same time enriching themselves with the best cookware, the best private airplanes, the best lavish estates  you get the drill.

A World Economic Forum (WEF) partner called Carbon-Free Buildings is reportedly behind the anti-gas stove agenda. Its CEO wants to rid the entire world of carbon emissions  this also includes humans, which are made of carbon.

The left really is scraping the bottom of the IQ barrel with this latest stunt, which is highly unlikely to go over well even among Democrats. People are tired of being told that everything they eat and do is destroying the planet  even while their leaders gallivant around the world with the finest luxuries.

This is getting beyond ridiculous, wrote a commenter towards this end. Poor AOC gets a headache like most people get once in a while and blames a gas stove.

Gas stoves have been around for at least 50 years and no complaints until now. But true to form, big MSM has to make a big production about it to give Democrats bright ideas to ban them. Guess what? Everyone with a gas stove is going to say buzz off. For some who dont have 220-volt service in their house have no choice except for gas or propane.

Another pointed out that electric is highly unreliable  think power outages. If ones entire home is all-electric appliances, then the first sign of a problem  especially during a cold winter  could spell death for the entire family.

When I lived in the great white north many, many years ago, we used it for heat when the coop electric was off several times each winter! wrote another commenter.

In Texas, we now have a gas fireplace that in February 2021 we used to keep from freezing to death and to keep the pipes unfrozen!

More related news can be found at GreenTyranny.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

Cancer.org

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) German authorities want to put a famous Jewish composer and Holocaust survivor into a psychiatric clinic and force her to take the COVID injection.

(Article by Andreas Wailzer republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

Inna Zhvanetskaya, who lives in Stuttgart, Germany, was supposed to be taken to a psychiatric institution and forcefully injected with the COVID jabs on January 11, according to the news outlet Report24, which has been in personal contact with Zhvanetskaya.

However, according to several reports, she has been transferred to a safe place by friendly activists who wanted to prevent her arrest.

The 85-year-old Zhvanetskaya sent a video message to Report24 saying that music is my life, and if they take away music from me then they take my life.

Report24 also received a copy of the court order, which authorizes her forceful transfer to a psychiatric institution and for her to be forcefully injected with the COVID-19 shots for her own good.

The court order was officially appointed by her professional guardian, which seems somewhat contradictory given that the German national federation of professional guardians is strictly against forced vaccinations of patients against their wishes, according to statements made on their website.

The court order claims that Zhvanetskaya has been diagnosed with several mental illnesses, including dementia, delusional disorder, narcissistic grandeur self-image, egocentrism and logorrhea. She also allegedly suffers from severe obesity and heart disease.

However, many of these diagnoses were called into question by critics after the story made the rounds in alternative media circles. Report24 journalist Will Huber pointed out that Zhvanetskaya does not appear to be extremely overweight in the video she sent, which seems to contradict the claim that she is severely obese.

Mascha Orel, co-founder of a humanitarian organization for holocaust survivors, reportedly spoke with Zhvanetskaya and said she cannot confirm any of the diagnoses that were alleged in the court order.

I talked to her on the phone for an hour, Orel said, according to a report by TKP. She is vulnerable, frightened, and has lived in this state for about two years, as her legal guardian has apparently tried to institutionalize her several times.

Orel said that Zhvanetskaya is introverted and autistic but added that this is normal for a highly talented artist.

Orel also mentioned that Zhvanetskaya did not want to take her medication at one point and that this was likely a reason for her legal guardian to call for her to be institutionalized.

Zhvanetskayas father, who was a doctor, probably also taught her to weigh the benefits and risks. She has a very conscious approach to the subject and that is probably why she refused the vaccination so staunchly, Orel said.

Another interesting detail about the court order is the fact that it claims Zhvanetskayas birthday is on January 20, 1939, even though all other sources say that she was born in 1937.

Many lawyers, activists, doctors, and alternative media outlets have come to the defense of Zhvanetskaya and have blasted the action taken by German authorities.

This decision is a gigantic judicial scandal, lawyer and expert for medical law Beate Bahner wrote in a Telegram post.

Professor Martin Haditsch, who was one of Austrias most famous critics of the COVID-related government measures, said that the forced vaccination represents a violation of the Nuremberg Code, which forbids medical experiments on humans since the COVID injections were not properly tested before being introduced to the market.

Zhvanetskayas lawyer, Holger Fischer, who appealed the court order, gave an update on his Telegram channel on January 12, saying the district court of Stuttgart granted his urgent application to suspend the compulsory vaccination until the decision on the appeal is made. However, Zhvanetskaya could still be forcefully institutionalized at any point, according to Fischer.

The Jewish composer was born in 1937 in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. The city was occupied by Nazi Germany between July 1941 and March 1944. She created numerous works of classical music throughout her career that were played by orchestras around the world.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
(Natural News) The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) just approved a conditional license for the worlds first vaccine for honeybees.

The claim is that this new vaccine will help to fight the diseases that routinely ravage bee colonies, which are vital to food production. (Related: Honeybees have been under attack for many years by farmers who spray death-causing Roundup [glyphosate] herbicide on their crops  is there a vaccine for that?)

Dalan Animal Health, a U.S.-based biotechnology company, will manufacture the vaccine for commercial beekeepers, providing them with a breakthrough in protecting honeybees, according to company CEO Annette Kleiser.

We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global scale, Kleiser stated ominously.

One of the diseases that the new honeybee vaccine purportedly fights is foulbrood, a disease carried by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. Roughly one-quarter of all U.S. hives are infected with foulbrood, which is said to have no cure.

Its something that beekeepers can easily recognize because it reduces the larvae to this brown goo that has a rancid stink to it, said Keith Delaplane, an entomologist at the University of Georgia who helped Dalan develop the vaccine.

Stop spraying the environment with deadly pesticide and herbicide chemicals and bees will stop getting sick and dying

Since jabbing bees with needles is unrealistic, Dalan came up with a formulation that can be injected straight into the royal jelly that worker bees feed to the queen. After ingestion, the vaccine transfers into the bees ovaries where it is then passed on to her offspring.

In a perfect scenario, the queens could be fed a cocktail within a queen candy  the soft, pasty sugar that queen bees eat while in transit, Delaplane explained. Queen breeders could advertise fully vaccinated queens.'

American foulbrood originated in the U.S., which could be due to the countrys obsession with crop chemicals. It might just be that the disease is a direct result of bees getting sick from all this chemical exposure, for which the USDA is now planning to treat them with even more chemicals in the form of this new vaccine.

The Guardian admits that todays honeybees have been exposed to a cocktail of different diseases, as they are calling them. These diseases, in many cases, are just the toxic fallout from persistent pesticide and herbicide exposure while bees are roaming out in the wild.

Greed is largely behind all this as the commercialization of food necessitates chemical-intensive agricultural practices to maximize yields while minimizing costs. The end result is a sick and dying pollinator ecosystem that we are told now requires vaccination.

Once again, the corporate-controlled media is deflecting from the root of the problem by blaming bee sickness on the climate crisis, which is laughable in light of the obscene volumes of chemicals that are sprayed on crops every year  chemicals that destroy the environment and potentially alter climate conditions in the process.

I certainly would like to have bees in our future for years to come, wrote a commenter, lamenting the progressive loss of our precious pollinators. I sure would miss the food source they provide.

As for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), another disease afflicting American honeybees, someone else in the comments noted that all the electromagnetic pollution swirling around us from 5G towers, high-voltage power lines, and other modern technologies are a major factor causing that phenomenon.

It is said that honeybees are in alarming decline, but the establishment refuses to tell the truth as to why. Instead, our leaders continue to funnel more easy profits into the coffers of Big Pharma, which always has the solutions.

To learn more about the importance of honeybees, butterflies, and other pollinators for biodiversity, visit Bees.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheGuardian.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) German authorities want to put a celebrated Jewish composer and Holocaust survivor in a psychiatric institution and force her to take the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.

Inna Zhvanetskaya, 85, a Ukrainian-born Jew who survived the Holocaust and is a resident of Stuttgart in southern Germany, was charged by a German court with admission into a psychiatric institution where she will be forcefully injected with the COVID-19 vaccine twice.

The court order authorizing her forceful transfer to a psychiatric institution and her forced vaccination stated that this is for her own good. (Related: Holocaust survivor warns COVID-19 measures similar to Nazi Germanys subjugation policies.)

Furthermore, the German court has officially appointed a professional guardian for Zhvanetskaya, despite her being of sound mind and this being against her wishes. The court order stated that Zhvanetskaya has been diagnosed with several mental illnesses, including dementia, delusional disorder, narcissistic grandeur self-image and egocentrism. The court also claimed that Zhvanetskaya suffers from heart disease and severe obesity.

Zhvanetskaya in hiding, appears very healthy despite court claims

Zhvanetskaya was scheduled to be taken to a psychiatric institution for her forced COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 11. However, before authorities could take her, local media outlets reported that she has been transferred to an undisclosed location by friendly local activists who wanted to prevent her arrest.

In a video message sent to local outlet Report 24, Zhvanetskaya said: Music is my life, and if they take away music from me then they take my life.

Critics of the court order have also called into question Zhvanetskayas many diagnoses. Report 24 journalist Will Huber, who was in contact with Zhvanetskaya, noted that she does not appear to be extremely overweight, contrary to the courts claim that she was severely obese.

Mascha Orel, the co-founder of We For Humanity, a humanitarian organization assisting Holocaust survivors and their descendants, noted that she has spoken with Zhvanetskaya and is unable to confirm any of the diagnoses alleged by the court order.

I talked to her on the phone for an hour, said Orel. She is vulnerable, frightened and has lived in this [mental] state for about two years, as her legal guardian has apparently tried to institutionalize her several times She drew an unequivocal comparison: Its like when dad was at the front and mom had to flee with me and my brother.'

Many other civil society professionals, including lawyers and doctors, have come to Zhvanetskayas defense.

This decision is a gigantic judicial scandal, wrote Beate Bahner, a German attorney and expert on medical law.

Zhvanetskayas own lawyer, Holger Fischer, has appealed the court order. On Jan. 12, a district court in Stuttgart granted his urgent application to suspend the compulsory vaccination order. However, Zhvanetskaya remains in hiding as the court could still decide to forcefully institutionalize her.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccination policies and their parallels to the Holocaust at VaccineHolocaust.org.

Watch this episode of the Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, speculates on whether or not millions of COVID-19 vaccine victims are disappearing into mass graves in a secret holocaust.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Resist, wake up, stop obeying: Holocaust survivor draws parallels in current society to Nazi Germany.

Holocaust survivor implores Westerners to wake up and resist ongoing tyranny in alleged democratic countries.

Holocaust survivor: Big Pharma to depopulate the world through COVID-19 vaccines  Brighteon.TV.

Holocaust survivor: Nazi-era policies and COVID policies share many similarities.

Holocaust survivor says the time to resist is now: Never again applies to COVID tyranny.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

Report24.news

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Big pharma Pfizer is continuing to spend a kings ransom to buy favor with the two main political parties, with the Republicans benefiting in the latest round of donations.

The Republican Party of Kentucky is closer to having a new headquarters building in the Bluegrass State completed after Pfizer wrote the state party a check for a million dollars in recent days, according to a report by the Kentucky Lantern.

That said, Pfizer wasnt the only major corporation providing funding, but in terms of overall donations for this particular project, the big pharma maker was certainly the largest.

A report filed by Republican Party of Kentucky Building Fund last week with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance listed the $1 million from Pfizer along with five other big corporation contributions in the final quarter of 2022 totaling $1.65 million, the report said.

The outlet noted further:

The other large corporate donors to the fund in late 2022 were:

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., New York, $300,000;

Altria Client Services LLC, of Richmond, VA., $100,000;

Comcast Corp., of Philadelphia; $100,000;

AT&T, of St. Louis; $100,000;

Delta Air Lines, of Atlanta, $50,000.

And there is this: Suddenly, out of nowhere, the GOP HQ construction fund in Sen. Mitch McConnells home state is flush with cash, having only collected a paltry $6,000 during the first three quarters of 2022 (my, what a difference one election can make; the GOP did not take all of Congress but it has the House and is in striking distance of the Senate, with Dems having to defend scores of seats in 2024).

According to state and federal campaign finance laws, there are limits as to how much individuals or political action committees can give to the executive member of any political party. Corporate contributions to a partys executive committee are banned altogether, while individuals cant give any more than $15,000 per year, according to the outlet.

But part of a campaign finance bill passed by the General Assembly in 2017 allowed each party to establish a building fund that can accept contributions of unlimited amounts. It also allowed the building funds to accept contributions from corporations, the Kentucky Lantern added.

Sean Southard, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Kentucky, noted in a statement released Monday that the Republican Party purchased the lot next door to our Frankfort headquarters and is planning an expansion project. Our current headquarters was acquired in 1974. With the growth of the Republican Party in Kentucky, we have a need for additional space.

But okay  does McConnell really have anything to do with it? Well, per the outlet: A sign identifies the party headquarters as the Mitch McConnell Building, in honor of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

So the answer, very obviously, is yes. Pfizer is obviously currying favor with a very powerful member of Congress, only the company is doing it at the local level.

As we raise funds into the building fund account, we are following both federal and state law. The funds raised into this account can only be used for certain expenditures related to the building and are not eligible to be spent on candidate or issue advocacy, Southards statement continued.

Sure  and Pfizer is simply giving the project a million dollars out of the goodness of the hearts of the companys board of directors.

It should be noted that Pfizer was one of just a few pharma companies that benefitted greatly from the COVID-19 vaccine scandal, as the outlet reports:

Fueled by sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizers revenue doubled to $81.3 billion from 2020 to 2021. The company ranks 43rd on the Fortune 500 list.

For the first three quarters of 2022, Pfizer reported $76 billion in revenues.

While our elected leaders preen about responsible government and being responsive to the people, Pfizer is just the latest corporation to put the lie to those claims. Our government and our political leaders are nothing if not for sale.

Sources include:

KentuckyLantern.com

Pfizer.com
(Natural News) Healthy, young people likely dont benefit from mRNA Covid booster jabs, a report published by NBC News suggests.

(Article by Adan Salazar republished from Infowars.com)

Discussing a New England Journal of Medicine article authored by FDA vaccine advisory panelist Dr. Paul Offit, NBC covers his view the jabs should be reserved for older or immunocompromised people as their development is failing to keep up with evolving Covid variants.

From NBCs report, Younger, healthy people dont need another Covid booster, vaccine expert says,

A key adviser to the Food and Drug Administrations vaccine panel is questioning whether more Covid booster shots are necessary for healthy, younger people. The evidence for the new versions of the vaccines for the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which the FDA authorized in August, is underwhelming and fails to show they are much better than the original shots, Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician who is a leading vaccine and infectious diseases expert, wrote Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Protecting people against Covid infection with the current mRNA technology may be a pipe dream, especially as new coronavirus strains emerge every few months, Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, told NBC News. The updated boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are probably best reserved for people at high risk of severe illness or death from Covid  older adults, people with multiple coexisting conditions and those who are immunocompromised, Offit said. Asking young, healthy people who have a lower risk of serious illness to get boosted with a variant-specific vaccine, followed by a different variant-specific formula a few months later, may not be practical, he said.

In his NEJM paper, Offit claimed the jabs offer some protection against severe infection, however went on to say boosting against specific strains that might disappear in a few months is essentially useless for young, healthy people.

Although boosting with a bivalent vaccine is likely to have a similar effect as boosting with a monovalent vaccine, booster dosing is probably best reserved for the people most likely to need protection against severe disease  specifically, older adults, people with multiple coexisting conditions that put them at high risk for serious illness, and those who are immunocompromised. In the meantime, I believe we should stop trying to prevent all symptomatic infections in healthy, young people by boosting them with vaccines containing mRNA from strains that might disappear a few months later.

RELATED: MSNBC Anchor Admits Her Own Children Refused To Get COVID Boosters

To his credit, Offit, a staunch vaccine and social distancing advocate who frequently appears on CNN, has been against the FDAs booster scheme since early on and has been appearing on mainstream media to promote his theory boosters dont benefit young, healthy people.

On the other hand, Infowars has shown evidence from various sources that the jabs actually appear to be weakening, suppressing and destroying the immune system, making the boosters highly questionable even for elderly and immunocompromised individuals.

Entrepreneur Steve Kirsch argues Offits booster jab skepticism was evidence enough no one should be taking them, saying, One of the worlds most respected vaccinologists admits that there are no benefits to the boosters. Hes not taking the boosters. Why should you?

Read more at: Infowars.com
Scientists asserted that a long line of DNA might end after 23 million years as Japanese Giant Salamanders face great threat.

No one is certain how many of these secretive and enigmatic animals are still alive, but as artificial barriers split their habitat, it is believed that time is running short.

Fukuda-Kun

15 years ago, wildlife photographer Yukihiro Fukuda started scuba diving in the Hino River's chilly waters in southwest Japan.

However, it took him six years to take the remarkable photo of a male Japanese giant salamander defending hundreds of eggs, which earned him a spot in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition held by London's Natural History Museum.

In his honor, the salamander was given the name Fukuda-Kun.

It was the first time the mystery amphibians' nesting habit, which is expected to be up to 100 years old and whose biology hasn't evolved much in the last 23 million years, has been seen on video.

But after that, Fukuda-Kun vanished for four years.

Fukuda claimed that before the salamander could get past the obstruction, "he became caught behind a dam downstream."

Also Read: More than 10% of Species Could Face Extinction Threat by the End of the Century

Japanese Giant Salamanders

Japanese giant salamanders (Andrias japonicus), the second biggest of the three major species of giant salamander in the world (the others are in China and the US), may reach lengths up to 1.5 meters.

The record-breaking specimen, which weighs 44.3kg, is housed at the Tottori Prefectural Museum.

These animals, despite their size, are threatened by several factors, including weirs, dams, and concrete riverbanks that split their habitat in the rivers of central and western Japan, the only locations where this species is found in the wild.

They are prevented from traveling upstream to reach breeding grounds by the artificial barriers constructed for flood control and to increase irrigation for agriculture.

They also demolish the natural dens where the salamanders breed and lay their eggs.

According to a researcher and member of the Japanese Giant Salamander Society, Yuki Taguchi, some local populations may have gone extinct.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) altered the designation of "near threatened" to "vulnerable" in December 2022.

The population may have decreased by 30% to 50% since 1955, according to experts, but the loss "may be substantially worse."

Richard Pearce, an ecotourism consultant from the UK who has lived in Japan for more than ten years, is one among many fighting to ensure the salamander's existence.

He established the non-profit organization Sustainable Daisen in 2021, constructing ramps over weirs so salamanders may freely traverse through the Nawa River system that originates from Mount Daisen, the highest mountain in the Chugoku area.

Although ramps and ladders have been constructed in some places, they need to compensate for the sheer quantity of weirs in Japanese rivers.

The demand for ramps, according to Taguchi, is great.

Pearce does not, however, believe that public funding will be readily accessible shortly to construct ramps.

It may be challenging to persuade people and authorities that money should be spent on conservation efforts.

Daisen needs more resources due to its deteriorating economy and diminishing and aging population, which is a problem in many rural towns in Japan.

The emphasis is not on conservation.

In addition, Mizuki Takahashi, an associate professor of biology at Bucknell University in the US and a member of the team that determined the Japanese giant salamander's red list status, claims that throughout Japan, "not enough young people are interested in conservation and if they are, they can't find jobs in this field."

Safeguarding the Salamanders

Another issue is how the Japanese giant salamander is safeguarded, according to The Guardian.

It is prohibited from being hunted or, for those without a license, even being handled, according to a 1952 statute.

However, the legislation also classified it as a "special natural monument," which puts its management in the hands of cultural organizations, which seldom employ scientists or wildlife specialists.

According to Pearce and others, time is running out to preserve the Japanese giant salamander.

Pearce warned that 23 million years of DNA might disappear under our watch. "I think nobody else will act in time if I don't," she said.

Related Article: Can Bringing Extinct Species to Life Affect Conservation of Other Species?

For the most recent updates from the animal kingdom, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Over the past decades, wildlife experts have been pointing out the effects of global warming. The list of extinct animals is getting longer, and several species with previously healthy populations are now listed as endangered species.

If greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current course, it is predicted that by 2050, over one-third of all animal and plant species on Earth will have gone extinct. This would be a substantial loss that would permanently reduce biodiversity and affect ecosystems as well as human societies all over the world.

In fact, the Center for Biological Diversity confirms that global warming may put more than a million species at risk of extinction in the future, and we're already witnessing the first extinctions.

Still, Mother Nature, with or without human assistance, helped a few species recover spectacularly.

Discover Wildlife lists several extinct animals and endangered species that bounced back to life and here are 5 of them:

1. Blue Iguana

Because of the combined effects of development, human disturbance, rising road traffic, and introduced animals, the blue iguana (Cyclura lewisi) can only be found in the Cayman Islands and was once in danger of going extinct quickly. In 2002, there were only about 15 in its population.

When Cambridge University student Fred Burton accepted a position with the islands' Mosquito Research and Control Unit in the 1980s and happened upon one individual while conducting a survey, the reptile's fortunes drastically changed. Then, through a breeding program that was started in 1990, he committed his professional life to safeguard this iconic animal.

The 1,000th wild release of blue iguanas took place in 2018. Now that the population has recovered, conservation efforts are being prioritized.

2. Gould's Mouse

The Gould's mouse (Pseudomys gouldii), a rodent species native to Western Australia, has made a comeback after being thought to be extinct for over 150 years. Land clearing for agriculture further accelerated its demise, which was linked to the arrival of Europeans and their introduction of invasive species like foxes and feral cats.

The Shark Bay mouse, which is found on a few small islands off the coast of Western Australia, is nearly genetically identical to Gould's mouse, according to research from the Australian National University published in early 2021.

Even though there are only 2,000 of them, the mouse is still in danger. However, ecological restoration projects like the Return to 1616 project may help to ensure its survival.

3. Eurasian Beaver

The 16th century saw the extinction of beavers, which were once highly regarded for their delicate, thick fur and musk-like scent. Invigorated by successful programs in the region that demonstrated how beaver dams help to revive wetlands, reduce flooding, and boost insect life, conservationists fought for their reintroduction for years.

After discovering wild Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) on the River Otter in 2013, Devon Wildlife Trust convinced DEFRA to let them carry out a five-year assessment. The findings emphasized the many advantages of coexisting with beavers.

In September 2021, scientists observed three generations of the very same beaver family on the River Avon. It was believed to be the first time in 400 years that beavers had established themselves without the interference of humans.

4. American Bison

Once 60 million bison were roaming the plains of North America, but by the end of the 19th century, there were only 600 left. They were brutally hunted for their meat and hides because they were slow-moving and easy targets, and to starve native populations into submission.

They were infamously hunted for sport as well; Buffalo Bill, aka William Cody, claimed to have killed 4,280 of them in just 18 months. The situation of the animals began to improve in the late 1800s when a select group of ranchers began to raise their herds of bison that were bred in captivity before reintroducing them into the wild.

About 500,000 American bison (Bison bison) remain in existence today, and numerous measures have been taken to ensure their survival, such as the National Bison Legacy Act of 2016, which was signed by President Obama, Discover Wildlife reports.

Also read: Native Magnolia Tree Species Rediscovered in Haiti After Nearly A Century of Disappearance

5. Red Kite

Red kites (Milvus Milvus) were extinct in Scotland and England by 1879 as a result of human persecution. Red kites were reintroduced to the East Midlands, Chilterns, Yorkshire, and northeast England over the past 30 years.

According to Birdlife International, a new global estimate of 35,000 breeding pairs was closely matched by the most recent data for EU countries, which make up at least 90% of the world's population, which estimated a total of 29,746-34,751 breeding pairs in 17 countries. Therefore, it is believed that there are 60,000-70,000 mature people in the world.

Related article: Critically Endangered Shimmering Hummingbird Seen in Columbia, 12 Years After Last Sighting
According to reports, the relentless storms in California unloaded about 24 trillion gallons of water, helping to ease the prolonged drought conditions.

Weather forecasts raised concerns over the rounds of heavy rain in California and the West Coasts. However, forecasts explained that the combination of a bomb cyclone and atmospheric rivers helped to bring more rain.

Evacuations and widespread power outages occurred in California as the rain continued. Many residents braced for the impact of the storms as the calendar flipped to January.

According to the National Weather Service's (NWS) recent advisory, the weather agency explained that hazards could unfold in California this weekend, adding that atmospheric moisture surges could cause more heavy rain and mountain snow.

Residents in California are advised to keep updated with the weather forecasts for potential evacuations due to flooding.

Meanwhile, AccuWeather's latest forecast and PowerOutage.us explained that power disruptions reached about 1.6 million people from December 26, 2022 to January 11, 2023.

Other than widespread power outages, significant property damage, trees and powerlines were reported.

US Drought conditions

According to AccuWeather, Californians experienced one of the wettest weather conditions.

The region has suffered from prolonged drought, affecting rivers, lakes and main reservoirs. In addition, the historic water level raised concerns over the impact on communities and the environment.

As a result, the relentless rain in California could offer relief from drought conditions. In addition, the melting snow in California could help water reservoirs, especially during the summer.

The good conditions of snowpack in southern Sierra and Sierra Nevada are a good sign to deal with long-term drought in the state.

Also Read: Alarming Climate Crisis Contributed to Most Extreme Weather Events in the Past Few Years, Report Shows

Since January 2023, the unabated rain in California reached about 24 trillion gallons of water, according to reports from Pete Bouchard, NBC10 Boston and AccuWeather.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Prediction Center explained that one of the wettest conditions occurred in California (From January 9, 2023, to January 10, 2023).

California has suffered from prolonged drought, affecting the water supply in nearby communities. However, recent reports from the U.S Drought Monitor explained that severe drought in the region was reduced by about 25%, as more rain unfolded.

Although the rain is a good sign for the drought outlook in California, a previous report from BBC News explained that it would require several years of wet conditions to address the concerning drought in the region.

Recently, the NOAA and CNN recent reports said that the United States suffered from human-caused disasters. The total cost in damages reached a whopping $165 billion.

Experts noted that the impact of climate change on extreme weather events that become more frequent and intensified.

Weather safety reminders

On the other hand, the forecast noted that the persistent rain in California could continue with significant mountain snow next week.

Residents and motorists should monitor the weather developments for travel hazards, evacuations and flooding risks. Dangerous travel and slowed commutes are expected.

Preparing emergency kits in case of evacuation is recommendable as the storm could stay until next week.

Related Article: Hurricanes and Other Natural Disasters Impact U.S Population; About 3.3 million Adults Being Displaced or Forced To Relocate

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature News.
There are currently more than 150 flood alerts and dozens of more serious flood warnings in effect, and much of the UK will be severely battered by heavy rain and strong winds this weekend.

The unpredictability of the weather will continue into the following week, and snow is possible.

Cold weather alerts

Within the next week, there may be significant snowfall in parts of England as the UK braces for several days of unpredictably bad weather, as per Sky News.

Dozens of flood warnings are already in effect, and a cold weather alert will soon go into effect.

The Met Office has issued yellow rain warnings for Northern Ireland from 2 p.m. on Saturday until 3 a.m. on Sunday, as well as for Wales and many areas of England from Friday night to Saturday lunchtime.

Most places will likely receive between 20mm and 30mm of rain, but some places, like southwest England and the Brecon Beacons, could receive more than 50mm.

Strong winds are also predicted, with gusts of 40 to 50 mph and perhaps even 60 mph on southern exposed coasts.

In the UK, there were 81 flood warnings in effect as of early Saturday morning, indicating that flooding is anticipated, and more than 150 flood alerts, indicating that flooding is possible.

Forecasters are advising that bus and train services may be impacted, and that road travel times will likely be prolonged due to spray and flooding.

After the windy and rainy weekend is over, snow may come.

The North, the Midlands, and the central and eastern regions of England are all under a level two cold weather alert from 6 p.m. on Sunday to 9 a.m. on Thursday.

The Met Office advises residents in those areas to stock up on food and medications to reduce the need to venture outside because there is a 70% chance of experiencing extremely cold weather, icy conditions, and heavy snow.

A level one alert is in effect for London, the South, and the South West, cautioning residents to exercise caution.

Kirsty McCabe, a weather presenter for Sky News, warned that temperatures would drop significantly as a jet stream "plunges south, dragging cold air from the north across the UK."

The unfavorable weather comes as regions of the nation work to recover from this week's severe flooding, which left roads, fields, and homes at risk of flooding.

The River Ouse in York was about 3.8 meters above normal, and it was expected to get even higher over the course of the night.

Flooding in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, caused "gridlock" in the town center, while in Keynsham, Somerset, people had to be rescued from submerged cars on Old Bristol Road.

Also Read: Heatwave to Hit the UK in April and Climate Change is to Blame: Met Office Forecast

UK Weather forecast

Particularly in the north and east, rain will intensify and stick around longer. In three to six hours, 20 to 30 mm of rain is predicted to fall, most likely all the way through the evening, as per Mirror.

Additionally, the Met Office has issued cold weather warnings for much of England from Sunday through next week.

The North, the Midlands, and the central and eastern regions of England are currently under a level two cold weather alert from 6 p.m. on Sunday to 9 a.m. on Thursday.

The Met Office advises residents in those regions to stock up on supplies and limit their outdoor activity due to the 70% probability of extremely cold, icy conditions, and heavy snow.

Most cloud cover and rain are clearing in the east, but it is still present in Scotland's far north. Scotland and Northern Ireland are frequently affected by strong showers, but other areas are only occasionally. Later, strong gales are developing in the northwest. changing from cold to northward.

Additional showers, mainly in the north and west, and snow on the higher ground A few spells of clarity, probably in the southeast. continuing to be windy tonight with gusts up to gales

Rainfall is still coming down, falling as snow in the north but only on the high ground elsewhere. There may be a few bright spots in northern England and southern Scotland. Sunday is chilly with calming winds.

Related article: UK Weather: August Bank Holiday Will Be Expected With Heavy Rain While 26C Heatwave Returns Next Week
The early weeks of January in California recorded heavy rain, damaging winds and mountain snow.

According to the latest weather forecast in the state, flooding and mudslide concerns could persist due to potent Pacific storms.

Californians should keep updated with the weather as rounds of heavy rain are expected to unleash until next week, causing significant flooding risks.

The persistent and heavy atmospheric river contributed to the severe weather conditions.

In addition, the challenging weather in California brought safety concerns as the flooding threat continued.

Weather agencies and the National Weather Service have been actively monitoring the weather in California.

Flooding risks

According to AccuWeather's latest update this January 15, 2023, the report said that storms help to worsen the weather conditions in California, especially the storms coming from the Pacific and a bomb cyclone.

The weather outlook in California is not expected to appear better next week as threats of atmospheric rivers and storms linger.

Although the storms caused flooding, the weather conditions eased the extreme drought in the state, adding that the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada showed good signs of optimism.

Although reports from the BBC noted that California's drought could be addressed with years of wet weather, the current conditions offered drought relief in the region.

The rounds of rain in California also resulted in significant power outages, as power lines and trees were damaged.

According to the weather outlook for the weekend until early next week, wintry conditions will occur.

In addition, heavy snow is forecasted in Salt Lake City and Albuquerque.

On the other hand, heavy rain is expected in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The weather report also noted damaging winds that could impact trees and homes.

On Tuesday, AccuWeather said rainfall could unfold, causing significant flash flooding and mudslide risks in Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, Fresno, San Francisco, Reno and Redding.

Also Read: Siberia Suffers from Lowest-Level Temperature Drop; Cold Air Expected in Eastern Asia, North America Next Week

Furthermore, road travel could become extremely challenging due to flooding concerns.

Therefore, motorists should monitor the weather before traveling, as delays and slowed commutes are expected.

More heavy rain next week

On the other hand, the National Weather Service's (NWS) latest advisory explained that two storm systems could impact this weekend, causing heavy rain and gusty winds.

The advisory added that the storm would track the Central United States on Monday.

Furthermore, the NWS Hanford said that portions of Central California could experience heavy mountain snow this weekend.

Preparing emergency food supplies and kits is recommendable, as weather conditions in California have been challenging due to relentless storms.

Meanwhile, the National Prediction Center's latest key message said that another round of atmospheric river would unleash in California starting Monday, bringing the same flooding risks.

Weather forecasts emphasized possible dangerous travel.

Motorists and residents should watch out for mudslides, flooding and reduced road visibility.

Homeowners must keep updated with weather alerts and possible evacuations.

Keeping a battery-powered radio would be the best option, as power outages were recorded across California.

Related Article: 24 Trillion Gallons of Water Unloaded in California Due to Weeks of Relentless Storms

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature News.
Sea stars turned out to be the strongest competitor as top predators against polar bears in the Arctic peninsula, according to a new study.

Scientists asserted that the starfish are the benthic (animals and plants that live in the bottom of a body water) equivalents of the white bears across the pelagic realm.

In addition, the researchers said focus on the food web in the region is underappreciated in the past.

For the longest time, polar bears have been thought to be the apex predators along the Arctic coast, especially when it comes to hunting seal, walruses, dead beluga whales, and other animals.

While sea stars consume sea cucumber and detritus, which are pelagic dead organisms, their only difference with the land predators is the size of their prey.

Arctic Coast Top Predator

The study was published in the journal PNAS in late December 2022, where researchers examined a coastal marine ecosystem in the Canadian Arctic and found that components within the benthic zone's food web had been significantly ignored.

Before arriving with their conclusion regarding the predatory sea stars, the team created a detailed map of the different food chains around Southampton Island, located in the mouth of Hudson Bay and in the Nunavut territory of Canada.

The map found that the benthic part had many connections on its food chain similar to its pelagic counterpart, as summarized by Live Science.

Also Read: Consequences of Climate Change: Polar Bear Population Shrinking Due to Arctic Sea Ice Melt

Polar Bears

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a bear species with a conservation status of "threatened" despite its title as the largest carnivorous land mammals on Earth.

They can grow approximately between seven to eight feet long.

Male polar bears are larger than their female counterparts since they can weigh over 1,700 pounds, which is 400 pounds larger than female polar bears, according to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

Due to their natural state of being large, U. maritimus needs to constantly eat prey, which also includes, the birds eiders, gulls, and murre.

However, the past several years saw the decline on the natural habitats of polar bears due to climate change and global warming, forcing some to flee away from their Arctic home and settle into or near human territories such as in Canada and Greenland.

What are Sea Stars?

The sea star (Asteroidea) is an invertebrate animal which can be found across the world's oceans, including the Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean.

These invertebrates are related to echinoderms like sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and sand dollars, according to the National Aquarium.

Echinoderms are characterized by scientists as marine animals known for their hard, blunted covering or skin.

In other words, their spiny exoskeleton is visible.

Experts point out that echinoderms are a crucial part of the ocean food chain, since they also feast on seaweeds.

For a starfish, the star-shaped sea creature also consume sponge, in addition to the ones mentioned earlier.

Related Article: Hope For the Species: Despite Lack of Sea Ice, Polar Bear Population Found Thriving
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Richard J. Leskosky taught media and cinema studies at the University of Illinois and has reviewed films for more than 30 years. He can be contacted at filmcritic@comcast.net. Follow him on Twitter (@RichardLeskosky).
LeConte Nix: We have to normalize that going to therapy is great and is needed  just like going to a movie or your regular doctors appointment. We all have stuff that we hide mentally or avoid. Now, think about a young adult who only knows how to deal with anger by violence of some sort, because he or she has never been taught how to handle certain situations."
The way Urbana High School senior Amari Johnson sees it, all students should get a chance to visit with representatives from historically black colleges and universities and learn the options available to them without having to make a trip out of town.
One of three defendants in the murder of a Hammond man waived his right to a jury trial and the case moved forward Monday with opening statements and testimony from three witnesses.
The time people spent with family over the festive period could have improved their health, according to new research which examined how social bonds with close social circles and extended groups relate to health and psychological wellbeing.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Kent, Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and Coventry University, used self-reported data from more than 13,000 people across 122 countries, gathered during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Surveys assessed people's strength of bonding with close social circles, such as family and friends, as well as with extended groups, such as country, government and humanity. People's pandemic-related health behaviors and mental health and wellbeing were also measured.

Results show that only bonding with family, rather than other groups, is linked to engaging positively with behavior which can improve health; in this case, examples included washing hands, wearing a mask and social distancing.

For example, 46% of people who had strong family bonds washed hands at least "a lot", compared to 32% who were not strongly bonded with their family. Moreover, 54% of people not bonded with their family reported they never wore a mask. Bonded people were vastly over-represented among those who engaged in health behaviors. Despite people with strong family bonds constituting only 27% of the entire sample, they constituted 73% of those who engaged in social distancing, 35% of those who washed hands, and 36% of those who wore a mask "a lot" or more.

The study also found that having strong bonds with both close social circles and extended groups is associated with better mental health and wellbeing. Importantly, the greater number of groups people had strong bonds with, the higher their engagement in health behaviors and the better their reported psychological wellbeing was, with less anxiety and depression.

The research recommends that public health messaging focus on smaller networks as well as multiple groups, particularly in times of crisis when individuals should be encouraged to share their positive health behaviors with their close social circles.

It is also suggested that healthcare systems can reduce the reliance on pharmaceutical treatments by using social prescribing to support individuals who do not have these bonds in their life.

The results of the study, which included a broad range of countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil and Peru, have implications for tackling negative physical and mental health effects from a global perspective. The study goes beyond the remit of traditional approaches in psychology by reaching so much of the global population.

This research speaks to the universal need to belong  this is one of the reasons we felt it was so important to include a truly diverse sample from across the globe. Wherever you are in the world, other people matter to you. We found that having lots of groups was important to encourage better health behaviors, including bonding to abstract groups like your country or government, but most important of all are our closest friends and family -; groups that we have likely recognized as being important since the beginning of human history." Dr Martha Newson, Anthropologist, University of Kent

Senior Lecturer in Psychology at NTU's School of Social Sciences, Dr Bahar Tuncgenc, added: 'At times of turmoil, such as during disasters, social crises, or pandemics, our social bonds can be key to receiving support. We look out to people we trust and identify with as we decide what course of action to take. That's why our close bonds with family  the people many of us share significant life events with and learn from  can promote healthy behaviors.

'At the same time, having strong social connections  no matter how abstract or distant these might be  is crucial for promoting mental health. Our research shows that close and extended social bonds offer different sources of support and direction.'

Assistant Professor at the Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations at Coventry University, Dr Valerie van Mulukom, said: "In the West, we tend to think of ourselves as individuals who have to survive and conquer the world on our own. Our research demonstrates that in fact, humans are very much social animals, who benefit from, and rely on, their communities in more ways than one. In challenging times this is even more pronounced. It is advisable for government policies to consider these psychological needs and mechanisms and involve local authorities and grassroots organizations for maximum efficiency and wellbeing in times of disaster."

The paper is published in the journal Science Advances.
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TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain has voiced disappointment and concern over the false and inaccurate allegations made about the Kingdoms human rights in the resolution passed by the European Parliament.

This was emphasised by the Foreign Affairs Ministry as it affirmed Bahrains full commitment to human rights principles and international standards, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens and residents on its territory.

The accusations bear no resemblance to reality, and ignore the factual and verifiable information provided by the Ministry, it noted. In rejecting the European Parliament resolution, the Ministry said: The resolution was based on falsified and inaccurate information disseminated by those making desperate attempts that seek to damage the reputation of Bahrain and to gain the support of parties willing to accept one-sided and ill-intentioned narratives.

It affirmed that Bahraini citizen Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, referred to in the resolution, was duly convicted by the courts of treason of the following: undermining state security, attempting to overthrow the constitutional government, communicating with foreign countries to carry out hostile acts against the Kingdom, its citizens, and residents, and establishing and managing an unlawful organisation to carry out acts of terrorism and sabotage.

In a statement, the Ministry pointed out the court verdict corresponds to the legal consequences that would follow in any country respectful of the rule of law.

Devoid of truth

The Arab Parliament yesterday strongly rejected the resolution.

In a statement, Arab Parliament Speaker Adel bin Abdulrahman Al Asoomi said that the resolution is devoid of truth and bears no resemblance to reality. He voiced full solidarity and support to Bahrain, backing all measures it takes to respond to the statement that serves the political design of foreign sides.

This policy using human rights as a pretext to interfere in the affairs of states has become fully exposed, he said, calling on the European Parliament to respect the rule of law in the Kingdom. Al Asoomi stressed Bahrains full commitment to international human rights standards by consolidating and protecting citizens and residents rights and liberties.

The Speaker reiterated categorical rejection of any interference in Bahrains internal affairs, stressing full respect for the countrys judiciary and law. He also commended Bahrains human rights achievements regionally and internationally, especially in the alternative punishment law, the open prison system and other initiatives that strengthened its standing.

Full solidarity

The Arab Observatory for Human Rights, an offshoot of the Arab Parliament, also rejected the resolution and voiced full solidarity with the Kingdom. It stressed the need to stand to all attempts to defame Arab countries, interfere in their internal affairs or disrespect their sovereignty.

The body backed all Bahrain measures to protect its security and stability. In a statement, it noted Bahrains human strides in line with the highest international standards, calling on the European Parliament to stop interfering under the pretext of human rights.

It highlighted the need to recognise positive steps being taken by Arab countries to promote human rights, noting that Bahrain has drawn up national strategies which heed Bahraini social values.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain reaffirmed its commitment yesterday to reaching zero neutrality by 2060 during the 13th session of the General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Participating in the opening session, Electricity and Water Affairs Minister, Yasser bin Ibrahim Humaidan, said the Kingdom is implementing interim goals to achieve renewable energy and energy efficiency.

He also highlighted the steps taken to encourage investments in renewable energy projects and increase the percentage of renewable energy resources in the total energy mix.

The minister also participated in other ministerial sessions to discuss the future vision, plans and experiences in renewable and clean energy.

The sessions stressed the top ole of renewable energy to contribute to preserving the environment and addressing climate change without negatively affecting development efforts.

The two-day event ends today.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Report by Zahra Ayaz

Police are probing alleged assaults by an unidentified gang of men, who also claimed to be CIDs, after three expatriates, who got attacked, robbed and injured severely by the miscreants on Thursday near Gudaibiya, reported the incident.

The men, Rajesh (46), Prakash (50) and Ajay (50), all Indian nationals, said they suffered injuries on their faces, with Rajesh suffering the most.

Prakash and Ajay said Rajesh is receiving treatment from Salmaniya Medical Complex.

The men said they lost BD250, their wallets and mobile phones in the shocking attack.

The incident also sent shock waves among residents in Gudaibiya and Hoora. They are urging authorities to do something about gang violence in their neighbourhoods.

Recalling the incident, Rajesh told the Daily Tribune the attack came as they were sitting in a parked car near Gudaibiya.

I was behind the wheel, with my brother Prakash and friend Ajay sitting next to me. As we were talking, a guy suddenly came and demanded to roll down the windows and hand over my CPR.

We, however, asked him to show his ID first before showing ours, who then claimed to be a CID. However, when we got out of the car, the man turned hostile and started violently punching me.

My brother pleaded to stop and, in a bid to stop them, started recording him on his phone.

Though this scared him away, sometime later, a pickup pulled up near us, with two men jumping out and attacking us again. They hit us on our face and took my wallet and my brothers phone before fleeing.

My eye and nose were bleeding, but we went straight to Gudaibiya police station to report.

From Thursday till Friday, I was shuttling between Gudaibiya and Hoora police stations to get an update. Police said the investigation is ongoing.

The CIDs found footage of the incident from CCTV of nearby stores and are on the lookout for the suspects. We hope they will catch them all soon.

I already lost BD 250, and costing me still. Each hospital visit costs me BD7, in addition to medical expenses.

We also discussed the incident with Subair Kannur, a social worker, to warn others of the gang.

We urge all to remain cautious while in neighbourhoods of Gudaibiya and Hoora, he said. This incident, however, is not the first such report of gang violence.

The Daily Tribune recently reported a similar incident of gang violence from Askar.

An Indian expatriate was brutally beaten up by a gang when he was on his way to buy groceries at a supermarket near the Alba complex in Askar.
By Captain Mahmood Al Mahmood

One of the areas we look at when redefining our lifestyle in the new year is our financial health. Because of the many channels available these days to thrive fiscally, I am not just talking about household savings.

Many individuals are looking at investing in the stock market and many GCC companies are seeking to attract investors through IPOs.

In such an atmosphere of financial activity, we are increasingly hearing about ESG as a whetstone for testing the ethical corporate standards of a company.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing refers to a set of standards for a companys behavior used by socially conscious investors to screen the companies that they are interested in investing in.

Environmental criteria considers how a company safeguard s the environment, including corporate policies addressing climate change, for example.

Social criteria examine how it manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where it operates. Governance deals with a companys leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls and shareholder rights.

It is no longer enough for us to look at the bottom line and expect a fat return. The talk about our individual responsibility towards climate change and social justice has made it important for each one of us to understand our ESG responsibility as investors.

The Bahrain Bourse too has joined the GCC Exchanges Committee and endorsed the adoption of unified GCC ESG metrics across all GCC Exchanges.

The metrics comprise 29 standards (10 Environmental, 10 Social, and 9 Governance metrics) that are aligned with the World Federation of Exchanges and Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative and include categories across GHG emissions, energy usage, water usage, gender pay, employee turnover, gender diversity, data privacy, ethics and more.

I trust that this will be a move amongst all corporate divisions to embrace these standards so that we can move forward to a cleaner, more productive and gentler world together
Agencies | Kyiv

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Russia unleashed a major missile attack on Ukraine on Saturday, smashing a nine-storey apartment block in the city of Dnipro, killing at least five people and striking vital energy facilities, officials said.

Ukraine's energy minister said the coming days would be "difficult" as months of Russian bombardment of the power grid threaten the supply of electricity, running water and central heating at the height of winter.

In the east-central city of Dnipro, 20 people were rescued from an apartment block where an entire section of the building had been reduced to rubble, sending smoke billowing into the sky, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office said.

"Tragedy. I've gone to the site.... We will be going through the rubble all night," said Borys Filatov, mayor of the rocket-making city on the Dnipro River.

Five people were killed and at least 60 people, including 12 children, were also wounded in the attack, with more people were still trapped under the rubble, the regional governor said.

Another person was killed and one wounded in the steel-making city of Kryviy Rih where six houses were damaged in President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown, mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said.

In his nightly speech, Zelensky appealed to the West to supply more weapons to prevent further deaths from what he described as "Russian terror".

"What's needed for this? The kind of weapons that our partners have in stockpiles and that our warriors have come to expect. The whole world knows what and how to stop those who are sowing death," he said.

Saturday's attack comes as Western powers consider sending battle tanks to Kyiv and ahead of a meeting of Ukraine's allies in Ramstein in Germany next Friday where governments will announce their latest pledges of military support.

On the front lines in the east, Ukraine said its forces were battling to hold onto control of the small town of Soledar where Russia has sacrificed large numbers of troops and resources to try to secure some kind of advance after months of setbacks.

In Dnipro, pictures showed firefighters putting out a blaze around the carcasses of some cars. A broad chunk of the apartment block was missing. The exterior of the rest of the building was badly damaged. Wounded people were carried away on stretchers.

Russia has been pounding its energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing sweeping blackouts and disruptions to central heating and running water.

Ukraine shot down 25 of 38 Russian missiles of different types, the Air Force said.

Missiles struck critical infrastructure facilities in the eastern region of Kharkiv and the western region of Lviv, officials said. Kharkiv region lost power completely and disruptions to electricity and water supplies in Lviv were also possible, officials said.

Moldova's interior ministry said missile debris had been found in the north of the country near the Ukraine border following the air strikes.

MORNING ATTACK

The attack on Saturday came hours after a smaller-scale missile attack hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv.

The first attack was unusual because missiles struck their targets before the air raid siren even sounded. No one was reported hurt then, but missile debris caused a fire in one area and houses were damaged outside the capital, officials said.

DTEK, the biggest private electricity company, introduced emergency blackouts in several regions.

Residential infrastructure was also hit in the village of Kopyliv outside the capital. The windows and roofs of 18 privately owned houses were shattered or damaged by the blast, Oleksiy Kuleba, the regional governor, said.

Commenting on the first attack, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said Russia's missiles had likely been fired along a high, looping ballistic trajectory from the north, which would explain why the air raid siren did not sound.

Ukraine is not able to identify and shoot down ballistic missiles, he told the Ukrainska Pravda online outlet.

MISSILES STRIKE KHARKIV

In Ukraine's northeast, two S-300 missiles struck the city of Kharkiv near the Russian border early on Saturday, according to regional governor Oleg Synehubov.

The attacks hit critical energy and industrial targets in the Kharkiv and Chuhuev district of the region, he said.

Saturday's strikes came as Ukrainian and Russian forces battled for control of Soledar, a small salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine that for days has been the focus of a relentless Russian assault.

Ukraine insisted that its forces were battling to hold onto control of Soledar, but acknowledged the situation was difficult, that street fighting was raging and that Russian forces were advancing from various directions.

Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of the town with a pre-war population of 10,000, in what would be a minor advance, but one holding psychological importance for Russian forces who have suffered months of battlefield setbacks.
, Jan 16 ( Global Times ) - Chinese embassies in Japan and South Korea said in statements on Sunday that travelers to China must take nucleic acid tests within 48 hours before their departure, and those who show negative results will be allowed to come to China.

The statements said the requirement is in response to the interim measures for travel between China and other countries after the optimization of COVID management released by the Chinese government on December 27, 2022.

From January 8, 2023, China reopened its borders after the government downgraded the management level of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B, and meanwhile reopened its borders after three years of the pandemic.

In the statement, the embassies also said that passengers entering China from Japan and South Korea should complete the necessary customs clearance procedures after arriving at the port with the health declaration code. Those who have a normal health declaration and no abnormalities in the routine hygienic inspection at the port can enter the country.

However, people with abnormal health declarations or symptoms such as fever will be tested by the customs for nucleic acid. Those who test positive should be quarantined or seek medical treatment in accordance with the requirements of the notice. ...continue reading
azertag.az - Apr 13

A commercial space startup in Japan on Wednesday said its Hakuto-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander is expected to touch surface of the moon late April, making it the first private company in the world to reach the celestial body, according to Anadolu Agency.




Twelve passengers kidnapped on January 7, 2023, at Igueben train station in Edo State have been rescued.





Commissioner of Police Mohammed Dankwara announced the operation in a statement on Sunday.





The passengers were waiting to board a train to Warri in Delta State when armed men struck.





The Commissioner of Police said joint security forces, acting on technical intelligence, stormed a forest named Igboha and freed the citizens unhurt.





Those rescued are Eunice Esaba, 56, Marian Mowoe, 28, Faith Smart, 42, Precious Egwuje, 28, Obehi Omaben, 39, Amm Benson, 42, and Favour Akungo, 18.





Others are Akhimen Ehiemamen, 48, Christian Iyere, 33, Emmanuel Esieba, 67, Iyoha Julius, 25, and Aguelle Beatrice, 42.





Dankwara noted that the 12 victims bring to 18 the total number of victims now rescued.





The two others still being held are staff of Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC.





Dankwara assured that security agencies are collaborating to free the government workers in captivity.
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Gov. John Bel Edwards has created a new criminal justice oversight council to monitor recent criminal sentencing law changes. (Photo by Ted Jackson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) (Ted Jackson)
Louisiana Economic Development announced the 2022 Lantern Award winners, which go to companies around the state that demonstrate excellence in manufacturing.

Area winners are D&T Crawfish in Abbeville, Swamp Dragon in Baton Rouge, Cospolich in Destrehan and MECO in Mandeville.
No one was injured in a school bus crash Friday morning in the town of Conquest.

The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office investigated the crash, which took place around 8:30 a.m. on Slayton Road, east of the intersection with Spookwood Road.

The bus was transporting two Port Byron students, and exited the road, struck a utility pole and rolled onto its side. No one was injured. Deputies cited the driver for traveling at unsafe speed relative road conditions. At the time, a brief snowfall was coating many area roadways.

The occupants of the bus initially received assistance from two other people who came upon the incident, Charlie Mettler, of Cato, and Doug Wilson, of Port Byron.
The declining number of volunteer firefighters in New York is not a new problem, but it's one Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to tackle this year.

Hochul included two proposals in her State of the State address to deal with the shortage  allowing "modest compensation" for volunteer firefighters and the creation of a state fund to pay volunteer firefighters a stipend after they complete mandated training.

According to the State of the State book released by the governor's office, Hochul believes both proposals can boost recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. Additionally, the stipend will help cover the costs of training and lost wages while volunteer firefighters are away from their jobs.

From 1998 to 2021, the number of volunteer firefighters in New York decreased from 110,000 to 75,000, a 32% drop. More than three-quarters of volunteer fire departments have fewer firefighters than they did two decades ago. During that same period, calls increased by 29%.

John D'Alessandro, secretary of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York, told The Citizen that the complexity of the calls is also increasing and there are other demands for service. He noted that volunteer firefighters from the Capital Region were sent to the Buffalo area to aid with the blizzard response in December.

"While all those things are happening, we're being asked to address it with less and less people," D'Alessandro said.

Riley Shurtleff, the director of Cayuga County Emergency Services who previously served as a captain of the Genoa Volunteer Fire Department, explained in an email to The Citizen that the decreasing number of volunteer firefighters occurred "as economic changes and social model shifts have caused many people to be less inclined to serve their communities at all, let alone for no pay as a volunteer in a position that is both physically and emotionally taxing."

D'Alessandro and Shurtleff agreed that Hochul's proposals may help address the shortage. D'Alessandro said the Firefighters Association of the State of New York supports the creation of a state fund that would provide a stipend to firefighters who complete training courses.

The state Office of Fire Prevention and Control holds the training sessions, but they can last multiple days. For volunteer firefighters with full-time jobs, they will need to take time off from work to attend the classes.

"Anything that can be done to defray the economic cost of taking training is very worthwhile and welcomed by FASNY," D'Alessandro said. "Simply put, a better trained firefighter is a better firefighter. We always encourage firefighters of all demographics to continue their training."

But Shurtleff thinks the proposal fails to acknowledge other issues that may prevent people from becoming volunteer firefighters. There are regular increases in mandatory minimum training hours for new firefighters, he explained, and exterior firefighters should not have to attend training sessions if they do not want to achieve self-contained breathing apparatus qualifications or enter buildings. He suggested other ideas for Hochul to pursue, including revised training systems.

With Hochul's proposal to allow limited compensation, D'Alessandro and Shurtleff raised questions about how that would affect benefits available for volunteer firefighters.

In New York, there is a state Volunteer Firefighters' Benefits Law  a form of workers' compensation for volunteer firefighters if they are injured in the line of duty. D'Alessandro said FASNY wants to see more details about how firefighters could get paid while retaining those benefits.

"Getting a few dollars to respond to a call pales in comparison to, God forbid, someone falls off a ladder or gets burned in a house fire," he added.

The answers to those questions will likely come in the governor's executive budget proposal, which will be released in the coming weeks. Many of Hochul's proposals will be part of upcoming budget negotiations between her staff and the state Legislature.

While awaiting those details, D'Alessandro and Shurtleff are encouraged that the governor's office has acknowledged there is a problem and are proposing ways to fix it.

"If the governor wishes to address these concerning trends toward declining volunteerism as well as training requirements, any positive changes are welcomed," Shurtleff said.
The US Department of Energy's EVs4ALL program, managed by its Advanced Research Projects Agency will be doling out $42 million in next generation battery research grants for 12 promising projects. Four of those grants will go to solid-state battery development carried out by US companies or educational institutions.

4 Reviews

A solid-state battery technology that can be used in the frame of traditional lithium-ion (Li-ion) ternary batteries, Solid Power's fast-charging invention, as well as University of Maryland research that may lead to increased solid-state cells energy density and longevity, are among the projects funded by a new grant by the US Department of Energy.

In total, four solid-state battery undertakings will receive government funding, representing a third of the 12-pack of projects that the Energy Department will finance with the $42 million grant. The rest range from potassium and sodium battery technologies, to predictive simulations for failure rates:

24M Technologies (Cambridge, MA) will develop low-cost and fast-charging sodium metal batteries with good low-temperature performance for EVs. 24Ms cell design will incorporate (1) its ultra-thick SemiSolid cathode made up of advanced cobalt-free, nickel-free sodium cathode active material, (2) an advanced wide-temperature, fast-charging electrolyte developed using machine learning and automated high-throughput screening technology, and (3) a sodium super ionic conductor. (Award amount: $3,198,085)

Ampcera (Tuscon, AZ) will develop a solid-state battery incorporating a thermally modulated cell technology (TMCT), developed by EC Power, that was used in conventional lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries to power buses during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The TMSSB comprises a high-capacity silicon anode and a high-voltage, nickel-rich lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode. Combining the TMCT with a high ion conducting solid-state electrolyte will enable rapid charging at ambient conditions. The TMCT also enables cold startup times of less than a minute at ambient temperatures of -20C, making the TMSSB advantageous in cold climates. (Award amount: $2,120,120)

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, CO) will assess data and parameters representing the risks of next generation cells. The project will establish an understanding of failure mechanisms, reaction pathways, failure modes and effects, revised testing standards, and new capabilities and tools to help de-risk adoption of next-generation cells for commercial applications. (Award amount: $3,425,000)

The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH) will scale its prototype high-power battery technology that can tolerate rapid charging while demonstrating longevity far beyond the current state-of-the-art Li-ion cells. (Award amount: $3,876,363)

Project K (Palo Alto, CA) is developing and commercializing a potassium-ion battery, which operates similarly to Li-ion batteries. The fundamental properties of the potassium-ion system allow it to charge much faster than lithium-ion batteries while also enabling operation at reduced temperatures. (Award amount: $2,587,618)

Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM) will develop a novel predictive simulation/modeling and testing framework to evaluate advanced battery material and cell safety at an early stage. (Award amount: $3,700,000)

Solid Power Operating (Thornton, CO) will develop a 3D-structured Li metal anode and novel sulfur (S) composite cathode to enable high-energy and fast-charging EV battery cells. (Award amount: $5,600,000)

South 8 Technologies (San Diego, CA) will develop high-power Li-ion battery cells with the capacity to charge rapidly using a novel liquefied gas (LiGas) electrolyte technology. South 8 Technologies will harness the inherent safety, high power, and low temperature advantages of the LiGas electrolyte in combination with a high energy, low cost, and cobalt-free lithium nickel manganese oxide (LNMO) cathode. (Award amount: $3,152,000)

Tyfast Energy (San Diego, CA) will use a new combination of electrode materials and electrolyte chemistry to enable a high-energy density, ultrafast-charging battery with a long cycle life. (Award amount: $2,823,199)

University of Maryland (College Park, MD) will increase the charge/discharge-rate capability, energy density, and operating temperature window of solid-state lithium metal batteries. (Award amount: $4,852,733)

Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA) will develop EV batteries using cobalt- and nickel-free cathodes, fast-charging and all-weather electrolytes, and coal-derived fast-charging and high-capacity anodes. By eliminating the use of cobalt and nickel in cathodes, the cathode cost will be reduced by 50%. Additionally, using a coal/carbon/silicon anode will resolve environmental issues of coal waste and reduce anode cost by 75% compared with a graphite anode. (Award amount: $2,945,000)

Zeta Energy (Houston, TX) will create a new anode with a high Li content that is also highly accessible and rechargeable. The complementary physical and chemical features of the cathode and anode will enable transformational high charge rates and long-term stability while also minimizing performance losses at low temperatures. (Award amount: $4,000,000)

The biggest grant here is for Solid Power which also got $20 million from its partner BMW recently for licencing the cell design and electrodes production, while its custom solid-state sulfide electrolyte that remains Solid Power's intellectual property, will be delivered separately. It's precisely the solid-state electrolyte production ramp-up which may need the $5.6 million in government grants that the Energy Department is now doling out to Solid Power.

Previously, the US Department of Energy also gave $11 million to the University of Michigan's solid-state battery research breakthrough using ceramic ions. Coupled with the current round of federal battery technology bets skewed towards solid-state battery research and development, it seems that the US government is willing to give American companies the funding needed to catch up to the Chinese battery juggernauts that are already at the stage of commercializing such nascent battery technologies.

Get the ChargePoint Home Flex 50A EV Charger on Amazon
Samsung has outlined new features headed to the Galaxy Buds2 Pro, Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4, plus the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch5 series. The new features should start arriving early next week, with others due in February.

4 Reviews

Samsung has announced a new feature for the Galaxy Buds2 Pro, as well as all Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch5 series models. Starting Tuesday, January 17, in most markets, Samsung will release a firmware update to the Galaxy Buds2 Pro that enables 360 Audio Recording. It remains to be seen what other features Samsung includes in next week's firmware update, with Samsung only mentioning 360 Audio Recording in its press release.

Supposedly, 360 Audio Recording allows the Galaxy Buds2 Pro to utilise all microphones when recording videos to create realistic-sounding audio 'without the need for bulky professional equipment'. Samsung adds that 360 Audio Recording leverages Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio to maximise audio quality while minimising power consumption and latency. Initially, Samsung will limit this 360-degree technology to the Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4, which should receive a corresponding update as the Galaxy Buds2 Pro does.
Jan. 14, 1993

(No paper Jan. 15, 1993)

Confronted by one of the many tangled tentacles of Washington's bureaucratic octopus  from Social Security to passports  confused local residents have traditionally relied on congressmen to help them out.

For decades, all it took was a call or visit to the Auburn office of the county's sole representative.

But these days, with three congressmen representing different parts of the city, trying to get assistance may only add to people's bewilderment.

Now people will have to figure out who represents them  a difficult task  and then track down his local office (if one exists). Those who wind up at the wrong congressman's office will be politely sent away.

"There's going to be massive confusion, to say the least," said Mayor Guy Cosentino.

Only one of Auburn's three congressmen has opened a local office, but the other two say they will. One plans to share space with state Assemblyman Dan Fessenden, R-Fayette.

Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Syracuse, has hired a well-liked former aide to Rep. Frank Horton, R-Rochester, to staff full-time his office at the One Lincoln South building.

Vivian Norman will handle Walsh's constituent requests for people living in the east end of the city, Owasco, the northern half of the county and western Onondaga County.

Rep. Amo Houghton, R-Corning, whose district includes most of the city's west end and the southern half of Cayuga County, plans to share space with Fessenden at 268 W. Genesee St.

State Sen. Mike Nozzolio, R-Fayette, will also piggyback on Fessenden's office.

Houghton's press secretary  who touted the advantages of having a "one-stop" location for any state or federal government problem  says there will be an aide at the office at least weekly. But a toll-free telephone line will be available daily for people to speak to aides elsewhere.

Rep. Bill Paxon, R-Buffalo, who represents Aurelius and northwestern Auburn, intends to open an office in Cayuga County, said Mike Collins, his press secretary. Collins said details would be disclosed in a few days.
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Jerry Davich Jerrys career began in 1995 as a political cartoonist/columnist with The Times of NWI, writing thousands of columns and stories through narrative storytelling, or shining a light on societys darkest corners, or provoking unpopular conversations. Follow Jerry Davich 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

We don't realize the importance of high school in our lives until weve escaped far enough away to look back and see it from a distance.

This distance could take 10 to 20 years, or possibly hundreds of life experiences of thousands of miles. Until we reach whats called a shift in time perspective, we dont fully understand or appreciate the indelible mark of our high school life.

It doesnt matter if we lived our glory days or ghastly days back then. Those experiences are imprinted on us like songs from that time period, whether its five years ago or 50 years ago. High school life matters, and it leaves impressions on us that have a way of lingering long after the final bell rings.

I was reminded of this when a Valparaiso High School student commented on my recent column about her school being placed in lockdown status as police investigated a security threat. The incident, which turned out to be nothing, attracted several news stories. The VHS student downplayed the meaning of her high school daze, as she wrote on social media.

It was just, you know, my high school, she wrote.

Shes just, you know, not seeing the bigger picture.

My high school daze was in no way my glory days (Im living those right now.) I was a fat, clueless virgin who made more jokes than friends. I escaped with less pomp and more circumstance, stupidly screwing up the amazingly simple task to earn a high school diploma. Heck, I knew stoners, potheads, and budding young criminals who managed to graduate from high school. Not me, though.

In other words, I dont look back at that time of my life with rose-colored delusions or wistful nostalgia. Nonetheless, as I got older, I recognized its significance in my adult life. It has molded me. It has motivated me. It has manipulated me. Sometimes all on the same day.

This is the power and the glory of our high school lives. This is the curse and the shackles of our high school lives. However you remember it, you still remember it.

I remember so much from my high school, Vince Soto told me.

He attended Washington High School in East Chicago, which closed for good in 1986. It now exists only in the minds of its former students. Some of them work hard to keep this existence a meaningful experience for every EC Washington graduate. They do so through The Anvil, a monthly newsletter mailed to grads across the country.

We need YOUR story! its latest newsletter screams at members. (For more info, email Sandi at sandiwhsanvil@gmail.com.)

The East Chicago Washington High School Alumni Association newsletter began in 1998, co-founded by Archibald McKinlay and Frank Hanak. Soto, who graduated from the school in 1956, serves as events chairman. From his Munster home, he does what he can to organize regular events and recruit new members. He realizes this challenge is more difficult every year as those grads get older or pass away.

But there was something special about our high school, even after all these years. Especially after all these years, Soto told me.

Frank Bond, of Highland, has similar fond recollections of his old school, George Rogers Clark High School in Hammond, where he graduated from in 1950 (yes, 1950). The building was vacated at the conclusion of the 2021 school year.

I would like to turn this old school into an indoor mall, the 92-year-old disabled Korean War veteran told me.

Bond said more than 20,000 live in a four-square-mile area surrounding that school, which shouldnt face the same fate as too many old schools. The GoHammond.com website confirms Bonds nagging concern and my initial premise of todays column: The fate of the building is uncertain, but its memory will continue to live in the hearts and minds of the alumni and the residents of Robertsdale.

When my old school closed permanently a few years ago, I paid one final visit before the doors shuttered for good. It felt like visiting an old friend who was in hospice care. I wanted to say one last goodbye with a quiet tour of the property. (Find more photos at nwi.com.)

I attended Wirt High School from 1976 to 1980, when students playfully called it Willy Wirt, long before anyone ever imagined the school would someday be closed forever. Most of the school looked as old as its age. Near the cafeteria was the school's cement-wall birth certificate, engraved with "AD 1939."

I wrote this eulogy: "Burial will take place only in the hearts of all those who once ran through its hallways late for class, smoked in its crowded restrooms, stole a kiss under its bleachers, proudly took part in Senior Ditch Day, and learned how to appreciate the importance of a high school  no matter its age, reputation or manner of death.

During my tour, I found my old locker where I repeatedly (and frantically) forgot my combination. I walked past old classrooms where I spent too much time doodling and daydreaming. And I strolled through the old gymnasium where I once got hit so hard by a dodgeball that it left a red imprint on my chest (thanks Kenny Levack.)

Our old high schools leave a similar imprint on our psyches or our souls whether we try to dodge it or not. Its just a matter of time before we realize it.
DEMOTTE  The dry grass along the highway was a faded yellow color, and the surrounding corn fields laid bare, but inside Dan and Julie Perkin's high tunnel, there was an explosion of bright greens.

"This is my combine," Dan joked as he stuck a cordless drill into the hand-held greens harvester.

The drill spun the macrame brush, which quickly swept the fresh spinach leaves into the basket. Designed specifically for small-scale operations like Perkins' Good Earth Farm, he said the tool makes harvesting much more efficient. For small-scale growers, efficiency is everything as farmers have to wear an array of hats: marketer, sales associate, distributor, chef and, of course, producer.

Region Roots Local Food and Farm Hub is working to take some of those responsibilities off farmer's plates.

"One of our goals was not to leave the farm," Dan said. "That's the beauty of that system (Region Roots), they take care of the delivery and the logistics. It's hard enough farming."

Launched by the NWI Food Council in June 2021, Region Roots virtual food hub connects restaurants, schools and other wholesale food buyers with local farmers and producers. Region Roots works with about 25 producers. In the initiative's first year, the hub moved over 20,000 pounds of produce, meat, cheese and grains, supporting over $45,000 in farm sales. Anne Massie, local farmer and president of the NWI Food Council, said Region Roots is on track to double those numbers this year.

"We are trying to really rewrite what a healthy local food system looks like for Northwest Indiana," Massie said.

Though Region producers have been discussing the creation of a food hub since about 2011, a formal business plan wasn't created until 2020. When the pandemic hit, Massie said, cracks in the traditional food system were laid bare. Grocery store shelves were empty, and farmers couldn't market products the way they used to.

The hub started as a place where farmers could buy produce from one another, but with a steady stream of grant funding, Region Roots has been able to grow.

Helping farmers

When Dan and Julie Perkins first launched their CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, program, they had to juggle raising young children, building a customer base and maintaining a farm, all while Dan worked full-time with the Jasper County Soil and Water Conservation District.

"We had a few years where we just kept saying, 'This is not sustainable,'" Julie recalled. "I don't know how many small farms can actually pull this off."

In 2019 they were able to start farming full-time. Now they operate a four-season CSA, an on-site farm stand, a small grab-and-go restaurant and an Airbnb. Diversifying income streams helps spread the financial risk, Dan explained.

Julie said Region Roots has helped eliminate a lot of the "busy work" that comes with running a farm: invoicing restaurants, delivering orders and communicating with customers.

"We want to be growing, not driving," Dan added.

Wholesale buyers can shop for ingredients on the hub's website. Every week, buyers place their orders by Tuesday evening, farmers harvest Wednesday and Region Roots drives around collecting and delivering orders Thursday.

"Farming is one of the riskiest businesses, if not the riskiest business, to get into, and farmers often find themselves doing the job of four or five people to hold up their business, Massie said, noting that 85% of farmers in Indiana have an off-farm job, "which makes it hard to recruit new farmers. The food hub is intended to take the burden of marketing and distribution off the shoulders of farmers.

Selling products wholesale can be especially difficult for small-scale farmers, Massie said. Growers have to meet specific certifications, undergo rigorous audits and can't always meet the high volume of products restaurants need. Under the Region Roots model, smaller businesses that want to support local growers can patch together orders using multiple farmers.

Producers set their own prices, and the hub adds a small markup to cover costs. Massie said larger wholesale distributors sometimes take 25 or 40% of the sale price, meaning producers make a smaller profit.

Supporting local

Dan pointed to a row of green and purple Salanova lettuce in the back of the high tunnel.

"This is the exact same lettuce that they grow in California that you typically see in stores, it's just we can also grow it in Indiana," Dan said.

He said that much of the produce transported from California is already weeks old when it arrives on grocery store shelves. Most of the food sold through the hub was harvested within 48 hours, meaning it tastes fresher and lasts longer.

Strengthening Northwest Indiana's local food system would also benefit the broader economy, Massie said. One of her "favorite statistics to throw out there is that 98% of fruits and vegetables in Indiana are imported into our state," she said. Massie said the figure is especially "astounding" because according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Indiana is the eighth-highest agriculture-producing state in the country.

Anna Martinez, who works for Region Roots connecting producers with buyers, said Hoosiers spend about $14 billion on food expenses and an additional $10.5 billion eating at restaurants every year. If even just 10% of household food expenses were shifted to local purchases, some $2.5 billion would be added to Indiana's food and farm economy, Martinez explained.

"We believe that local food is the best kind of food and supports our local economy and creates a more resilient community," Massie said, adding that the ultimate goal of the hub is to make it "easier to choose local."

Region Roots received a READI, Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, grant from the Northwest Indiana Forum and now has funding for the next five years. Massie said they are looking to increase their staff, buy an additional truck and potentially establish a brick-and-mortar hub.

While the local food hub trend is growing in popularity, Massie said, the majority of hubs have been around for less than five years. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 212 food hubs and 234 local food policy councils in the U.S. in 2018.

We want to build something that will last for generations," Massie said.

PHOTOS: The Perkins' Good Earth Farm in Demotte Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm Perkins Good Earth Farm
GARY  Just like last year, the weatherman did not cooperate with a well-intended service project.

To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.s call for community service, the National Park Service and Friends of Indiana Dunes sponsored an outdoor food drive Saturday in the parking lots of the Paul H. Douglas Center in Miller and the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center in Porter.

As was the case last year, snow and freezing temperatures hit Northwest Indiana. However, the weather was even colder in 2022, yet it did not prevent people from donating.

Park Ranger Steve Rodriguez, who started the MLK food drive, said the initial drive resulted in volunteers at both sites filling the back of a pickup.

Accepted were canned goods and other nonperishables for distribution among area food banks. Beneficiaries were the Chesterton Food Pantry and Revolution Church in Miller. The church, Rodriguez said, sponsors a weekly luncheon for the community.

I like working with faith-based groups, Rodriguez said. They tend to know their community so much better.

The King holiday was established in 1983 to honor the slain civil rights leader and continue his work in race relations at state and national levels.

In addition to the food drive, the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center will host the showing of the film Martin Luther King  I Have a Dream at 1 p.m. Monday. There is no admission fee for the 60-minute film.

Even though the pandemic put a damper on previous food drives, Rodriguez said, we still wanted to honor Kings legacy. We still felt a need to reach out to the community. Like the saying, we were thinking globally but acting locally.

While some visitors stopped by the Douglas Center lot to hike or watch the deer in the park, some people brought food donations. Among the first at the Miller site was the Valparaiso family of Nikki Haines.

Its important to continue Reverend Kings legacy of serving the community, said Haines, a relatively new member of Friends of Indiana Dunes.

Haines said Friends had also volunteered in building a walkway at Indiana Dunes State Park. Other duties include helping along trails and assisting at the visitor center in Porter. In 2021, park volunteers assisted in a beach cleanup and donated three park benches made from recycled plastic.

At the Porter site, Ranger Jim Whitenack reported that 10 families contributed to the drive. The ranger described the drive concept as fantastic. This is a national call-to-service day, and were part of the national parks.

Past MLK service projects, he said, focused more on stewardship, such as going into the park, working with plant life and removing unwanted vegetation.

With the food drive, were doing this to help the community, not just the parks.
WINFIELD  A church started in 2018 is hoping to expand and improve its facility for its growing congregation and services.

With that in mind, representatives of LifeWell Christian Church presented plans Thursday to the Winfield Plan Commission for a $5 million expansion and renovation of 7037 E. 117th Ave., Pastor Danny Cox said.

"We're growing like crazy," he said. "We are trying to do this to get ahead. We want to make sure we are prepared."

The Plan Commission set a Feb. 9 hearing for the group's request to re-subdivide two lots at 7037 E. 117th Ave. then deferred, pending more information, approval of site improvements and the building addition.

"We will resubmit another package (of information). We wanted feedback, said Russell Pozen, director of engineering at DVG.

Town and Country Christian Church closed in December 2017. Cox said officials had hopes that another church would move in.

In fall 2018, LifeWell's pastor and a staff took over the space, opened its doors for the first time and attracted about 300 parishioners.

LifeWell had a setback in its numbers during COVID-19, when the doors had to be closed for several weeks, but it now has a congregation approaching 400, Cox said.

In addition, space is being leased at the church for the Teddy Bear Preschool for an enrollment of 172 children. A counseling service, Life to the Full Counseling, also has partnered with the church.

Plans include 10,000 square feet of new construction, renovating 5,000 square feet, a small cafe, and additional classrooms and restrooms.

Minor renovations are planned for the first floor of the building, Pozen said.

Improvements for the outside including reconstruction and raising the parking lot as well as the addition of a fire pit.

The monument sign at the church will be redone, with flood lights added, Pozen said.

In other business, the plan commission set a Feb. 9 public hearing for a zoning change and primary plat approval for Wyndance Springs, a 48-unit quadplex at 5509 E. 109th Ave.

Amenities would include a decorative tree-lined entrance with a fountain and a gazebo where people in the subdivision could gather, said Thieneman Homes Inc. owner Ken Thieneman.

Town Councilman David Anderson, a member of the Plan Commission, said the Thieneman proposal has been presented to town officials several times, most recently in March 2022.

The most current proposal was approved by the Plan Commission in late 2006, when Thieneman, who was the Winfield Town Council president, received approval to rezone 80 acres from agricultural to residential for a subdivision called Wyndance.

That approval paved the way for Thieneman to build 203 residential units, including single-family homes and multifamily units.

Anderson said plans for Wyndance Springs had to come back to the Plan Commission because the original plat had expired.
Q: Im an employee in a New York City co-op building, and a member of the Local 32BJ union. Recently, one of my co-workers was out sick and some residents learned that he had Covid-19. I asked the superintendent how they knew, telling him that this was private information. Then a few weeks later, the same thing happened to me: I returned to work after having been out with Covid, and some tenants asked me about it. One told me that she learned from another employee that I had Covid. But I had only informed the super. I am concerned about why and how this information is spreading. What rights do I have to protect my medical privacy?

A: Your supervisor is walking a fine line when it comes to Covid. Federal guidelines require employees health information to be kept confidential. But employers also have an obligation to inform workers (and, in your case, perhaps tenants, too) about their potential exposure to an infectious disease.

Employers are in a little bit of a difficult spot here, said Matthew T. Bodie, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, who teaches and writes about labor and employment law. Theyre trying to manage the spread of Covid in their workplace, but theyre also trying to protect employee confidentiality.
Something unspoken lurks these days inside Albanys gleaming and magnificent Capitol.

Last week, as Kathy Hochul delivered the State of the State speech following her election as the first upstate governor in more than a century, it still crept through the hallways.

Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt put it all into words.

She may be governor, but she will always be Kathy Hochul from Hamburg, the North Tonawanda Republican said. At the end of the day, the city is always going to say: We run the state. Shes got to grapple with that.

Ortt, of course, refers to New York City. Its home to 8.5 million people. It dominates the politics, media, culture and finance of a vast and diverse state. And its world view often reflects the famous New Yorker cartoon  the one depicting the known universe ending at the Hudson River, with vague concepts such as Jersey on the opposite shore and California beyond.

During a chat in his Senate minority leader office a few days ago, Ortt said what many like to leave alone. He is a partisan Republican who opposes just about everything Hochul advocates. But Ortt cuts her a bit of slack in view of what she faces. It stems from a sense, especially among Democrats, he says, that the states nerve center lies down the Hudson and not out the Thruway.

She doesnt have to deal with it just every time she runs, shes got to deal with it every time shes here, Ortt said. I can empathize, because I have to deal with it, to an extent, as well.

Its politics in New York, he added.

Part of it stems from Hochuls narrow 6-point victory, the closest in three decades. The rest stems from what Ortt calls a fact of life.

Others have noted the city syndrome in the past. Just after his razor thin defeat by Eliot Spitzer for a second term as attorney general, Hamburgs Dennis Vacco noted the same views in 1998. Besides Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, he was the last upstater independently elected to statewide office until Hochul last November.

Stinging from a defeat hinging on about 1.7 votes per election district, Vacco back then pointed to a condescending bias against Buffalo and upstate.

Its subtle, but theres a statewide political perception that upstate and Buffalo is not where its happening, he said upon leaving office in 1998, that if youre from Western New York, youre just a little less.

Still a political insider and successful attorney in Buffalo, Vaccos views have softened. Asked a few days ago to reflect on the Ortt views that match his of 1998, he still believes any upstater in Hochuls position faces a complicated challenge. But thrust into the governors post following scandal and resignation of her predecessor, Vacco notes the important fact that Hochul won a statewide election.

Her victory in November broke the mold in that upstate-downstate divide, he said, though he thinks Hochul might have faced a different landscape had she faced Attorney General Tish James in a primary.

Now, Hochul presides over a state with a Constitution that grants its governor widespread powers. She commands the vast resources and powers of the State of New York.

Shes governor. She controls so much, Vacco says. But it will be interesting as she navigates through the more liberal interests of downstate.

Many of those more liberal interests  a host of New York City senators  are vowing to block her nomination of Justice Hector LaSalle as chief judge of the Court of Appeals. Such a backlash appears unprecedented, contributing to that unspoken feeling in the Capitol.

It will be a test of her strength, Vacco said. My sense is she will prevail.

In her State of the State speech Tuesday, Hochul imprinted her own stamp. She restored a sense of decorum by returning the ritual to the Assembly Chamber sans the glitz and graphics of her predecessor. Republicans and Democrats reacted, so did upstaters and downstaters. Life went on, Just like for every governor, whether from Hamburg or Harlem.
I developed an itchy burning rash from the medication that stretched from my thighs to my armpits. For months afterward I was either getting ill, ill, or recovering from being ill. The doctors decided I was suffering from a convergence of mono, Covid and a rare allergic reaction, known as baboon syndrome, to the antibiotics I had been prescribed.

Having mono at 24 is embarrassing, because it broadcasts to everyone that you never had sex in high school and have been overcompensating by kissing N.Y.U. seniors at dive bars. And I didnt remember selecting the baboon syndrome option for my Hemingway years.

The doctors resolved to scoop out my tonsils. After the operation, I agreed to go back to the Chelsea Hotel, where I would recuperate. At least there was the promise of the large and comfortable bed of my childhood.

As I approached the building with my parents, a doorman in a black suit opened the door to the lobby. For the first time in a decade or more, the hotel was fully open. In the week of its grand unveiling, party after party took place in the ballroom. It was sleek and new and did not look much like the place where I had grown up.

Up in my room I found that, in my absence, my dad had replaced my large and comfortable bed with a small and uncomfortable antique opium bed made of curled mahogany and horsehair. Opium beds are not supposed to be functional  they are meant for people who are so out of their minds that sleeping on a twin XL isnt a top priority. In the secret drawers, where long pipes used to go, I found some of the horrible sock dolls I hazily remembered making when I was a child.

I endured two weeks of inertia on the horsehair. Unable to speak, I communicated via an app on my phone that sounded permanently angry. I gave the voice an accent like Bjorks.
The latest round of storms in California created punishing travel conditions across the state on Saturday, with icy roads snarling traffic in the Sierra Nevada mountains and downpours cutting off roadways south of San Francisco along the Central Coast.

By Saturday afternoon, mountain highways had closed several times after cars and trucks lost control and spun out in the high winds and heavy snow. In warmer parts of California, ground that was still saturated from the previous two weeks of storms created the conditions for mudslides and flooding.

During the height of the storms, stay home and watch the football games or relax, said Gilbert Mohtes-Chan, a spokesman for Californias Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, in an interview on Saturday.

Driving conditions were especially treacherous in the northeastern part of the state. Late Saturday morning, the National Weather Service said it was dangerous to impossible to travel in Sierra Nevada because of whiteout conditions.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that every floor of the building had been smashed by the explosion from a missile.

Its not yet known how many people are under the rubble, he said in his nightly address. Unfortunately, the death toll is growing every hour.

At least 64 people were injured, including 14 children, the head of the Ukrainian military administration for the region, Valentyn Reznichenko, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. He said that rescuers were working to reach people still trapped, adding that more than three dozen had been pulled from under the rubble.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, Yuri Ignat, told a local news outlet, Ukrainska Pravda, that the apartment building had been hit with a Kh-22 missile fired from a Russian bomber, a powerful weapon designed to sink air craft carriers.

As darkness fell, smoke continued to billow over a huge pile of rubble. One woman stood by a tree, crying, saying she thought her daughter was in the building.
KYIV, Ukraine  After years of resisting providing Ukraine with some of the Wests most high-powered weaponry, Britain indicated on Saturday that it would give battle tanks to Ukrainian forces to help prepare them for anticipated Russian assaults this spring.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain told President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine about his ambition to provide British main battle tanks and additional artillery systems, according to a statement from Downing Street. Before the British statement, Mr. Zelensky thanked Mr. Sunak for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners.

The British Challenger IIs would be the first Western-made battle tanks to be sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February. Officials in the United States and Europe have long worried that sending tanks and other powerful weapons that would substantially increase Ukraines ability to hurt Russian forces could prompt President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to escalate the conflict, even by potentially attacking Western targets or deploying small-scale nuclear weapons.
Season 3 of Emily in Paris began streaming on Netflix last month. Collins spoke with us about Five Minute Journals, the concept of hygge and other things she gravitates to at home, in Paris and beyond. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

1. Greeting Cards I have a box where I keep cards that Im saving for people. Some are over 10 years old. I have people in mind and Ill get them cards knowing that one day theyre going to have a 25th birthday and they will need this card. I love the idea that a single piece of paper can say so much about how youve been thinking of someone.

2. Self-Portraits Its so interesting when an artist or a photographer paints, draws or takes a self-portrait because its such an inside look into how someone views themselves. The late photographer Vivian Maier is a really beautiful example.

3. The Five Minute Journal It gives you easy prompts to answer and helps you be aware of how you can view things in multiple different ways. Instead of saying the crap that happened to you that day and how you were so upset about something, you get to look at how you could have handled certain things throughout the day better, what you were grateful for, what youre excited about and whats good in your life. You also write daily affirmations and things that you would like to accomplish. Its beautiful to look back to previous journals and see how far youve grown.

4. Treehotel One of the bucket-list places that Id been wanting to stay in was the Treehotel in Swedish Lapland, which is basically a collection of beautiful tree houses. Each tree house looks like something different  a birds nest, a U.F.O., a steel dragonfly. My husband booked us one during our honeymoon thats high in the trees. Staying there, you get to feel like an adventurer and you get that little kid feeling that Ive always loved.
He has learned, he said, that part of the job is ensuring that his prosecutors work is properly contextualized and understood, and that he is always responsible for explaining what specifically is being done to advance public safety and how.

And if you dont, other people will try to define that work for you, he added.

Mr. Bragg, a former federal prosecutor and Manhattans first Black district attorney, was pilloried for a policy memo he released in his first week in office that set out a lenient approach to some crimes. The following month, he was further criticized when he chose not to proceed with a grand jury presentation against Mr. Trump that was expected to lead to an indictment.

The Republican candidate for governor of New York, Lee Zeldin, made Mr. Bragg his scapegoat in an attempt to capitalize on voters concerns about the increase in crime: Mr. Zeldin vowed to remove the newly elected prosecutor from office. When, in July, Mayor Eric Adams protested after a bodega clerk who had defended himself from a robbery was charged with murder, it seemed as if Mr. Braggs troubles would never end.

But he steadied the ship in the latter half of the year. In August, the indictment of 24 people connected to a gang called Own Every Dollar underscored his offices work on guns, while a new mental health initiative announced last month emphasized his commitment to finding alternatives to traditional prosecution.

Mr. Zeldins loss to Gov. Kathy Hochul in November removed an existential threat. And the conviction of the Trump Organization on 17 counts of tax fraud, scheming to defraud, conspiracy and falsifying business records marked a high point. Last week, the company was sentenced by a judge to pay the maximum fine of $1.6 million.
EL PASO  More than 2,000 miles from New York City, Mayor Eric Adams stood outside a church in Texas on Sunday and told a group of migrants that he would fight for them to be able to work and to experience the American dream.

As the mayors words were translated into Spanish, the crowd began to clap and cheer.

But the mayors positive message contrasted with his difficult mission on his trip to the southern border  he is trying to increase pressure on President Biden to provide federal help to New York City, which is dealing with an influx of migrants. He is showing compassion for people whose lives have been upended while also insisting that they stop coming to his city.

The migrant crisis has become one of Mr. Adamss greatest challenges as mayor. More than 40,000 people have arrived unexpectedly in New York City over the past year, straining the citys budget as well as its system for sheltering homeless people.

After weeks of calling for more help from the federal government, Mr. Adams decided to visit the border. His trip came one week after Mr. Biden visited El Paso after announcing a new crackdown on border crossings.
I know because I was one of the Palestinian property owners who provided the secretary of state at the time, Madeleine Albright, with extensive documentation in 1999 showing that at least 70 percent of this land is owned by Palestinian refugees, including tens of American citizen heirs.

In November, Adalah and the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the American ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides, demanding the immediate cancellation of this plan. Adalah and the center requested a meeting with them to share our concerns, but they havent yet responded. The State Department has said that it is considering two sites, that its final decision is pending and that it always exercises due diligence in acquiring properties. In fact, official Israeli transcripts of exchanges between U.S. and Israeli officials suggest that the plan is to use the Allenby Barracks site for the embassy and to use another site, which is near the current embassy that sits on the 1949 Armistice Lines, for other diplomatic needs.

Yet this is not just about one tract of land. Benjamin Netanyahu has returned to power in Israel, heading the most overtly racist right-wing government in the countrys history. It includes ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who openly espouse Jewish supremacy and have voiced support for the expulsion of indigenous Palestinians from Israel.

Building a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, on this site or any other, constitutes a legal and moral offense. It would solidify Israels exclusivist claims to the city, whose permanent status is one that the United States itself and the international community agree remains to be determined. It would essentially greenlight Israels relentless eviction of Palestinians from their homes and properties in Jerusalem, entrenching Israels apartheidlike policies in the city, and further isolating East Jerusalem from other Palestinian areas in the West Bank.

The Biden administration is now calibrating its policies toward the new Israeli government, including what, if any, consequences will ensue when Israel accelerates its crackdown on Palestinian rights and the expansion of illegal settlements, as Mr. Netanyahu and his allies have pledged.
In fact, as a teacher and a poet whose work has been published in this newspaper, Ive found that our art forms thrilling and nearly secret history of struggle and triumph is one that most laypeople want to learn about. And I would guess that many young poets, M.F.A.s or not, are captured by the thrill of becoming part of the story.

America today is poetry-curious, and it would be wonderful to see more articles in The Times talking about poetry culture with love and humor.

Julien Poirier

Berkeley, Calif.

To the Editor:

Matthew Walthers lament that poetry is dead because poets are no longer in touch with mysterious forces of the natural world raises once again questions that never fail to excite me: What is a poem? Is there a right poem and a wrong poem? Not really. Is there an aesthetically good poem and a not so good poem? Yes, but how different readers arrive at their assessments is as variable as the wind.

Mr. Walther implies that we are separate from nature and that perhaps poetry could be revived if we returned to a pre-technological sensibility. But what is nature, exactly, and where is nature? Outside the city, in mountains or sea?

What if nature is inside every one of us? Arent we as much nature as the bird and the tree? Our nature as a source of poetry is inexhaustible.
For decades, the cliche in politics was that Democrats fall in love and Republicans fall in line. The Democratic Party was thought to be a loosely connected cluster of fractious interest groups often at war with itself. I dont belong to an organized political party, Will Rogers famously said. Im a Democrat. Republicans were considered the more cohesive political force.

If that was ever true, its not now. These days, Democrats fall in line and Republicans fall apart.

Its not just the 14 votes Kevin McCarthy lost before promising away enough of his power and prestige to finally be named speaker. Its his predecessors, Paul Ryan and John Boehner, who both quit the job McCarthy now holds. Its the Tea Party repeatedly knocking off Republican incumbents. Its Ted Cruz and the Freedom Caucus forcing government shutdowns their colleagues never wanted. Its Donald Trump humiliating virtually the entire Republican Party establishment and becoming the erratic axis around which all Republican Party politics revolves. Its House Republicans ousting and isolating Liz Cheney because she insisted on investigating an armed assault on the chamber they inhabit. Today, a gaggle of Republicans isnt a party. Its closer to a riot.

Perhaps the rise of small-donor money and social media and nationalized politics corroded party cohesion. But Democrats have been buffeted by all that, too, and responded very differently. Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination in 2008, but rather than exiling the Clintons to the political wilderness, he named Hillary secretary of state and then supported her as his successor. In 2020, the party establishment coalesced behind Joe Biden. When Harry Reid retired from the Senate, he was replaced as leader by his deputy, Chuck Schumer. When Bernie Sanders lost in 2016, he became part of Schumers Senate leadership team, and when he lost in 2020, he blessed a unity task force with Biden. Nancy Pelosi led House Democrats from 2003 to 2022, and the handoff to Hakeem Jeffries and Katherine Clark was drama free.

So why has the Republican Party repeatedly turned on itself in a way the Democratic Party hasnt? Theres no one explanation, so here are three.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed many shortcomings in the health care system, and right at the top is the inadequacy of how we provide services for people struggling with mental illness.

The pandemic has been a major driver of increased demand for mental heath care, but the capacity to meet that demand, especially in an affordable manner, just has not been there.

Ask anyone who has tried to find counseling services for a child, or had to watch a loved one or friend struggle while waiting for an in-patient psychiatric bed to open up. And for those who can get care, the bills can pile up fast. Many providers don't take insurance, while many insurance plans have limited coverage.

It's a broken system, and that's why New Yorkers should be pleased that among Gov. Kathy Hochul's top initiatives outlined in her State of the State speech last week is a $1 billion investment in improving mental health care.

We have underinvested in mental health care for so long, and allowed the situation to become so dire, that it has become a public safety crisis, as well," Hochul said in a press release. "This proposal marks a monumental shift to make sure no one falls through the cracks and to finally and fully meet the mental health needs of all New Yorkers.

The governor's proposals include requiring hospitals to reopen 850 inpatient psychiatric beds that were taken out of the system to open capacity when COVID-19 hospitalizations were peaking. She also wants the state to add 150 new psychiatric beds.

The plan would use state funding to leverage the development and operation of 3,500 residential units that would support people across the spectrum of mental illness, from intensive services for people with the most serious challenges to transitional housing for people nearly ready to return to community-based living.

The governor is calling for policy changes and investments that would address the admissions and discharge process for people who do get hospital care for mental illness. That effort would include major expansions of outpatient services.

The plan also calls for expanded insurance coverage for mental health care, as well as significant increases in school-based services.

NY governor plans $1B investment in mental health care New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she plans to add 1,000 beds for inpatient psychiatric treatment and create 3,500 housing units as part of a $1 billion plan to address gaps in mental health care. The multi-year plan announced as part of Hochuls annual State of the State address also aims to increase insurance coverage for mental health services, expand outpatient services and create greater accountability in hospital admissions and discharges. The plan directs state-licensed hospitals to reopen 850 inpatient psychiatric beds that went offline during the pandemic.

These are all ideas with tremendous promise, and a $1 billion price tag over a period of several years is an investment that will more than pay off. We urge all legislators to get behind them and help New York to become a mental health care model for the rest of the country to follow.

The Citizen Editorial board includes president and director of local sales and marketing Michelle Bowers, executive editor Jeremy Boyer and managing editor Mike Dowd.
It has been exactly one year since the death of our daughter, Michelle Alyssa Go. On Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, at around 9:30 a.m., Martial Simon viciously shoved Michelle in front of an oncoming subway train at the Times Square station. She was 40 years old.

We now return to Manhattan to pay our respects to our daughter in the city she came to love.

This sad event continues to reverberate. A month after Michelles death, Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans to help homeless New Yorkers living in subways. And in the past month, Mr. Adams has expanded these plans.

My family and I must return to New York City to deal with legal, estate and criminal issues related to Michelles death, despite the sad memories that the city now evokes. Our grief has been lessened by having met and become friends with the many New Yorkers who knew Michelle.

New York is the place where Michelle built her professional life, made so many friends and, most of all, enjoyed her life. It is because of her that on a regular basis, we as a family travel from our home in California to the city she called home. We hope that the city does not become a place we can only associate with her death. We pray that one day we will again see the New York that nurtured the love that Michelle had for life.
MIDDLETOWN, Conn.  In 1964, hoping to erase its image as a privileged cloister for white rich families, Wesleyan University contacted 400 Black high school students from around the country to persuade them to apply.

The outreach led to the enrollment of what became known as Wesleyans vanguard class  one Latino and 13 Black students  which helped establish the universitys commitment to diversity.

Nearly 60 years later, such recruitment practices face an existential threat.

In cases against Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the Supreme Court is widely expected to overturn or roll back affirmative action in college admissions. Many education experts say that such a decision could not only lead to changes in who is admitted, but also jeopardize long-established strategies that colleges have used to build diverse classes, including programs that are intended to reach specific racial and ethnic groups for scholarships, honors programs and recruitment.

Those rollbacks could then help spur colleges to end other admissions practices that critics say have historically benefited the well-heeled. Some schools have already ended their standardized test requirements and preferences for children of alumni. There is also pressure to end early decision, which admits applicants before the general deadline.
Alfred T. Goodwin, a federal judge who caused a furor in 2002 when he wrote the majority opinion in a decision that declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, finding that the phrase one nation under God violated the separation of church and state  a ruling that was later reversed by the Supreme Court  died on Dec. 27 in Bend, Ore. He was 99.

His son Karl announced the death, in a hospice. Nominated by President Richard M. Nixon, Judge Goodwin, who spent nearly all his legal career on the bench, was one of the longest-serving federal jurists in United States history. He started in 1969 as a district court judge in Oregon, and then served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers nine western states, for 51 years, until his death.

It was as a member of that court that he joined in a 2-to-1 decision that struck down the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. He wrote in his majority opinion that the words under God in the pledge were as objectionable as we are a nation under Jesus, a nation under Vishnu, a nation under Zeus, or a nation under no God would be.

The ruling came in a case filed by an atheist, Michael Newdow, against a school district near Sacramento where his daughter attended elementary school.
An Indiana University student was stabbed in the head while riding a bus in Bloomington, Ind., on Wednesday in an unprovoked attack that officials described as a racially motivated incident.

The student, an 18-year-old woman who was not publicly identified, was waiting for the Bloomington Transit buss doors to open at 4:45 p.m. when she was stabbed in the head several times, the Bloomington Police Department said in a statement on Thursday.

After the attack, another bus passenger followed the suspect on foot and helped officers detain the person, Billie R. Davis, 56, of Bloomington, the police said.

Ms. Davis was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and battery with a deadly weapon, according to court documents. Video footage from inside the bus revealed that Ms. Davis and the victim had not interacted before the attack, the police said.
The Missouri State House of Representatives revised its dress code for female legislators and staff members, requiring them to wear a jacket, such as a blazer or a cardigan, and setting off a debate about policing the fashion choices of women.

The updated dress code  which was adopted on Wednesday by a vote of 105-51 as part of a larger package of rules governing the House  drew criticism from some Democratic lawmakers, who described the Republican-backed effort as sexist and pointless. Supporters said it was a small tweak that would help ensure professionalism inside the chamber.

The main proponent of the new rule  State Representative Ann Kelley, a Republican, who introduced it  said on the House floor that the new rules for women would mirror the dress code language for men, and that it is essential to always maintain a formal and professional atmosphere in the House.

You would think that all you would have to do is say, Dress professionally, and women could handle it, Ms. Kelley said. You would think elected officials could handle that.
Election deniers asked for copies of every application for a mail ballot, requiring Mr. Lehman and his staff to laboriously redact all personal information. They are pressing for copies of every ballot cast on Election Day 2020, and they have gone to court to seek digital data from the voting machines at each of the 81 county precincts.

Though observers from both parties watched the hand recount this week, Ms. DiSalvo raised questions about the process, including that Mr. Lehman oversaw the adding up of the recounted votes.

We asked to see the tally sheets before the final processing and were denied, Ms. DiSalvo said, referring to the paperwork used by ballot counters. The elections director, she added, had a vested interest in making sure the numbers aligned.

Her group has filed a right-to-know request for the hand-count tally sheets.

Mr. Lehman, a former Eagle Scout and teacher, displays two iconic photographs in his office. One shows Harry S. Truman in 1948 holding aloft the famously erroneous Dewey Defeats Truman newspaper headline. The other shows Lyndon Johnson solemnly taking the oath of office on Air Force One in 1963 following the assassination of President Kennedy.

Theyre both transitions of power, Mr. Lehman said. One is comic, the other tragic. Weve managed to process them both as a country. I dont know which category to put 2020 in. We need to get back to a place where we can process the outcomes of elections in a constructive, healthy way.
Despite Mr. Bidens failure to fulfill his promise of a year ago, some civil rights leaders did not fault him. Obviously, in the last year we were not successful, Marc H. Morial, the president of the National Urban League, said in an interview. I sort of chafe at the idea that we were not successful because Joe Biden didnt do something or the other. We were blocked.

Still, even if policy success remains elusive, Mr. Morial said he hoped Mr. Biden would use his bully pulpit to make the case more often than just on Dr. Kings holiday. Id like to see the president consistently speak about democracy and voting rights throughout the second half of his first term, not just episodically, because it is one of these fundamental values, he said.

Aides said that there was little Mr. Biden could do at this stage without a change on Capitol Hill. The president has done and will continue to do all that he can do in his executive powers, but theres only so much that he can do, said Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta who now serves as a senior adviser to Mr. Biden and accompanied him on Sunday. We need Congress to act.

Some of the steam may have seeped out of the battle over voting rights after the midterm elections in November. While Democrats feared that the G.O.P. would rack up victories in part because of voter suppression, Republicans fell short of expectations. They lost a seat in the Senate and picked up far fewer House seats than expected, although enough to eke out a narrow majority.
BALI, Indonesia  At a cafe more than 10,000 kilometers from the front lines, the Kyiv-style cake sits near the kartoshkas, a Russian dessert made of cookies, condensed milk and butter.

The chef is Russian, but the borscht on the menu, first described as a Russian soup, is now identified as being of Ukrainian origin.

Nearby, visitors can also avail themselves of a banya  a sauna and steam room that is the mainstay of both Russian and Ukrainian life.

Since the war in Ukraine began, Parq Ubud  part co-working space, part apartment complex, part cafe  has become a haven for both Russians and Ukrainians on the Indonesian island of Bali.
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine  Last month a message was smuggled out to friends from 10 Ukrainian detainees in Russian-occupied territory. The men, among hundreds of other civilian prisoners missing for weeks since the Russian withdrawal from the city of Kherson, said they were alive but in dire need of help.

They asked us to contact their relatives and tell the media that they are alive, said Andriy, a former detainee and friend of some of the detainees, who, like others interviewed for this article, gave only his first name for security reasons. They are being tortured and held without any legal basis.

The retreat of Russian forces from whole swaths of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine last fall raised hopes for many Ukrainians that their detained relatives would be freed and that the countrys forces would build on that momentum and swiftly recapture more territory in the region.

But the Russian retreat proved to be orderly to the point that even prisoners were evacuated, and Ukraines counteroffensive in the south has largely halted as heavy fighting has been concentrated on the eastern front.
LONDON  When Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held his first meeting with President Biden, in Indonesia last November, he made Mr. Biden a welcome pledge: Britain would settle a trade dispute with the European Union over Northern Ireland by April, the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

That is the landmark peace accord that ended decades of sectarian bloodshed in the North  a prized foreign-policy legacy for Democrats and one that Mr. Biden would like to celebrate with a visit to Belfast, Dublin and possibly London in the spring, according to people familiar with the administrations plans.

Now, with the anniversary less than four months away, Mr. Sunak faces a forbidding timetable to deliver on his pledge. The issues on the table remain as complex and politically fraught as they were for Mr. Sunaks predecessors, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, neither of whom came close to breaking the impasse.

On Tuesday, Mr. Sunaks foreign secretary, James Cleverly, will travel to Washington, in part to brief Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken about the progress in Londons negotiations with Brussels. Those talks are expected to enter a decisive phase after a meeting on Monday between Mr. Cleverly and Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice president who is its chief negotiator.
SERIES FINALE

Theres a million things to do in this life. You really could choose anything, says Jack Flaccus of Square Root Foods. In all honesty, I kind of fell into this. It sounds cliche to say, but our business grew very organically.

Flaccus is one of three owners at Square Root Foods. Flaccus, along with Bryan Lubbehusen and Brian Konefal  the previous owner of the Coppa Cafe  run Square Root Foods and their new venture, The Tot Box. From its location on 7th Avenue, Square Root Foods sells locally sourced bake-and-take meals, year-long pickled, canned and fresh produce, cheeses, breads, coffee and more. Its a one-stop shop for locally sourced and produced foods. The team also sells wholesale items such as burritos and pastries which you can find at many local coffee shops around Flagstaff. The Tot Box is a rebranded effort from their original food truck, Square Root Burger. The food truck sells homemade mashed potato tater tots and does not have a permanent location.

The three met years ago when Flaccus and Lubbehusen ran a farm that sold to Konefal at the Coppa Cafe. Flaccus graduated from NAU with a degree in Environmental Science and a minor in food sustainability. Lubbehusen at the time worked in the medical field.

It was late nights talking with Brian [Lubbehusan] about where food comes from and having a lot of complaints about it but not really knowing what it takes to change that, Flaccus says. So we got into this property and started from scratch, tilling the land. We had no tools and no real experience, we just wanted to figure out what it takes to produce high quality food thats not mono-cultured, thats not for huge industry or uses pesticides or inorganic fertilizers. Its so interesting because from that one seed you plant it brings a hundred other different aspects to farming that all need to work with each other in a cyclical relationship. From there, we ended up raising pigs and chickens and ducks and lamb and kind of integrating all those things into the one farm.

In the end, Flaccus and Lubbehusen closed the farm to focus on their food truck with Konefal. While they enjoyed their farm, there were many factors including the distance from markets that were difficult to keep up while managing the food truck together.

We were getting ready to shut down the farm, says Lubbehusen, when [Konefal] had the idea of starting up the original food truck  the food concept we started with  that was Square Root Burger. We started out as a vegan truck and then started incorporating more meat and sustainable style meat. We kind of just moved solely into food.

Prior to Coppa Cafe, Konefal had had a long career in the restaurant business. In 2002 after graduating from NAU, Konefal left for culinary school in Italy where he worked at a Michelin star restaurant after graduating. After Italy, he moved to another restaurant in Barcelona before returning to the states where he worked in the Bay Area, which led him to work in New York with Daniel Humm. After a few years in New York, Konefal opened a restaurant at the beginning of the recession in Boston.

It was great. But it was the recession, and it was a high end restaurant. So I decided to leave for financial reasons. I didnt want to make food just to make money, says Konefal.

An older brother brought him back to Flagstaff to help open a new restaurant before Konefal and his wife opened Coppa Cafe, a seasonal European cafe with freshly made pastries. Konefals wife passed away as he began his journey with Lubbehusen and Flaccus. He sold Coppa and began his focus on the food truck.

Flaccus says, We started going to festivals and doing local events, and then, COVID happened. All of our events pretty much came to a halt just like all restaurants. Everyone had to get really creative.

Square Root Burger reopened as Square Root Foods and began to sell frozen prepared meals. The trio took a lot of inspiration from the Coppa Cafe in their methods of preserving, pickling, drying and processing foods with locally sourced or foraged ingredients to ensure the longevity of their products. They expanded to the brick and mortar location in 2021 where they sell locally crafted and farmed products alongside their own take-and-bake meals.

We have to rely on other local farmers, says Flaccus. Right now our support for local farms has increased so much because we know how difficult it is, but we know how much better it is, too. I think that support needs to come from everyone. Flagstaff does a great job doing that, and now we have the ability to do it on a larger scale.

The decision to use local was easy. Flaccus and Lubbehusen had grown up in Flagstaff and had many connections to local farmers and other food purveyors, and Konefal had made many connections during his time at Coppa.

I want to cook local food and want people to taste the flavors that exist in this region, says Konefal. Its very important, and its how we approach all of our food, whether its foraging for mushrooms to have wild mushroom lasagna all year. Were always thinking of ways so all of that is staying local, whether in the economy or the farming or the community and those that work with us and want to stay with us.

While their physical location sells meals and produce, their food truck is set to sell homemade mashed potato tater tots, carefully made in-house at Square Root Foods.

The product that we have now has an incredible amount of potential. So, well run with it and see how it goes. Potatoes are a staple, even people that dont like vegetables like potatoes, says Lubbehusen.

The connection to the community, to the region, and to each other keep the crew continuing. Konefal remarks that they cant do it alone. They hope to continue establishing relationships with local farmers and food purveyors and continuing to build their brick and mortar location.

If you dont like it, just leave. I love cooking, and the day I dont like it, Ill stop. If you dont love it, its not worth your time, says Konefal. Its not for money.

You can find Flaccus, Konefal, and Lubbehusen at the brick and mortar Square Roots Food Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Purchase anything online with same day pickup. The Tot Truck can be found at large seasonal events, including regular events at the Orpheum Theater and at the Snow Park Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Follow them on social media @squarerootfoods to stay up to date.
More than 24 hours after a heavy-duty missile built to sink ships exploded in a dense Ukrainian cityscape of homes and shops, the lights of emergency workers played across the rubble on Sunday, in search of life.

Death was easy to find.

As smoke and dust rose into the Dnipro sky, a light dusting of snow began to accumulate on five victims who had been pulled from the rubble and laid out in body bags in a small grassy area next to the destroyed building. They were five of 30 confirmed killed in a Russian strike on a civilian neighborhood  79 were injured  and at least 30 people remained unaccounted for.

Even some of those pulled from the debris that was once their homes seemed to have only an uncertain grasp on life.

I have no words, I have no emotions, I feel nothing except a great emptiness inside, one 23-year-old woman, Anastasiia Shvets, wrote on social media.
At the beginning of this school year, a Tullamore College Transition Year group was given the task of restoring a Wagonmaster locomotive that had previously been used for work on bogs by Bord na Mona.

As well as this, we have undertaken the challenge of producing a factual book documenting the cultural significance of these artefacts in Irish history.

Bord na Mona is a semi-state company that was established in 1946 in an effort to achieve a secure, independent energy supply for Ireland. However, due to the demand for greener renewable energy sources in todays world, Bord na Mona has now fully ceased the commercial exploitation of peatlands.

In completing this restoration project, we aim to highlight the deep link between Bord na Mona and our countrys past, as we move into a new era of sustainable energy harvesting. We seek to preserve the rich traditions of Irish heritage and ensure that the incredible work of so many individuals in rural communities will never be forgotten.

The first major milestone of the project was our success in getting our Wagonmasters engine running again. This was a very proud moment for all the team, and we would like to thank all of those who helped to make this happen.

In order to make further progress, and to continue the restoration, we need:

To borrow a four-wheel trailer to move the bonnet and cab of the Wagonmaster in and out of our shed as we work on it.

A sponsorship or donation of 3M stripping discs so that we can remove the rust and old paint from our Wagonmaster.

A sponsorship or donation of red oxide metal primer. This will be used as a protective base layer to prevent the corrosion and rusting of our Wagonmaster as it is exposed to the elements.

As well as these physical resources, we are searching for information. Bord na Mona built a prototype Wagonmaster, LM 176, in 1961 at their station in Derrygreenagh. Mr Willie Greene was the Chief Mechanical Engineer for this project. We are looking for any information or photos anyone may have in relation to Bord na Monas original prototype, Mr Willie Greene, or any of the workers who designed and constructed Wagonmaster LM 176.

We would greatly value and appreciate all information, funding or support provided to our project, in order to preserve the rich history of peat-harvesting in the Midlands.

Please, do not hesitate to contact us at wagonmaster@tullamorecollege.ie with any details.
Met Eireann is warning of possible snow for Ireland with temperatures set to plummet in the coming days as an Arctic airflow hits Ireland.

The weather in Ireland is set to turn cold for a time with widespread overnight frosts and ice on untreated surfaces. There'll also be some sleet and snow showers. Turning milder again from the southwest during Thursday.

Over the coming days, temperatures are set to drop as low as -6 degrees with sleet and snow showers in the forecast.

Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow Ice Warning for Ireland from 6pm on Sunday until noon on Monday.

Met Eireann is warning that icy stretches are likely on roads on Sunday night and Monday morning. Hazardous travelling conditions are expected, especially on untreated roads and footpaths. Some patches of freezing fog are also possible.

Met Eireann has also issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Ireland. Met Eireann is warning that it will turn cold across the country between Sunday evening and Thursday morning as an Arctic airflow becomes established, bringing sharp to severe frosts and icy stretches on roads and footpaths. Some showers of hail, sleet and snow are expected with the potential for freezing fog. Further updates to the advisory and warnings are expected in the coming days.

Status Yellow - Ice warning for Ireland 



Hazardous travelling conditions are expected, especially on untreated roads & footpaths. 



Some patches of freezing fog are also possible. 



View all warnings here https://t.co/Xg3aMJm6kq pic.twitter.com/eU8k6G0OcV  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) January 15, 2023

The weather forecast for Ireland from Met Eireann for the coming days is as follows.

Cold tonight (Sunday) with a widespread sharp frost and icy stretches. Temperatures will fall to between -3 and +1 degrees towards morning, lowest in Ulster. Scattered wintry showers will continue for a time, most frequent in Atlantic coastal counties, generally clearing later in the night. Some patches of freezing fog also possible in light northwesterly or variable winds.

According to Met Eireann, it will stay dry in most areas tomorrow with patches of frost and ice lingering through the morning. There will be a few showers of sleet, generally along Atlantic coastal areas, with isolated snow flurries also possible. There will also be occasional sunny spells, mainly towards the east. Highest temperatures of 1 to 5 degrees in light and variable breezes.

Widespread sharp frost with temperatures falling to between 0 and -4 degrees or -5 degrees on Monday night. Clear spells with scattered wintry showers. Outbreaks of sleet and snow may affect parts of the west and south too. Some freezing fog will likely form with little wind over land.

Turning cold nationwide from this Sunday evening through to Thursday morning, next week



There is a potential for:



Sharp to severe frosts

Icy stretches on roads & footpaths

Showers of hail, sleet & snow



More info here https://t.co/GgyXeUmEfChttps://t.co/juduxcKKZG pic.twitter.com/06pRu89wkp  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) January 13, 2023

Tuesday will be cold with lying frost or ice. There will be some sleet and snow showers in places. Bright or sunny spells too. Afternoon temperatures of just 1 to 4 degrees with light to moderate variable or northerly breezes, fresher near Atlantic coasts. Lowest temperatures of -2 to -6 degrees overnight with further sleet and snow showers. A sharp to severe frost with icy stretches and lying snow in parts. Some freezing fog patches too.

Wednesday will see sunny spells with scattered wintry showers, mainly in the west and north. Highs of 3 to 6 degrees but feeling very cold in a brisk northerly wind. Temperatures will likely fall below zero again on Wednesday night.

Turning much milder on Thursday with a spell of rain and fresh southerly winds moving in from the Atlantic. The rain will be preceded by some sleet and hill snow for a time in the north and east.

Friday looks fairly dry and bright with temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees, coldest in the northeast. Mild and changeable for next weekend with temperatures around 8 to 10 degrees.
In Brazil, a species of insect has an astonishing feature: the females have an organ similar to a penis. With this, they can penetrate their fellow insects of the opposite sex.

In a Brazilian cave live insects that have an unusual way of reproducing. Like most other species, they have to copulate in order to reproduce, but here it is not the males who lead the dance or perform the act of penetration.

Role reversal

In nature, the pattern of reproduction is usually quite simple: the male penetrates the female and inserts his semen into her with a penis, or an ersatz penis (we'll let you see what a duck's reproductive organ looks like).

But, as we would be bored if all species obeyed this rule, there are exceptions! In the Neotrogla, for example, it is the females that penetrate the males! This species of tiny, flea-like insects was discovered in a cellar in Brazil. And the females have an erectile organ called a gynosome that they use to penetrate the males and pump out their sperm. The way this organ works has just been studied by researchers.

Neotrogla

Four years ago, a team of researchers from Japan discovered a genus of insect living in a cave in Brazil with females that had penis-like appendages and males with vagina-like pouches. The insects were given the name Neotrogla. https://t.co/h9oKEKJc4r pic.twitter.com/Nwg0aBX1xO  Dr Mehmet Ali Kutlu (@MehmetAli_Kutlu) November 22, 2018

A rarity of nature

The females of this species are not the only ones to have a gynosome: this organ has also been observed in the female of another South African insect. So how can the development of such an organ be explained? The dryness and darkness of the cellar in which the Neotrogla lives would be the cause. As our colleagues in the New York Times explain:

virile mates are hard to come by in dark caves, so the female bugs must hold their living sperm banks tight. The gynosomes prickly spines lock the penislike structure inside the male, keeping him snug during bouts of copulation that can last up to 70 hours. The gynosomes grip is so secure that attempting to separate a pair of mating Neotrogla will tear the male in half.

Did you know? Female barklice have painful phalluses.

The disgusting insect known as Neotrogla barklice is known for a biological switcheroo. Sperm-producing males evolved with vaginas and egg-producing females wound up with phallusesspiked phalluses, at that.. pic.twitter.com/kTagTqwhZt  Demforever (@rath_22) November 23, 2021

Does this sound sordid to you? Did you know that the duck's pseudopenis is shaped like a corkscrew, in part to enable it to remove sperm from its rivals? In nature, sex is a deadly competition, and everyone wants to win... And no, don't try to find out what a duck's reproductive organ looks like, you have been warned.

This article was translated from Gentside FR.

Sources used:

Royal Society: Acquisition of novel muscles enabled protruding and retracting mechanisms of female penis in sex-role reversed cave insects

New York Times: The Muscles That Power a Female Insects Penislike Organ
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. A Black church leader and a son of early civil rights activist and minister Martin Luther King Sr., King advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through nonviolence and civil disobedience. Inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi, he led targeted, nonviolent resistance against Jim Crow laws and other forms of discrimination in the United States.
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The federal government signed off on a holiday gift for Coconino County communities struggling against post-fire flooding. In late December, Congress passed the $1.7 trillion Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which included funding for federal programs that support post-wildfire watershed restoration and flood mitigation.

Coconino County currently has $90 million worth of flood control projects that have been approved for reimbursement by the recently funded federal programs  but that doesnt mean the money is in the bank.

There are several obstacles that remain between the county, the funds and the mitigation deemed necessary to protect residents from post-wildfire flooding. In some cases, residents may not even want the help. Altogether, its a complicated situation, and while the funding is good news, it doesnt mean that flooded residents are out of the woods  or water  just yet.

Heres how it breaks down:

The flooding

Monsoon rains on the Pipeline Fire burn scar  which shares some overlap with the 2010 Schultz Fire scar  resulted in 45 major flood events in Coconino County neighborhoods this summer. According to county officials, torrential flash flooding caused millions of dollars of damage to private properties. Roads were washed out, homes were inundated with mud and rock slides, and for weeks county workers and residents sat on edge as every darkening cloud threatened another bout with flooding.

In July, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors approved an expenditure of $5 million for initial flood response. In October, it approved a transfer from the general fund of $10.5 million for further response and small-scale mitigation projects. To date, the county flood control district has spent over $8.2 million responding to post-fire flooding.

Theyve spent a good chunk of change, but county officials have estimated a need of between $100-$150 million to create and maintain flood mitigation systems that will adequately protect residential properties. This is money the county simply does not have  a fact that spurred collaboration between the county and congressional partners to find the funds in the federal government.

The funds

The money needed by Coconino County  or at least $90 million worth  was found in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill. The bill was massive, to say the least. Its $1.7 trillion included $772.5 billion for nondefense discretionary programs, $858 billion in defense funding, $44.9 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and U.S. NATO allies and $40.6 billion to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes, flooding, wildfire, natural disasters and other matters. Its the last number that most concerns fire and flood impacted communities in Coconino County.

From that $40.6 billion, the legislation included $925 million for the U.S. Department of Agricultures Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWPP). The Coconino County Flood Control District has two approved projects on the EWPP project waitlist totaling $50 million.

The Omnibus Bill also included $210 million for post-wildfire disaster relief funding through the U.S. Forest Service. This money is specifically for projects that will address impacts to communities downstream from wildfires on national forests. County officials stated that the flood control district worked with the Coconino National Forest and the U.S. Forest Service Region 3 leadership to submit a $40 million request to the Forest Service Chief for watershed restoration within the nine watersheds impacted by the Pipeline Fire in 2022.

With the passage of Omnibus, the money to fulfill that request is now available.

One important point of understanding is that these funds arent as straightforward as checks deposited into county coffers.

These are all reimbursement grants, explained Lucinda Andreani, director of the county flood control district. The district and county have to cover those costs and then get reimbursed.

Still, the federal entities  the EWPP and the Forest Service  have historically been pretty good about their reimbursements, Andreani said, adding that she is confident that with the funding made available through the Omnibus Bill, Coconino County will see costs covered.

The mitigation projects

For clarity, it helps to break the countys approved flood mitigation projects into categories based on the funding source  either the EWPP or the Forest Service.

The county has two projects on the EWPP waitlist. The first is expected to cost about $22.5 million and will address five flood corridors  Wupatki Trails, Brandis Way, Campbell, Copeland, and Peaceful. Each one of these flood corridors has different needs, said Andreani, that are related to the existing (or in some cases nonxistent) flood mitigation constructed after the 2010 Schultz Fire.

For Wupatki Trails, it's upsizing that existing channel, Andreani said. For Brandis, it's upsizing and converting to shotcrete both the upper and lower sections of the channel. For Copeland and Peaceful, it's new mitigation, because those two corridors elected to not go forward with mitigation post-Schultz.

The goal will be to get these channels to a place that can handle a 25-year storm  or 2 inches of rainfall in 45 minutes  under current post-fire conditions.

Thats the goal, at least. However, if costs rise above what the county projected, it may be that we would have to ratchet back the design, Andreani said.

With the construction of the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company computer chip plant in Phoenix, materials are at a premium.

Steel, and concrete are expensive in Arizona right now, Andreani said. That's one of the downsides of this massive chip plant in Phoenix. Its good for the economy overall but it's making it tough to get steel and concrete.

But should all go to plan, the 25-year storm design should be a big improvement for flood management in the area.

Note that post-Schultz, the design storm was five-year, Andreani said. So if we can get to 25-year, that's going to have a very positive impact on those neighborhoods.

The second county project on the EWPP waitlist is a $27 million major plan for the Government Tank flood corridor, which exhibited extreme flooding after the upstream watershed was severely burned in the Pipeline Fire.

That includes channels and detention basins, Andreani said. The project is still in its conceptual stage of engineering, but Andreani has high hopes for its effects.

At this early level of engineering, we're seeing that the work we're proposing can mitigate the downstream impacts of flooding to Doney Park without having to do any work in Doney Park, Andreani said. Which is a good thing because Doney Park is much more dense and it's flat. The challenges of constructing there are significant, potentially more difficult than upstream.

Thats not to say there will be no mitigation in the Doney Park region. In fact, some of the early funding the flood control district received went directly into mitigation projects designed to protect Doney Park.

They're out constructing now a set of berms on the southern Government Tank flow into Doney Park, Andreani said.

Thats the first set of projects expected to be funded by $50 million from the EWPP. The second set consists of on-forest watershed restoration measures across nine fire-impacted watersheds. These should be funded by $40 million from the Forest Service.

Watershed restoration measures must go hand-in-hand with the downstream mitigations, otherwise the measures downstream wont work, Andreani said.

The biggest threat to downstream channels and detention basins is sediment that can easily clog and render a mitigation system ineffective. On-forest watershed restoration is designed to slow floodwaters and reduce the amount of sediment that makes it downstream in the first place.

Crucial as these measures are, the Forest Service is a big boat to steer. It is currently unconfirmed whether Coconino County will receive approval for the full $40 million of reimbursement funding requested. The Coconino National Forest, however, is ready and waiting for the go signal.

While budget analysts in our Washington office haven't completed a full analysis of the bill, we've already started project preparation on our end locally so we can quickly start the post-fire work needed in the Pipeline and Tunnel fire scars on Coconino National Forest land, stated Randi Shaffer, deputy public affairs officer for the Coconino National Forest. We're working with partner agencies and doing all the rest of the back-end stuff so that when and if we receive funding, we can implement plans as soon as possible.

In a recent meeting with the county board of supervisors, Andreani mentioned that her conversations with officials in the Forest Service district office led her to feel very confident that the funding will be forthcoming.

The obstacles

Even if all the countys requests are fully awarded, there are still a few obstacles to get past, and the first is coming up with funds to match the awards.

In a recent county board of supervisors meeting, Andreani explained that the EWPP funds come with a required grant match -- which would put the county on hook for $10.4 million from their own budget.

We can't accept the grant if we can't make the match, Andreani said.

How the county will come up with this money is yet to be determined, but Andreanis suggestion is that the county use $12 million awarded through the American Rescue Plan. The county board of supervisors will vote on a funding plan and decided whether to accept the EWPP funds during its Jan. 24 meeting.

The second obstacle is timing. As mentioned above, mitigation projects on and off forest need to happen in concert in order to be effective. The EWPP funds could be released fairly quickly, Andeani says  as early as the end of January. The Forest Service funds could take longer.

But if all goes to plan and the funds are released in a timely manner, then, Andeani said, theyd be on track to complete the work in some of the flood corridors  Wupatki Trails, Campbell and Brandis Way  in spring 2023.

The Government Tank project, lets face it, its huge, Andreani said, adding that it would likely take two to three construction cycles to complete -- which could mean that it doesnt see completion until after 2024.

As for Copeland and Peaceful  the two flood corridors with no existing mitigation  theres a more immediate obstacle: resident approval. The reason these corridors did not receive mitigation following the 2010 Schultz Fire is that residents did not grant the county easements onto their property to allow for construction of mitigation. It is entirely possible that the county runs into the same problem again.

This is a concern for Trina Kramer, who lives adjacent to the Peaceful flood corridor and has seen firsthand the 15-foot trench sometimes called the mini Grand Canyon that eroded substantially under the flow of unmitigated floodwaters. Massive, ongoing erosion notwithstanding, Kramer reported awareness of neighbors who were not interested in granting easements for flood mitigation.

Aside from that concern, we personally, and a bunch of our neighbors, are holding off almost completely on building  putting up fences to contain a livestock, all of these things -- because we expect the floods to continue in the summer, Kramer said. We will have been sitting for over a year by the time the work is being done with our properties almost unusable.

Further downstream, Brandis Way neighbor Gary Sharpe said he is also aware of the massive erosion and a couple of holdouts on the Peaceful flood corridor. His house has managed to avoid serious damage from unmitigated flood waters due to a berm installed years ago, but other neighbors have not been so lucky.

The people behind me probably 2 to 3 feet of mud that has been drying up in their yard, Sharpe said.

If residents do not grant the county easements, its possible that the flood corridors wont receive mitigation.

We're not here to force mitigation on people, Andreani said. We're here to try to support people with getting mitigation or reducing impacts.

The county does have legal authority condemn property that could be used to move forward with mitigation projects if a majority of residents are in favor or the board of supervisors deems it in interest of the greater public safety.

But Andreani says that such legal maneuvers would be an extreme last resort. More likely is that if residents in unmitigated flood corridors decline the support, the county will either shift those funds to work in other flood corridors or simply not use them.

According to terms of the funding agreement, the county has 220 days to obtain easements and move forward with the project.

For Sharpe, the hope is that the easements are granted. When asked whether he thinks his neighbors might sign the agreements necessary to allow for county flood mitigation, Sharpe said Oh, I hope so. Man, I'm praying.
Thousands of people demonstrated in persistent rain on Saturday to protest the clearance and demolition of a village in western Germany that is due to make way for the expansion of a coal mine. There were standoffs with police as some protesters tried to reach the edge of the mine and the village itself.
At least a dozen people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on a residential block in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, as part of a massive wave of attacks targeting civilians and energy infrastructure alike.
The UK became the first Western power to supply Ukraine with main battle tanks, as Moscow intensifies strikes all across the country. DW has the latest.
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On May 3, 2019, a 6-year-old girl in Page died of a fentanyl overdose in the care of her grandfather, James Lane. Lane was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after being found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with her death.

During his trial in the fall, Lanes home was described as a drug-fueled environment  a place where Lane and his partner (and co-defendant) Victoria Bizardie regularly used and sold illegal substances. A detective from the Page Police Department told the court that evidence of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines and fentanyl had all been found in Lanes home by police.

The victim in this murder case was a mere child caught in the turbulence of a major drug dealers callous and illegal practices, said county attorney Bill Ring after the jury delivered a guilty verdict in Coconino County Superior Court in November.

Lanes attorney, Greg Parzych, argued in his opening statement that Lane had rules about drug use in front of his granddaughter forbidding anyone who came to or lived in the double-wide trailer he rented in Page from using substances around her.

However, Bizardie testified that she had seen Lane use illegal substances in his granddaughters bedroom more than once.

I was struck by your honesty, Superior Court Judge Cathleen Brown Nichols said to Bizardie at her sentencing on Friday, Jan. 6. It was also very concerning that it wasnt the first time. I dont know that you were functioning as her grandmother ... but it makes me wonder, who was looking out for her?

Lanes attorney presented that Bizardie sold drugs regularly on the Navajo Nation, was aware of the presence of illicit substances in the house and was there the morning Lanes granddaughter was found unresponsive.

On the day she died, the 6-year-old was driven to the hospital by Bizardie, who pleaded guilty to child abuse and manslaughter, as well as possession of illegal drugs for sale.

There is not a day I dont think about [the victim], Bizardie told the judge at her sentencing. She will be in my heart forever. I should have done more. I was addicted to meth. ... I want to work on being a better person for myself and my family.

Bizardie was sentenced to 10 years in prison total  five years for each count -- two out of three of the five-year sentences Bizardie will serve concurrently. She is not eligible for probation.

The girl had been placed in Lanes care after her mother, 34-year-old Kamaya Lane, had moved to New Mexico. According to Parzych, Kamaya Lane had been battling alcoholism and needed time to get on her feet. The girl was also supposed to finish out the school year in Arizona before joining her mother.

Meanwhile, Kamaya Lane was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for manslaughter and one and a half years for child abuse, to be served concurrently without the possibility of probation. The state had recommended a sentence of six years in prison.

Kamaya Lane grew up in the foster system and stated in court that she had not met James Lane until she was 18 years old. When she was 7, her mother lost custody of her due to substance abuse. Kamaya Lane shared with the court that she had faced verbal, physical and sexual abuse in foster care.

As a result, she told the judge, she was terrified of her daughter going into foster care.

I tried my best to keep a roof over our heads, but I was struggling with substance abuse. I used alcohol to deal with my pain, Kamaya Lane said. He said he was going to do good for [my daughter], and I believed him. He kept telling me that he was a better parent than me, and that she was better off in her custody.

In tears, Kamaya Lane spoke to her regret at leaving her daughter with James Lane: Nobody is more devastated by my daughters loss than me. I always imagined so many things for my first daughter. I was only 23 years old when she was born. It was the happiest day of my life and also the scariest, because I had no idea how to be a mother, having never had a mother figure in my life."

According to Kamaya Lane's attorney, Deputy Legal Defender Jillian Marini, James Lane had maintained to her that her daughter died of natural causes some time after her death. Kamaya Lane had not lived in and was not present in James Lanes home on the day her daughter died.

Kamaya Lane pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The legal basis for the manslaughter charge was her knowledge of marijuana use in James Lanes home, and some attempted drug sales.

Shortly after Marini argued that Kamaya Lane was the least culpable of the three defendants, Kamaya Lane asked that photos of her daughter be shown in the courtroom  at which point the defendant wept openly.

Ive been a judge 18 years, 10 years on this bench. I dont think Ive ever had a defendant in front of me ... who is so clearly remorseful for what happened. There is no doubt in my mind or my heart that you are. You might be the most remorseful defendant I have ever sentenced in my judicial career, Brown Nichols said to Kamaya Lane on Friday.

The victim had sisters, and was described by a physician at trial as the little mother. Her loss, and young age, weighed heavily against each defendant, according to Brown Nichols.
Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that Labour will support the government at Westminster if it secures an agreement with the EU on reform of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Biden administration's plan to go through with a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey's is opposed by the Democratic chair of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Conservatives on social media reacted to the latest batch of classified evidence found at Biden's home by wondering aloud if the FBI would raid his home like they did Trump's.
The latest discovery of classified documents at Biden's home in Delaware has drawn some criticism toward an administration that looked to separate itself from the dramatic Trump days.
FormeHouse impeachment counsel Rep. Dan Goldman, praised the Biden administration for how it has addressed classified materials found at the president's home.
Colombo (AFP) Jan 13, 2023



Bankrupt Sri Lanka will drastically slash its military, the defence ministry said Friday, as the government works to overhaul its shambolic finances after an unprecedented economic crisis. The island nation is still reeling from months of food and fuel shortages that made daily life a misery for its 22 million people last year. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has hiked taxes and imposed h
After his appointment as the new Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, chose to pay a working visit to Africa. Without mincing words, this choice has multiple geopolitical implications and significance for further strengthening relations between China and Africa.



In fact details are not needed here, but readers could guess and...
All American states have an official Arbor Day, which is observed usually in a month with the best climatological conditions for encourage the planting and care of trees. Since the Land of Israel has a very mild winter, only five American southern states observe Arbor Day at about the same time of the year as do the Jewish people...
The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro climbed to 21 on Sunday, as rescue workers raced to dig through a huge pile of debris in search of survivors.
As expected, a strong winter storm brought at least a foot of snow to several areas throughout northern Arizona, with more on the way through Tuesday.

According to the National Weather Service in Bellemont, Flagstaff set a record for snowfall with 14.8 inches on Sunday, breaking the previous mark of 8.9 inches set in 1978. Adding the start of the storm on Saturday night, the Flagstaff Airport is up to 17.7 inches of snow so far.

The forecast calls for another 12 to 24 inches for the remainder of the storm until Tuesday night. After that, the system will give way to sunny skies and high temperatures near freezing through the rest of the week.

The heavy snowfall produced difficult driving conditions and multiple road closures at times, including Highway 180 in both directions for a 24-mile stretch north of Flagstaff; Interstate 17 northbound near Munds Park; Interstate 40 eastbound at Highway 93; State Route 89A on the switchbacks between Sedona and I-17; and several others, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Lake Mary Road was closed in both directions heading into Sunday night due to low visibility and difficult conditions.

ADOT has advised motorists to avoid travel until the storm passes if at all possible. Authorities are discouraging people from driving but say to be prepared with warm clothes, water, emergency kits and other supplies if they must head out.

Due to severe weather conditions and to protect City employees, residents and equipment, effective Monday, the City of Flagstaff's Solid Waste section will temporarily suspend collection services for residential trash and recycling. Commercial trash and recycling collection services will continue, where accessible, until further notice.

Coconino County said snowplows and graders are operating 24/7 to clear county roads and will continue throughout the storms. Cities within Coconino County are also plowing.

Meanwhile, Northern Arizona University on Saturday night canceled its first day of classes. Cancellations are relatively rare for the university, but significant snowfall predictions led NAU to call off its opening day Tuesday well in advance.

According to its statement: "To help allow campus staff and regional partners to better clear snow from roadways and to reduce travel-related risks due to the inclement weather, Flagstaff classes will begin on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Students are strongly encouraged to be aware of weather and road conditions and adjust their travel plans accordingly. All campus living communities are currently open for move-in."

The university said it would offer additional information for employees and students on Monday by 5 p.m., based on the impacts of the storm at that point.

Coconino Community College announced that its campuses will be closed on Tuesday as well.

Flagstaff Unified School District schools were also scheduled to be off Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and made the decision to cancel Tuesday's classes on Sunday afternoon.

The district communicates changes or cancellations multiple ways, including social media, text, calls and updates to its website, fusd1.org.

Entrance fees at the Grand Canyon and other national parks are waived on Monday, but park officials say visitors might not be able to see into the depths of the canyon because of the storms. Trails will be snow-packed and icy.

Arizona Snowbowl reported that it received 15 inches of snow overnight, with plenty more on the way. The resort is open for business, but chains or four-wheel drive vehicles are required on Snowbowl Road.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that at least 73 people were wounded and 39 people had been rescued as of Sunday afternoon after the attack in the southeastern city of Dnipro.
Taiwan's foreign minister says China is likely looking at the war in Ukraine to inform a potential invasion of the island.




While co-hosting with Miss Universe Organization TV producer and writer Nick Teplitz, the Indian beauty mistakenly mentioned "Kazakhstan" instead of "Kyrgyzstan" as Altynai walked down the runway wearing her white swan-inspired national costume.





"During the preliminary event this week in New Orleans, I failed to properly say Kyrgyzstan. I am deeply sorry for this mistake," Harnaaz shared on her Instagram story and continued by saying she will never purposely say or do something to upset a contestant or their supporters.





"The preliminary competition was my first time ever co-hosting and the jitters got the best of me. My nervousness onstage is not a reflection of the deep respect I have for Kyrgyzstan. Altynai, please accept my sincerest apologies," she added.





Miss Universe Organization has also posted an apology statement and said: "Miss Universe prides itself in being an organization that gives women a platform to expose their culture to the world. In this spirit, our team is offering an apology to Kyrgyzstan for failing to correctly say the countrys name during the recent preliminary event in New Orleans. Our team promises to do better."





Altynai, a design student, professional model, and activist, is one of the 84 contestants vying to become the 71st Miss Universe. She represents Kyrgyzstan, a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. Her country's capital and largest city is Bishkek.





During the national costume competition, she wore a traditional bride costume inspired by a white swan, a symbol of pure and faithful love. The designer felt the image of a gentle white swan emphasized her inner beauty and purity.





"I am grateful to the Miss Universe management for recognizing this mistake and publicly apologizing for it by introducing me as Miss Universe Kyrgyzstan. Thereby proving your high level and professionalism," she wrote in a statement on her own page.





Photos: Benjamin Askinas / Miss Universe Organization





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Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu took to social media to issue an apology to Miss Universe Kyrgyzstan Altynai Botoyarova for a slip-up she made during the 71st Miss Universe national costume competition.
Earlier today Patently Apple discovered a patent application from Apple from the German Patent Office that was published on January 05, 2023. The patent application relates to gaze tracking technology that could be used in Apple's future mixed reality headset, projection systems in a vehicle's HUD system or even with contact lenses. More specifically, Apple's patent relates to systems, methods, and computer readable media to refine and smooth eye tracking data for improved performance in eye tracking techniques. Four out of the six inventors came to Apple in 2015 when Germany's Metaio was acquired. Metaio was one of the world's pioneers in Augmented Reality and Hologram technologies.

Apple notes that in one or more embodiments, a pupil position is maintained within a predetermined range. A lens through which a pupil is monitored may have a predetermined range, which is a known calibrated range, while other regions of the lens may be less calibrated. As such, the pupil location within the calibrated range should be maintained.

In one or more embodiments, an initial pupil location is determined with respect to a lens located in front of the eye. A change in the pupil position can be detected with respect to the lens at an updated pupil position with respect to the lens. If the updated pupil location is outside the determined bounding box, for example assigned to a calibrated region, a replacement pupil location is selected within the bounding box. The updated pupil location is then used for eye tracking techniques.

In some embodiments, the eye tracking system to avoid jitter may change the pupil location over a series of frames such that the pupil location transitions from the original pupil location to the replacement pupil location, for example, based on a time-based sensing function.

In one or more embodiments, a pupil position is maintained within a predetermined range. A lens through which a pupil is monitored may have a predetermined range, which is a known calibrated range, while other regions of the lens may be less calibrated. As such, the pupil location within the calibrated range should be maintained.

In one or more embodiments, an initial pupil location is determined with respect to a lens located in front of the eye. A change in the pupil position can be detected with respect to the lens at an updated pupil position with respect to the lens. If the updated pupil location is outside the determined bounding box, for example assigned to a calibrated region, a replacement pupil location is selected within the bounding box.

The updated pupil location is then used for eye tracking techniques. In some embodiments, the eye tracking system to avoid jitter may change the pupil location over a series of frames such that the pupil location transitions from the original pupil location to the replacement pupil location, for example, based on a time-based sensing function.

Apple's patent FIGS. 1A-B below show example diagrams of a structure for eye tracking and performing pupil localization.

Further into Apple's German patent filing they note that an electronic device, such as a mixed reality headset (HMD) may include one or more cameras or other sensors, such as a depth sensor, of which the depth of a scene can be determined. In one or more embodiments, each of the one or more cameras may be a conventional RGB camera or a depth camera. Further, the cameras may include a stereo camera or other multi-camera system, a time-of-flight camera system, or the like that capture images from which depth information of a scene can be determined.

In some embodiments, the one or more cameras may be cameras used for eye tracking. The HMD device may allow a user to interact with XR environments. There are many different types of electronic systems that allow a person to perceive and/or interact with various XR environments.

Examples are head-mountable systems, projection-based systems, heads-up displays (HUDs), vehicle windshields with integrated display capability, windows with integrated display capability, displays formed as lenses intended to be placed on the eyes of a person (e.g., similar contact lenses).

For more details, review Apple's German patent application number DE102022116074 titled "AUGENVERFOLGUNGSDATENFILTERUNG" (Translation: Eye Tracking Data Filtration).

Apple Inventors

Sabine Webel: Software Engineering Manager. Came to Apple via acquisition of Metaio in 2015.

Tobias Eble: Software Development Manager (former employer: Metaio)

Hariprasad Puthukkootil Rajagopal: Sr. Software Developer (former employer: Metaio)
Im halfway through a period of temporary bachelorhood: My wife is babysitting one of our granddaughters out in Virginia, assisted by my middle son. I couldnt go because of some obligations here at home. But it now appears that I may actually survive. And, someday, Ill do the dishes and do the wash. Certainly before she comes home!

A while back, I posted a number of entries here about the destruction in the New World that accompanied the death of Christ in the Old World, according to the account given in the Book of Mormon. Based on the work of others who are cited in these entries, Im inclined to believe that 3 Nephi recounts not only a cataclysmic seismic event but a volcanic one:

Geology and Third Nephi (1): The Time of Darkness (A)

Geology and Third Nephi (2): Santorini and the Land of the Pharaoh

Geology and Third Nephi (3): The Time of Darkness (B)

Geology and Third Nephi (4): An Explosive Volcanic Eruption?

Geology and Third Nephi (5): Evidence from Ice Cores?

Geology and Third Nephi (6): Storms and Tempests

Geology and Third Nephi (7): Shaking and Quaking

Geology and Third Nephi (8): An Interim Update

Geology and Third Nephi (9): Cities Burned, Buried, and Drowned (Part One)

Geology and Third Nephi (10): Cities Burned, Buried, and Drowned (Part Two)

Geology and Third Nephi (11): Cities Burned, Buried, and Drowned (Part Three)

Geology and Third Nephi (12): Whole Face of Land Changed (Part One)

Geology and Third Nephi (13): Whole Face of Land Changed (Part Two)

Geology and Third Nephi (14): Broken and Scattered Rocks (Part One)

Geology and Third Nephi (15): Broken and Scattered Rocks (Part Two)

Geology and Third Nephi (16): Thick Darkness (Part One)

Geology and Third Nephi (17): Thick Darkness (Part Two)

Geology and Third Nephi (18): Finis

Sturm und Drang in 3 Nephi

3 Nephi: Another Volcanological Perspective (1)

3 Nephi: Another Volcanological Perspective (2)

Has the volcano responsible for the destruction in 3 Nephi been located?

My interest in the topic was rekindled this morning by an article that I read in the New York Times: Lightning in the cataclysmic Tonga volcano eruption shattered all records Here are the directly relevant passages from the Book of Mormon. The first narrates the actual events:

And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land. . . . And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth. . . . And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did ceasefor behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hoursand then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land. (3 Nephi 8:7, 17. 19)

The next two passages, which actually come earlier in the chronology of the Book of Mormon, constitute specific and detailed prophecies of those coming events:

And it came to pass that I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof. (1 Nephi 12:4) Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up. (Helaman 14:21)

Please note the prominence of lightning in both the prophecies and the actual narrative.

I may be wrong, maybe its just me, but I doubt that the typical uninformed person  think here of the poorly educated early nineteenth-century frontier farm youth Joseph Smith, who spent his life in a seismically quiescent area utterly devoid of volcanos  would immediately associate volcanic eruptions, let alone simple earthquakes, with lightning. And yet volcanic eruptions are associated with lightning, and if, as I and others think, 3 Nephi depicts an instance of catastrophic volcanism, the Book of Mormon is clearly correct in this regard.

Finally, aware of the desperate need that some of my readers feel to fortify their unfaith with evidence of the evils of theism and religiosity, Im happy to close this blog entry with something horrible from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial How Religion Poisons Everything File. I readily grant that it could also have been filed under the subject heading of Religious Nones, but it seems entirely fitting to regard it as a Hitchens File item, so thats how Ive chosen to categorize it: Gen Zers Are Religious, And Their Mental Health Depends On It

The late Viennese physician and writer Sigmund Freud claimed that religious belief is a mental illness and that both individuals and societies would be better off were it to disappear. His claim has not fared well in the roughly nine decades since his death. Science marches on.
Recently my thoughts have turned to the place of hell in Christian thought.

Back in 2021 the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of American belief in heaven and hell. It found across denominations from Catholic to Pentecostal to Fundamentalist in the aggregate, ninety-two percent of those who identify as Christian believe in heaven. Im intrigued by the eight percent, but for here Im setting that aside.

A somewhat smaller number believe in hell, again across denomination seventy-nine percent of self-identified Christians believe in a hell. The breakouts are interesting, as well. Sixty-nine percent of identified mainline Protestants believe in hell, and so thirty-one percent do not. I believe Anglicans are bunched up with mainline Protestants here. Seventy-four percent of Catholics believe in hell, therefore twenty six percent do not. Averaging it all out, as I said seventy-nine percent of American Christians believe in a hell. Twenty-one percent do not.

Hell

Hell has distant roots in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament. The Book of Revelations, probably the most controversial of the Christian scriptures, and last to be generally accepted into the canon is the only one that attends to hell in any serious way. And really the full blown idea of the fall of humanity in Adam and Eves disobedience inherited by all humans leading to a rupture for which the punishment is, well, hell; thats largely post scriptural.

All religions deal with the problem of some ancient wound in the human heart. Once one parses out, as best can be done, the very large part that religions play in establishing and reinforcing the contours of a culture, that question of human dis-ease, the worm in human lives is the central offering of religions. For me it is the only part of religion worth sustained attention. Religions are the repository of our human struggle with the hurts of our lives right up to our deaths.

And the religions name it differently. Religious scholar Stephen Prothero suggests how in Judaism the problem is exile. In Islam the problem is framed as pride. And for Christianity the problem is sin. Prothero also notes how the problem is framed in Confucianism as chaos. And he says the problem in Buddhism is suffering. Which for me shows that that the good professor might not be right on the mark. The problem in Buddhism as I understand it is ignorance. The result of that ignorance is suffering. But then I might be complicating something that doesnt need all that much complication. Whatrever, the good professors list is helpful as a thumbnail for how many religions address that problem.

And the point is that each religion addresses some common human hurt, that ancient wound, offering interpretations of what that hurt actually is, and with that, offers its solutions. I suggest that the original teachings of Jesus were in fact a variation on the Jewish narrative of exile. And his way, as best we can discern it among the preserved sayings is about reclamation of our true inheritance, a heaven that is both somehow in the future and right here and now.

But starting with Paul, whose disciples and their disciples ended up owning Jesus Inc, and fleshed out in all its painful consequence by Athanasius of Alexandria, we get the religion with hell at its center. Its based in Adam & Eves terrible fall into sin in mythic time, from which we each and every one of us carry from the moment of our conception. Which, without the cosmic sacrifice, condemns people to hell. Each and everyone. Generation after generation born to hell.

Hell as some kind of individual conscious immortality of endless and horrific suffering, possibly featuring an actual physical and I guess very large lake of fire. It is interesting hell does not appear to be much discussed in what we see of earliest writers. Tatian the Assyrian in the second century being the most notable exception.

But the idea of inherited sin deserving eternal pain with the only fix being Gods endless sacrifice in the person of Jesus, and some kind of conscious acceptance of the sacrifice takes a while. That comes to us full blown in the fourth century with Athanasius. We can pretty much lay the foundations of this view of that idea of the normative Christian project at the saints feet. And really not much before that near five centuries after Jesus death.

Of course this is simply the logical conclusion to the groundwork established by Pauls obsession with turning Jesus into the center of a Greek Mystery cult. But that and the alternatives not taken, starting with the religion the Jesus and his family appeared to hold, for us basically contained somewhere in the received collections of his sayings, are the subject for other meditations.

For me today is noticing how there is a counter narrative within the larger, shall we say Pauline/Athanasian version on offer today. And has been on and off for a long time.

And thats Universalism.

Certainly at least from Origen, and his Apocatastasis, a Greek word meaning something along the lines of reconciliation or restoration, Universalism, the belief that in the last instance all things will reconcile to God, has been at the very least a minor current within the Christian tradition.

Here the narrative of ancient love becomes the reconciliation of the lost, another unfolding of that ancient story of exile. It also reconciles the intuitions of pride, and chaos, and most of all ignorance. The sense of separation and the calling home to intimacy seems, best I can tell, the underlying theme of all religions addressing that ancient wound.

The Universalist versions of Christianity embrace the best of the Christian mystical traditions, that calling of intimacy, that calling all family, that calling all home. Not with threats of punishment, but as a response to hungry hearts, home to the feast. It is an invitation to a dance. It is absolutely possible to see within the currents of the Pauline church expressing itself in the mystical currents of the tradition.

As to the Christian tradition the only institution to express it baldy, the Universalist Church of America, flourished in the nineteenth century but slipped away from a focused Christian expression, consolidating in 1961 with the American Unitarian Association and became the Unitarian Universalist Association. The UUA has been described as not a liberal Christian church but as a liberal church with Christians.

Today, while there are no explicitly Universalist Christian denominations, this insight is spread across the denominations.

So. Not quite a decade ago a prominent Protestant minister caused quite the hubbub in Evangelical circles when he published a book titled Love Wins. He then spent a lot of time explaining precisely how he wasnt actually a universalist. But, if you google him, Rob Bell is his name, you will see pretty much everyone else seems to think hes one.

Around the same time a Charismatic minister, Bishop Carlton Pearson, after feeling a movement of the spirit, began to preach what he called the Gospel of Inclusion. Again, his colleagues looked at what he was saying, and as with Reverend Bell, they denounced him as a universalist.

The glee that some Christian writers address the fact of hell as actual physical and endless pain is shocking. And the violence of their opposition to those who challenge this as an actual hallmark of an authentic Christianity is immediate and relentless.

The Reverend Mr Bell was pressured to leave his megachurch and began an independent ministry as a speaker and writer. While the bishops megachurch began to dwindle, until the remaining congregation, still a good five hundred people, ended up joining All Souls Unitarian Universalist church, in Tulsa.

Thanks largely to my participation with interfaith organizations Ive come to know a number of Christian clergy. Episcopalians, Congregationalists, and Methodists, principally. Although along with a sprinkling of others. And, of these, once we get past the what church do you serve and looking to find anyone we might know in common, a fair number of these ministers in one-on-one conversations, want to let me know, if quietly, that they, too, are universalists.

(There is another variation on the theme, again outside the scope of this meditation, but to note. If one doesnt postulate a continuation of the person beyond death, then the noticing of unsatisfactoriness, suffering, the hell of this life finds it cure, its healing in a full on embrace of the universal heart illustrated in that lovely saying attributed to Jesus I am the vine and you are the branches thereof) Mystical religion and nonduality does not require more than one life to bring its blessings)

As I noted at the beginning among the so-called mainline Episcopal and Protestant churches some thirty-one percent reject hell. And twenty-six percent of Catholics! When pushed I suspect a larger number yet of clergy and laity alike in fact believe in some form of ultimate reconciliation for everyone in this hurting world.

It is also a fact on the ground that mainline Christianity in America, Protestant and Episcopal are in pretty steep decline. I just watched a YouTube video where the presenter wanted to make sure we understood these were the liberals, meaning for that presenter advocating LGBTQ rights. And, happily showed demographics demonstrating socially conservative churches, excepting the Southern Baptist Convention were growing.

Of course this is demographic slight of hand. Again, according to Pew, in 1972 about ninety percent of Americans considered themselves Christian. Today that number is sixty-four percent. There is some denominational shifting about, but its happening as Christianity is itself in steep decline. In the United States. The group growing most rapidly are the nones. Some people pause for a while in the more liberal churches, before abandoning religion altogether.

The whole subject of trending secularism among the industrialized nations is another fascinating subject. But. Not my interest here.

While these more liberal churches and more importantly their members and often their clergy may not use the word, it definitely is universalism that is the growing theological edge. Their understanding might be more theologically informed as often is the case with clergy. It might be more visceral and specific, of course Gandhi is in heaven, as with many of the laity.

The fact is in many forms universalism runs a wondrous current through the churches. Sort of the secret teaching of the Christian heart. And. As Christianity here in North America slips into steep decline, it has lost a third of its membership in the last thirty years here, mostly to the nones, that may not be a bad thing. It is fragmenting. The need for Christianity or for that matter any religion to assume the role of cultural reinforcer is slipping away. And religion is taking many shapes. And. And who knows. Perhaps some new form may reclaim yet human hearts.

Perhaps this most ancient counter narrative will be it. Universalism.

And, I believe, wouldnt that be a blessing for this poor hurting world?












Under the sunset glow, the snow-covered land looks like a majestic Chinese freehand landscape painting in Greater Hinggan Mountains in north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Li Ming)

In the middle of winter, the mountainous and hilly region of Greater Hinggan Mountains in north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is going through the period with the shortest amount of daylight in the year. Under the sunset glow, the silver snow-covered land looks like a majestic Chinese freehand landscape painting.
Out of the 76 fishing vessels in Ghana, only 19 are currently on the seas fishing.



The remaining 56 vessels have not been cleared to go fishing due to non-compliance with the new fishing gear regime by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD).



The new fisheries management measures which have been introduced by the Ministry to prevent Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing on Ghanaian waters, forbids any vessel with unauthorised fishing gear (fishing nets) to fish on Ghanaian waters.



The Minister in charge of MoFAD, Mavis Hawa Koomson, in an interview with Graphic Online on Friday, January 13, 2023, said the Ministry was poised to weed out all forms of IUU fishing on Ghanaian waters.



She said the Ministry was not leaving any stone unturned in its efforts to comply with internationally accepted sustainable fishing practices.



She explained that the lack of proper fishing gears such as fishing nets was a major contributor to IUU fishing all over the world and that Ghana was no exception, hence the decision of the Ministry to start the IUU fight from the fishing gear.



Madam Hawa Koomson said the Ministry together with its agencies and departments had started a new and strict inspection efforts at the ports, all aimed at ensuring that all fishing vessels on Ghanaian waters have the right type of gears before they are cleared to fish.



She said the Ministry would not relax its efforts to flush out non-complying fishing vessels on Ghanaian waters.



Additionally, the Fisheries Minister cautioned that the Ministry would not hesitate to hand hefty punishment as prescribed in the Ghanaian fisheries laws, on any of the 19 vessels currently fishing on Ghanaian waters should they engage in any form of IUU fishing.



She was of the view that IUU fishing was denying the country of its needed revenues as well as contributing to the depletion of the countrys fish stocks.



For Madam Hawa Koomson, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development would not sit aloof for some selfish individuals to plunge the countrys fisheries sector into chaos through IUU fishing.



We have given them very specific gears that they should use for fishing, she noted.



The Minister also explained that the Ghana Maritime Authority had directed all fishing vessels to refurbish their vessels to ensure that they were safe for use.



Madam Hawa Koomson said the Ministry would not compromise on the safety of fishers on any vessels fishing on Ghanaian waters, stressing that any vessel that would fail to comply with the safety measures would not be allowed to fish on Ghanaian waters.



Additionally, she noted, to prevent illegal trans-shipment at sea, the Ministry had cancelled its 15 per cent allowable bycatch by the industrial fishing vessels.



She said no fishing vessels should have any bycatch at all and that all the 19 vessels currently at sea on Ghanaian waters were complying with the new directive.



We do inspection before their departure and when they come, we also go to inspect what they brought, Madam Hawa Koomson pointed out.



Also, speaking at the just ended 14th session of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) in Accra on Friday, January 13, 2023, the Fisheries Minister pledged the commitment of Ghana to work with other coastal countries in the ECOWAS region to fight IUU.



Background



Ghana was on June 2, 2021 issued with a Yellow Card by the European Union (EU). This is because Ghana was identified by the EU as a non-cooperating third party state in fighting Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU).



Ghana first received a Yellow Card in 2013 and was lifted in 2015 when the country introduced some reforms in the fisheries sector to tackle the menace.



However, the issues raised by the EU for the second Yellow Card included inadequacies in the area of legal framework to fight IUU; illegal trans-shipment at sea of large quantities of undersized juvenile pelagic species between industrial trawl vessels and canoes on Ghanaian waters; expired Marine Fisheries Management Plan (2015-2019); expired National Plan of Action to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU (NPOA-IUU)-2014-2018; deficiencies in the monitoring, control and surveillance of the fleet; as well as lack of deterrent sanctions imposed on vessels engaging in or supporting IUU fishing activities on Ghanaian waters.



Yellow Card



The Yellow Card is an official warning issued by the EU to trading partners falling short of tackling IUU fishing.



The Yellow Card is a warning and offers Ghana the opportunity to react and take measures to rectify the situation within a reasonable time. At this stage, the decision does not entail any measures affecting trade.



However, in cases of prolonged and continued non-compliance, countries can ultimately face a procedure of identification (a so-called red card), which entails sanctions such as the prohibition to export their fishery products to the EU market.



The Yellow Card starts a formal dialogue in which the Commission and the country issued with the warning work together to solve all issues of concern.



Coming out of the Yellow Card



Madam Hawa Koomson was hopeful that considering the new measures Ghana was putting in place, the country would soon come out of the Yellow Card.



She said Ghana would continue to comply with internationally accepted sustainable fishing measures and also work with its trade partners such as the European Union, to ensure that the country was free from IUU fishing.

Source: graphic.com.gh









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Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is set to open the 2023 New Year School as the special guest of honour on Tuesday, January 17th 2023.



The 74th Annual New Year School comes off at the University of Ghana, Great Hall in Accra.



The four-day conference will be held from Monday, January 16th till Thursday, January 19th 2023 on the theme Positioning the African Market for Sustainable Economic Development Through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).



The conference is under the auspices of the School of Continuing and Distance Education, College of Education, University of Ghana, in collaboration with the Ministries of Finance, Education, Communications and Digitization, Trade and Industry, and Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.



Aside from the Vice President, other dignitaries expected to appear include Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister for Communication and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum and wealthy Ghanaian businessman, Dr Daniel McKorley (McDan).



Mr Wamkele Keabetswe Mene, Secretary-General, AfCFTA, will deliver the keynote address at the conference.



The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), headquartered in Accra, Ghana, is aimed at boosting intra-African trade and strengthening Africas trading position on the global market.



The theme of the 2023 New Year School is aimed at capturing the options facing Ghana and other African countries due to ongoing economic challenges and providing a space for stakeholders to look at the huge potential Africa can offer within the region.



Dr Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Distance Education, SCDE, University of Ghana who doubles as the Director of the 74th Annual New Year School, said this years programme would contribute to the continents quest in advancing trade and industry to build a robust African economy that could sustainably contribute to growth in member countries.



He added that the conference creates a platform for every Ghanaian, and every African to have a better understanding and involvement of the whole concept of the AfCFTA.



Since its inception in 1948, the Annual New Year School and Conference has been the flagship programme of the University and attracts people from all walks of life to deliberate on topical issues of national and international interests.



It opens at the beginning of every new year.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) is collaborating with the Ghana Maritime Authority to ensure that human rights abuses against fishers aboard fishing vessels on Ghanaian waters are dealt with.



Additionally, all fishing vessels that have been cleared to fish on Ghanaian waters have been directed to insure their vessels and also refurbish them to ensure the safety of all crew members.



Speaking in an interview with Graphic Online on the sidelines of the 14th session of the Conference of the Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, which ended in Accra on Friday, January 13, 2023, Madam Hawa Koomson, said nobody has the right to abuse any Ghanaian fishing observer on any vessel.



FCWC



The 14th session of the Conference of the Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, which was done both in-person and online, was on the theme: Supporting effective fisheries management for a sustainable blue economy.



The conference was attended by the fisheries ministers of the six FCWC member states (Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Liberia, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire) or their representatives.



The sessions participants deliberated on the theme, reviewed the past years results, and agreed on a work plan and budget for 2023/2024.



The FCWC was established in 2007 to promote and facilitate cooperation in fisheries management between the member countries.



Abuses



For Madam Hawa Koomson, abusing any fishing observer means abusing the authority that put the observer on the vessel.



because if you abuse the observer, its me, the minister, you are abusing because he is representing me on the vessel at the expedition, she noted.



The Fisheries Minister said it is worrying for fishers or observers to be abused on fishing vessels, saying you cannot abuse the observer.



According to her, the Ghanaian fishing observer who got missing on a fishing vessel some years ago was still being investigated by the Marine Police.



That, Madam Hawa Koomson noted, the Ministry has not lost track of the case and that it will put more pressure on the police to expedite things.



She said the new directives on the safety of observers and fishers, as well as efforts to prevent human rights abuses on the vessels, will help to improve the welfare of all fishing crew members aboard any vessel on Ghanaian waters.



She explains that per the new arrangements with the Ghana Maritime Authority, all fishing vessels are strictly inspected under varied checklists before they are allowed to set sail.



For her, all the 19 vessels currently fishing on Ghanaian waters have good places for their crew members to sleep and cook.



Madam Hawa Koomson added that when the vessels also arrive at the ports, they are inspected and the fishing observers interrogated to find out if anyone had been abused either physically or verbally.



When the vessels arrive, we call the observer and ask him whether any form of abuse was done to him, she said.



She noted that formerly the observers were not given fish when they returned from sea but now they are given part of the catch.









Source: graphic.com.gh









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Between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to be politically accepted on any regional level in the country, is a big deal.



But even more specific and significant for these two leading political parties in the country are what kind of numbers or voter turnouts they religiously receive from these regions, collectively.



As is widely known or accepted, the people of the Volta Region have historically always warmed up towards the NDC more, just as the Ashanti Region does for the NPP.



In more specific terms, these regions have become unconventionally known as the world banks of these political parties. And rightly so, they have been for many years.



For instance, in the Ashanti Region, out of the 46 constituencies in the region, the NDC currently only has 4 seats to its name. That number has remained the highest number of seats the NDC has had in the region since 1996.



In the Volta Region, until 2020, the NPP had never won a seat. Currently, the tally is 17 to 1 seat in the region for the NDC and the NPP respectively. Previously, since 1996, the NDC had always won all the seats in the region (16 seats in 1996, 15 seats in 2000, 15 seats in 2004, 15 seats in 2008, 18 seats in 2012, and 18 seats in 2016).



Let us not forget also that the founding fathers of both the NDC and the NPP have formed a great part of why there is such a voting pattern for their parties in both the Volta and Ashanti Regions. Jerry John Rawlings of the NDC hails from the Volta Region, while the Danquah-Dombo-Busia trio of the NPP are predominantly from the Ashanti Region.



Could the narrative be taking an interesting twist, or turn, or direction? Well, it may depend on how you take a look at it.



And it would have been a fairer assessment if this was with respect to both regions but interestingly, the bus seems to be stopping more with the Volta Region.



It all started with the conversations on who has done what, and who has done more or not for the region. Ordinarily, that should have been an easy pass for the NDC, who are more preferred in the region, but some questions have arisen on whether or not they actually deserve such a comfortable acclamation.



What exactly did Mahama do for Volta Region? - Obed Asamoah asks:



As the NDC, just as the NPP, prepares to elect a new flagbearer to lead it into the 2024 general elections, a leading member of the National Democratic Congress, Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, has become one of the people to draw in this whole what have you done for the Volta Region conversation.



He has asked for answers from former President John Dramani Mahama on exactly what he has done for the Volta Region.



He questioned what the 2020 flagbearer of the party did for the region that is considered the stronghold of their party, while he was in political office, and for which reason he would seek their votes again to lead the NDC into election 2024.



According to Dr. Asamoah, Mahamas failure to establish tangible developmental projects in the Volta Region resulted in residents voting against the NDC.



Supporting his claim, Dr. Obed Asamoah said the evidence can be seen from how much, in terms of numbers, the percentage of voter turnout from the region in the 2020 elections were, as compared to those of his predecessors; the late John Evans Atta Mills and the late Jerry John Rawlings.



Vote Region is supposed to be the World Bank of the NDC. What exactly did Mahama do for the Volta Region?



Remember in the last election, he did not get the kind of votes Jerry and the others were getting; 80, 90 percent (in presidential elections), he said.



But then something that had happened a few months earlier seems to lend support to the questions being posed by the NDC stalwart.



In November 2022, during the 60th anniversary of the Hogbetsotso Za of the Anlo people, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, made an appearance upon an invitation.



During his address, he courted the anger of residents present, becoming a victim of a booing incident targeted at the presidency, after he started making statements about the achievements of his party, the NPP, in the Volta Region.



As Agbotadua Kumassah, a member of the Hogbetsotso Planning Committee explained later, the people gathered at the grounds of the event started getting agitated when the vice president started talking about the economy.



He explained that the people, being well-aware that some of the things he was saying were false, started to boo at him.



When he entered the economic situation, that is when the problem started. He mentioned, among others, that they built more airports than any other government, they built more roads than any other government and the people who were there did not see the roads, the airports, the roads he was referring to.



So, that brought some agitation and it became very difficult to control the people because what he was saying, none of them happened in the area, he explained.



Agbotadua Kumassah also explained that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumias explanations on the governments works in the digitization field, compounded the anger of the people, leading to them booing at him.



But how true or not are the things he said about what they had been doing?



NPPs development feats in Volta Region evident - Makafui Woanya:



Being the man at the helm of things in the region for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Makafui Woanya, the regional chairman, has said countless times that his party has been able to perform creditably in the region albeit not so welcomed politically.



He explained in a graphic.com.gh report on January 5, 2023, that the NPP government has been able to revive and perform remarkable progress in some key infrastructural development projects in the region.



Some of these, he mentioned, are the steadily progressing Eastern Corridor Road Project, which is nearing completion; and the ongoing Southern Sector Water Systems Extensions Project.



The University of Health and Allied Sciences, which the NDC is always quick to claim as their baby, is seeing massive infrastructural expansion, he explained.



NPP drew its biggest strength from the Volta Region:



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has not been left out of the narratives or claims of what each party has been doing in the Volta Region.



In August 2020, the president said that the NPP considers the Volta Region as a hallowed ground that is symbolic of its struggle during the days of the partys formation.



He added that history had even confirmed that the region had endorsed the NPP, and served as a place of refuge for its political fugitives during its darkest days, and for which reason the party can never discriminate against them.



It was here in this region that people were most passionate about the political tradition. It was from here that the first people had to flee into political exile after independence, and it was in this region that many chiefs had to flee into political exile, and some died there.



Many people forget that when J.B. Danquah, the first in the trinity of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia political tradition contested Kwame Nkrumah for the presidency, on Ghana becoming a republic in 1960, Danquah did not win in his home constituency in Akyem Abuakwa.



But he won in two constituencies, one is right here in Anlo and the other is Ho West. If there was a little brittle tribal bone within my makeup, which there is not, I would not choose the Volta Region as a target. History would not allow me, he said during a durbar of chiefs of the Anlo State at Anloga, during a working tour of the area.



John Mahama answers questions about what NDC has done for Volta Region:



Dr. Obed Asamoahs questions have however not been left hanging because like a premonition, the former president, John Dramani Mahama, had touted his achievements in the Volta Region in 2021.



So, two clear years before such a question would be posed, the former president had already spelt out some of the achievements he had made in its world bank.



Among the tall list of things he said his government had achieved, were in educational infrastructure, health projects, roads, water and sanitation, among many others.



And much later, while speaking at a grand durbar to mark the climax of the Asogli Yam Festival in Ho, President John Mahama lamented the number of abandoned projects in the region, assuring the people that the next NDC government would complete them all.



Projects started by the NDC have been abandoned and others that are to be completed in the region are being done at a slow pace. For some of the projects, this government asked contractors to stop work.



But I make a commitment of the NDC that, God willing and thanks to your votes, in 2025, all these projects will resume, he assured.



Volta must carry NDC as a religion  Fifi Kwetey:



Being the newly-elected General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Kwetey, who is also the former Member of Parliament for Ketu South, appears to have a strong say on whose side the Volta Region should stick with.



In a GNA report of Thursday, January 12, 2023, Fifi Kwetey said the region must cement its place as an unmovable bastion of the NDC.



Admitting that the regions hold as the fortress of the NDC has weakened in recent times, also because indigenes have become increasingly discouraged from identifying with it, he urged them not to lose sight of the fact that the NDC is a party birthed from their backyard.



"Volta is the region where saviours of the nation come from as far as this country is concerned but we need to know who we are, and somehow, we know who we are, and we need to start appreciating who we are.



Volta must appreciate NDC and back it no matter what. It should become like a religion. We need to let our people appreciate that this is what we are. And I believe if we knew who we were, the situation where the love for this party would start dwindling in this region should not happen, he said.



The general elections of 2024 is less than 2 years away and although both the NDC and the NPP have each successfully elected new party executives, there are still a few major political hurdles to surmount before the big day in December 2024.



New flagbearers and the election of parliamentary candidates that will represent the parties at the constituency levels in the country will solidify the preparedness of each side of the political coin towards the general polls but it cannot be lost on anyone that with the historic breakthrough that the NPP has made into the Volta Region by winning its first ever seat in parliament, the battle lines are surely drawn.



The Volta Region will play a central role in the elections and whoever emerges the winner will have to command a lot of influence from this region.



Whose win will it be? Time will definitely tell







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.

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Former President John Dramani Mahama has taken a swipe at the government for lying to bondholders.



According to him, the government lied to individual bondholders when it announced the debt exchange program and assured that individual bondholders were exempted from the programme.



But on December 24, 2022, the government said individual bondholders will be affected by the programme.



This has faced huge opposition as they have rejected the proposal and the invitation by the government.



John Mahama also stated that the government has badly managed the economy, while pushing more Ghanaians into poverty.



Outrageous! Gov't lies to individual bondholders; forces a haircut, and plunging more people into poverty! An absolute failure in managing our economy, he said in a tweet sighted by GhanaWeb Business.



Meanwhile, the acceptance of the invitation by the government is crucial to the success of the debt exchange programme as the individual bondholders hold about GH8 billion of government bonds.



Analysts have also stated that a failure of the programme will pose great financial threats to Ghanas economy.



This may also affect the countrys chances of securing financial support from the International Monetary Fund.



Financial Analyst, Joe Jackson said If we dont get this debt exchange programme through then we will not be able to achieve our debt sustainability, then the IMF programme will either be delayed or may even be at risk.



Up until now, the markets have been treating us kindly because everybodys assumption is that somewhere in February or March IMF is coming through. If we dont achieve our debt right, if we have to stress them again then IMF will not come when it is due or back off and then, the chaotic debt reforms we are trying to prevent will now happen with all the dark consequences of not being able to access any funds anywhere, he is quoted by 3news.com.















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.

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Hiplife and Highlife artiste, Pure Akan says the first human being created by God wasn't Adam as it's widely known by many people, particularly Christians.



The artiste refuted the scriptural account that Adam was the first made by God in His image and likeness during an interview with host Abeiku Santana on Okay FM's "Ekwanso Dwoodwoo" Thursday evening.



According to Pure Akan, the first person who came into the world is an African who dwelled in one of the African countries.



He added that it is proven that Africans were the first to appear on earth and travelled overseas transforming into White people.



Pure Akan corroborated his claim by explaining that it was possible for the Africans to turn into White people due to the weather abroad.



Pure Akan performed at this year's "Land of the Spirits" concert and made libation on stage, the first of its kind.

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.

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Today, an impressive march for peace, starting in Times Square and ending with a packed rally at the nearby Peoples Forum, called for ending NATO intervention in Ukraine as the key to stopping hostilities there. The slogan for the event says it all: NATO EXPANSION  NO! || PEACE IN UKRAINE  YES!

Claudia De La Cruz of the Peoples Forum, Medea Benjamin of Code Pink and Brian Becker of the Answer Coation, representing the main organizing groups, followed by Joao Pedro Stedile of the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement, kicked off the Forum discussion denouncing NATO s (and thus the Pentagon's) long hand behind the current bloodbath in Ukraine. Many speakers also evoked the memory of Martin Luther King on the eve of his birthday, the 15th of January. Taking a page from Stedile's activist methods, La Cruz concluded the rally by telling everyone present not to leave without having made at least one new friend from among the other attendees. To hear the presentations of all the speakers at the rally, click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEG_CErmoMM

Take to the streets Sat. Jan. 14 in NYC: Peace in Ukraine - Yes! NATO expansion - NO! Author: The People's Forum, New York City Source: https://www.peaceinukraine.org/nyc_answer_protest Close coincided, to a large extent, with those contained in a document written for the occasion by the Rome-based activist group



rally in New York coincided, to a large extent, with those contained in a document written for the occasion by the Rome-based activist group U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice , made public today. An ample extract follows. The document questions the Official Narrative of events in Ukraine. It asks if Putin is really a new Hitler as depicted and what the role of the NATO really is.



In a nutshell, it pieces together the clues as to what lies behind and what has led up to the current conflict.

------------- Document offered by U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice  Rome, Italy -------------

Todays march and rally in New York City, on the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, calls for an end to NATO expansion as the key to peace in Ukraine.

How will saying NO to NATO bring peace?

It will, because the war is NOT about Putin's desire for empire, even though that is how it has been painted. Instead, it is about NATO's (and Wall Street's) desire for empire. And that is something we Americans can act on  and thus achieve peace. But first we must face up to it.

NATO claims that Putin is just another Hitler, out to conquer the world. Well, maybe he'd like to, but he can't and knows he can't. So he certainly didn't attack Ukraine for THAT reason.

He attacked because NATO provoked him into war by preparing to expand right up to Russia's borders with Ukraine, including building sites for nuclear missiles impossible to stop at that short range.

In other words, he attacked because NATO took out a knife to hold to his throat.

How do you react to a bully (in this case, NATO) who holds a knife to your throat? Putin reacted by attacking -- an error (and a crime, under international law) that may doom Russia.

So the answer is NOT to respond to violence with violence.

In 1962, President Kennedy responded to the violence of the USSR's plans to install nuclear missiles in Cuba by threatening to start World War III. Had he done so, that, too, would have been a tragic error and a crime as well.

Fortunately, the USSR backed down and canceled its plans for installing its missiles so close to the U.S. (Also because the U.S. dismantled its missile site in Turkey.)

But NATO refuses to back down. It is beating the war drums, supposedly to help Ukraine reconquer Donbass and Crimea in the name of sovereignty (in reality, to be able to go ahead and install its missiles there).

In other words, NATO (i.e., Wall Street) wants to be able to hold a knife to Russia's throat, because this would force Russia to capitulate to EVERYTHING, or risk annihilation. Everything includes reinstating another Eltsin, to give away the countrys vast energy resources, grain production, etc.

So what would YOU do if you were in a situation like that? What would YOU do if you were Russia?

(1.) You couldn't just stand there with a knife to your throat. And yet (2.) it would be a bad idea to react by attacking, because that would only make things worse.

Isn't there some third way out?

That's what the rally tomorrow will be saying. There IS a third way out. And, in the case of Ukraine, it's not to tell Putin to back down, since he can't: that would spell suicide not only for him but for his country as well.

The third way out is to tell NATO to back down, since it can and should.

NATO doesn't need to install its missiles on Russia's border with Ukraine, where they would be unstoppable. They're enough of a deterrent where they are now.

In addition, we know (from the offer to negotiate that Russia made BEFORE the invasion, in December 2021) that Putin will accept to make concessions. So letting Ukraine continue to stay out of NATO would not be a one-way street, NATO would get something in return (like the deal Kennedy brokered in 1962).

But isnt it Ukraines right to join NATO if it wants? people often ask. No, it isnt. Ones rights end where they infringe on the rights of others. Your neighbor can store whatever he wants next to your house, but not bombs, since they endanger you. So Ukraine has no right to join NATO just as Mexico has no right to join Moscows version of NATO (the CSTO) and let Russia install missiles on the U.S.-Mexico border. That would be unduly endangering a neighbor.

In other words, telling NATO to back down is not surrendering. NATO shouldn't have begun the provocation in the first place. It's simply "resetting" things back to where they were.

What all this means, then, is that there IS a possibility for peace and it lies in OUR hands. Because only WE can stop NATOs (i.e., Wall Streets) quest for ever more territory to put under its control.

Russia can't stop NATO, as we can see. China refuses to take sides. Europe either looks the other way (Austria, Ireland, etc.) or backs NATO by supplying weapons to feed the war in Ukraine (Italy, France, etc.).

An anti-war demonstration in Times Square, New York City Author: Tasnim News Agency Source: Fonte: https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2022/02/06/2657767/dozens-in-nyc-dc-protest-against-us-nato-war-mongering-video Close That is the ONLY road to peace.

To get back to our analogy, if you were Russia and a bully (NATO) puts a knife to your throat, your reaction should NOT be to attack him: that will only make things worse. The events in Ukraine demonstrate this.

Your reaction should be to call for help. To count on people around you stopping the bully. In the case of Russia, it should have called on the UN General Assembly.

What if no one intervenes? What if everyone refuses to take sides and looks the other way? What if the only person around is powerless to act to save you (like, in the case of Russia, the UN General Assembly: it has no power to stop NATO expansion).

Then you're doomed. But you would probably be doomed anyway if you chose to attack an armed aggressor. So you're better off at least attempting to call for help. Russia should have at least tried to get the UN to tell NATO to stop bullying it by expanding eastward.

Of course, if you had taken judo or other self defense courses, you might be able to disarm your assailant. Thus you would respond to violence, not with even greater violence, but by unbalancing your assailant using his impetus.

That's undoubtedly what Putin thought he could do. So he called his attack, not a war, but "a special operation" to disarm Ukraine, followed by an American-style regime change (i.e., bringing a friendly regime to power) to make sure it stayed disarmed. Putin apparently thought NATOs insistent eastward impetus had overstretched it.

He was wrong. NATO had armed Ukraine so heavily and accurately from 2014 to 2022, that the Ukrainians were able to stop the Russian army in its tracks, retake parts of Donbass and start to attack Crimea and even Russia itself. Things just got worse for Russia.

Which means, in our analogy, that even if you (as Putin) did take judo courses and felt you could disarm any assailant (in this case, NATO-backed Ukraine), you might discover that your assailant was better prepared than you thought, a judo expert able to counter your moves and then knife you.

So even if you had studied judo, you'd be better off first calling for help. And resorting to judo only if no one responded. Thats what Putin should have done. Instead, he attacked. And now hes paying for it.

The problem is, the poor Ukrainians are paying for it, too, and are calling out to us for help. And we SHOULD help them.

But help does not mean sending more arms.

In other words, we should not be listening to the propagandized Ukrainians who repeat the Pentagon line "More and more arms, i.e. the ones who think they are getting themselves killed for democracy while in reality it is to let NATO test its new weapons and deplete Russias.

We should be listening to the OTHER Ukrainians, the ones the "democratic" government has not yet killed or put in jail for having called for peace. The ones who want Ukraine to stay out of NATO, in order to guarantee that peace.

(Our media don't mention it, but Ukraine has killed or "disappeared" 80 bloggers and journalists who dared to ask for peace and neutrality, calling them traitors. )

We should be listening to THEM, the brave Ukrainians not yet "disappeared", instead of the Pentagon stooges we see on TV all the time.

So the rally in Times Square today is a rally with a slogan that all of us can endorse along with all the peace loving Ukrainians not yet silenced by their government.

And that is:

NATO EXPANSION -- NO!

PEACE IN UKRAINE -- YES!

Let us do what the UN should do but is powerless to do, which is to stop NATO expansion eastward and thus bring peace to Ukraine.

We the people have the power.

U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome

.
File photo: Residents in Jinan, Shandong province, buy fireworks at an authorized booth. Zhang Yong / China News Service



On the eve of Spring Festival, on Jan 30 last year, Jishuitan Hospital in Beijing, which specializes in treating burns and external injuries, received just two patients with burn injuries from firecrackers, a huge drop from 25 in 2021.

Of course, it was because in 2022 Beijing prohibited firecrackers during Spring Festival. While reducing noise pollution, the move also saved people from injuries.

It is heartening to see the Beijing municipal government's recent announcement about continuing the policy in 2023. When it comes to securing people's lives and health, a ban on firecrackers is never too tight.

Besides health, there are several other reasons why the ban is worth supporting. As a city with a 3,000-year history that served as capital under five dynasties, Beijing has a large number of ancient buildings. Firecrackers pose a big challenge to these buildings, and banning them is one way of protecting the capital's architectural heritage.

Besides, Beijing has finally improved its air quality, getting rid of the heavy smog, thanks to efforts from all sides, factories included. There is no reason to allow firecrackers to bring the smog back.

On Sunday, Dongying in Shandong province, Dalian in Liaoning province and Yanchuan in Shaanxi province announced that firecrackers will be allowed in certain areas during the festival, but then the conditions there are different. Dongying, for example, has a small population and it will be possible to minimize the danger from firecrackers.

Therefore, the policy allowing each city to make its own decisions is suitable. However, it should be noted that persuasion is an important part of the policy-making process, and that municipal governments need to explain their decision to the public. However, those breaking rules by burning firecrackers at the wrong place or time should be punished.
Joining the action with 47,000 in the pot. Christopher Johnson was in middle position against Lee French in the small blind.

The board read and French bet 45,000. Johnson called.

The river came the and French moved all in for 118,500. Johnson through in all his time cards into the middle as he went into the tank. With a few seconds left Johnson called. French turned over for a rivered full house while Johnson was disappointed as he turned over for a rivered two pair as the chips went to French.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to occasional showers during the afternoon. High 77F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. Low 61F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
A Yellowstone County jury convicted a man of grooming and sexually abusing a teenage girl earlier this week.

Following a two-day trial that concluded January 10, the jury found Eric Joe Jaynes guilty of two counts of child sex abuse and one count of sexual assault.

Prosecutors alleged Jaynes, 40, coerced a girl into sex in 2021, exchanging hundreds of messages with her. In June of that year, court documents said, he met with the girl and sexually assaulted her.

Jaynes was initially charged in February 2022 with one count of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual abuse of children before prosecutors amended those charges in late December. He entered Yellowstone County Detention Facility on Feb. 24, 2022, and has remained in custody on a $105,000 bond since.

The trial began January 9, with prosecutors Sarah Hyde and John Ryan calling on Yellowstone County investigators to testify. Tyler Dugger represented Jaynes, and District Judge Jessica Fehr presided over the trial. The jury reached their verdict after about three hours, according to court documents.

Judge Fehr ordered Jaynes to remain in custody following the guilty verdict. His sentencing will be held after he undergoes a pscho/sexual evaluation. For all three counts, Jaynes faces four years to a lifetime in prison and fines up to $50,000.

On Friday, a Billings man pleaded not guilty in Yellowstone County District Court to allegations of raping a teenage girl. Tyson Lee Garza, 39, is facing one count of sexual intercourse without consent. Garza is accused attacking a 15-year-old girl in the parking lot of a Walmart in Billings on December 30. Billings police arrested Gaza 11 days later.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, which can connect survivors to confidential support and referrals, with dozens of programs for survivors available in Montana. The National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at (800) 656 4673. The Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence has a directory for victim services in the state at mcadsv.com/victim-service-programs-by-region/.
NORTH AUGUSTA  One of Aiken County's most ardent animal advocates is being remembered by family and friends this week, with a legacy that includes the establishment of rescue organization Molly's Militia.

Lifelong North Augusta resident Elaine Crawford van der Linden died Thursday, known largely for her years as an advocate for the adoption of dogs and cats, in partnership with local shelters. She was 73.

The organization that she established in 1999 "is committed to seeking out those animals that just need a little TLC before moving on to their forever homes," according to its website.

A visitation in her honor is set for Monday from 4 to 6 p.m. at Posey Funeral Directors, in North Augusta.

The "Molly" in this case was one of van der Linden's pets  a cocker spaniel (and former "pound puppy" in dire straits) who died of cancer in 2004.

Debbie Rhodes, who succeeded van der Linden as director of Molly's Militia, recalled "her passion for animals and her family," including her husband, Jan, who recently reached age 99.

"You can hardly talk about Elaine without talking about her husband. They were always together and just shared everything together. He was just as involved in the rescue as she was, and just as passionate about it. They were always supportive of one another."

Another of van der Linden's neighbors noted, "I will say she did make a difference in North Augusta when she started Mollys Militia. Many organizations start and stop within a few years. They expect veterinarians to do everything for free. She stuck through the hard times."

Donna Hasty, operations coordinator for Molly's Militia, also shared some thoughts, recalling that she met van der Linden in 2001, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when Hasty was a Girl Scout leader helping her group search for a service project to pursue.

"She's been a great friend, and we were very close and ... spent a lot of time together as a part of Molly's Militia, rescuing dogs," Hasty said.

"Elaine was a big activist. Whatever she believed in, she went after it," she added, noting that Molly's Militia was founded due to van der Linden's intense desire to improve the conditions at the animal shelter in Richmond County, Georgia.

"It was the old shelter, at the time, not like the one they have now. She just became an activist. She was of that generation."

Van der Linden's acquaintances in Aiken included the late Carl Langley, a longtime local newspaper reporter and columnist whose household included several pets and whose obituary included an invitation for memorial donations to be made to Molly's Militia.
COLUMBIA  What happened in Congress when a far-right cadre of Republicans upended the House speaker's vote could soon be a model for ultra conservatives in South Carolina who believe this ruby-red state is still too liberal.

Leaders of the S.C. Freedom Caucus say what unfolded on Capitol Hill is a blueprint for driving the House GOP agenda further right on guns, taxes and electing judges, among other hot-button targets.

"This was a good thing that happened in Washington," state Rep. R.J. May, R-Lexington, said of the U.S. House Freedom Caucus' ability to force rule changes by challenging eventual House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

It took 15 ballots over four days for the California Republican to squeak out enough votes Jan. 7 to be speaker as the chaos played out publicly on TV.

"We would characterize that as an outstanding display of how our republic is supposed to work," May said, adding, "I believe that's a model to emulate."

Judging success

Whether the South Carolina version is strong enough to get its way remains unclear. The November elections gave House Republicans an 88-36 supermajority advantage over Democrats, so the 20 members the Freedom Caucus counts can't change or strike proposals on their own.

But they can force roll call votes  public tallies displayed on screens and added to the permanent record  to pressure more Republicans to support their amendments.

"What happens here everyone should see," May said. "Every vote should be on the board."

The tactics will prove a test for new S.C. House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, who has repeatedly stressed how Columbia, where legislators generally pride themselves on being able to disagree agreeably, is the antithesis of Washington.

He intends to keep it that way, pledging to "enforce respect and decorum" while letting all lawmakers have their say.

"All of us have a right to be heard and espouse their position," Smith said. "There's a lot of focus on division. I think we have a lot of unity within our (larger GOP) caucus."

Smith points out that much of the priority lists for the House GOP caucus and the Freedom Caucus faction are the same. But May contends issues like vouchers for private K-12 schooling, a near-total ban on abortions and constitutional carry  which means removing the permit requirement to carry handguns  should already be law in a state where Republicans have controlled the House since 1994 and both chambers since 2020.

"We seek to end politics as usual in South Carolina, which under 30 years of Republican control has got us the most liberal Republican-controlled state in the nation," May said. "People think South Carolina is deep red and conservative. The people who vote are, but the folks in Columbia are not."

How it started

The South Carolina Freedom Caucus launched last April with 14 House Republicans and has since grown to 20  though all freshmen are "transitional" members. They'll stay on probationary status through the 2023 session while they prove their votes meet the caucus' definition of conservative.

The kickoff came with some big names on board: U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman of Rock Hill  among the Republicans who opposed McCarthy until the 12th round  and Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff and co-founder of the Freedom Caucus, both showed up for the announcement in the Statehouse.

May, who used to work for Norman, already had the reputation as a MAGA conservative in the vein of President Donald Trump. In March 2021, as a freshman, he filed a bill allowing Trump to be buried on Statehouse grounds. It was in response to a bill Democrats introduced in Congress meant to prevent federal funds from being used for the burial of any former president who has been impeached twice by the U.S. House.

As expected, May's bill went nowhere. But it did get lots of attention.

In the last few months, the Freedom Caucus made headlines by suing the Lexington One and Charleston County school districts over disputed claims their teachers are illegally trained on so-called "critical race theory." The group's public records request also led to the Medical University of South Carolina confirming it no longer provided hormone therapy for transgender children, which May announced as a huge win for both the caucus and "childhood innocence."

The group intends to push harder on that front this session, with bills that prohibit race-centric lessons in schools and bar gender transition surgery for minors.

But the lawsuits and MUSC announcement are examples of how the caucus can be effective even without legislative wins, said Andy Roth, president of the Washington-based State Freedom Caucus Network, which supports chapters in 10 states so far.

"The FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to MUSC didn't require filing a bill. It didn't require taking votes. It just required organization and conservative lawmakers coming together," Roth said. "We tell our members that a successful Freedom Caucus pushes for conservative policies, and they're loud about it."

GOP vs. GOP

May, who makes his living running political campaigns for Republicans who match his ideology, has drawn the ire of the chamber's larger GOP caucus for managing a challenge to a fellow House Republican during last June's primaries. GOP leaders don't want a repeat.

"It obviously ought to be frowned upon," said House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens, who declined to discuss specifics. "What's said in that (GOP) caucus room ought to be confidential, and what's said in that caucus room ought to stay in that caucus room."

May is pushing back against what he sees as unfair targeting that restricts his livelihood, when nearly all legislators have jobs outside the Statehouse unless they're retired.

"What other professions are we going to regulate?" he asked. "If we're going to regulate professions, the first one we should do are lawyer-legislators who vote for the judges in which they argue in front of, which is an inherent conflict of interest. But that's not something they want to talk about."

Changing how judges are elected in South Carolina is another item on the Freedom Caucus to-do list.

Other items on the caucus' smorgasbord of priorities would end earmarks in the state budget, close primaries to voters registered by party, bar China from buying large tracts in South Carolina, give divorced parents equal custody time of their children, allow gold and silver coins to be used as currency, repeal the state income tax and limit the federal government's ability to call up the S.C. National Guard.

High on the list is constitutional carry, which has become a conservative litmus test of sorts. The proposal passed the House and died in the Senate two years ago, when Republicans in both chambers instead passed a law allowing people with a concealed weapon permit to carry their handguns openly.

Republicans not in the Freedom Caucus point to the 2021 debate as an example of unwelcome Washington-like politics, with amendments becoming so-called gotcha fodder for future campaigns that pit Republicans against Republicans.

"What I don't like is when people set up a trap vote on the board against me," said House Ethics Chairman Jay Jordan of Florence, adding that votes on amendments during a debate can be misconstrued. "That's the underlying problem."

That, he said, is the type of thing House Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope was referencing during last month's organizational session when the York Republican told the chamber to put the campaign season and politicking aside to focus on governing for the good of South Carolina.

"When we have a tough issue and you stand up and take a picture of the (roll call vote) board, are you doing that to celebrate success or are you doing that to set yourself apart of how much more pure" you are on ideology? Pope asked. "You need to search your heart and think: Are we here to combat each other, or are we here to represent the state?"

Freedom Caucus members heard that as leadership trying to block voters from seeing how legislators vote. May called it anti-transparency and "very disturbing."

Pope said he didn't mean that at all, nor was he singling out Freedom Caucus members.

A comment meant to provoke thought about motivations "got transmuted into 'Pope's against sunshine and openness,'" Pope said. "The world, starting with Washington, that we've resisted as long as we could in Columbia is all about the soundbite instead of the substance.

"If we could take a breath and take a step back and quit worrying about who got the credit and how I got a gotcha moment with you and instead do the people's work," he continued, "then you would find out the lion's share of the time we agree with each other on most issues on our side of the aisle and, truthfully, often times across the aisle."
MOUNT PLEASANT  Most of the 30 volunteers who work at the 130-bed, for-profit East Cooper Medical Center spend their days assisting surgical patients  the scope of their duties extending far beyond those of candy stripers, baby cuddlers and gift shop clerks.

In fact, one-third of the volunteers at the Tenet Healthcare-owned hospital are retired nurses who check people in for surgery or escort patients to a preoperative room, said Jan Ledbetter, president of the hospitals nonprofit Volunteer Services Organization. Others relay important information from hospital staffers to expectant families. Theyre kept extremely busy, Ledbetter said. We need to have four of those volunteers a day.

At hospitals across the U.S., volunteers play an integral role. So much so that when volunteers were barred from East Cooper at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, staff nurses assumed the volunteers duties in the surgical waiting room. Like paid employees, hospital volunteers typically face mandatory vaccine requirements, background checks and patient privacy training. And their duties often entail working in regular shifts.

At HCA Healthcare, the worlds largest for-profit hospital system, volunteers include aspiring medical providers who work in patient rooms, in labs and in wound care units, according to the companys magazine.

Over centuries, leaning on volunteers in medicine has become so embedded in hospital culture that studies show they yield meaningful cost savings and can improve patient satisfaction  seemingly a win-win for hospital systems and the public.

Except, theres a catch.

The U.S. health system benefits from potentially more than $5 billion in free volunteer labor annually, a KHN analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Independent Sector found. Yet some labor experts argue that using hospital volunteers, particularly at for-profit institutions, provides an opportunity for facilities to run afoul of federal rules, create exploitative arrangements and deprive employees of paid work amid a larger fight for fair wages.

The federal government instructs that any person performing a task of consequential economic benefit for a for-profit entity is entitled to wages and overtime pay. That means profit-generating businesses, like banks and grocery stores, must pay for labor. A Chick-fil-A franchise in North Carolina was recently found guilty of violating minimum wage laws after paying people in meal vouchers instead of wages to direct traffic, according to a Department of Labor citation.

Still, volunteer labor at for-profit hospitals is commonplace and unchecked.

The rules are pretty clear, and yet it happens all the time, said Marcia McCormick, a lawyer who co-directs the Wefel Center for Employment Law at Saint Louis University. Its a confusing state of affairs.

In a statement, HCA spokesperson Harlow Sumerford said coordinators oversee hospital volunteers to ensure they are participating in appropriate activities, such as greeting and assisting visitors. Tenet Health spokesperson Valerie Burrow did not respond to a question about how the company ensures that its volunteer activities comply with federal labor laws.

Ben Teicher, a spokesperson for the American Hospital Association, whose members include more than 6,000 nonprofit, for-profit and government hospitals, did not respond to a question about whether the organization offers guidance to hospitals regarding the legal uses of volunteers.

Meanwhile, the pandemic made the importance of hospital volunteers more apparent. In March 2020, volunteer programs nationwide were largely disbanded, and the volunteers roles were filled by staff members  or left unfilled  when hospitals closed their doors to everyone except employees, patients and a few visitors. Volunteers were welcomed back once vaccines became widely available, but many didnt return.

Weve lost so many volunteers, said Ledbetter, who runs the volunteer group at East Cooper Medical Center. They found something else to do.

On Hilton Head Island, Vicki Gorbett, president of the islands hospital auxiliary, estimated 60 percent of the groups volunteers who left during the pandemic havent returned. Much larger hospital systems, some of which boast hundreds or thousands of volunteers, have been affected, too.

Were building back from the absolute bottom, said Kelly Hedges, who manages volunteers at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Hedges was furloughed for the better part of six months when hospital volunteers were sent home in March 2020. She estimates there are about 600 volunteers at MUSCs hospital campus in Charleston now, down from 700 before the pandemic.

During a labor crisis, this is a department you want in operation, she said.

While hospital volunteer programs reboot across the country, labor experts say using volunteers may expose some medical facilities to liability.

The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits employees  defined broadly as people an employer requires or allows to work  from volunteering their time to for-profit private employers. The same law also requires these employees to be paid no less than the federal minimum wage.

These regulations make it very, very difficult for a volunteer to donate time to a for-profit hospital, explained Jenna Bedsole, an employment attorney in Birmingham, Ala.

The right to be paid isnt waivable, McCormick said, meaning that even those volunteers who dont consider themselves employed may be entitled to compensation. However, the U.S. Department of Labor is stretched pretty thin and doesnt enforce the rules that apply to for-profit companies, except in extreme circumstances, she said.

She cited a court ruling in 2017 that found people who volunteered at consignment events for Rhea Lana  a for-profit company that organizes the resale of childrens clothing  were employees who should be paid.

But in most cases, McCormick said, it is difficult to determine the outcome of enforcement actions against for-profit companies.

The Department of Labor sends a letter to the putative employer warning them that it thinks the FLSA is being violated, she said, and it may not take any other action. And it only issues news releases for big cases.

Companies are more likely to be targeted for the inappropriate use of unpaid interns, she said.

But this isnt to say that, in some cases, individuals cant donate their time in a for-profit setting. In a for-profit nursing home, the federal government has said, people may volunteer without pay if theyre attending to the comfort of nursing home residents in a manner not otherwise provided by the facility. That might include reading to a resident, for example.

One-off charitable opportunities are also possible. A choir group could host a concert in a hospital lobby without violating the law, or a community organization could serve hospital staffers an appreciation lunch.

Beyond that, for-profit hospitals potentially expose themselves to risk of civil liability, Bedsole said, which could add up in terms of back pay due to employees, fines and legal fees. If hospital volunteers provide essential services, there is a danger they could be held liable, she said.

Nonprofit hospitals must follow federal labor laws, too.

At the small, nonprofit Baptist Memorial Hospital-Leake in Carthage, Miss., the coordinator of volunteers, Michelle McCann, cant use a volunteer in any role that matches an employees job description. She said shes also prohibited from asking a hospital employee who is off the clock to volunteer their time for a job similar to their own.

Wed have to pay them for the hours, said McCann, national president of the Society of Healthcare Volunteer Leaders.

Nonprofit hospitals are required to provide a benefit to their communities, such as offering charity care, in exchange for their special tax status. But when it comes to making money, the differences between for-profit and nonprofit hospitals are often negligible to the casual observer, said Femida Handy, a professor of social policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

When you go to the hospital, do you ask for the tax status? she asked.

Sam Fankuchen, CEO of Golden, a company that develops software used to organize volunteer labor, said the pandemic hastened a change in public opinion. Just because an organization is nonprofit, it doesnt necessarily mean theyre 100 percent dedicated to the greater good, he said. Some nonprofits are better run than others.

Most volunteers are simply trying to figure out how and where they can help in the best possible way, he said.

The consideration about the tax structure is secondary, said Fankuchen, whose software is used by hospitals and other businesses. The big picture is that hospitals exist to deliver care. I think its reasonable that they have volunteer programs.

Jay Johnson, support services manager at Trident Medical Center in North Charleston, coordinates roughly 50 volunteers who contribute an estimated 133,000 hours annually to the for-profit hospital, which is owned by HCA Healthcare.

Tridents volunteers are widely beloved by the staff, he said.

We actually had a ceremony for them when they came back when restrictions loosened, Johnson said. Beyond that, volunteers benefit from premium parking spaces and free lunches to really make sure theyre appreciated, he said.

Trident volunteers are required to be vaccinated and undergo a background check. Then they are assigned to the areas that best match their interests.

Breast cancer survivor Pat LoPresti for example, volunteers in Tridents Breast Care Center. Volunteering provides a sense of purpose and an opportunity to socialize, said LoPresti, a retiree who met her husband, another volunteer, while volunteering at the hospital.

I started volunteering there because they could use me, LoPresti said. Its such a privilege to help people in a time when they need it.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning. Increasing clouds with periods of showers this afternoon. High near 75F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. Low 64F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
The Charleston region is prospering by many measures  including rising property values, new industries and healthy tourism. But it will be important for city and county leaders to make strides in addressing challenges that accompany that success, such as rising housing costs, congested roads and the loss of rural land.

Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties have new leaders, and both Berkeley and Dorchester have encouraging new mandates to address roads and land conservation. The two largest cities, Charleston and North Charleston, face elections in November for mayor and many council seats, a reality that could limit bold new action.

Nevertheless, our future prosperity and quality of life hinge on continued progress on a host of familiar issues, from creating more affordable housing and reducing flooding to using land wisely, keeping our communities safe, improving our transportation networks and making fiscally sound decisions so we have the resources to get those jobs done.

Improving resiliency

During the past decade, the coastal region has become more attuned than ever to the risks posed by our warming planet, in particular more frequent hurricanes, heavier rains and rising seas. The Lowcountry has always flooded, but that fact cannot and must not lead to inaction.

We need better drainage systems and a greater ability to protect ourselves from severe storms and sea level rise. The city of Charleston and the Army Corps of Engineers need to make progress on their $1.1 billion plan to build a barrier along the historic peninsulas edge; we hope they strike a deal this year to proceed with a detailed design, a crucial step toward understanding whether this will be something the city wants to pay for. No one will accept a concrete wall ringing downtown, no matter how tall. We believe there are options to make this new barrier an attractive, positive feature, but only after completing the next phase, known as preliminary engineering and design, will we know for sure.

But the peninsula is not the only area that needs attention. Other ongoing drainage upgrades in West Ashley, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant need to remain on schedule, and all coastal governments should follow Charlestons lead and consider a more difficult, long-term step: revising zoning to reflect the elevation of properties, a move to allow more density where flooding is least likely and relatively less building on our lowest-lying spots.

Housing affordability

If anything is rising to compete with flooding as the regions No. 1 concern, it may be the lack of affordable places to live. The growing popularity of the Charleston region has had a dramatic downside, as newcomers  many of whom have come from more affluent communities  have relocated here and helped bid up the prices of homes. Not only are home prices rapidly outpacing growth in local wages, but rental rates are, too. The pandemic led to a great expansion of working from home, and many of these workers have opted to relocate to communities along the Southeastern coast.

This trend has packed a particular punch to teachers, police officers, restaurant workers and other in-person employees who have an ever more challenging time finding a suitable home near their job.

Local governments must respond to this affordability crunch in several ways, including subsidizing new, affordable housing construction, whether its to be rented or sold. The city of Charleston has led local initiatives along these lines with two bond issues, but were disappointed at the lack of progress Charleston County Council has made. We urge county officials to devise a strategy for supporting more housing construction, and not just on the county-owned property at 995 Morrison Drive.

All cities and counties also should look at their zoning policies to ensure they are not overly restrictive or burdensome for new housing developers. While zoning certainly should help preserve the character of neighborhoods from unwanted change, unnecessary bureaucratic rules can drive up costs.

Managing growth

We also must be careful about where we build. Allowing valuable farmland, scenic viewsheds and rural historical sites to be lost or eroded by new subdivisions ultimately would erode our regions special sense of place.

So we not only need good planning and zoning to guide development toward the most appropriate places, especially those where infrastructure already exists, but we need to be proactive as well about protecting and conserving the rural lands we value most. Charleston and Beaufort counties have been leaders in this area, with a local stream of funding to complement state, federal and nonprofit conservation dollars.

This year, Berkeley and Dorchester counties will join them, with a small portion of their newly extended sales taxes going toward purchasing green space. Its vital that officials in these counties make plans to allocate that money as wisely as possible, not only by protecting the most cherished places, ideally for some public use, but also by stretching those dollars with outside grants and other contributions. As these two counties undergo a dramatic shift to more urbanized areas, they must ensure that they preserve the scenic, environmentally significant and historic places that matter most.

Getting around

Those who have lived in and around Charleston for years know were adding residents faster than our road system can handle them, so congestion and delays  particularly after the pandemic receded  remain a major headache for many residents.

This problem is shared across our increasingly connected region, so planning should have a regional perspective. And while its important that well-vetted road projects proceed in a timely way, city and county leaders also should recognize when building or dramatically widening a road is not the right thing to do, whether its the now-defunct plan to widen S.C. Highway 41 to five lanes through East Coopers Phillips Community or the exorbitantly costly ($2.2 billion and counting) plan to connect Interstate 526 from West Ashley to the James Island connector.

Smaller projects, such as completing the access roads north and south of Maybank Highway from the Stono River to River Road, are more affordable, less controversial and quicker solutions. And the region must continue to make progress on a new bus rapid transit line along Rivers Avenue, a potentially game-changing public transportation initiative that cleared a major hurdle last year. We also must work harder to make our local streets and bridges safer places to walk and bike.

Budget discipline

Many public officials would argue theres no more important part of their job than keeping their city or county safe, and we certainly agree. But their main challenge in doing that is also their main challenge in ensuring that other local government functions  such as sanitation, planning and zoning and clearing ditches  work as they should: hiring and retaining the necessary employees.

Local governments across the Charleston region have experienced greater difficulties in filling vacant positions, a national trend that some have called a little-noticed, slow-moving crisis. The problem might be worse here, given our housing affordability crunch. As city and county officials set their budgets this year  or consider mid-year adjustments  they should take a fiscally conservative approach that closely scrutinizes any new spending proposals and prioritizes raises and other salary adjustments needed to reduce turnover and fill vital positions.

Redeveloping smartly

Decisions made in council chambers this year promise to reverberate across future generations, as a few local governments have special opportunities to redevelop prime real estate that has been underused for decades. Enthusiastic public participation will be vital to those decisions.

The most-mentioned project along these lines is Union Pier, an approximately 70-acre parcel the State Ports Authority owns along the Cooper River, just north of Joe Riley Waterfront Park. Charleston City Council soon is expected to consider a master plan for its redevelopment, and residents and city officials must get the details right, including the sites envisioned uses and types of buildings as well as how it all will be paid for.

North Charleston also has an exciting opportunity as Congress recently agreed to let Joint Base Charleston talk with the city about redeveloping a large chunk of warehouses between Avenue B and the Cooper River just north of Noisette Creek and the citys Riverfront Park. We hope to see progress as well on the conversion of the former Piggly Wiggly site in West Ashley, an important focal point in Charlestons largest suburb. Other cities and towns should seize similar, if smaller-scale opportunities to move ahead with new parks or public spaces that will make their communities more livable in the years to come.
LANDRUM  A new railway museum housed in an 85-foot Pullman rail car near North Trade Avenue is scheduled to open in Landrum in northern Spartanburg County by end of summer 2023.

The rail car was delivered in August 2018 from Nashville with plans to renovate it into a museum.

After arriving at North Trade Avenue, the rail car was moved next to the Historic Landrum Depot built in 1877 along with the railroad line that runs along Highway 176.

Ken Ossting purchased the rail car named the Pacolet River in the 1990s and donated it to Landrum for use as a museum.

The project includes building a platform at the rail car and interior renovations.

In December 2022, Landrum City Council agreed to award a contract to MADCO Contracting for $100,743 to build the platform.

"The platform's construction will begin in about two weeks," City Administrator Rich Caplan told The Post and Courier. "We hope to open the museum by the end of the summer. We are excited and look forward to adding and preserving local history and giving visitors to Landrum another interesting experience."

The rail car was operated by Southern Railways and passed through Landrum when it was still used a passenger railcar.

A museum committee was formed by the city to develop the project. The museum will be called the Landrum Rail and History Museum.

Built in 1949, the rail car went into service on trains between New Orleans and New York. The rail car's 800-square-foot interior space will feature information on the city's transportation and agricultural history.

"The first thing we have to do is establish the platform and then start working on the outside of it," Mayor Bob Briggs said. "We will retain the original look of the rail car."

Briggs said the interior renovations will be done in two phases. The first phase will include installing new floors and walls. The second phase will be the installation of exhibits inside the rail car.

Volunteers will help operate the museum once it opens with state and federal grant funding being used for the project.
Feeling a little stir crazy from being pent up during the coldest December in decades, and eager to walk off a glut of holiday roasts and sweet rolls, I decided on two days of long hikes in rough country.

Unwilling to wait until spring for the mountains to clear, I instead drove a couple hours east from Billings to the Terry Badlands. Id hiked there several times in the summer, but never in winter.

This swath of BLM land spans about 45,000 acres sprawling north along the Yellowstone River, part of it now a Wilderness Study Area. The trails loop through low bare hills banded in colors from gray to purple, orange to ochre, and this time of year lots of white. There are a few rough campgrounds that even in peak summer months are never crowded. But, in the first week of January its still far too cold to even consider a campout.

Instead, I booked a room in the 120-year-old Kempton Hotel, where the clock stopped ticking in about 1965. Theres still a payphone in the lobby.

The most popular hike in the Badlands is the Natural Bridges trail, which gains about 350 feet in just less than four miles. Getting to the trail is half the adventure. The dirt road leading to the trailhead crosses the Yellowstone River on a narrow, one-lane bridge converted from an abandoned rail line. The bridge is essentially planks here and there on top of the original wooden rail ties, worn by ranch traffic and deeply pitted for a bumpy, teeth-rattling ride. It doesnt help that you can see the river passing far below through the spaces between ties.

Sheridan Butte is also worth a look. In the 1880s, U.S. Army troops passing through left behind their names and other graffiti scratched in the rock.

In the summer, visitors have spotted mule deer, elk, pronghorn and even bighorn sheep. I bumped into a guy in town named Gary Stonegarten who swears he once saw a mountain lion in the breaks. It crossed the trail in front of him as he was walking back after dark to his campsite. He was carrying a flashlight and shined it on the big cat, its eyes glowing like lasers before it vanished.

Stone is a pharmaceutical rep from Bismarck, passing through Terry on his way to check in with Spokane colleagues. On his long sales trips, he often stops in places like the Badlands for a head-clearing hike before getting back in his car. In good weather, he camps when he can, pocketing his companys hotel per diem.

In the wintertime, the hikes into the Badlands are a little trickier, he warns me. Even if the hills seem bare of snow, drifts pile up in the bottoms and in shady spots, and the dirt roads leading to the trailheads can be impassable.

Thats what I discover as I try for the Scenic View Overlook trail. Normally, you can drive to the overlook and walk from there, but I found the road covered in snow and undrivable in my little car. The worst drifts in the road, however, had been broken through by ranch trucks that left deep ruts I could walk along.

I set off on a clear 30-degree Saturday morning. The big game seen in summer are hunkered down, tucked unseen in their hiding places. I see a few mouse and rabbit tracks in the hard snow, and deer scat. On a sun-warmed bare hill where I sit for some lunch, geese fly overhead in their formations, low enough to hear the whoosh of their wings. After they pass, all is silent and still.

On the walk back, a lonely rancher rattles up in a battered four-wheel drive truck, four dogs yapping so loudly in the back he has to repeat his question several times before I catch what hes asking. I tell him Im fine, just out for a hike. He tells me each of the dogs names, their breeds, their genealogies, and then he tells me the name of each dog hes ever owned, all the way back to Archie, a useless, mixed-breed spaniel who just wandered onto his property one day and stayed.

Ive never paid a dime for a dog. I just seem to attract every stray and mutt who doesnt have anywhere else to go, he said.

He offers me a ride, but I decline, fearing hell tell me more of the complete history of dogs.

On Sunday morning its much colder, closer to 10 degrees as I trudge between the Yellowstone River and some low bluffs that as the sun rises glow a brilliant orange. The prairie grass is coated in jackets of frost, and the snow is stiff enough to walk on. When possible, I follow game trails through the snow and walk ridgelines where the wind has cleared the route.

Kempton Hotel

At the Kempton Hotel, Im greeted by the owner, 74-year-old Russ Schwartz. He bought the hotel back in 1988 to have something for his retired parents to do. It was in poor shape then, and he fixed it up, adding a nearby RV park.

Although the hotel has its busy times, especially during hunting season and rodeos, Schwartz says hes never really made any money at it.

Some things are just worth more than money, he said.

The walls of the Kempton lobby are covered in the photos of long-ago cowboys and pioneers. In one photo, Wild Bill Cody in his knee-high boots sits astride his horse. In other photos there are cowboys airborne over bucking horses and lots of cattle are being roped and bulldogged and branded. Antique saddles line the staircase banister. And, although its past Christmas, the holiday decorations are still up.

The old-fashioned decor is a bit of an illusion. The rooms are clean and newly remodeled. And, there is wifi.

Big rooms are about $95, and there are suites for families that run a little more. There are also cheaper $65 single rooms with only a bed and pedestal sink. The shower and the toilet are down the hall.

I share my room with a ghost, a nurse who died during the Great Pandemic of 1918 while tending influenza patients who were bunking in the hotels attic after the nearby hospital filled up.

The hotel was built in 1902 by Bernie Kempton, an Eastern Montana rancher turned roper and trick rider in Wild Bills Wild West Show.

It was built to serve the community, and thats still its purpose. Most travelers on the interstate just keep moving east to Glendive or west to Miles City if they need a room for the night. Those who stay typically have business in town, or got stuck.

We have a deal with the local wrecker company. When someone breaks down on the interstate, the wrecker drops them here, Schwartz said.

And, a lot of people stay out of nostalgia. Schwartz tells the story of an elderly couple who recently had a reunion there with their adult children. The old matron said to her husband, Remember when we stayed here on our honeymoon? He said, I remember, but we werent yet married.

Long, long ago, the famous novelist Theodore Dreiser, author of Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy, stopped by when Bernie Kempton was still running the place. Dreiser and his wife were following the Yellowstone Trail in an open car. They arrived muddy and wet, and Mrs. Dreiser was cold and mad. While Mrs. Dreiser thawed in a warm bath, Theodore and Kempton talked about books.

A few months after their visit, a large wooden crate arrived at the depot for Kempton. The crate was full of books, including signed first editions of Dreisers works.

So, theres some history here, Schwartz said. Ill keep it going as long as Im around. I dont want to be the guy who shuts it down.
At least 18 people were killed and 64 others injured in a deadly Russian missile strike that hit a high-rise apartment block in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday, local authorities said, as Kyiv praised a pledge by Britain to send battle tanks.

Twelve children were among the injured in the strike that destroyed 72 flats, Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, wrote on Telegram, as rescue workers pulled people from the rubble of the partially collapsed building.

More than 1,000 people had to be relocated.

Trapped residents were signalling their location under the debris with their mobile phone torches, according to a spokesperson from the Ukrainian emergency workers.

Recovery efforts were to continue all night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said later in his nightly video address.

The Kyiv city government says work was ongoing to restore power supplies. In all, there were power cuts in six areas of the country.

Earlier, the presidential office in Kyiv released photos and videos of the Dnipro building in ruins.

The head of the office, Andriy Yermak, vented his anger: Russians are terrorists will be punished for everything. Everyone  without exception.

Mr Zelensky condemned the Russian terror. Referring to the rescue operations, he said: We are fighting for every person, for every life.

After isolated Russian missile attacks in the morning, Moscow significantly intensified the shelling of several regions on Saturday, prompting an air raid warning to be issued for the entire country.

Besides Dnipro, other areas hit include Odessa in the south, Kharkiv in the east, Lviv in the west and the capital Kyiv. Civilian infrastructure, including electricity sites, was once again damaged and power outages were reported.

The Ukrainian military said that 25 of 38 Russian missiles were shot down on Saturday.

These were the first major missile attacks since the start of the new year.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian Air Force had warned of possible new attacks, saying numerous long-range Tupolev Tu-95 bombers were in the air.

In addition, Russian warships had taken up positions in the Black Sea, from which missiles were also repeatedly fired.

In his evening address, Mr Zelensky also thanked Britain for being the first country to provide battle tanks for Ukraine after London promised for the first time to supply Kyiv with Challenger 2 battle tanks.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivered the pledge in a conversation with Zelensky.

A British government spokeswoman said Mr Sunak offered the tanks and additional artillery systems as a sign of Londons ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine.

Mr Sunak also welcomed similar announcements of battlefield support for Kyiv, including Polands recent promise to provide a company of Leopard battle tanks.

Heavy battle tanks are considered vital to recapturing occupied territories.

So far, however, Ukraine has received only Soviet-made tanks that were in the inventory of Eastern European NATO countries.

Ukraine has long demanded that Berlin send its Leopard II battle tanks, which are technically superior to Russian tanks.

Zelensky demanded more weapons from the West, saying the Ukrainian army is waiting for them and that they would enable his troops to fight off Russian terror.

The German government, however, has so far refused to give way, despite pressure from Kyiv, NATO allies and members of German Chancellor Olaf Scholzs own three-way coalition.

The German government has long refused to take this step, in the past saying other allies had not handed over modern battle tanks either as well as referring to concerns that NATO could be drawn even deeper into the war.

The new offer from Britain, which came after Warsaws promise and an earlier pledge by France to send light tanks, will once again force Scholz to defend his position.

So far, the farthest Scholz has been willing to go is an agreement to send some 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles. Berlin has also provided heavy tank howitzers and anti-aircraft systems.

Russia holds about 18% of Ukraines territory  including Crimea, which was annexed in 2014  more than 10 months after the beginning of its invasion. Ukraine is almost completely dependent on Western arms supplies.

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In Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said additional members of the British government, representatives of security structures and media had been added to Russias sanctions list because of Londons continuation of an anti-Russian course.

The statement showed 36 names were added to the list that was created in April, including British Foreign Minister James Cleverly and Chief of General Staff Patrick Sanders.

(dpa/NAN)

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Since the first AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) was injected into the arm of a Nigerian man in March 2021, millions of vaccine doses have been administered across the country.

As of 6 January, 59.1 million people have been fully vaccinated in Africas most populous country, raising hopes that the pandemics worst effects may be over. More than 12 million people have been partially vaccinated, according to records from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

NPHCDA said 55.2 per cent of the total eligible population targeted for COVID-19 vaccination are fully vaccinated. In the same vein, 9.3 million persons have taken the booster vaccine across the country.

From the early days of the pandemic, the toughest decisions about how to combat the virus fell on health officials and state leaders. The government, through NPHCDA, with support from partners, implemented strategies ensuring all eligible Nigerians have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

The fight against COVID-19 is not over, Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director of NPHCDA, said on Monday. Three years after the coronavirus emerged, a new variant, XBB.1.5 is quickly becoming the dominant strain in parts of the United States and has been detected in at least 28 other countries.

We are therefore calling on Nigerians to ensure that they take their booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines. Just like the flu vaccine, the COVID-19 vaccines have become routine vaccines that help protect us against this deadly virus, Mr Shuaib said.

Before the new variant arrived, the NPHCDA adopted the integrated approach (SCALE 3.0) which is integrating COVID-19 vaccination with the Non-Polio supplementary immunisation activities (NPSIAs) campaigns, Routine Immunisation (RI) services and Vit A supplementation.

This SCALE 3.0 approach guided the improvement of the COVID-19 vaccine uptake across the country, said Chika Offor, the Chief Executive Officer of Vaccine Network. The numbers are going up because of this integrated approach, she told PREMIUM TIMES, calling on the government to create more awareness of the vaccine in all quarters.

The vaccination gap among states has narrowed, but key differences still exist, illustrating that some states have done better than others.

The top five performing states are Jigawa; Nasarawa; Kaduna; Osun and Kano states. These states have met the 100 per cent targeted population for the COVID-19 vaccination.

Similarly, no less than 10 states (Adamawa, Gombe, Kwara, Plateau, Ekiti, Sokoto, Kebbi, Yobe, Zamfara, and Imo) have reached 50 per cent of the eligible population.

Other states across the country including the FCT have vaccinated between 13 and 46 per cent of their targeted population.

States with highest vaccination

Kano, the second most populous state in the country, has fully vaccinated 7.8 million of its eligible population. Data published by NPHCDA shows that over 3 million people in the state are partially vaccinated. About 1.4 million people have also received the booster dose of vaccines, placing Kano as one of the five top-performing states in the country.

This was followed by Jigawa with 5 million people fully vaccinated. Ondo is behind with 3.4 million; Adamawa with 2.4 million; and Rivers with 2.2 million.

Lagos, Nigerias most populous state and the epicentre of the virus has only vaccinated 2.1 million of its eligible group.

At the other end were Oyo and Osun with 2.08 and 2.07 million fully vaccinated populations respectively. Katsina is behind with 1.96 million; Kwara, 1.94 million; Kaduna, 1.86 million; Yobe, 1.67 million; and Zamfara 1.67 million.

Low performing states

Bayelsa with an estimated 2.5 million people is the state with the least vaccinated population at 194,058. This is followed by Ebonyi with 251,923; Kebbi with 368,036; Ogun with 393,630; and Sokoto with 397,109.

Fully vaccinated populations in Plateau are 529,345, Akwa Ibom 530,893, Delta 591,819, and Edo 634,045.

Concerning the states with low performance, Ms Offor, the Vaccine Network official, noted this has to do with human behaviour.

There are some people that dont believe in the vaccine, she said. Not necessarily that they dont want to take it but they wont go out of their way to take it.

This, she said is why the government should deploy a strategy to take the vaccine campaign to peoples doorsteps. People are getting fatigued about it, some will say they cannot pay for transport to go and get the vaccine but when you take it to their doorsteps, they will collect.

That is why all hands need to be on deck, we must not give up, Ms Offor added. We have to continue creating awareness to increase the vaccine performance, especially in the bottom states.

Vaccination by geopolitical zones

As of 6th January, 18.7 million people have been fully vaccinated in the North-west, making it the region with the highest number of vaccinated population. Data shows that over 5.3 million people are partially vaccinated in the region

The South-west is trailing with 11.6 million of its eligible population fully vaccinated while 1.58 million are partially vaccinated.

More than 10 million people in Nigerias north-east have been fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, 7.8 million people in the countrys north-central have fully received the vaccination while about 1.9 million people are partially vaccinated.

With the exception of Imo, none of the South-east and South-south states vaccinated half of its eligible population. While 5.1 million people have received the two doses of vaccine in the South-south, only 4.5 million people have received the vaccine in full measure in the South-east.

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About 700,000 people are partially vaccinated in the South-east and over 1 million people in the South-south.

In Nigerias capital, Abuja, 788,036 people have been fully vaccinated and 200,121 persons are partially vaccinated.

(This report was produced with the support of the Centre for Democracy and Development).

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The Labour Party presidential campaign office has reacted with a false claim to a PREMIUM TIMES report on the dissolution of Next International (UK) Limited, a company that was owned by the partys presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

On Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported how the company was removed from the UK Companies House register in September 2021 following a first and second gazette notice of a compulsory strike off of the entity by authorities in the UK.

Our report revealed that Next International (UK) Limited failed to submit its annual accounts for the year 2020, hence, the company was struck off and dissolved in 2021.

However, a statement by the Head of Obi-Datti Media Office, Diran Onifade, claimed that owners of the company voluntarily liquidated the firm as it was no longer in operation.

Mr Onifade added: When our principal insists that you go and verify facts about him and the information he dishes out, he didnt say go and falsify facts.

For the record, the entity was 99 per cent owned by Next Nigeria International Ltd and established as its buying office in the 90s and Peter Obi as its CEO.

At the time Peter Obi became governor of Anambra State in 2006, his wife assumed management of the winding down of the company and about one year ago requested that the company be dissolved under the voluntary strike off of the entity on grounds of dissolution and being inoperational, which is normal in winding up an entity.

However, Mr Onifades claim that the company was voluntarily dissolved is a lie, contradicted by official documents.

First, a voluntary strike-off in the UK is when a company director voluntarily requests that their company is struck off the register by submitting a DS01 form to Companies House and paying the appropriate administration fee, according to UK Liquidators.

A notice will be placed in the Gazette declaring your intention to dissolve the company, and following two months  supposing no objections have been received  the companys name will be removed from the register held at Companies House and it will cease to exist as a legal entity, the financial consulting firm explains.

Also, documents obtained from the Companies House show that Mr Onifades claim is not correct as Next International was compulsory struck off and dissolved and there is no record of voluntary liquidation.

To confirm the company was struck off compulsorily, a first official notice was issued to the firm on 22nd June 2021, warning that a failure to file its annual report will lead to its removal from the Company House Register.

Two months later, on 31st August 2021, the company, founded by the ex-governor of Anambra, received a second and final notice to submit its annual account. When the Companies House didnt receive any reply to its letters, a final gazette to dissolve the entity was issued on 7th September 2021.

Running foul of UK laws

Before its final dissolution, records show that at various times, UK Companies House had to always issue a warning for compulsory strike-off before Next International filed its annual report.

In one instance, the Registrar of Companies gave notice on 1oth September 2013, saying unless cause is shown to the contrary, at the expiration of three months from the above date, Next International (UK) Limited will be struck off the register and the company will be dissolved.

On 18th September 2013, a week after receiving the above notice, the officers of the company filed their annual report with the Companies House. Consequently, a notice was issued to discontinue the strike-off action.

Cause has been shown why the company should not be struck off the register and accordingly the Registrar is taking no further action under section 1000 of the Companies Act 2006 pursuant to the notice dated 18th September 2013, the gazette read.

Then, for four consecutive years (2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020) authorities had to always issue a warning of removal from the Company House Register before the entity filed its annual accounts, records show. Immediately after a warning was issued, the company would submit its annual report and a gazette would be issued to discontinue the compulsory strike-off action by the Company House.

A private limited company, Next International, was incorporated on 16th May 1996. Mr Obi was listed as a director while his wife, Margaret, served as secretary. Next International (Nigeria) Limited (with 999 ordinary shares) and Mr Obi (with one ordinary share) were listed as shareholders.

Records show that the company was registered as business agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods in England and Wales. The firm reported taking a mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank Plc for a property on 53 Clyde Road, Croydon.

Mr Obi resigned as a director of Next UK in 2008, more than a year after becoming a governor, thereby violating Nigerias code of conduct law for public officers.

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The former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, may have declared his support for the presidential ambition of Peter Obi, but another candidate believes he can convince Mr Obasanjo to change his mind.

On Saturday, Adebayo Adewole, the presidential candidate of the

Social Democratic Party (SDP), met with Mr Obasanjo at the latters home in Abeokuta.

After the closed-door meeting, Mr Adewole told journalists that one of his aims was to convince Mr Obasanjo to back his presidential ambition.

About the endorsement of Peter Obi by Obasanjo, Baba is also a Nigerian, a free person who has the right to his mind. The election is still far.

The essence of democracy is getting people to change their minds and it is a continuous exercise, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Obasanjo, in a new year day open letter, endorsed the candidacy of Mr Obi of the Labour Party.

The former Nigerian leader said he believes Mr Obi, a former Anambra State governor, was the best among the 18 candidates seeking to be Nigerias president in next months election.

Before endorsing Mr Obi, other candidates, including Bola Tinubu of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, had also sought Mr Obasanjos support.

Mr Obasanjo governed Nigeria as democratically elected president on the PDP platform but has since announced that he has quit partisan politics.

Although Mr Obasanjo declared support for Mr Obi, he has said he would not join the candidates campaign train.

SDPs Visit

On Saturday, Mr Adewole was accompanied on his visit to the former president by the governorship candidate of the party in Ogun State, Anthony Ojeshina.

The candidate described Mr Obasanjo as someone all Nigerians respect. He said he discussed the growth of his party, SDP, with the former president.

Our discussion with him is basically about to make our party more stronger and we are at right direction. Baba is of the view that the solution to Nigerias problems will not come from the old parties, will come from the new parties.

Mr Adewole indicated that Mr Obasanjo only gave him a general response.

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He said we should do our best, wish us well and he will give us assistance as given to any other person both in Nigeria and outside.

Our purpose is to come to Ogun State to do rally for our party, to see the traditional rulers and we cant come here without seeing Baba Obasanjo. We always gain from him because we learn a lot about governance, about how Baba is still working hard and we are more encouraged that we are on the right path, he said.

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Many people were feared dead as a truck conveying supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), crashed in Panyam area of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State on Saturday.

Several others sustained injuries in the crash and are being treated in hospitals around the area, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has said.

Peter Longsan, a spokesperson of the FRSC in Plateau, said in a statement on Saturday that the casualty figure is yet to be ascertained as many people had been taken to various hospitals by both officials of the FRSC and volunteers

Our officers just finished taking the victims to the hospital, as to the details, we cannot ascertain as some of the victims were evacuated by other volunteers. The unit commander there said the comprehensive report which will comprise of the number of people involved, number of vehicles involved, the casualty rate, etc will be made available later,  he said.

PREMIUM TIMES learned that the incident occurred when the party supporters were returning from a zonal PDP campaign flag-off in Pankshin Local Government Area of the State, on Saturday, and suddenly the truck they were travelling in crashed.

Sources from the community told our correspondent that the accident happened around 4 30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state, Caleb Mutfwang, said he was saddened by the event.

On a sad note, a truck conveying some supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), from the gubernatorial campaigns flag-off and zonal rally of the Central Zone, Plateau State, in Pankshin, had an accident on Saturday evening after the rally, around Jwak Village, just before Panyam Bridge, Mangu Local Government Area (LGA).

The supporters who are mostly young people, sustained injuries of varying proportions, while some regrettably lost their lives.

The governorship candidate, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang (BCM), is deeply saddened by the unfortunate event, and is currently involved in evaluating those severely injured from different hospitals in Mangu, to Jos, where they would hopefully receive better attention and care.

While we appreciate all first responders who are currently assisting with the evacuation effort, our thoughts and prayers are with all the families affected by the sad event, a statement by the candidate read.

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Tragedy struck on Saturday when five persons were killed in an auto crash in Kili village of Darazo Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Yusuf Abdullahi, disclosed this in a road traffic report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Saturday.

The FRSC boss who said that the accident involved one Toyota Hiace Hummer bus and one Peugeot Boxer, revealed that 12 others were seriously injured with bruises, while four others were unscathed.

According to him, the accident occurred around 1:37 p.m. and it took the personnel of the corps barely nine minutes to arrive at the scene of the crash to clear the site.

He attributed the cause of the crash to speed violation and dangerous driving.

Twenty-one people were involved in the road crash and there were 16 male adults and five female adults.

Five people lost their lives on the spot and these were three female adults and two male adults, while 12 others were seriously injured. These include 10 male adults and two female adults, he said.

Mr Abdullahi also explained that both the injured and the corpse of the deceased had been evacuated to the General Hospital, Darazo, for medical attention and deposition in the Morgue.

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The sector commander, however, advised road users to always be conscious of traffic rules and regulations while plying the roads.

He further urged vehicle owners and drivers to ensure they have good tyres, move at average speed, make routine vehicle maintenance and sound state of mind while driving.

(NAN)

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At least 66 people have died following a plane crash in Nepal on Sunday morning.

Al Jazeera reported that the plane was flying from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara, 200 kilometres west, when it crashed.

The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Nepals Yeti Airlines had 72 people onboard including four crew members, said airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula.

So far, 66 bodies have been recovered from the site, a Nepal police spokesperson told Al Jazeera, adding that no survivors have been found so far.

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Dahal has called an emergency cabinet meeting, a government statement said.

I am deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident of Yeti Airlines ANC ATR 72 which was flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara with passengers, he posted on Twitter.

I sincerely appeal to the security personnel, all agencies of the Nepal government and the general public to start an effective rescue, Mr Dahal added.

A committee to investigate the crash has also been formed by the government.

Gurudutta Dhakal, a local official, told Al Jazeera that responders have already reached the crash site and are trying to douse the fire.

However, the ongoing rescue operation has been witnessing difficulties due to the presence of a big crowd at the crash site. The rescue teams have urged them to leave the site.

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The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali, over atrocities allegedly carried out by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the police in Imo State, south-east Nigeria.

The Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

Mr Nwanguma said the petition followed the illegal arrest and prolonged detention of two young men despite the police acknowledging that their arrest was carried out in error.

How it happened

Mr Nwanguma said the young men were arrested in December and taken to the police unit without being told of their offences.

He said their statements were not obtained until the following day.

The young men  a law graduate and an electrician  the RULAAC boss said, only drove to an ATM stand in Owerri, the state capital, to withdraw money before being surrounded by two armed police officers who were part of a convoy.

The officers searched them and their vehicles thoroughly and found nothing incriminating and then ordered them into one of their vehicles and drove them to Tiger Base (where the unit is located), he said.

He said the police operatives after going through their statements and interrogations asked them to write that they belong to a cult group.

The law graduate, RULAAC said, told the police that he graduated from Imo State University and awaiting law school programme and that the other person they also arrested is an electrician whom he drove to the ATM stand to pay him for repairing some electrical fault in his house.

They told the officers that they were not members of any cult group.

The officer insisted and used different objects to brutalise them, including using machetes to flog them at their back, inflicting injuries on them, in order to intimidate and compel them to admit to a crime they did not commit, Mr Nwanguma alleged.

He also alleged that the police seized their phones and did not allow them to contact anybody.

Delayed release

The law graduate, according to RULAAC, said he sighted his former school mate at the police facility and narrated his story to the former school mate, who helped him to inform his elder brother about the development.

The RULAAC boss said the elder brother contacted him, prompting the group to phone the police unit to enquire about the incident.

The Officer-in-Charge of the unit, identified as Ola, according to RULAAC, after hours of cross checks, admitted that the two young men were arrested in error, and explained that the operatives who carried out the arrest only suspected their movements.

Despite promising to release them, Mr Ola failed to do so, according to RULAAC.

Mr Nwanguma said after asking the families of the young men to come and see him to facilitate their release, they could not be allowed access into the police facility.

Following the development, the RULAAC boss phoned Mr Ola again and he repeated the promise to release them.

He said the young men were only released the following day after being forced to pay an undisclosed sum of money.

He said the young men were initially asked to pay N500, 000 to secure their release, but that they later paid less before being released.

Mr Nwanguma said the young men were warned by the police officers never to let anybody know that they paid money to secure their release or they would re-arrest them and charge them for kidnapping.

Many rotting in police cell

He said when RULAAC officials spoke with the young men after their release, they said that many people they met in the police cell were being held without any of their families knowing their whereabouts.

Some had spent weeks and months with gunshot injuries festering and smelling and in bad state of health. They live in starvation. They are never charged to court, RULAAC said.

Mr Nwanguma said the unit was repeating the issues that sparked the EndSARS protests across the country in 2020.

He claimed that the Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Ahmed Barde, does not respond to complaints about the excesses of the officers in the unit.

RULAAC calls on the IGP to intervene to sanitise Imo State Police Command, he said.

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The Kano State Police Command said no life was lost during the fire outbreak that occurred on Saturday afternoon at the headquarters of the Command.

The Commands Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abdullahi Haruna-Kiyawa, confirmed the incident in a statement issued to journalists in Kano.

Fire engulfed the first floor of the Kano State Police Commands Headquarters, Bompai Administrative Block.

Offices razed by the inferno include Provost Office, DC Finance and Admin Office,

AC Admin Office, AC Operations Office, Finance Offices and PPROs Office, among others. But Commands records are intact.

No life was lost and no injury was recorded. The fire was brought under control by firefighters, the statement said.

The statement said that the Deputy Governor of Kano State, Nasiru Gawuna, visited the scene, to sympathize with the police, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the AIG Zone 1 who was also present at the scene.

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CP Mamman Dauda and officers and men of Kano Police Command, and on behalf of Kano State Government promised to assist, the statement said.

On his part, Kano State Fire Service spokesman, Saminu Abdullahi, confirmed the incident, saying the cause of the fire is under investigation.

(NAN)

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A team of four researchers from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso in Oyo State, have won N89.1 million as a research grant from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), under the 2021 TETFund National Research Fund (NRF) Intervention.

The Principal Assistant Registrar, Public and Alumni Relations, LAUTECH, Olalekan Fadeyi, made this known in a statement in Ogbomoso.

Mr Fadeyi said that one of the researchers was Samuel Taiwo, a former Provost, College of Health Sciences, LAUTECH, and professor of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, whose project was titled: Evaluation of Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification assay Detection of Active Tuberculosis in Nigeria.

According to him, another is the leader of the Nanotechnology Research Group (NANO+), Agbaje Lateef of the Department of Pure and Applied Biology, who is to work on a project titled: Innovative Microbial Volarization of Keratinous Wastes for Ecofriendly Production of Protein-Rich Keratin Hydrolysates (PROKEH) as Biofertilisers.

Also, one-time member of the University Governing Council, Prof. Ojeyemi Olabemiwo of the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, whose project title is: Modification of Agbabu Natural Bitumen with Nanoparticles Synthesized from Agrowaste Ashes for Improved Engineering Properties and Service Life Suitable for Road Paving.

The fourth award for project, titled: Development of Metakaolin Blended Cement as Alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement for Durability and Low-Cost Building Construction, was awarded to Dr Ajamu Olalere of the Department of Civil Engineering, Mr Fadeyi said.

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He said the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Mojeed Liasu, in his comment, appreciated the scholars for their efforts in winning the grants, noting that the awards had added value to the laurels of the University.

Mr Fadeyi, also in the statement, said that the Director of LAUTECH Centre of Research, Innovation and Development (LAUCRID), Taofik Adedosu, thanked the university for the support that enabled the centre to excel in her activities.

(NAN)

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Zimbabwean police on Saturday fired teargas at an opposition party gathering in Harare and arrested 25 of its members, including two members of parliament, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) said.

The arrests come after a wave of politically motivated violence against opposition supporters in rural Zimbabwe, raising fears of repression ahead of the presidential election this year.

The date has not yet been announced.

Police confirmed the arrests of members of the Citizens Coalition for Change, Zimbabwes main opposition political party, and said a detailed statement would be released following investigations.

It was an unsanctioned gathering according to the local authorities who is the officer commanding Budiriro.

I am receiving numerous reports that people were beaten. We will release a full statement in due course, police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said.

According to CCC, the private internal strategy meeting was held this morning at the private residence of one of the members in Budiriro township, about 15 kilometres from central Harare.

It wasnt open to the public at all. The Maintenance of Peace and Order Act only applies to public meetings in a public place, CCC spokeswoman Fadzayi Mahere told Reuters.

Police allegedly fired teargas at the gathering, and beat up several opposition members before they were bundled into a police truck, she added.

Zimbabwean law requires political parties to notify authorities two weeks before holding a political meeting.

Zanu PF must stop abusing the police to stifle competition, Mr Mahere said.

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CCC, led by the youthful Nelson Chamisa, will battle ZANU-PFs President Emmerson Mnangagwa for the second time after he narrowly lost the 2018 vote.

The opposition party, born out of the old Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), enjoys massive urban support and is seen as a threat to ZANU-PFs 43-year-old stranglehold on power.

(Reuters/NAN)

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The Kwara State Police Command said it arrested three suspected human traffickers.

A statement by the spokesperson of the command, Osakanmi Ajayi, sent to journalists in Ilorin on Saturday, stated that the suspects  Musa Ayuba, Jeremiah Muda and Luka Ayuba  hailed from Kontagora Local Government Area in Niger.

According to him, the suspects were arrested along the Okolowo expressway on 14 January with 41 children while waiting to transport them to an unknown destination.

On January 14, 2023, at 0400 hours along the Okolowo expressway, a detachment of policemen on special security assignment, intercepted the trio with 41 young boys and girls (22 boys and 19 girls).

The victims are of different ages of between 5 and 15 years old, he said.

He explained that while undergoing interrogation, the suspects claimed to be coming from Niger State to Ilorin to meet a certain pastor to enrol the children in a yet-to-be-identified place.

Their claims look spurious and we are presently investigating their claims and we would discreetly do that, he added.

The children are presently in the custody of our command, and we would soon establish contact with their parents and relevant authorities.

The Commissioner of Police in Kwara, Mr Paul Odama, wishes to advise parents and guardians to avoid releasing their children to unknown persons, he said.

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The children might be used as house helps and other despicable endeavours, which is against the child rights laws.

The suspects would be charged to court after a thorough investigation.

(NAN)

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A 51-year- old woman, Oluwatoyin Ojo, has been reportedly kidnapped in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State.

A family source, who pleaded anonymity because of fear of victimisation said, Mrs Ojos husband is a staffer of the NNPC at the Warri Depot.

The source noted that Mrs Ojo was kidnapped on Friday around 10:30 p.m. at her residence on Landero Street, around Technical College in Osogbo.

Our reporter was not able to ascertain whether the abductors had demanded a ransom.

But a resident in the area said: I am not sure if the kidnappers have contacted the family for ransom because we have not heard anything of such since it happened.

Fear has, however, gripped residents of the area as they called on the police and other security agencies to protect them.

The field commander of Amotekun, Amitolu Shittu, confirmed the incident.

The Amotekun commander said its operatives have begun searching for the victim and her abductors.

He also confirmed Mrs Ojo is the wife of a staffer of NNPC at the Warri Depot.

Mr Shittu explained that her husband, Festus Ojo, called him over the phone to report the kidnapping of his wife.

The Amotekun commander assured that the kidnappers will be arrested and the woman rescued.

Yemisi Opalola, the police spokesperson in the state, did not respond to calls as of the time of filing this report.

This is the second reported kidnapping incident in Osun State since the new year.

Four days ago, two farmers identified as Samuel Oladotun and Fashola Tobiloba were reportedly abducted on Wednesday while returning from their farms.

Family sources said their abductors demanded N10 million ransom.

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The governorship candidates of five leading political parties in Kano on Saturday reeled out their plans for the state in a debate organised by the BBC Hausa Service.

During the event held at the Dangote Business School of the Bayero University, Kano, the candidates spoke about how they will improve school enrolment, tackle growing insecurity, and solve the healthcare challenges of the state, among other policy discussions,

Candidates who attended the debate were Shaaban Sharada of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abba Kabir-Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Muhammad Abacha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Salihu Tanko of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).

The debate was the first in a series of governorship debates across northern Nigeria.

While the governorship candidate of the NNPP was present at the event, he, however, took permission and left midway into the debate for another political event in neighbouring Kaduna State.

The debate anchored by Ibrahim Isah lasted for over three hours.

Kano, the most populous state in northern Nigeria, is battling with the menace of the Almajiri also known as street children, which constitute a large chunk of the out-of-school children in the north.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in its latest global data said Nigeria now has about 20 million out-of-school children.

The candidates promised to improve school enrolment and strengthen security if any of them is given the mandate on the 11th of March governorship election.

Mr Tanko of the PRP said, if elected, he would prioritise basic education because he considers the primary school level to be a critical stage in laying a solid educational foundation for the development of all children.

He said Kano state leads in the northern state in the number of out-of-school children, this is unfortunate because it has impacted (negatively) the development of our people.

At the secondary school level, I will also prioritise the development of technical schools and provide enough funding at the higher institutions to enable the lecturers to work on solutions to our common problems through research, he said.

The out-of-school children, the government has not, over the years, failed to build enough classrooms to facilitate more enrollment of children. I will ensure that I built at least 28,000 classes in four years through direct contracts to accommodate about 2 million children roaming the streets in the state,  he added.

On his part, the candidate of the ADP, Mr Sharada, said within his first hundred days in office, he would assess the educational situation in the state to see which category the state falls in, before taking any decision.

To assess the quality and quantity of the teachers, and to identify whether they are qualified to teach or not, I will embark on a transfer of service to those who are not qualified to teach, he said.

When we improve the infrastructural standard of public schools like that of the private ones with a conducive environment suitable for learning these will attract childrens enrollment to schools.

School feeding is also key, my administration will ensure the sustainability of the program and ensure the quality of teachers in addressing the problems, Mr Sharada said.

The candidate of the PDP, Muhammad Abacha, said the schools in the state are inadequate. He also pointed out that some of the teachers are unqualified.

I visited one of the schools in Fagge my local government area, and I found that even the teacher was sitting at the window, and failed to answer my question, the learning environment is not conducive, Mr Abacha said.

On the street children, its about poverty and hunger, many parents cannot afford the educational responsibilities of their children. My government will make it mandatory to address the problem of such children because I believe that the only thing you can do for children is to ensure that they have Islamic and conventional education.

In the last 20 years, those that did not go to school are part of the problem of insecurity, thuggery, and kidnapping because they cannot secure an environment, Mr Abacha said.

The candidate of the NNPP, Mr Kabir-Yusuf, said if elected he will make education free for all children to ensure more enrolment in schools and ease the financial burden on the parents.

There are about 7000 primary schools in Kano, with a population of over three million children, out of which 60 per cent of them are out of school due to poverty, this is in addition to children that are dropped out.

Many teachers have died, many have retired from service and the government has failed to replace them.

The funding to make education free for all can be done if we tackle bribery and corruption and invite donor agencies across the world who are always willing to help and develop education

I can also achieve free education for all through the federal government agency through the UBEC counterparts funding, for me, this is achievable if we can also improve the internally generated revenue, Mr Kabir-Yusuf said.

The APC candidate, Mr Gawuna, said he as an experienced administrator and politician who has served in various capacities, knows that education in the state is progressing.

I was opportune to be in the government since 1999 and since then, each successive administration constructed more classrooms and provided more infrastructures than the preceding governments.

The administration of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has built more classrooms and infrastructure than the previous administrations, now in Kano, education is not only free but also compulsory.

Before the policy of free and compulsory education, the out-of-school figure was about 1.8 million but now after the policy, the enrollment figure has tripled to about 3.7 million and the beauty of the enrollment figure shows that the girl child constituted about 60 per cent of that figures.

The high school enrollment figures have impacted the school feeding program in Kano. I believe that the issue of education is a collective effort, and without debating much on the challenges of education, I believe that with my sincerity of purpose, I will address the problem, Mr Gawuna said.

On health

Kano with about 20 million people, however, there are only 22 secondary health facilities, with less than 600 medical doctors which are inadequate to cater to the health needs of the population.

The candidate of the NNPP, Mr Kabir-Yusuf, said the challenge in the health sector is a serious one that his administration, if elected, will address, lamenting the rate at which women are dying from childbirth complications in the state.

I plan to develop the health sector through the provision of adequate manpower, we have 100 medical doctors who were sponsored by the previous administration of Rabiu Kwankwaso that are yet to get employed, and we will ensure that we get them employed, Mr Kabir-Yusuf said.

Mr Abacha said he will address the challenges in the health sector through the provision of adequate funding by ensuring that 25 per cent of the states budget goes to the health sector, and sponsoring students to study health-related courses to bridge the gap of manpower in the health sector.

Mr Sharada said he will ensure that each of the 484 political wards in the state has primary healthcare facilities and improve the secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities across the state if elected as the next governor.

Mr Tanko said he will also prioritise primary healthcare and ensure the welfare of the medical and healthcare workers across the state

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Mr Gawuna said aside from the provisions of adequate funding and the provision of infrastructure, there is also the need to enlighten the people to use approved health facilities when they are ill or in need of medical assistance.

He said women are being encouraged to use health facilities, adding that Kano is rated number one by the WHO in the provision of primary healthcare in the North under the administration of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, which he will build on achievements if elected.

Security

On security, Mr Gawuna said he has enough experience in dealing with security issues for being in the government that has committed and ensured Kano is one of the most secure states in the northwest.

He said under their advice the problem of phone snatching in the state has dramatically reduced by 90 per cent according to the security briefing after the kano government announced the restriction of the night operations of the tricycle riders.

Mr Sharada accused the government of covering the dire insecurity in the state. He said about 37 boarding schools were shut down due to insecurity.

Mr Tanko said he will address the security challenges by engaging stakeholders at the ward level. He said he would use traditional rulers to ensure communities are secured

Mr Abacha said he believes that its the responsibility of the government to ensure the security of lives and properties. He said if elected he will tackle insecurity at the community level.

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A civil society organisation, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), says it has asked for a thorough investigation into the interest of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, in a firm allegedly used to embezzle governments funds.

HEDA said in a statement on Sunday that its chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, had petitioned the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) requesting a thorough investigation into Atikus roles in incorporating the Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Marine Float Limited.

It specifically urged the CCB to diligently investigate the assets declarations submitted by Atiku and swiftly release its report of investigation to prevent immunity for corrupt individuals to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

The group said Atiku, in an audio recording, confessed to how he advised the then President Olusegun Obasanjo to name three individuals  Oyewole Fasawe, Andy Uba and a politician from Borno State (now late) as directors or subscribers of the company he was then trying to set up.

The statement said the two-page petition sent by HEDA to both the EFCC and the CCB had the title, Petition Against Atiku Abubakar for Incorporating a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV); Marine Float Limited to Embezzle Government Funds.

According to the Peoples Gazette report published on 9th January 2023, Atiku Abubakar incorporated three companies, Special-purpose Vehicle, to embezzle governments funds through contract award. One of the companies incorporated for that purpose is Marine Float, the statement said citing details of the petition.

Viral audio, reactions

A now-viral recorded audio of the former Vice President which was released by one of his longtime close associates, Mike Achimugu, had Atiku confessing to having accepted over N100 million bribe in the form of a donation through the controversial firm.

The audio recording has stirred political reactions and comments from Nigerians across social media platforms.

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In its reaction, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) had urged Atiku to come clean on his confessions about how he allegedly colluded with his former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, to steal from the Nigerian treasury, using the SPV after becoming Vice-President in 1999.

When contacted by our reporter on Sunday for comments, a member of the Atiku/Okowa presidential campaign team, Daniel Bwala, declined to speak on the matter.

I cannot speak today. I work from Monday till Saturday, Mr Bwala said.

Call for probes

However, HEDA said the self-confession contained in the viral audio has confirmed not only the rotten state of public offices in Nigeria but also the attempts by the commission to investigate some suspected corruption without uncovering Atikus beneficial ownership of those companies.

The group further called on EFCC to diligently investigate the revelation and reopen the reported investigation to establish the beneficial interest of Atiku in Marine Float, and other Shell companies incorporated for the purpose of corruption and diversion of public funds.

We look forward to swift action on this petition and the release of the report of investigation to the public before the upcoming general election.

Similarly, the group urged the CCB to not only investigate Atikus assets declarations but to also investigate the use of a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to promote corruption while in office.

The petition noted that the case is an indication that Nigeria has been under siege from the highest office and there is no statute of limitation on criminal matters.

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Nollywood actor, Femi Ogunrombi, is dead.

Shaibu Husseini, a theatre practitioner and journalist, announced this in a tweet on Saturday.

I have just been informed that the ethnomusicologist, former Music Instructor with National Troupe, and one-time stand-in for the Papa Ajasco character on the popular Wale Adenuga Production comic series Papa Ajasco Femi Ogunrombi is dead!, his tweet read.

Mr Ogunrombi was famous for his role in Wale Adenugas Comedy series Papa Ajasco, a character he took when Abiodun Ayoyinka pulled out of the show.

Mr Ayoyinka played the role for eight years while the deceased took on the part for two years.

He was a recipient of many local and international awards, most notably in 1995, when he was awarded a gold plaque and a Diploma Certificate in Creative Composition in North Korea for performing a song in that language.

From nursing to music

Femi Ogunrombi started as a trained and registered nurse.

He studied Medical Nursing in 1975 and practised at the General Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, where he was attached to the Accident and Emergency unit. This enabled him to switch to industrial medical practices; he worked with Atlantic Textiles Mills as a medical officer.

However, in 1980, he decided to follow his passion for the arts.

Music First

In 1975, he was a choirmaster and music producer. He shut down his clinic in 1979 to pursue his music career.

He frequented EMI Music studios, where he worked with Chris Ajilo and Item Udoh. He also liaised with Peco Colete, who managed Majek Fashek then.

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He also worked with veterans like Leji Oyewole, Emma Arinho, Epifanio Joseph, Late Billy Wright, among others.

He eventually studied Dramatic Arts at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

There, he founded the famous Ayoro Voices, a performing choral group at the University of Ife, between 1980 to 1984.

The group was a cultural ambassador for the school. After starring as Papa Ajasco for two years, he returned to his first love, music.

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The police in Bauchi State have killed two kidnap suspects, arrested four others and rescued six victims.

This is contained in a statement signed by the police spokesperson, Ahmed Wakil, and made available to journalists on Saturday in Bauchi.

He said the police recorded unprecedented successes in its different daring operations across the state aimed at dislodging remnants of kidnappers and bandits enclaves.

Efforts had been intensified in a bid to trail and apprehend the perpetrators to face the wrath of the law.

On Dec. 10, 2022, Police operatives in conjunction with locals, ambushed and neutralised two of the armed kidnappers.

The remaining suspects were subdued by the superior firepower from the operatives and forced to scamper in disarray into the nearest bushes with possible bullet wounds.

The police operatives neutralised two bandits and recovered fabricated SMG rifles, and three operational motorcycles (Honda Bajaj) during the operation, he said.

He said the command had intensified patrol in all the forests to get the fleeing suspects arrested.

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The spokesman pointed out that all suspects arrested confessed to having taken part in several kidnapping activities around Alkaleri local government area.

He said an investigation was ongoing and efforts had been intensified to arrest their co-conspirators.

(NAN)

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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported 29 new COVID-19 infections recorded across five states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

NCDC in an update released on Sunday morning noted that the latest report represents cumulative data for cases recorded in one week, from 7 to 13 January.

The report shows that while the fatality toll remains at 3,155, the newly confirmed cases have increased the countrys infection toll to 259,858 cases.

As of 10 January, Nigeria had tested 5,708,974 samples and discharged 259,850 patients, according to the NCDC Director-General, Ifedayo Adetifa, who confirmed at a press conference in Abuja that the centre is on red alert following global concerns about new strains of the pandemic.

The disease control centre recently warned about the resurgence of coronavirus in China and the increase in hospitalisation and death in the UK and the USA, driven by the usual winter exacerbations of respiratory illnesses.

New variants not in Nigeria

The disease control centre reported that countries such as China, the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), South Africa and India, are currently battling with the rise in Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant and its lineages, dominating recorded infections worldwide.

NCDC, however, said the sub-lineages that are partly responsible for the current increase in COVID-19 cases in these countries (XBB.1.5 and BF.7) have not yet been detected in Nigeria, noting that the B.5.2.1 has been seen since July 2022 and the others are most likely here already.

It further noted that since the detection of the Omicron variant in December 2021, its sub-lineage (BQ.1/BQ.1.1) has been dominant in Nigeria, but none of these dominant sub-lineages in Nigeria that are also circulating elsewhere has been associated with any increases in case numbers, admissions, or deaths locally.

Breakdown

The breakdown of the NCDC data shows that Lagos State, the epicentre of the disease in the country, topped with 15 infections, followed by the FCT and Kwara state with five and four cases respectively.

While Nasarawa State recorded three infections, Kaduna and Plateau States recorded one case each.

The disease control centre added that the multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continues to coordinate the national response activities.

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A group of supporters of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, the BAT Ambassadors for Nigerias Greatness (BANG), has intensified grassroots mobilisation for the former Lagos governor.

The support group inaugurated 12 state executive members and 17 executive members for each of the local government areas in Lagos on Saturday.

The Lagos State Coordinator for BANG, AbdulRahman Lekki, said: one of the aims of the support group is reawakening the political life of every citizen, particularly at the grassroots level.

Mr Lekki said the target of the group is to mobilise one million voters in the state, which he noted is achievable, saying they have the support of local mosques, several organisations and prayer groups.

He said the support group was deliberately structured to first and foremost mobilise the Muslims but open to collaborating with other faiths.

We understand our differences but that does not matter. We have a lot of counterpart Christian organisations and they are with us. As we are saying 1 million voters, they are also saying they will do 1 million, and we are in strong collaboration and networking with them, he said.

BANG to help Tinubu win

In his remarks, the National Secretary of BANG and lecturer at Osun State University, Mojeed Alabi, said the support group was founded about two years ago before the APC presidential candidate declared interest in running.

Mr Alabi, a professor, said: The BAT Ambassadors are present in 10 states, the whole of the South-western states, including Edo, Delta, Rivers and so on, to ensure we canvass for him at all levels.

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We want to be identified as part of the success, and that is why we have intensified the grassroots mobilisation for him. Today we have inaugurated the various committees, and steering committees at the various levels to make sure that the message is disseminated down to the grassroots.

The event was graced by religious leaders across Lagos, members of Muslim groups, members of APC campaign groups and students.

INECs readiness

Giving a short lecture on the roles and responsibilities of Nigerians in the electoral process, an INEC Senior Administrative Officer in Lagos, Edem Nelly, urged the participants to get their voters cards before the deadline to enable them to exercise their constitutional rights.

She said the only way to achieve change in the country is to vote. Choose the candidates of your choice and then vote; that is the only way your voice will be heard.

Speaking on INECs efforts, she said the commission has tried its best to ensure that the electoral process in Nigeria is carried out in a free, fair and credible manner.

She added that adopting the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has made the election process smoother and will be the only means voters will be accredited in the 2023 general election.

Reacting to a question about reports of vote buying during the Osun election, she assured that the BVAS will do an accurate job during the general election because we have practicalities on it and we have seen it worked.

Mr Alabi also said the issue of vote buying should not be allowed at all.

He said: We discourage vote buying and that is one of our messages. We are mobilising people to come and vote. One man, one vote.

We will canvass with INEC to also give proper training to party leaders to ensure that when they are appointed as party agents, they should be of high integrity, not those that can be easily enticed with money.

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The 7 dog years to 1 human year fallacy was empirically corrected when a research team published their 2017 Quantitative Translation of Dog-to-Human Aging by Conserved Remodeling of the DNA Methylome study in the journal Cell Systems, laying out new methodology using DNA Methylome to create an epigenetic aging clock for dogs and wolves in relation to a human year.

Quantitative Translation of Dog-to-Human Aging by Conserved Remodeling of the DNA Methylome | Cell Systems

I love how the above illustration points out that at human year 1, dogs are roughly 31-32 years old, so we're talking Tom Hanks in Splash (1984), The Man with One Red Shoe (1985) and Big (1988). Also of note in the above illustration, at around 4 human years, a dog is roughly Tom Hanks ala Charlie Wilson's War (2007), and at 9 human years is everything that comes afterwards; that's Angels & Daemons (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Cloud Atlas (2012), Captain Phillips (2013), Bridge of Spies (2015), Sully (2016), Toy Story 4 (2019), A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (2019), Greyhound (2020), News of The World (2020), Finch (2021), Pinocchio (2022), A Man Called Otto (2022), some unnamed movies and everything to come till 2024; all of that and a bag of chips can be captured in 5 human years from 4 to 9.

All mammals progress through similar physiological stages throughout life, from early development to puberty, aging, and death. Yet, the extent to which this conserved physiology reflects underlying genomic events is unclear. Here, we map the common methylation changes experienced by mammalian genomes as they age, focusing on comparison of humans with dogs, an emerging model of aging. Using oligo-capture sequencing, we characterize methylomes of 104 Labrador retrievers spanning a 16-year age range, achieving >150 coverage within mammalian syntenic blocks. Comparison with human methylomes reveals a nonlinear relationship that translates dog-to-human years and aligns the timing of major physiological milestones between the two species, with extension to mice. Conserved changes center on developmental gene networks, which are sufficient to translate age and the effects of anti-aging interventions across multiple mammals. These results establish methylation not only as a diagnostic age readout but also as a cross-species translator of physiological aging milestones. Quantitative Translation of Dog-to-Human Aging by Conserved Remodeling of the DNA Methylome | NIH

In May, 2022, a team of researchers expanded the realm of known science to encompass data gathered across 93 domestic dog breeds using Tina Wang's published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) DNA methylation clocks for dogs and humans:

DNA methylation profiles have been used to develop biomarkers of aging known as epigenetic clocks, which predict chronological age with remarkable accuracy and show promise for inferring health status as an indicator of biological age. Epigenetic clocks were first built to monitor human aging, but their underlying principles appear to be evolutionarily conserved, as they have now been successfully developed for many mammalian species. Here, we describe reliable and highly accurate epigenetic clocks shown to apply to 93 domestic dog breeds. The methylation profiles were generated using the mammalian methylation array, which utilizes DNA sequences that are conserved across all mammalian species. Canine epigenetic clocks were constructed to estimate age and also average time to death. We also present two highly accurate humandog dual species epigenetic clocks (R=0.97), which may facilitate the ready translation from canine to human use(or vice versa) of antiaging treatments being developed for longevity and preventive medicine. Finally, epigenome-wide association studies here reveal individual methylation sites that may underlie the inverse relationship between breed weight and lifespan. Overall, we describe robust biomarkers to measure aging and, potentially, health status in canines. Ideally, model species for antiaging research should be representative of human characteristics such as size and genetic diversity, as well as shared environment. Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) fulfill most of these criteria, offering a unique opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of emerging antiaging interventions (15). There is also a significant need to develop health-monitoring tools for dogs, as there are more than 76million companion dogs in the United States alone (6). Over 340 dog breeds are recognized worldwide, which are each a closed breeding population under strong selection for morphologic and behavioral traits. As a result, dogs share extensive phenotypic and genetic homogeneity within breeds and increased heterogeneity between breeds (7). Small breeds live considerably longer than large breeds (8), offering the rare chance to understand the relationship between size and lifespan within a single mammalian species. Dogs also share a similar yet accelerated trajectory of development as humans including infancy, puberty, adulthood, and senescence in about 20% of the human lifespan (5, 9). As a result, dogs represent an ideal system for studies of comparative aging, where intrabreed studies can be conducted on a background of limited diversity. Our previous work on DNA-methylation-based age estimators (i.e., epigenetic clocks)for dogs and wolves (10) described one of the first nonhuman epigenetic clocks. We deter-mined that the age dependence of DNA methylation (DNAm) is conserved at syntenic sites in the genomes of multiple mammalian species including humans. However, a small sample size (n<150) and technical limitations associated with the measurement platform(reduced representation bisulfite sequencing) limited the generalizability of the results. Furthermore, our initial study utilized only a few canine breeds, which prevented testing the relationship between epigenetic aging and breed lifespan. Here, we report the development of a canine epigenetic clock based on 93 recognized dog breeds (11) using a mammalian array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40) that profiles highly conserved cytosines across mammalian species (12).In this study, we present dual-species epigenetic clocks that apply to both humans and dogs. We test whether short-lived breeds exhibit faster epigenetic aging than long-lived breeds and develop epigenetic predictors of the average time to death. Finally, we investigate the relation-ship between breed size and lifespan and characterize 5'-C-phosphate-G-3' regions (CpGs) that are correlated with age or breed characteristics such as median lifespan or average adult weight. DNA methylation clocks for dogs and humans | PNAS

The ultimate answer about your particular dog is "depends". Depends on the weight of your dog, and it's relative size and genetic degradation rate vs what's "normal", which to be fair is still just a setting on the washer/dryer to me. Looking at a 9 month old dog having babies correlating to roughly 23 years old'ish instead of 5 and a quarter years old'ish makes sense:

What emerged from the study is a graph that can be used to match up the age of your dog with the comparable human age (see figure). The comparison is not a 1:7 ratio over time. Especially when dogs are young, they age rapidly compared to humans. A one-year-old dog is similar to a 30-year-old human. A four-year-old dog is similar to a 52-year-old human. Then by seven years old, dog aging slows. "This makes sense when you think about it  after all, a nine-month-old dog can have puppies, so we already knew that the 1:7 ratio wasn't an accurate measure of age," Ideker said. How dogs actually age (and what that tells us about how we do) | University of California

This research has the ability to create an efficacy metric for anti-aging products, procedures, regimens and whatever new nouns the future spawns around looking and feeling young, by observing the tiny additions and deletions at the genetic level juxtaposed against the fine resolution of an ever evolving epigenetic clock.

"There are a lot of anti-aging products out there these days  with wildly varying degrees of scientific support," said senior author Trey Ideker, professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center. "But how do you know if a product will truly extend your life without waiting 40 years or so? What if you could instead measure your age-associated methylation patterns before, during and after the intervention to see if it's doing anything?" Ideker led the study with first author Tina Wang, who was a graduate student in Ideker's lab at the time. How dogs actually age (and what that tells us about how we do) | University of California

At the least, it gives me something to think about as I watch our bedhead 6 month old Golden-Doodle Faye morph over the next half year into the dog she's going to be (I know, everyone and their grandma has a doodle, but as the Marine's Rifle Creed goes: This is my doodle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.)

Image: Andrew Yi
NEVER AGAIN will we allow such impunity and wickedness to reign in our national affairs or allow it to go unpunished Never again will we allow our leaders to be slaughtered like flies in their homes all in the name of a mindless, genocidal and futile grab for power Never again shall we forget that the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.

57 years ago today, on the night of 15th of January 1966, the following individuals were murdered in cold blood by a group of mutinous young army officers led by Major Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna and Major Chukwuemeka Kaduna Nzeogwu, during the course of the first military coup detat in the history of our country.

Those killed were Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the prime minister; Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and premier of the old Northern Region; Chief S.L. Akintola, the premier of the old Western Region; Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari; Colonel James Pam; Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun; Colonel Ralph Sodeinde; Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the Minister of Finance; Colonel Arthur Unegbe; Colonel Kur Mohammed; Lt. Colonel Abogo Largema; Mrs Hafsatu Bello, the wife of the Sardauna of Sokoto; Zarumi, the bodyguard of the Sardauna of Sokoto; Mrs Lateefat Ademulegun, the wife of Brigadier Ademulegun; Ahmed B. Musa; Ahmed Pategi; Sgt. Daramola Oyegoke; PC Yohana Garkawa; PC Musa Nimzo; PC Akpan Anduka; PC Hagai Lai; and PC Philip Lewande.

Two others were also abducted by the mutineers from their homes that night and brutalised. Thankfully they both managed to escape with their lives.

The first was Chief Remilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode, the Balogun of Ile-Ife and deputy premier of the old Western Region (my beloved father).

He was rescued by loyal troops led by Major Paul Tarfa (as he then was) and Captain Takoda, who stormed the Officers Mess in Dodan Barracks, Lagos, where he was being held by the mutineers and freed him.

The second was Sir Kashim Ibrahim, the governor of the old Northern Region, who was rescued and freed by loyalist forces in Kaduna.

Both of these men were delivered by divine providence and went on to live for many more years and make their contributions to national development.

Sadly and tragically, the others lost their lives and this led to a spiral of violence and series of counter-coups, which culminated in a brutal and catastrophic civil war in which many on both sides were killed.

Thankfully and despite the massive bloodletting and carnage, the coup and mutiny of 15th of January 1966 failed and the perpetrators were either killed, arrested and incarcerated or they ran out of the country.

Nevertheless we shall never forget what happened that night and we shall always honour the memory of those who were cut short in such a needless and cruel manner.

It is left to those of us that remain alive to honour the gallantry and sacrifice made by those who were murdered that night, to let the next generation know the bitter truth, to pass on the baton of patriotism, peace and national unity and to keep the proud flag of our beautiful nation flying.

They were martyred for Nigeria and we pray that their beautiful and gallant souls continue to rest in peace.

To those who committed this wicked, monstrous, savage and atrocious act that dark and infamous night and which broke the hearts and wounded the collective souls of millions of Nigerians with such impunity, by committing murder most foul, we say the following:

We may have forgiven you but we shall NEVER forget what you did.

God, in His infinite mercy and wisdom, will continue to judge all those that were involved in this heinous act and those who applauded amd encouraged them, both in this world and the next.

It is left to those of us that remain alive to honour the gallantry and sacrifice made by those who were murdered that night, to let the next generation know the bitter truth, to pass on the baton of patriotism, peace and national unity and to keep the proud flag of our beautiful nation flying.

NEVER AGAIN will we allow such impunity and wickedness to reign in our national affairs or allow it to go unpunished.

Never again will we allow our leaders to be slaughtered like flies in their homes all in the name of a mindless, genocidal and futile grab for power.

Never again shall we forget that the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.

God bless Nigeria.

Femi Fani-Kayode is the Director of Special Media Projects, Special Media Operations and New Media of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council.

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when you look at the numbers on Nigerias register of voters and account for the fact that the baseline data goes back to 2011, there is a high likelihood that up to about 25% of the register are dead, dud, or displaced. When folks complain about voter apathy they miss one important point: Nigeria guarantees the dead a right to vote. That is antecedent to any talk of voter apathy

Numeracy is a Nigerian problem but electoral democracy is about counting numbers. Nigerians will vote to elect a president and national legislators on 25 February. On 11 March, they will return to elect state legislators in 36 states and governors in 28. The numbers that will frame all these contests are now settled. They deserve close attention.

In all, 18 political parties will field a total of 15,307 candidates, including 1,553 women for 1,491 offices, including the presidency; 28 governorship offices; 109 senators; 360 in the House of Representatives members; and 993 seats in state houses of assembly.

Voting will take place in 176,846 polling units nationwide, located in 8,809 wards or Registration Areas in 774 local government areas. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has acquired at least 194,464 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for the election to be managed by over 1.4 million ad-hoc officials.

By far the most important figure, however, is the number of registered voters. When Nigeria last voted in a general election in 2019, there were 84,004,084 voters on the electoral register. Through its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), INEC says it captured another 12,298,944 since then. When it ran these entries through its Automatic Biometric Identification System, (ABIS), INEC discovered that 2,780,756 (22.6%) were ineligible or invalid. So, the register of voters in Nigeria has grown by 9,518,188 or 11.33% to 93,522,272 since 2019.

The names on the register notionally represent the people to ultimately decide who becomes Nigerias next president. This is why the register deserves attention. There is another reason the number of voters matters. Complaints about voter apathy in Nigeria persist. The numbers and patterns seem to bear this out. In 1999, turnout was 52.3%. Officially, it grew to 69% in 2003; and it has fallen, since then, to 57.5% in 2007; 53.7% in 2011; 43.7% in 2015; and a historic low of 34.8% in 2019.

Nigeria has always had a problem with numbers, especially of people and of votes. To be fair, voting numbers can be problematic everywhere because they are ambulatory. People are not static: they die by the second, relocate, or migrate. The register of voters does not automatically change because a person whose name is on it has died or moved. So, every voters register, at best, represents a snapshot in time.

In 20 years from 1999 to 2019, Nigerias population rose by 71% but the population of voters rose by only 50%. With the latest numbers announced by INEC, Nigerias register of voters has grown by 36,522,272 since 1999 or 64.07%, a deficit of 25.83% when compared with the increase in Nigerias population over the same period. It is possible to speculate about what may explain this significant deficit in growth patterns between the general population and register of voters.

However, there are many curious things about voting numbers in Nigeria. One, they are an island entirely unto themselves, with no rational relationship to wider trends in the population. Nigerias pattern of supposedly precipitous collapse in voter turnout, for instance, is inversely proportional to the growth in Nigerias baseline population.

In 1999, Nigerias population was estimated to be 115,766,000. By the time the country voted in 2019, it had risen to 199,039,000, a growth of 83,273,000 or 71%. When INEC announced the number of voters on the register for the 2023 election on 11 January 2022, the population of Nigeria was estimated to be over 219,864,000. In other words, since 1999, Nigerias population has grown by over 104,098,000 or 89.92%.

By contrast, in 1999, Nigeria had 57 million registered voters. This rose by 5.26% or three million to 60 million in 2003 and then by 1.67% or one million to 61 million in 2007. By 2011, the number of registered voters had climbed by over 12 million to 73.53 million or 20.5%, representing an average yearly growth rate of nearly 5.12%, where previously it had grown by 1.31% in 1999 to 2003 and 0.42% between 2003 and 2007. By 2015, the population of registered voters had fallen to 68.83 million, a deficit of 4.7 million voters or 6.83%, representing an annualised rate of reversal of 1.71%. Yet, over the same period, Nigeria, a country with a median age of just under 18 years, had grown in population from an estimated 162.9 million to 181.2 million, an increase of 15.174 million or 11.23%, representing an annual growth rate of 2.8%.

These numbers and the patterns they reveal do not lend themselves to easy explanation. However, as the Justice Uwais presidential committee on electoral reform pointed out in its 2008 report, much of what passed for electoral numbers in Nigeria before 2011 was voodoo. Just to illustrate this point, the INEC does not have a breakdown of official results for the 2007 presidential elections but there are turnout figures for that election.

In 20 years from 1999 to 2019, Nigerias population rose by 71% but the population of voters rose by only 50%. With the latest numbers announced by INEC, Nigerias register of voters has grown by 36,522,272 since 1999 or 64.07%, a deficit of 25.83% when compared with the increase in Nigerias population over the same period. It is possible to speculate about what may explain this significant deficit in growth patterns between the general population and register of voters. Rational factors such as internal migration; agency dysfunctions in INEC, civic inertia or failure to register, or high transaction costs may explain some of this. But there remain worrying patterns that are not easily accounted for by these factors.

This leads to a second issue: Nigerias register of voters has always had invalid voters. The current register of voters in Nigeria dates back to November 2010 when the Attahiru Jega-led INEC set about establishing a credible register of voters for the country. The Commission had limited time to authenticate the raw data before the 2011 general election. When the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) finished its work on the 2011 register nearly four years later, INEC invalidated 4.7 million entries, which reduced the number of registered voters from 73.53% in 2011 to 68.83% in 2015 but not before these invalid 4.7 million were eligible to vote in 2011.

Over three election cycles since 2011, the number liable to be expunged from Nigerias electoral roll could be somewhere in the region of about 20 million. Separately, at the end of 2021, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reported that Nigeria had at least 3.2 million people in internal displacement. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees added that there are at least another 343,000 Nigerian refugees outside the country.

Perhaps the biggest worry of all is with dead voters. At the beginning of 2022, the INEC explained that it cannot expunge dead voters from the register because the country does not have reliable data of births and deaths and the commission cannot engage in arbitrary removal of the names of individuals it suspects are deceased.

The third issue, therefore, is evidently that the number of voters on the register is grossly over-stated. In the explanation of the INEC, Nigerias register of voters is the classic Hotel California: it is programmed to receive and, for anyone with their name on it, the message is that you can check out any time you like but you can never leave. The implications of this for electoral integrity are staggering.

Nigerian law only allows adults to vote. Over the decade between 2010 to 2020, Nigerias adult mortality rate has ranged between 389.09 and 357.9 per 1,000 for men; and 359.8 to 318 per 1,000 for women. In 2020, adult mortality rate in Nigeria was estimated at 34.25 per 100 of population yearly. Applied to the 2019 register and adjusted down to account for the fact that adult mortality rate is counted from 16 years, two years less than the voting age, the number liable to be removed from the electoral roll would be well over six million in any election cycle.

Over three election cycles since 2011, the number liable to be expunged from Nigerias electoral roll could be somewhere in the region of about 20 million. Separately, at the end of 2021, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reported that Nigeria had at least 3.2 million people in internal displacement. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees added that there are at least another 343,000 Nigerian refugees outside the country. Admittedly not all of these are adults of voting age.

However, when you look at the numbers on Nigerias register of voters and account for the fact that the baseline data goes back to 2011, there is a high likelihood that up to about 25% of the register are dead, dud, or displaced. When folks complain about voter apathy they miss one important point: Nigeria guarantees the dead a right to vote. That is antecedent to any talk of voter apathy.

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer and teacher, can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu.

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If you dont want to live in regret and expose your family and ministry to crises, trust God, walk by faith, walk in truth and integrity, but you must also leverage on the wisdom of God to take practical steps along any of thelines and even more as led by God. Remember, Satan does not want resources in the hands of faithful ministers for obvious reasons: they will be a threat to his kingdom.

I have been seriously concerned about the perennial financial troubles that have faced and are still facing faithful ministers of the gospel in the body of Christ. If there is any potent weapon of frustration in the hands of Satan against faithful ministers, it is, lack of finance, and here is the truth: most of us are experiencing the lack of finance or inadequate finances at different levels.

Dont trivialise the subject of finance. Dont say its not important. Satan is luring pastors into the occult and into different shades of corrupt financial practices, using grinding shades of financial crises as weapon. Hear this again, the lack of finance is like the lack of oxygen. It is destructive. At the moment, weve just lost a dear servant of God to Satan as a result of his years of impoverishment. Although, being impoverished is not a justification for backsliding. A faithful minister of Christ must be able to live or die for the sake of truth, with or without resources. However, we all operate at different levels of strength, and it is very possible for people regardless of how spiritual they are  to break down under the protracted weight of financial crises. Let me remind us  two major weapons are used by the devil to weaken and frustrate faithful ministers  sexual immorality and financial crisis.

It is much easier to overcome sexual temptations than financial crisis. Consequently, we must always extend our hands of fellowship to one another, particularly to people weve found amidst severe financial challenges. I cannot tell you what I know and what I have heard about the activities of occultic pastors, who are putting pressure on faithful ministers who are in lack to join their groups. Financial challenges are not specific to pastors, but to everyone on earth. However, the consequences are far more devastating for a preacher, given the reclusive and secluded nature of his or her work.

The Consequences of Lack of Finance On a Minister

It weakens the prayer life of the minister; It exposes the man of God to the temptation of preaching errors and embellishing messages to please people; It slows down the spread of the gospel; a development that may ultimately prevent a minister from fulfilling his ministry to optimal levels; It exposes the man of God to occultic embellishments and fortifications for supernatural powers to manipulate people for money; It strips the man of God of the boldness and confidence required to confront evil, sin and ungodliness in the life of men; It puts enormous strain on the marriage of the man of God to the extent of eroding the cordial relationship between the man of God and the wife, thereby exposing him to sexual temptations; It creates enormous scale and scope of distraction for the minister, to the extent that in the attempt to look for money to solve problems, the man of God could eventually be derailed from his primary calling.

If you set up your financial provision on the basis of the supernatural, you will regret it. By the supernatural, here is what I mean, God will always send me money whenever I need it, and I dont have to do anything. That is what I am talking about. If you are living like this, you are preparing for poverty and penury.

The list of consequences is endless. What are the remedies? No quick fixes. I do not have a magic wand for solving this problem, neither do I have a one-cap-fits-all strategy, given the uniqueness of every minister and differences in assignments and callings. However, there are certain things I need to put out here that could be of significant help to many of us. First, do not make the mistake of thinking that financial provision in ministry WILL ALWAYS be supernatural; that is, someone will always say to you, God told me to give you this car or this house or these ten million dollars. The supernatural is real and tangible. Yes, God supplies our needs. Yes, God brings the provision. But here is the greatest truth some of us dont like to hear: principles are superior to miracles.

Did you hear that? I am speaking about the principles of Gods word. Miracles are needed when principles fail. If you set up your financial provision on the basis of the supernatural, you will regret it. By the supernatural, here is what I mean, God will always send me money whenever I need it, and I dont have to do anything. That is what I am talking about. If you are living like this, you are preparing for poverty and penury. This medium will not be sufficient for me to completely and clearly explain some of the strategies that have helped thousands of faithful pastors to build enduring financial provisions for themselves and their ministries. But to sum it up, sustainable finances come through principles or by setting up systems. Yes, we walk by faith. Yes, we must trust God. What happens when we walk by faith and trust God? The Holy Spirit will open up our minds and deposit into them unique ideas to set up systems for producing enduring financial supplies. Here is my point: Trust God to help you set up systems. Now, there are some ministers with specific and undeniable instructions from God not to engage in any business or secular work. If you are in that category, please stay obedient to God. He will take care of you. However, for those without such instructions, here are some of the systems that produce legitimate and credible streams of financial supplies for many faithful pastors that I know.

Investment in real estate (rents, small scale student hostels, Airbnbs, land banking and land flipping) -using your money or savings or money gotten from other legitimate means to invest in real estate; Donations (setting up systems of faithful donors and givers who will commit to supporting you on a monthly basis); Setting up creches, daycare centres, schools, and other educational facilities with your own money (not with the tithe and offerings of the church); If your ministrys work is still at the infancy level, take up a job if you are educated and also empower your wife to work and earn a decent income; Identify very credible and reliable stocks, forex and crypto trading platforms; get trained and invest wisely in these; Build a very strong online ministry platform on YouTube and on any other content monetisation platform; Empower your wife to start selling goods on Amazon. Go and learn about this. With little money, you can earn an unbelievable income through Amazon; Trust God to open international doors to you  not the doors you open to yourselves illegally. If you can obtain US, UK, EU or Canadian residencies or work permits; you can secure remote jobs and do remote businesses with foreign communities while in Africa. Also, as you minister around the world, it is certain that God will use people to bless you financially.

I have not said that you should not trust God and live by faith. We all do. But you should remember that Paul was one of the greatest men of faith in the scriptures. Yet, he still engaged in tent-making work (Acts 18:3) and some other activities to generate the income that sustained his global ministry.

Now, I have not said that you should not trust God and live by faith. We all do. But you should remember that Paul was one of the greatest men of faith in the scriptures. Yet, he still engaged in tent-making work (Acts 18:3) and some other activities to generate the income that sustained his global ministry. Hear what Paul told some brethren in Acts 20:33:

I have not coveted anyones silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive.

If you dont want to live in regret and expose your family and ministry to crises, trust God, walk by faith, walk in truth and integrity, but you must also leverage on the wisdom of God to take practical steps along any of the above lines and even more as led by God. Remember, Satan does not want resources in the hands of faithful ministers for obvious reasons: they will be a threat to his kingdom. I pray for you that in this New Year, doors of unique opportunities for ceaseless supply of resources will locate you in Jesus mighty name. AMEN!!

Ayo Akerele, a leadership and system development strategist, and minister of the word, writes from Canada and can be reached through ayoakerele2012@gmail.com.

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The Court of Appeal in Ilorin has dismissed the verdict of the Federal High Court that nullified the primary election that produced Abdulraheem Ajuloopin as the candidate of Ekiti/Irepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency.

Mr Ajuloopin, a member of the House of Representatives, was in November 2022 removed as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Ekiti/Irepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency by the High Court and was replaced with Segun Adebayo.

The court on Thursday set aside the ruling of the High Court on the ground that the originating summons that the High Court used in reaching the verdict was faulty.

Background

Mr Ajuloopin contested the APC primary for Kwara South Senatorial District but lost to Lola Ashiru, the incumbent senator.

Subsequently, Mr Ajuloopin picked the House of Representatives form of the APC, after the party declared that its initial primary election for the Ekiti/Irepodun/Isin/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency was disrupted by violence.

The lawmaker was declared the winner of the second primary.

However, Mr Adebayo, who won the first primary election, boycotted the second primary election and approached the court seeking his declaration as the candidate of the party.

The judge, IM Sanni, in his ruling, declared that the process that produced Mr Ajuloopin as a candidate was unknown to law.

Appeal Court verdict

The APC and Mr Ajuloopin appealed the verdict of the High Court.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the judgment of the High Court on the ground of lacking jurisdiction because the originating process which was used to commence the proceeding was defective as a result of the court registrars omission/failure to sign and seal it.

The appeal court held that any defect in an originating process used in commencing a proceeding will not be treated as a mere technical failure but shall also affect the substance of the matter.

Ill be magnanimous in VictoryAjuloopin

Mr Ajuloopin, in a statement, called on all parties to work together for the victory of the APC at the poll. He said the verdict did not produce a victor or loser.

Todays victory is for the party, there is no loser in this case, we are all members of the same family and we will ensure that no stone is left unturned to ensure party cohesion.

The general election is a win for our party, we have worked, we have impacted lives and our people are happy with us. They want us on the ballot, they dont want to go back to the years of locusts and cankerworms.

The law allows pre-election matters to get to the Supreme Court.

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The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has strengthened his media office with the injection of two new aides.

Those appointed are Mahmud Jega as special adviser, public affairs and Abdulaziz Abdulaziz as special assistant on media and publicity.

Until his appointment, Mr Jega, a respected editor, was an in-house analyst for Arise TV and ran a weekly column for Thisday newspaper.

He was also the editor-in-chief of an online publication, 21st Century Chronicle.

Mr Abdulaziz, an award-winning journalist and social media influencer, was until the appointment deputy general editor of Daily Trust Newspapers.

He also anchored a morning show for the Trust TV, an arm of the Media Trust Group.

A statement on Saturday by the Tinubu Media Office signed by Tunde Rahman said the two appointees would deploy their expertise and deep understanding of political issues across the country, particularly the North, in shoring up the activities of the media team.

Following his stint as a lecturer in biological sciences at his alma mater, the Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, Mr Jega has practiced journalism non-stop for more than three decades.

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For a total of 13 years, he was managing editor, editor, deputy editor-in-chief and Editorial Board chairman of Daily Trust Newspapers. Prior to that, he served as editor, New Nigerian Newspapers, editor of The Sentinel magazine, Kaduna, and assistant editor, Citizen magazine.

Mr Abdulaziz has experience spanning print, online, broadcast and social media. He had worked as correspondent, bureau chief and regional editor for the LEADERSHIP Newspapers, before he joined Blueprint Newspaper which he left in 2017 as deputy editor.

Before joining Daily Trust at the beginning of 2021, Mr Abdulaziz also worked with the frontline online newspaper, PREMIUM TIMES, as associate editor.

Tinubu Media Office,

Tunde Rahman.

January 15, 2023.

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Terrorists, in the early hours of Sunday, burnt a Catholic priest, Isaac Achi, alive in the Paikoro Local Government area in Niger State

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that when the attackers could not gain access to the well-fortified building where the priest was living, they set it ablaze.

Until his death, Mr Achi was attached to St. Peters and Paul Catholic Church, Kafin-Koro, Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger.

Confirming the incident, Wasiu Abiodun, police spokesperson in the state, said another priest was shot during the attack.

On 15/01/2023 at about 0300hrs, armed bandits invaded the Parish residence of one Rev. Father Isaac Achi of St. Peters and Paul Catholic Church, along Daza road, Kafin-Koro, Paikoro LGA, Mr Abiodun wrote in a statement.

Unfortunately, the bandits reportedly attempted to gain entrance into the residence, but seems difficult and set the house ablaze, while the said Rev. Father was burnt to death.

A colleague of the Rev. Father identified as Father Collins was equally shot in the shoulder while trying to escape from the scene. Police tactical teams attached to Kafin-Koro Div were immediately drafted to the scene, but the hoodlums had escaped before the arrival of the teams.

The lifeless body of Father Isaac was recovered while Father Collins was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

The Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command CP Ogundele Ayodeji had dispatched a reinforcement team to the area and effort is ongoing to apprehend the assailants as an investigation into the unfortunate attack has commenced.

Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger, State has condemned the killing of the priest. In a statement, the CAN Chairman of the state, Bulu Yohanna, called on the Nigerian government and security agencies to arrest the spate of killings across the country.

He called for an investigation into the attack on the priests, adding that the culprits must be brought to book.

Enough of the attacks and wanton killings of innocent Nigerian citizens. One of the primary responsibilities of government is to protect the lives and property of the people you govern, he said.

Mr Yohanna also sent his condolence to the Catholic Diocese of Minna, the parishioners of the church and the family of the slain priest. He prays for the repose of the soul of Mr Achi.

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Terrorists attacked Jan Tsuni in Gidan Haruna, of Kankara local government area of Katsina State on Sunday and abducted residents going to a church in the community.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the abducted residents were going to the New Life For All Church, around 10:00 a.m. when the terrorists attacked the community on motorcycles and took the residents hostage.

A security agent in Kankara local government, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the incident, said five residents were taken while the pastor of the church and one other person were wounded.

I dont know where you got your number from, but what weve officially is five residents, he said.

He said they were taken while walking to the church while the pastor was wounded as he tried to escape.

No. Its the same community. As they were going to church, the bandits entered the village and started picking residents, he said.

The Senior Special Assistant to the state governor on Christian Affairs, Ishaya Jurau, confirmed the attack to PREMIUM TIMES in a phone conversation but said security agents are trying to rescue the victims.

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He, however, said he would not reveal the actual number of those abducted to this reporter.

Im in contact with some of our people on the ground. I can confirm to you that some residents were abducted while a Pastor was wounded by the terrorists this morning. The security agents are doing their best to rescue those taken, he said.

The police spokesperson in the state, Gambo Isa, could not be reached for comment. He did not respond to calls and sms sent to him as of the time this report was filed.

Katsina, like many North-west states and a part of the North-central region, has been witnessing a series of terrorist attacks leading to the death of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions of others.

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Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has appealed to the Nigerian government to unconditionally and immediately release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Mr Soludo made the appeal on Saturday during the campaign flag-off of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in Awka, the state capital.

The governor said if the IPOB leader cannot be released unconditionally by the government, he (Kanu) should be released to him (Soludo).

I am making a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally. If he cannot be released unconditionally, I want him released to me and I will stand surety for him, he said.

We need Nnamdi Kanu in the roundtable conversation to discuss the insecurity in the South-east. We must end insecurity in the South-east and we need Nnamdi Kanu to be around.

We, some time ago, set up the Truth and Reconciliation Committee to find out the root cause of insecurity in the South-east and they have almost concluded their assignment.

But this issue of insecurity cannot be well addressed without bringing to the table the key players in this matter, Mr Soludo added.

We have applied the kinetic and non-kinetic approach to fighting insecurity in the South-east but the non-kinetic approach cannot be complete without the Federal Government releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Mr Soludo assured that he would cater for Mr Kanu and also offered to bring him to the countrys authorities any time he is required.

I will house him here in Awka. We need him released to end insecurity in the South-east, he said.

This is the first time the governor would ask for the release of Mr Kanu.

In May, the governor visited the IPOB leader at the facility of Nigerias secret police, State Security Service, in Abuja, explaining that the visit was part of his wider consultations with critical stakeholders to ensure lasting peace and security in the South-east.

Background

Mr Kanu was first arrested in October 2015, but granted bail in April 2017 on health grounds.

He fled the country after an invasion of his home in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, Abia State, by the Nigerian military in September 2017.

He was re-arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria in June 2021, about four years after he fled the country.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on 13 October, held that the IPOB leader was extra-ordinarily renditioned to Nigeria and that the action was a flagrant violation of the countrys extradition treaty and also a breach of his fundamental human rights.

The court, therefore, struck out the terrorism charges filed against Mr Kanu by the Nigerian government and ordered his release from the custody of the SSS.

But the government refused to release the IPOB leader insisting that he (Kanu) could be unavailable in subsequent court proceedings if released and that his release would cause insecurity in the South-east.

The government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, appealed the court ruling and subsequently obtained an order staying execution of the court judgement at the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is yet to rule on the pending appeal several months after, fueling speculations that the government was not disposed to release Mr Kanu.

Several residents of the South-east believe that the release of the Biafra agitator would end insecurity in the region.

The IPOB leader, in December, accused those behind the delay of the pending appeal against him at the Supreme Court of being responsible for the rising insecurity in the South-east.

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A mother of two, Busola Oyediran, and her lover, Akebiara Emmanuel, have been arrested in Egbeda, Lagos for physically abusing her own children.

The police spokesperson in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday that the lovers were arrested on Friday.

The children, two-year-old and five-year-old, were rescued by the police after their neighbours reported that their mother and her lover tortured the children.

The partners are in police custody and will be taken to court, Mr Hundeyin said.

He added that the children have been picked up by their father after the incident.

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Here, at the Buffalo health center where she often works 12-hour days, Trinetta Alston puts her arm around Lorraine Baker, a Tops employee at the Jefferson Avenue store who everyone calls Rinniey.

The two talk, laugh and finish each other's sentences like old friends, though they have only known each other since May 16, when Alston began working with Tops employees traumatized by the racially motivated mass shooting at the store two days earlier.

Alston hasn't stopped working with the store's employees since. She listens to them, follows up after their doctor's appointments and always answers the phone. She was there the day many of them walked into the store for the first time since the shooting. She's built trust with the employees and, because of that, has helped bring them the resources they need. She shops there and sometimes just swings by to check in. She attended their holiday party.

These powerful bonds led to Alston being named an honorary Tops employee, presented with a Tops uniform shirt and an employee badge to signify she was one of them. Arriving with her badge was a handwritten note from Tops' human resources team, thanking her for everything she has done for their employees.

"This is our nurse from Tops," said Baker, calling her "250's nurse," a reference to the Jefferson Avenue location's store number.

Go deeper into Alston's backstory, and it becomes clear how she was able to establish these lasting relationships cultivated in the aftermath of a horrific crime motivated by hate.

Her longtime employer, Community Health Center of Buffalo, calls Alston its face in the community, a well-known and passionate advocate who serves as a role model and a talented health care provider. Her ability to interact with strangers and establish trust  she's a self-described people person  are underrated qualities historically lacking in a health care system full of rampant inequities.

She's devoted herself to helping others, because she, too, once needed the community's love to overcome addiction and homelessness. Once clean, she looked for a way to give back and found her passion as a community nurse.

Her latest assignment led her to fall in love with the tight-knit Jefferson Avenue store's employees. She calls them her family.

"It's tragic what happened, but we shouldn't let that break us," Alston said. "If I've got anything to do with it, I'm going to be a little piece of tape and if everybody else is a little piece of tape, we're going to bring it back together."

'What still carries me'

Alston, born and raised in Buffalo, joined the military at 17 years old.

By the time she returned home from active duty a few years later, largely due to a higher-up who didn't like women serving in the military, Alston felt depressed. She felt like he had defeated her.

She got hired at the U.S. Small Business Administration in Buffalo but Alston, a mother, needed help with day care. She went to Social Services, but they told her she didn't qualify for day care assistance.

It all weighed on her.

"I felt like I was a failure as a mom," she recalled. "And that's what started me using."

Alston said she was addicted to crack cocaine for about 14 years. She didn't stop until she discovered she was four months pregnant with her youngest son.

To get clean, she stayed at Cornerstone Manor. She vividly remembers a day when her counselor had her write on a piece of paper all the triggers that would make her use drugs. The counselor gave her an old Crisco can to put the list in. They then went out back and set it on fire.

When they went back inside, the counselor told Alston that her new life started today. Those triggers were burned, cremated and buried.

"That stuck with me," Alston said. "That's what carried me, and that's what still carries me, that I have to bury things and push forward."

Alston, 53, marked 18 years clean in September, and her youngest son is a senior at Bennett High School, headed for St. Bonaventure University in the fall.

Thinking back to when she was starting to get clean, Alston remembers praying for guidance to find a way to give back all the love that was shown to her. She thought about how she had been homeless for a time but never slept on the street or got hurt, because someone always opened their door.

"I firmly believe that God walked me through addiction, brought me out of it, so that I can relate to my community as a whole," Alston said. "I can relate to that girl that was addicted. I can relate to a single mom. I can relate to a whole lot of different issues."

'Nurse T'

That search to give back led Alston to nursing.

"You genuinely care for people when you're a nurse," she said. "You don't want anything back."

Alston just hit 11 years with Community Health Center of Buffalo, where she started as a pediatric nurse at the organization's Niagara Falls location.

Her responsibilities and titles have only grown from there.

A licensed practical nurse since 2011, she is now a vaccine coordinator for the health center's locations in Erie and Niagara counties. She's also a community health nurse who visits homebound patients, including those who have needed end-of-life care.

Alston, who will be taking her board exam for registered nurse licensing, plays a key role in the organization's mobile health unit. And she has become a Medicaid-certified doula, providing support to families through their pregnancies.

"Most people who have doulas have a lot of money, right," Alston said. "My community don't have a lot of money. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't get the same things that other people can afford, right. So I'm a doula for people who receive Medicaid; Medicaid pays me, they don't."

Dr. LaVonne Ansari, CEO and executive director of Community Health Center of Buffalo, said Alston has established herself in the community, where she's widely known as "Nurse T."

Ansari said Alston is an example of what effective community medicine looks like: A professional whose personal experience makes her relatable, who meets patients where they are and who offers the consistency and dedication to never give up on this city's people.

Not to add another thing to Alston's plate, but Ansari believes Alston also can become a "phenomenal trainer," sharing what she knows about community medicine to develop the next generation.

"I always call her one of my soldiers," Ansari said, "because she's always been very passionate for the community."

'Job well done'

A day after the shooting at Tops, with the community reeling, Ansari called Alston.

"Trinetta, we've got to go to work," Ansari told her. "I don't know what we're going into. But Monday morning, let's be ready."

That Monday, Alston was part of the health center's response team at the Frank E. Merriweather Jr. Branch Library. There, Alston met with Tops employees and started to hear their stories. She saw how much the employees cared for one another. Workers who weren't in the store during the shooting talked to and cried with employees who were.

"I'm just sitting quiet and that's when it clicked in me what it was I was doing there," Alston said. "It wasn't to be a nurse. It was to be an ear, to listen."

A timeline of a mass shooting connected with a common thread: Because they were Black "People need to see the picture of hate. You cannot say that it's not real, not reality in America. It is reality," civil rights attorney Ben Crump said.

That day, Alston met Baker, who has worked at Tops for 21 years and is the Jefferson Avenue store's assistant customer service lead.

Baker, 58, had left the store at about 2 p.m. May 14, a half-hour before the shooting.

When her nephew called to tell her what happened, Baker immediately thought of her coworkers, particularly the young employees who work during the weekends. She calls them "my babies" and credited security guard Aaron Salter, one of the 10 killed in the attack, with confronting the shooter and giving many workers and shoppers time to flee the supermarket.

Employees are still dealing with trauma, Baker said, but they have each other  and their nurse.

"I'm there for them," Baker said. "I'm there if they need somebody to talk to, because our nurse can't be there all the time."

But Alston visits frequently, even bringing her mother along when it's time to do some shopping.

From the relationships she's built with the employees, Community Health Center has been able to formulate ideas and provide resources. That's included an arts and healing day for employees, as well as guest speakers, including an expert who recently provided tools for them to work through their grief.

Without Alston, that doesn't happen.

"She's our connect," Ansari said. "Without her having the relationships and them trusting her, I don't think we would be able to help get what they need."

Alston and Baker have formed a particularly close bond.

They worry about and take care of others, typically before themselves.

As Alston tells her story at the Buffalo health center on this December day, Baker often chimes in, finding the words to finish some of her friend's thoughts.

"It's a blessing to give," Baker tells her. "The Lord will bless you."

"And he already has, with a whole other family," Alston responds.

Baker, not missing a beat: "He blessed you with me."

"Gosh," Alston jokes, "I don't know if that was a blessing."

The friends share a hearty laugh, wrapping their arms around one another.

"I love Rinniey to death. I do," Alston said. "It's rewarding for me. It is. At the end of the day, when I do finally close my eyes, I can say..."

"Job well done," Baker says.
MANAMA, Bahrain, Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Citi Bahrain has celebrated the first anniversary of its Global Technology Hub, which is on track to employ 1000 Bahraini coders over ten years. Currently, the hub comprises of 110 Bahraini employees, out of which 91 Bahrainis have started at the Citi Seef premises, with 19 additional hires set to join soon. Female participants at the Hub make up 22% of the total Bahrainis, outperforming the average of females in other Citi tech hubs around the world.

First Anniversary Citi Global Tech Hub in Bahrain

When selecting a country for its Global Technology Hub, Citi conducted a rigorous technical coding test and interview process, with Bahraini talent showing the highest pass rate when compared to other regions. Even more encouraging was the level of female talent in Bahrain's candidate pool, as Bahrain ranks first globally in multiple subindices according to Meta's Inclusive Internet Index (2022), including female digital skills training and STEM education, open data policies, and privacy regulations.

Commenting on the anniversary and the contribution of female participants in the hub, HH Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Member of the Supreme Council for Women and Chairwoman of the Bahrain Women in Fintech Committee, said: "We are pleased to see Citi's achievements a year after the Hub's launch. Such initiatives contribute positively to achieving the goals of the Women in Fintech Committee working under the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women, and the National Gender Balance in Future Sciences Initiative, in line with the directions of Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030 as well as the Kingdom's digital transformation initiatives. It makes us proud to see Bahraini women directly contributing to the operations and growth of Citi's Global Tech Hub."

Furthermore, commenting on the occasion, HE the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, Mr. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, said: "The Financial services sector has progressed over the last decade, and we expect more changes in the coming years as the pace of digitisation increases. We are proud to see Bahraini talents and competencies benefiting and contributing in developing global centres affiliated with reputable financial institutions in order to promote digital solutions in the financial sector".

According to Citi Bahrain's CEO, Michel Sawaya, Citi has witnessed great results since the launch. "The coders had a big impact on developing our digital platforms, such as Citi Velocity and CitiFX Pulse. Their positive contribution helped implement important features, and subsequently take part of bigger projects that have helped us serve Citi clients globally" he said.

Citi launched its Global Tech Hub last year as part of a strategic partnership between Tamkeen, Bahrain's labour fund, and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the Kingdom's investment promotion agency. A first in the region, the Hub aims to develop and improve digital solutions for Citi's regional and global clients while creating 1000 tech jobs for Bahrainis over ten years.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1981419/CITI_Tech_Hub_Group.jpg

SOURCE Bahrain EDB
Transaction Expands Advantek's Manufacturing Footprint to Support ASEAN Region

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. and PENANG, Malaysia, Jan. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Advantek, LLC ("Advantek"), a leading provider of highly engineered carrier tape and precision component packaging, today announced the acquisition of LKTT Plastic Technology Sdn. Bhd. ("LKTT"), a provider of complementary precision packaging based in Malaysia. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Advantek is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and has manufacturing facilities around the world. For more than 40 years, Advantek's highly engineered specialty packaging tape has enabled the world's foremost providers of high-value semiconductor and other electronic components to safely transport and present products for assembly, including computers, mobile phones, LED lighting, medical components, smart appliances, automobiles, and other consumer products.

Advantek is committed to providing customers with a comprehensive suite of precision packaging materials across a global manufacturing footprint that provides clients with optimal efficiency and flexibility. During 2022, Advantek partnered with Cornell Capital, a U.S.-based private investment firm, to accelerate these initiatives.

LKTT has more than a decade of experience in carrier tape manufacturing with a focus on complex designs for connectors, shields, and other highly sensitive form factors. LKTT has strong customer relationships across the ASEAN region and will expand Advantek's capabilities to support customers in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

"Customer service, including local manufacturing capabilities, is a key component of Advantek's long-term value-add proposition. Establishing a manufacturing footprint in Malaysia is an important step as we continue executing our strategic plans," said Wim Goossens, Chief Executive Officer and President of Advantek. "I'm certain that by acquiring LKTT, we've expanded our team to include a group who shares our values of innovation and continuous improvement, while always prioritizing customers."

"The acquisition of LKTT is an important milestone as Advantek looks to continue to expand its market-leading position by offering the highest quality product suite across the most comprehensive global footprint in the industry," said Allen Chu, Partner at Cornell Capital.

About Advantek

Advantek is a leading provider of precision component delivery systems with facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Advantek's solutions play an important role in the assembly process of products such as computers, mobile phones, LED lighting, medical components, smart appliances and automobiles. For more information, visit https://www.advantek.com.

About LKTT

LKTT Plastic Technology is a manufacturer of embossed carrier tape used for transporting components in the capacitor, LED, metal shield, and semiconductors industries. LKTT serves as a one-stop-shop provider of carrier tape requirements like plastic reel, cover tape, and tape and reel operations. Based in Penang, Malaysia, LKTT was formed in 2010, following a spin out from LKT Plastic Technology. LKTT's mission is to be the preferred carrier tape supplier in southeast Asia.

About Cornell Capital

Cornell Capital LLC is a U.S.-based private equity firm with ~$6 billion of AUM and offices in New York and Hong Kong. Leveraging decades of global investment experience, the firm focuses on North American middle market buyouts across the consumer, financial services, and industrials/business services sectors, often in companies that can benefit from global expansion through the firm's Asia presence and cross-border expertise. Founded in 2013 by Senior Partner Henry Cornell, the former Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs' Merchant Banking Division, the firm is led by a highly seasoned team with significant shared investment experience. Since inception, Cornell has built a team dna partnership that are among the most diverse in the private equity industry. For more information, visit www.cornellcapllc.com.

Contacts:

Advantek

Jason Skrtic

Vice President Global Marketing and Product Management

+1 715-833-1677

[email protected]

Cornell Capital

Jon Keehner / Kate Thompson / Woomi Yun

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

+1 212-355-4449

__________________________________________________________________________

For more information, visit www.advantek.com

SOURCE Advantek
BEIJING, Jan. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from People's Daily: Foreign enterprises and international experts believe that China's optimization of COVID-19 response, which expands the flows of people, will help activate the country's economic vitality and potential, and bring important benefits to world recovery and growth.

China's economy maintained average annual growth of around 4.5 percent in the past three years, obviously higher than that of the world.

The Chinese economy has demonstrated strong resilience and huge potential. Last year, facing challenges of high winds and choppy waters in the global environment, the Chinese economy achieved stable growth. China's grain output exceeded 650 million tons for eight consecutive years, and the task of expanding urban jobs was completed ahead of schedule. Besides, the country for the first time saw its total foreign trade exceed 40 trillion yuan ($5.97 trillion), and maintained the world's largest trader in goods for six years in a row.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said global economies will face a tougher year than the previous 12 months as all major growth engines face weakening activity. However, the organization noted that China will achieve stable economic growth in the new year and become the largest positive factor of the world economy.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva believes that the Chinese economy will gradually achieve high-level development and end 2023 on a brighter note.

Multiple financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, French banking group Societe Generale and Morgan Stanley estimated that China's economy would see stable recovery in 2023.

HSBC said in a Q1 report that China's export growth still outran the global trade growth. Swiss investment bank UBS AG said many multinational corporations were expanding their production and investment in China.

In a recent report issued by Rhodium Group, the New York-based advisory firm noted that companies which had already invested billions of dollars in China were still executing their investment plans.

George N. Tzogopoulos, a senior fellow in media, international relations and Chinese affairs at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, said as China optimized its COVID-19 response, the cross-border flow of people will be significantly expanded.

"Investors will find more development opportunities in the dynamic Chinese market," he said, adding that helps promote economic growth.

French newspaper Le Monde said on its website that Provence, the Louvre Museum and the La Samaritaine department store are all expecting Chinese tourists to return to France soon.

Harrods, a London luxury department store, recently bought clothing stock designed for a Chinese fit for the first time since 2019.

"We are talking very significant numbers if Chinese tourists return," said the department store's managing director Michael Ward, adding that the store would get back old friends that it hasn't seen in the UK for years.

Singaporean Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao said on its website that the market is expecting a sooner rebound of the Chinese economy. According to analysis by the World Bank, every one-percentage growth of China's GDP will drive the Singaporean GDP to go up 1.2 percentage points. Australian, Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian GDP will also experience growth thanks to the recovery of the Chinese trade sector, the newspaper added.

Alejandra Grindal, senior international economist for Ned Davis Research Group, said China's optimization of COVID-19 response has lowered the chance of the world GDP growth dropping below 2 percent from 80 percent to 65 percent.

Kiatipong Ariyapruchya, the senior country economist of the World Bank for Thailand, noted that China's stable economic recovery will become a positive factor driving global recovery.

SOURCE People's Daily
Rykindo is a bi-weekly long-acting risperidone injection and is the first innovative therapy from Luye Pharma's Central Nervous System (CNS) product portfolio to be marketed in the United States .

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Luye Pharma Group (Luye Pharma), an international pharmaceutical company dedicated to the R&D, manufacturing and sale of innovative medications, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Rykindo (risperidone) for extended-release injectable suspension for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults and as monotherapy or as adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate for the maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder in adults.

Rykindo was developed by Luye Pharma on its microsphere technology platform. The drug is administered via intramuscular injection once every two weeks and delivers the active ingredient, risperidone, via long-acting and extended-release microsphere technology.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are both severe mental disorders. There were 40 million sufferers of bipolar disorder worldwide in 2019, and currently around 24 million schizophrenia patients[1]. In the U.S., the estimated prevalence of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders ranges between 0.25% and 0.64%[2], while an estimated 4.4% of U.S. adults experience bipolar disorder at some point in their lives[3].

"Mental disorders including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder not only seriously affect the physical and mental health of patients, but also impose a heavy burden on their families and the society. Rykindo is our first new drug developed in-house and approved for marketing in the U.S., demonstrating our long-standing commitment to serving patients around the world with innovative therapies," said Yang Rongbing, President of Luye Pharma Group. "At Luye Pharma, we continue to enrich our product portfolio in the CNS field by focusing on the unmet needs of patients, and we look forward to making further contributions to the mental health community by providing better care and better services to those in need."

Rykindo was approved for marketing in China in 2021 for the treatment of schizophrenia. The development of Rykindo in Europe is progressing, with plans to launch the drug in more countries and regions around the world.

The central nervous system is a key therapeutic area of focus for Luye Pharma. The company has built a robust product portfolio in the field, including a number of commercialized products and drug candidates, covering multiple diseases such as depression, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and Alzheimer's disease.

About Rykindo

Developed by Luye Pharma, Rykindo is administered via intramuscular injection once every two weeks and delivers its active ingredient, risperidone, via long-acting and extended-release microsphere technology.

Rykindo is an atypical antipsychotic indicated:

for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults.

as monotherapy or as adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate for the maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder in adults.

Important Safety Information

WARNING: INCREASED MORTALITY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA-RELATED PSYCHOSIS

See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning.

Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death. Rykindo is not approved for use in patients with dementia-related psychosis.

Contraindications

Rykindo should not be administered to patients with known hypersensitivity to risperidone, paliperidone, or to any components in Rykindo.

Warnings and Precautions

Cerebrovascular Adverse Reactions in Elderly Patients with Dementia-Related Psychosis: Increased risk of cerebrovascular adverse reactions (e.g., stroke, transient ischemia attack).

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS): Manage with immediate discontinuation and close monitoring.

Tardive Dyskinesia: Discontinue treatment if clinically appropriate.

Metabolic Changes: Monitor for hyperglycemia/diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and weight gain.

Hyperprolactinemia: Prolactin elevations occur and persist during chronic administration. Long-standing hyperprolactinemia, when associated with hypogonadism, can lead to decreased bone density in males and females.

Orthostatic Hypotension and Syncope: Monitor heart rate and blood pressure and warn patients with known cardiovascular disease or cerebrovascular disease, and risk of dehydration or syncope.

Leukopenia, Neutropenia, and Agranulocytosis: Perform complete blood cell counts (CBC) in patients with a history of clinically significant low white blood cell count (WBC) or history of leukopenia or neutropenia. Consider discontinuing Rykindo  if clinically significant decline in WBC occurs in the absence of other causative factors.

if clinically significant decline in WBC occurs in the absence of other causative factors. Potential for Cognitive and Motor Impairment: Use caution when operating machinery.

Seizures: Use cautiously in patients with a history of seizures or with conditions that potentially lower the seizure threshold.

Priapism: Priapism has been reported during postmarketing use of other risperidone products. Severe priapism may require surgical intervention.

Adverse Reactions

The most common adverse reactions in patients with schizophrenia ( 5%) were headache, parkinsonism, dizziness, akathisia, fatigue, constipation, dyspepsia, sedation, weight increase, pain in extremity, and dry mouth.

The most common adverse reactions in patients with bipolar disorder were (5% in monotherapy trial) weight increased and ( 10% in adjunctive therapy trial) tremor and parkinsonism.

Please see full Prescribing Information at https://www.luye.cn/lvye_en/rykindo.pdf

About the Clinical Trials of Rykindo 

Clinical trials of Rykindo include:

An open-label, single-ascending dose pharmacokinetic and safety study of LY03004 following escalating single intramuscular injection in stable patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (NCT02055287)

A randomized, open-label, parallel-group study to assess the relative bioavailability of LY03004 and Risperdal  Consta  at 25 mg following multiple intramuscular injections in stable patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (NCT02091388)

Consta at 25 mg following multiple intramuscular injections in stable patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (NCT02091388) A randomized open-label pharmacokinetic study of LY03004 compared to Risperdal Consta following a single intramuscular injection at 25mg or 50mg in stable patients with schizophrenia and/or schizoaffective disorder (NCT02186769)

About Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by disruptions in thought processes, perceptions, emotional responsiveness, and social interactions. Although the course of schizophrenia varies among individuals, schizophrenia is typically persistent and can be both severe and disabling[2]. Schizophrenia affects approximately 24 million people or 1 in 300 people worldwide[1]. Estimates of the prevalence of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders in the U.S. range between 0.25% and 0.64%[2].

About Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks[4]. 40 million people experienced bipolar disorder worldwide in 2019[1]. An estimated 4.4% of U.S. adults experience bipolar disorder at some time in their lives[3].

Bipolar disorder is a category that includes three different diagnoses: bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymic disorder. Bipolar I disorder is diagnosed when a person experiences a manic episode. During a manic episode, people with bipolar I disorder experience an extreme increase in energy and may feel on top of the world or uncomfortably irritable in mood. Some people with bipolar I disorder also experience depressive or hypomanic episodes, and most people with bipolar I disorder also have periods of neutral mood.[5]

About Luye Pharma Group

Luye Pharma Group is an international pharmaceutical company dedicated to the R&D, manufacturing and sale of innovative medications. The company has established R&D centers in China, the U.S. and Europe, with a robust pipeline of over 30 drug candidates in China and more than 10 drug candidates in other international markets. Luye Pharma maintains high-level international standards in novel drug delivery technologies including microspheres, liposomes, and transdermal drug delivery systems. The company has achieved multiple innovations in new chemical entities and antibodies, and is also actively making strategic developments in the fields of cell therapies and gene therapies.

Luye Pharma is developing a global supply chain of 8 manufacturing sites with over 30 production lines in total, establishing GMP quality management and international standard control systems. With more than 30 products covering the central nervous system, oncology, cardiovascular, metabolism and other therapeutic areas, business is conducted in over 80 countries and regions around the world, including the largest pharmaceutical markets - China, the U.S., Europe and Japan, as well as in fast growing emerging markets.

References

1. Mental disorders. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders. Accessed in January 2023

2. Schizophrenia. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/schizophrenia. Accessed in January 2023

3. Bipolar Disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/bipolar-disorder. Accessed in January 2023

4. Bipolar Disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder. Accessed in January 2023

5. What Are Bipolar Disorders? American Psychiatric Association. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/bipolar-disorders/what-are-bipolar-disorders. Accessed in January 2023

SOURCE Luye Pharma
RADNOR, Pa., Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (www.ktmc.com) informs investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed against Silvergate Capital Corporation ("Silvergate") (NYSE: SI). The action charges Silvergate with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of Silvergate's materially misleading statements and omissions to the public, Silvergate's investors have suffered significant losses.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR SILVERGATE LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/silvergate-capital-corporation?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=si&mktm=r

TO VIEW OUR VIDEO, PLEASE CLICK HERE

PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 6, 2023

CLASS PERIOD: NOVEMBER 9, 2021 THROUGH NOVEMBER 17, 2022

CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:

Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via email at [email protected]

Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.

SILVERGATE'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCT

The Class Period begins on November 9, 2021. On that day, Silvergate filed its quarterly report on a Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2021 which assured investors that the company's "disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2021."

On November 15, 2022, Marcus Aurelius Research tweeted that "[r]ecently subpoenaed Silvergate bank records reveal $425 million in transfers from $SI crypto bank accounts to South American money launderers. Affidavit from investigation into crypto crime ring linked to smugglers/drug traffickers." Following this news, Silvergate's Class A common stock price fell $6.13, or 17%, to close at $29.36 per share on November 15, 2022.

Then on November 17, 2022, The Bear Cave newsletter released an article about several companies with potential exposure to recently collapsed crypto currency exchange FTX, including Silvergate. The article highlighted the connection linking Silvergate to a money laundering operation that transferred $425 million off crypto currency trading platforms. Following this news, Silvergate's Class A common stock price fell $3.00, or 10.7%, to close at $24.90 per share on November 18, 2022.

WHAT CAN I DO?

Silvergate investors may, no later than February 6, 2023, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff for the class, through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages Silvergate investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information. The class action complaint against Silvergate, captioned Rosa v. Silvergate Capital Corporation, et al. and docketed under 22-cv-01936, is filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California before the Honorable Cathy Ann Bencivengo.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASE

WHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?

A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.

ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. The complaint in this action was not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com.

CONTACT:

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP

Jonathan Naji, Esq.

(484) 270-1453

280 King of Prussia Road

Radnor, PA 19087

[email protected]

SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $100,000 In Silvergate To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options

NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against Silvergate Capital Corporation ("Silvergate" or the "Company") (NYSE: SI) and reminds investors of the February 6, 2023 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

If you suffered losses exceeding $100,000 investing in Silvergate stock or options between November 9, 2021 and January 5, 2023 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310). You may also click here for additional information: www.faruqilaw.com/SI.

There is no cost or obligation to you.

Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading minority and Woman-owned national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that the Company's platform lacked sufficient controls and procedures to detect instances of money laundering; (2) that Silvergate's customers had engaged in money laundering in amounts exceeding $425 million; (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company was reasonably likely to receive regulatory scrutiny and face damages, including penalties and reputational harm; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendant's positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

On November 15, 2022, Marcus Aurelius Research tweeted that "Recently subpoenaed Silvergate bank records reveal $425 million in transfers from $SI crypto bank accounts to South American money launderers. Affadavit from investigation into crypto crime ring linked to smugglers/drug traffickers."

On this news, the Company's Class A common stock price fell $6.13, or 17%, to close at $29.36 per share on November 15, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.

On November 17, 2022, The Bear Cave newsletter released an article about several companies with potential exposure to recently collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, including Silvergate. The article highlighted the connection linking Silvergate to a money laundering operation that transferred $425 million off cryptocurrency trading platforms.

On this news, the Company's Class A common stock price fell $3.00, or 10.7%, to close at $24.90 per share on November 18, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume.

Then, on January 4, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing that it would release select financial metrics before market open on Thursday, January 5, 2023, and would then host a business update conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

On January 5, 2023, before the domestic stock markets opened, Silvergate issued a press release in which, in pertinent part, it disclosed that total deposits from digital asset customers had declined to $3.8 billion as of December 31, 2022, compared to $11.9 billion as of September 30, 2022, a decline of roughly 68%. In the same release, Silvergate acknowledged that there was a "crisis of confidence" across the cryptocurrency or digital asset ecosystem.

That same day, The Wall Street Journal released an article titled "Silvergate's Deposit Run is Worse Than Great Depression-Era Runs," in which it noted that bank runs from 1930-1933 averaged deposit declines of nearly 38%, and that only a few (9 out of a sample size of 67) had deposit declines exceeding 50%. It further noted that during the 2008 crisis, deposit losses were substantially smaller than the losses faced by Silvergate.

On this news, the Company's Class A common stock fell more than $9 per share, from a closing price of $21.95 on January 4, 2023, to $12.57 on January 5, 2023 on unusually heavy volume, a drop of 42.73%.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.

SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Independence Fund strongly endorses the new policy, announced by the Department of Veterans Affairs today, that provides free care to Veterans experiencing an emergency suicidal crisis. This policy expands Veterans' eligibility for care, including inpatient treatment, at any VA facility or non-VA hospital, regardless of whether they are enrolled with the VA.

The change, required by the Veterans Comprehensive Prevention, Access to Care and Treatment, or COMPACT ACT of 2020, applies to nearly nine million former Veterans who previously did not receive VA health care or services. The new policy goes into effect January 17, 2023.

"The VA's directive on emergency care for Veterans in crisis is such an important step in improving mental health access for our nation's heroes," said Sarah Verardo, CEO of The Independence Fund. "Too many Veterans die by suicide, and we know early intervention is critical. With this new policy, the VA is ripping up decades-old red tape that has created a bureaucratic stumbling block for many at-risk Veterans, and hundreds of lives will be saved."

The VA reportedly has about nine million Veterans enrolled in medical care, but an estimated nine million more are eligible but are not enrolled. Roughly 5,000 Veterans are hospitalized in acute psychiatric units every month.

A few things about this new policy worth foot stomping:

Veterans will now receive FREE emergency suicide care

The VA will now reimburse Veterans who have ambulance costs to hospitals

Veterans do not have to be enrolled in a VA system to be eligible

The new policy now provides up to 30 days of inpatient care and up to 90 days of follow-on outpatient care

"It's humbling to see the entire government and VA organization work hard to make such drastic changes to policies that have the potential to literally change thousands of lives of some of our most deserving Americans," Verardo said.

The new policy removes the financial barrier that prevented at-risk Veterans for years from accessing lifesaving care when they needed it the most.

"The Independence Fund casework team has seen several cases where Veterans came to us, seeking help because the anxiety associated with a bill for medical care left them feeling hopeless," Verardo said. "I know the entire Veteran community is celebrating alongside the VA community today and it's a wonderful step toward preventing Veteran suicide."

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
Defense attorneys for G. Steven Pigeon have asked a judge to block the testimony of a potential prosecution witness in the former political power broker's child sexual assault case.

The defense expects the witness, a therapist, to testify about Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome, according to motions filed in the case.

The syndrome may be used to explain behavior of abuse victims, including a delay in reporting the abuse.

New York courts have allowed testimony about Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome and the state's highest court has repeatedly made rulings permitting such testimony, the Erie County District Attorney's Office said in court papers responding to Pigeon's motions.

"The expert's testimony explained unusual behavior of child abuse victims and, particularly, why a child may wait a long time before reporting the alleged abuse," New York's Court of Appeals wrote in a 2013 decision in a case in which such testimony was allowed, according to prosecutors.

In 2016, the Court of Appeals again ruled such testimony admissible because it "helps to explain victim behavior that might be puzzling to a jury," prosecutors wrote.

But Pigeon's defense attorneys, Paul J. Cambria Jr. and Justin Ginter, called the syndrome "junk science."

They point to New Jersey's Supreme Court, which in 2018 barred most expert testimony about the theory, which, in addition to delayed disclosure, attempts to explain other behaviors, including secrecy, helplessness and retraction. New Jersey still allows a portion of it to be used  the part used to explain a delay in a person reporting abuse.

Pigeon's attorneys want the judge to rule on whether the theory "currently commands a consensus in the scientific community."

State courts have not determined whether the syndrome is "generally accepted," the attorneys wrote.

Allowing prosecutors to have the therapist testify "essentially precludes the defense from questioning the complainant's truly unusual behavior," Pigeon's attorneys said in court papers. "Instead, it impermissibly shifts the burden to the defendant to prove that the allegations were fabricated."

Pigeon, 62, was accused in December 2021 of sexually assaulting a child younger than 11 between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2016. He was indicted on two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child and one count each of first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act, first-degree sexual abuse and child endangerment.

A conviction for predatory sexual assault against a child carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison.

Defense attorneys for Pigeon, a former Erie County Democratic Party chairman and former county legislator, also have asked the judge to dismiss the child endangerment charge because it was filed beyond the two-year statute of limitations for misdemeanors. In court documents, prosecutors consented to its dismissal, though the judge has not formally ruled.

Pigeon's attorneys are also asking a judge to bar prosecutors from introducing an audio recording they say was "digitally enhanced" by the FBI but remains "inaudible."

"Any listener would be required to speculate as to the words being stated," attorneys argued in court papers.

Prosecutors, led by Assistant District Attorney Cathleen M. Roemer, contend the dialogue on the recording is "generally able to be understood by the listener."

The content of the recording is not revealed in court papers.

Attorneys are scheduled to argue the motions on March 8. A hearing on the admissibility of the expert testimony, if granted, was tentatively scheduled for April 26.

Pigeon's defense filed motions in July asking State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller to preclude the testimony outright, or to at least hold a hearing about its admissibility.

Last month, Boller scheduled jury selection in the case to begin Dec. 4.

The day before Pigeon turned himself in to state police, he told The Buffalo News someone might be setting him up. He called the accusations "absolutely untrue."

Pigeon is currently serving a one-year jail sentence for his role in a bribery scheme involving a former state judge.
Moscow, Jan 15 : UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly is among 36 British citizens that have been recently barred from entering Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

In addition to Cleverly, Secretary of State for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations Michael Gove, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden, Minister without Portfolio Nadhim Zahawi, and Chief of the General Staff Patrick Sanders are also blacklisted, the ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday a travel ban on 36 British citizens due to London's policy of confrontation against Russia.

The newly sanctioned include members of the cabinet of ministers, representatives of security services as well as journalists, the ministry said in a previous statement without disclosing their names.
Moscow, Jan 15 : Russia will launch the unmanned Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft to bring home three astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) as their Soyuz MS-22 spaceship has an emergency situation, Russian space authorities have said.

Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin together with NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio will return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23 in the next weeks, which is supposed to dock to the ISS on February 22, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement by Russia's space agency Roscosmos.

Last month, astronauts found damage to the outer skin of the instrument-assembly compartment of the Soyuz MS-22 docked to the ISS, which caused a pressure drop in the cooling system.

The systems of the ISS and the Soyuz MS-22 are operating normally, but Roscosmos and its partner space agencies have taken measures to ensure the safe return of the crew to Earth in the event of an accident before the arrival of Soyuz MS-23, the statement said.

The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 21, 2022, taking Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio to the ISS for a six-month stay in orbit.
Lucknow, Jan 15 : The Lucknow police have arrested the head of a Bangladeshi criminals' gang involved in several robberies in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country.

The police have arrested a key gang member from Chinhat police circle.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP), East, Hridesh Kumar said that the Bangladeshi national was identified as Aslam Khan, 35, and he was wanted in multiple cases of robberies in different parts of Lucknow and Varanasi.

He said a reward of Rs 1 lakh had been announced on his head after his name surfaced in a series of crimes in the state.

The DCP said the police had been trying to track him down for the past three years and he was arrested after getting a tip off that he had returned to India to meet two gang members, Rabibul and Bilal, both Bangladesh nationals, lodged in Lucknow district jail for similar types of crimes.

The DCP said Aslam had confessed his involvement in robberies in Chinhat, Mall, Gomti Nagar and Vibhuti Khand between 2020 and 2021.
Lucknow, Jan 15 : The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) busted a racket involved in smuggling prohibited medicines to US from India.

The STF arrested three men from the Durgapuri locality of Nilmatha area, under the Cantt police circle in Lucknow.

The STF also seized tablets and Rs 6.57 lakh as well as wrappers and packaging material of herbal and ayurvedic medicines.

The accused used to get orders from international customers through WhatsApp, Skype as well as the Dark Web, while the payments were made through online virtual currencies like Bitcoin, payment gateways and through the Hawala network.

They said around Rs 20 lakh has been found in their bank accounts and the process of freezing them is almost over.

STF Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Vishal Vikram Singh, said that those arrested were identified as Yasir Jameel Khan Faizi, Hamza Ahmad and Inamul Haq.

He said the trio was arrested when they were present near Yasir Jameel's house near Nilmatha. Prohibited medicines were recovered from the house of Yasir Jameel.

The ASP said Jameel revealed during interrogation that Hamza and Inam had offered to send these two medicines to different addresses in the US after getting orders from international clients. He said Jameel had sent these medicines to US-based clients as many as 150 times in the past two years.

"Yasir said that the duo offered him Rs 600-700 per strip of tablets, available in the Indian market for Rs 30-40. He used to purchase these tablets from different drug dealers and courier to international addresses after changing wrappers with herbal and ayurvedic medicines mentioned on it. He used to make these wrappers himself," the ASP said.
New York, Jan 15 : Indian-American doctor Nirav D. Shah, who played a pivotal role during Covid-19 pandemic, has been appointed Principal Deputy Director at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC).

Shah, 45, who serves as the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), will report to US CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in his new role starting March.

"In my new role, I will be honored to serve not just Maine, but the entire nation and carry forward the good work that we have done here. As I prepare for this next step, I thank the people of Maine for taking care of me, as I've always asked them to take care of each other," he said in a statement.

Shah was appointed to Maine CDC in 2019 with the mission of rebuilding the agency and the State's public health infrastructure.

"Dr Shah has been a trusted advisor to me and an extraordinary leader of the Maine CDC. But even more than that, he was a trusted advisor and a leader to the people of Maine during one of the greatest public health crises of our time," Maine Governor Janet Mills wrote in a tweet.

She added in her statement that Shah spoke calmly and directly to the people of Maine, many of whom were scared and uncertain, and answered their questions with "compassion, empathy, humor, and a clarity".

Shah's appointment as Principal Deputy Director comes as part of a planned, broader overhaul of that agency announced by the US CDC Director in August of last year.

Born to Indian immigrants, Shah grew up in Wisconsin, and attended the University of Louisville where he majored in psychology and biology.

He studied economics at Oxford University and enrolled in medical school at the University of Chicago in 2000. Shah completed his Juris Doctor in 2007 and his Doctor of Medicine in 2008 -- both from the University of Chicago and was a recipient of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans.
Patna, Jan 15 : The Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar is facing a tough time for the last few weeks thanks to its leaders like Sudhakar Singh, Vijay Kumar Mandal and Chandrashekher Yadav.

Sudhakar Singh and Vijay Kumar Mandal directly targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while Chandrashekher Yadav gave an undue edge to the Bharatiya Janata Party by giving a controversial statement on the Ram Charit Manas. Interestingly, the RJD top leadership failed to take disciplinary action against any of them.

Moreover, the party's state president Jagadanand Singh openly supported Bihar education minister Chandrashekher Yadav in front of the media. Though, he was immediately countered by the party national vice president Shivanand Tiwari but the party supreme leader Lalu Prasad Yadav or Tejashwi Yadav did not comment on it.

The current stand of the RJD top leadership has led to speculation in Bihar with every person putting in their two bits.

A theory doing the rounds in Bihar is that the current stand of the top leadership is a deliberate attempt to target CM Nitish Kumar and acquire some more power in the government. Since, this ploy is not working for Tejashwi Yadav, he wants to give undue benefits to the BJP through objectionable remarks on holy books like Ram Charit Manas.

The politics around Hindu ideology actually suits the BJP which the RJD leaders know well. Still, they are giving statements like Chandrashekher Yadav did on Wednesday when he claimed that Ram Charit Manas along with two other books, Manu Smriti and RSS second chief MS Golwalkar's Bunch of Thoughts spread hatred in society.

The statements by Sudhakar Singh and Vijay Kumar Mandal were directly affecting the fate of the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar. As a result, the JD-U objected to their statements and leaders like Upendra Kushwaha warned the RJD and Tejashwi Yadav to control their legislators. The statement of Chandrashekher Yadav benefited the BJP.

The JD-U parliamentary board president Upendra Kushwaha said: "RJD leaders like Sudhakar Singh and Chandrashekher Yadav are deliberately giving statements to benefit the BJP." "Talking about Ram Charit Manas is clearly indicating that the RJD is batting on the BJP pitch. The saffron party wants a discussion on this subject and RJD leaders are giving them opportunities. The leaders of the RJD are working to benefit the BJP. We believe in the social justice and development work of Nitish Kumar. The BJP believes in communalizing things. If they work in the interest of social justice, it will benefit us and if they talk on religious sentiments, it will benefit the BJP," Kushwaha said.

"Chandrashekher Yadav spoke on Ram Charit Manas and Sudhakar Singh used abusive words for our chief minister Nitish Kumar and he is continuing his statements. Moreover, the RJD state president supports it which means the party has a clear stand on it. Tejashwi Yadav said that the statement of Sudhakar Singh is in favour of the BJP. It is extremely unfortunate that action has not been taken against these two leaders," Kushwaha said.

"There is a strong buzz that the RJD and the BJP work for each other. The RJD wants some benefits from the BJP led central government and the BJP wants an edge in Bihar. People are suspecting it and their suspicions become stronger when action is not taken against them," Upendra Kushwaha said, hinting at benefits in the CBI cases against RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi Yadav and their family members in the land for job case.

Four-time MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav lambasted Chandrashekher Yadav and also criticized RJD state president Jagadanand Singh for supporting him.

"Instead of addressing the issues of BPSC and BSSC question papers leak, the session of universities examinations getting late, the education minister of Bihar is giving controversial statements on Ram Charit Manas. Shockingly, state president Jagadanand Singh is supporting him. He and his son are having a feudal mindset. They do not want to see Nitish Kumar as the chief minister of Bihar. The RJD should control its legislators in the interest of Bihar," he said.

Following his statement, JD-U leaders are looking for an opportunity to get the upper hand against the RJD. After JD-U MLC and party chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar and building construction minister Ashok Chaudhary, party national president Lalan Singh put the ball in the court of Tejashwi Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav.

"It is up to the RJD top leadership to take a decision on Chandrashekher Yadav. As far as the JD-U is concerned, we respect every religion and holy books. We object to any such statement that hurts the religious sentiments of the society."
Gandhinagar, Jan 15 : The Gujarat Police have launched a drive against loan sharks, and in just one week the police have registered 416 criminal complaints against 762 loan sharks. But the question is whether the drive will end the harassment by the loan sharks.

On January 3, Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia directed his force to arrange a lok darbar (public grievances hearing) to hear complaints against private financiers. Since then such lok darbars are being organised in each district, town and mega cities.

The police are in action mode and had arrested 316 private financiers till Friday, revealed the state police data. For a short period borrowers will have some relief, but what about the long term, will the harassment and threats stop.

It is doubtful, but the Consumer Forum and Action Committee aims to extend all support to such borrowers in the future too. Committee president Mukesh Parikh said it will provide free legal guidance to borrowers, and will help in filing cases against loan sharks.

Bhavnagar's Rahul Patil had borrowed Rs 25,000 from Rajbha Gohil. He repaid Rs 13,000, yet he was threatened by Rajbha and his associate Kalpesh Mehta that if he did not repay all the money, they will rape his wife in his presence. In May 2022, Rahul hanged himself. No action was taken by the police and only when the victim's sister took up the matter with the Prime Minister's Office, that the police initiated action against the financiers last week.

At the same time some are lucky and the police action has brought big relief to them. One such case is of Surat's Nayannaben Virani who had borrowed Rs 8 lakh from private financiers. The financiers took possession of her house, and to return it they demanded Rs 80 lakh. However, because of police intervention she got her property documents and possession back.

When the police drive against loan sharks was going on, on January 12, 27-year-old Chetan Pathar consumed poison and attempted to end his life. He had borrowed Rs 6 lakh from Sandeep Punjabhai, and on January 11 night Sandeep and a few others had kidnapped Chetan in their car and took him to their village and forced him to sign 13 cheques. Fearing more harassment, he attempted suicide. Now he is being treated at a government hospital.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 15 : In the second half of 2022, it was a battle royale in Kerala between the head of the state Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and head of the government Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

There were times when all levels of political decency were breached when the fight between the two crossed the permissible borders.

Why this occurred is now a matter of debate. Both come from strong political backgrounds and hence it turned into an ego issue. The saving grace now is that with the New Year, there seems to be some respite as the 'guns' of these seasoned veterans have fallen silent.

While Vijayan who is the last word in both the government and the CPI-M has not crossed the Kerala borders, Khan had a larger canvas right from the time he entered politics.

Khan started his political career as a student leader and in 1972-73 was the president of Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union.

He, however, began with a loss when he contested his first legislative assembly election from the Siyana constituency of Bulandshahar on a Bharatiya Kranti Dal ticket.

But in 1977 at the age of 26 he became a member of the legislative assembly of Uttar Pradesh and has not looked back since in an eventful political career.

In 1980 after joining the Indian National Congress he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from Kanpur and 1984 from Bahraich.

Then came a major game changer in Khan's political career when in 1986, he quit the Congress party after differences over the passage of the Muslim Personal Law Bill which was piloted by late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.

Khan was against the legislation to enable Muslim men to avoid giving their divorced wife or wives any maintenance after the iddah period as per the Qur'an and resigned because of differences with Rajiv Gandhi on this issue.

Then Khan joined the Janata Dal and was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989.

During the Janata Dal rule Khan served as Union Minister of Civil aviation and Energy.

Then he left the Janata Dal to join the Bahujan Samaj Party and again entered the Lok Sabha in 1998 from Bahraich.

Khan held ministerial responsibilities from 1984 to 1990.

He again changed his political colours, when in 2004, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election as a BJP candidate that year from Kaiserganj constituency.

From then on he was in political wilderness and was a surprise choice when in 2019 the Narendra Modi government chose him to be the new Governor of Kerala.

When Khan arrived in Kerala, Vijayan was at his peak with both the party and the government firmly under his control. The outgoing governor, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court P. Sathasivam, bowed out after his term with no skirmishes.

While Khan began on a quiet note, he took his own time to study all the political issues, especially with the state BJP unit time and again complaining about the high handedness of Vijayan, especially after his became the first sitting government to get a second term.

Khan soon got into the act and fired the first salvo when he put his foot down on the appointment of Vijayan's private secretary K.K. Ragesh's wife Priya Varghese to a teaching job in Kannur University.

And from then on it was a free for all when Khan spoke about political interference by turning universities into a department of the CPI-M. He started coming down more heavily after the Supreme Court declared the vice-chancellor of Kerala Technological University as void ab inito.

Soon Khan took up this issue with the VCs of 10 other universities and that matter is presently before the court.

Vijayan, not the one to lie low, asked the Left Democratic Front to express their ire against Khan and assembled before his official residence.

While Vijayan and his cabinet members kept away, all other Left leaders and close to a lakh of their cadres assembled to express their displeasure against Khan.

Then came a snub from Vijayan when he and his cabinet members refused to accept an invite to attend Khan's Christmas party and when the CM held one, Khan was not invited.

If that was not enough came a Bill to remove the Governor as the chancellor of universities in the state, but here Khan said he will not sit in judgement and is expected to send the Bill to the president.

And when things seemed to go out of control, Khan after expressing his displeasure at the return of Saji Cherian as a Minister after resigning in July last year for his attack on the Constitution, gave his nod that he will be sworn in on the date fixed by Vijayan. He did that early this month.

In return there was a clampdown from Vijayan, when the state government decided to sign off the December assembly session, which will enable Khan to deliver his address to the Kerala Assembly, a convention in vogue, at the start of a new calendar year.

Incidentally the Congress led opposition played the waiting game when the two clashed and they did not lose any opportunity to take on both the titans at the appropriate time.

On one occasion when Khan slammed the Congress, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said that they need not learn anything from a 'person' who has changed more than half a dozen political parties. When Satheesan wishes to slam both Khan and Vijayan, his stock statement is the two are foes when the day breaks and when the sun sets, they are friends and the latest silence is because Khan sent a packet of Kashmiri halwa to Vijayan.

But those who have analysed both the men, say this lull is most likely a temporary truce as feathers have been ruffled and both are waiting to strike when the iron is hot.

So all eyes are on Khan's address to the Assembly on January 23, when the picture would become more clear on the clash of the titans.
Four projects in Western New York will receive National Endowment for the Humanities grants totaling $927,389, Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced.

The largest grant, for $400,000, will go to the National Comedy Center in Jamestown for producing four interactive touchscreen kiosks for the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum.

The SUNY Research Foundation at Buffalo State University will be given $250,000 for fellowships for graduate students in the art conservation program. It will include 10 fellowships in the Class of 2024, eight in the Class of 2025 and 10 in the Class of 2026.

A grant of $30,000 is allotted to the SUNY Research Foundation at the University at Buffalo to research and write a publication about how high-tech methods can be employed to map land use in the Alas Merta Jati forest in central Bali, where there is a dispute over sustainability.

St. Bonaventure University will receive $147,389 for a three-year project in conjunction with the Seneca Nation to teach Native American and Indigenous studies in classes for all freshman students.
Some of the governors' conduct has become a subject of intense public debate, especially after the drama which recently unfolded during the address of Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi to the legislative assembly to open the new year's first session.

On a larger canvas the tiff between the governor and the state government has not been limited to the address to the assembly rather it emerged from several friction points: not acting in accordance with the advice of an elected state government, having critical views about the state government and relaying them to the media without exercising restraint, remission of sentence of convicts, delaying a decision in giving assent to bills which have been passed by the legislative assembly, etc.

The Supreme Court had said the governor's action should be to protect the Constitution and not to promote any political party's interest. The apex court had also said that the governor of a state is "but a shorthand expression for the state government" while exercising powers of clemency under Article 161 of the Constitution. It said this in a judgment releasing Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict A.G. Perarivalan in May last year.

Some opposition-ruled states are brimming over with anger. The differences between the governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammad Khan, and the state government is not a secret and the sourness has spilled over to the state governments of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana -- they all have issues with their governors.

In November last year, Tamil Nadu's ruling coalition submitted a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu seeking the removal of governor RN Ravi saying he was unfit to hold office. Ratcheting up hostilities with Raj Bhavan and the open confrontation between the governors and state governments is forcing a thought into the minds of many -- isn't it a sign of a weakening of the constitutional order. The scenario begs the question: Who will correct the distortions which threaten an established system.

A number of decisions of the constitution benches of the Supreme Court settle the powers and functions of the governor.

The Supreme Court had examined the powers and functions of the governor in Shamsher Singh v State of Punjab (1974). The apex court held that the governor can act only on the aid and advice of the council of ministers and executive powers -- which are vested in the elected government -- cannot be enjoyed by the governor. In Nabam Rebia v Deputy Speaker (2016), the Supreme Court emphasized that the governor can act only on the advice of the council of ministers.

In January 2013, upholding the appointment of Justice R.A. Mehta as Gujarat Lokayukta by Governor Kamla Beniwal, the apex court said: "It is evident that the Governor enjoys complete immunity under Article 361(1) and that under this, his/her actions cannot be challenged for the reason that the Governor acts only upon the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. If this was not the case, democracy itself would be in peril." "The Governor is not answerable to either the House of the State or Parliament or even to the Council of Ministers, and his/her acts cannot be subject to judicial review. In such a situation, unless he/she acts upon the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, he/she will become all powerful, and this is an anti-thesis to the concept of democracy." Therefore, a state governor is a constitutional figurehead who enjoys no real power. A good governor, however, can play a vital role in smoothening federal friction and further bolstering the Centre-state relationship.

But governors can also create problems for the state governments by sitting on a Bill, brought by the government when there is an urgent need for a law on a particular matter, duly passed by the legislative assembly is presented for assent.

Article 200 of the constitution provides four options to the governor: to give assent, withhold assent, return the Bill to the assembly for reconsideration, or reserve it for the consideration of the President.

The Constitution does not provide an option to the governor to not take a decision indefinitely, however the Constitution also does not lay down a timeline for the governor to take a time bound decision. Also, there is no decision of the apex court in connection with laying down a timeline.
Islamabad, Jan 15 : At least six people, including four children, were killed in a gas cylinder blast in Pakistan's Quetta, local media reported on Sunday.

According to the reports, the blast occurred on Saturday night when a family member attempted to light a heater in the Satellite Town area of Quetta, the provincial capital Balochistan, Xinhua News Agecny reported.

Rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the bodies to a hospital.

According to the rescue personnel, all the deceased, including a couple and their four children, died on the spot following the blast.

Local police told the media that the blast occurred due to gas leakage from the cylinder, which also damaged the house seriously.

Most parts of Balochistan, including Quetta, are facing intense cold weather with temperatures dropping up to minus 15 degrees Celsius.
Washington, Jan 15 : A North Korean nuclear test might be inevitable while China, despite its perceived influence in Pyongyang, may be unwilling to help prevent such a test from taking place, former US nuclear negotiator Victor Cha said.

Cha also insisted that Beijing may not have the means to prevent North Korea from conducting a nuclear test even if it wanted to in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency.

"I think it's inevitable. I think it's seventh nuclear test is inevitable and I think another Hwasong-17 (intercontinental ballistic missile) test using a solid fuel propeller, I think that's inevitable because in the New Year speech, they said that," said Cha, currently a senior vice president and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

North Korea test-fired its largest Hwasong-17 ICBM in November, as part of its record 69 ballistic missile launches in 2022 alone. Its previous annual record of ballistic missile launches was 25.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said his country will work to secure an "exponential" growth of its nuclear arsenal this year.

"North Korea is a very opaque country, but they seem to be very transparent about their intentions with regard to nuclear weapons because they state them in every new year speech and they have basically done everything they talked about in the new year speeches," said Cha.

Seoul and Washington have traditionally looked to Beijing to use its widely believed leverage over North Korea to stop Pyongyang from taking any provocative actions.

The former US negotiator in the six-party talks, which included China, Russia, Japan and both Koreas, argued Beijing may not have as much influence in Pyongyang as it wants others to believe, adding that North Korea's three-year voluntary lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that.

"But I think the COVID lockdown has shown that China ... can't really do much because even if you sanction them, it doesn't really do anything. They (North Korea) have basically had trade cut off with them (China) for three years and it hasn't made them more willing to come to the negotiating table," Cha said.

"The whole idea was they may use carrots to get them to the table, but threaten the removal of those carrots to try to get them to agree to denuclearization. But what COVID has shown is threatening the removal of these things may not have an impact because North Korea had everything taken from them during COVID and they still haven't changed," he added.

Cha also raised questions about China's willingness to help denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

"I think China doesn't want a nuclear test. At the same time, though, China does not share the U.S.' interest in a nuclear free Korean Peninsula. They are not threatened by it. They don't really seem to care about it. Otherwise, they will be working with the United States," he said.

With regard to North Korea's increased provocations, the US expert said Pyongyang may be in the phase of practicing its newly acquired capabilities, instead of trying to get the US' attention as had often been the case in the past.

"They are not trying to get attention, and I don't think they are even testing. They are rehearsing. They are exercising. Some of this is testing for development purposes, but some of it is actually rehearsing war plans with all of these new capabilities," said Cha.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Elon Musk-owned Twitter has announced to soon launch the 'Verification for Organisations' feature which was earlier called 'Blue for Business.' The company said that it will review applications and allow a limited set of organisations to use the feature.

"We will soon launch Verification for Organisations, formerly known as Blue for Business. You can apply for early access via our waitlist," Twitter posted.

As a subscriber, you and your business will receive business accounts and affiliation badges through our self-serve administrative portal, according to the company.

"We'll be reviewing applications and opening up access to a limited group on a rolling basis in the coming weeks," said the micro-blogging platform.

The company is frantically trying to monetise its platform via various means.

Since Musk's takeover, the billionaire has been aiming to boost the company's revenue, including charging money for its $8 Blue subscription service with verification.

Twitter will soon start selling usernames via online actions that have remained inactive in order to boost its revenues.

It is unclear how much Twitter will charge for selling inactive usernames.

Several advertisers have left the micro-blogging platform, as the company cuts internal revenue projections.

Meanwhile, Musk said on Saturday that Twitter will soon publish tweet recommendation code and make account/tweet status visible "no later than next month".

"Transparency builds trust," he tweeted.
Glendale : , Jan 15 (IANS) Rain had wetted much of the clay soil on the ground -- rich terracotta earth colours -- creating small and large puddles everywhere around a gigantic steel structure, densely embedded with millions of steel beams.

Yet it was another busy day for many of the 800 engineers and construction workers, who had turned up for work to "get moving" on schedule for the electric vehicle battery manufacturing plants, under construction in Glendale, about 84.5 kms south of Louisville in the US state of Kentucky.

The 6.28 million-square-meter construction site, unveiled to South Korean media on Jan. 8, is where South Korean battery producer SK On Co. and Ford Motor Co. are building what will be the biggest EV battery plants in the United States for such a facility built on a single site, reports Yonhap news agency.

"It's a big programme, so we need to take advantage of any days that we can to accelerate the schedule," George Eschker, a superintendent at Barton Malow Co., the lead contractor of the project, said.

"We have up to 160 people working here now in several teams today," Eschker said.

The project is part of the $11.4 billion investment the two companies' joint venture, BlueOval SK (BOSK), announced in September 2021, to build twin EV battery plants in Kentucky and a third one in Tennessee.

Once completed, the plants will have an annual run rate of 129 gigawatt hours (GWh) in production capacity, enough to power about 1.2 million units of the Ford F-150 Lightning EV pickups.

Ford plans to manufacture half of its global vehicles fully electric by 2030.

SK On, the battery-making unit under SK Group, South Korea's second-largest conglomerate, has its own ambitions to become the world's top player over the next decade and hopes the joint U.S. plants will serve as a game changer.

The Kentucky plants plan to go into operation in the first quarter of 2025, and the third plant, to be built in Stanton, Tennessee, by 2026, following trial runs.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has welcomed the Chinese government's admission that almost 60,000 people died due to Covid between December 8 and January 12.

The WHO chief spoke with Minister Ma Xiaowei, director of China's National Health Commission, about the COVID-19 situation in the country.

"I appreciated the release of detailed information, which we request they continue to share. Asked for the sharing of further sequences and cooperation on understanding the virus origins," said Ghebreyesus.

Chinese officials provided information to WHO, and in a press conference, spoke on a range of topics, including outpatient clinics, hospitalisations, patients requiring emergency treatment and critical care, and hospital deaths related to COVID-19 infection.

WHO said in a statement that it is analysing the information, which covers early December 2022 to 12 January 2023.

"It allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation and the impact of this wave in China," said the world health body.

WHO requested that this type of detailed information continue to be shared with them and the public.

"WHO notes the efforts by Chinese authorities to scale up clinical care for its population at all levels, including in critical care," it added.

While the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has earlier reported that Omicron sublineages BA.5.2 and BF.7 are currently circulating, WHO continues to ask that further sequences be shared with open access databases such as GISAID for deeper phylogenetic analyses, and for continued collaboration with technical groups working on virus evolution, clinical care, and beyond.

"WHO will continue to work with China, providing technical advice and support, and engaging in analysing the situation," the agency said.

On Saturday, Jiao Yahui, the head of the Bureau of Medical Administration, announced there have been 59,938 Covid deaths between December 8 and January 12.

It included about 5,500 who died of respiratory failure, while the rest also had underlying health conditions.

The average age of those who died was 80, Jiao said, with 90.1 per cent aged 65 and above.

China is in the grip of a major wave of the virus after abruptly lifting its zero-Covid restrictions in December last year, with some major cities estimating between 70 per cent and 90 per cent of their populations have been infected.

Last week, the World Health Organization had criticised the new definition as too narrow and an under-representation of the true impact of the outbreak. Chinese authorities responded that it was not necessary to attribute every death.
Kolkata, Jan 15 : At a time when the Union ministry of education has decided to send an inspection team to West Bengal to review the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme in the state, Trinamool Congress has raised a counter- question on whether the Central fund allocation per student under the scheme is sufficient to provide nutritious food.

The state government has chalked out an estimated per student cost for a mid-day meal for a school which on average has 100 students.

As per that estimate with a school with 100 students, the average daily cost for running that scheme is Rs 595, which includes the price of cooking items, spices, fuel and the payment to cook. However, the average daily fund allotment under the scheme for such a school with 100 students is Rs 545. "So often the school authorities are forced to compromise on quality and at times even quantity of food to stay within the prescribed allotment. We cannot expect the teachers or headmasters to pay the excess amount from their own pockets," a state education department official said.

On an average, he added, each student in a meal is allotted 50 grams of rice, eight grams of pulses and 100 grams of vegetables. "Now add the cost of spices, fuel which is mainly cooking gas and the payment to the cook. Often there are demands for the addition of protein food like eggs or fish. With this paltry allotment when it is difficult to meet the bare minimum adding more nutrition is out of the question," he added.

According to senior Trinamool Congress legislator Tapas Roy, the decision to send the Central field inspection team without increasing the fund allotment under the mid-day meal scheme is prompted by narrow political motives. "First the Union government should send such inspection teams to the BJP- ruled states instead of just isolating West Bengal," Roy said.

The BJP state spokesman in West Bengal Samik Bhattacharya has claimed that Trinamool Congress leaders are trying to defend the indefensible. "Agreed that the fund allocation needs enhancement for providing nutritious food to the students under the scheme. But how can ruling party leaders justify the recent developments of recovery of lizards, cockroaches from the meals," Bhattacharya questioned.

Mid-day meal is the second Centrally sponsored scheme after the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) whose implementation in West Bengal has come under the scanner of the Union government.
San Francisco, Jan 15 : After the departure of Peter Stern, an Apple executive who helped build Apple TV+ business operations, Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music and Beats, will now help manage the subscription streaming service.

Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Services for Apple, hired Schusser in 2004 as vice president of iTunes International, reports AppleInsider.

Schusser developed the service's international presence and took control of Beats in 2020.

Stern had announced his departure from the company on Monday.

The tech giant is likely to divide Stern's former responsibilities between Schusser and two other vice presidents-- Robert Kondrk, vice president of services product and design and Adrian Perica, vice president of corporate development.

The iPhone maker has been working to reorganise its Services business to focus more on streaming and advertising, the report said.

Meanwhile, last month, it was reported that the company was planning to launch its TV application on Android smartphones soon.

The news came from Twitter user ShrimpApplePro and it claimed that the tech giant was testing the application internally and plans to release it soon.
Kathmandu, Jan 15 : At least 30 people died when a passenger plane crashed in Pokhara region of Nepal's Kaski district on Sunday.

Chief District Officer Tek Bahadur K.C. confirmed that bodies of 30 passengers have been recovered so far.

"Chances of finding people alive are less, he said, adding that "we are pulling out the bodies." A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraft that crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport, Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson of Yeti Airlines, said.

The ill-fated aircraft was proceeding towards Pokhara from Kathmandu.

Images and videos posted on social media platforms showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called an emergency meeting after the crash.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : As Amazon announced to lay off 18,000 employees globally including nearly 1,000 in India, reports have surfaced that some of the impacted employees broke down and were left "crying in the office" when they heard they have been asked to go.

On Grapevine, a community app for Indian professionals, an Amazon India employee posted sad scenes at offices, including people crying after the announcement of layoffs.

"About 75 per cent of my team is gone. Although I'm in the remaining 25 per cent, I don't feel motivated to work anymore. They are firing people in cabins. People are crying in the office," posted the employee.

IANS could not independently verify the Grapevine user who was affected in Amazon layoffs.

Corporate Chat India also posted the screenshot of the user, saying "Atmosphere at Amazon India as layoffs take place".

The layoffs impacted both freshers and experienced employees at Amazon India offices in Bengaluru, Gurugram and other places.

The company has mostly shut down businesses which are in early stages of development.

Last week, the Labour Commission Office in Pune sent a summon to Amazon regarding mass layoffs and voluntary separation policy.

The letter to the IT employees' union asked for a joint discussion on January 17 over the alleged layoffs by the company in India.

"Livelihood of 1000s of employees and their families has now been made vulnerable. As per procedures laid down under the Industrial Dispute Act, the employer cannot, without prior permission from the appropriate government, layoff an employee featuring on the muster rolls of the establishment," Harpreet Singh Saluja, President of employees' union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), had said in a statement.

In November last year, Amazon issued a voluntary separation policy offer to its employees.

In the same month, the Union Labour Ministry summoned Amazon India to appear before the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner in Bengaluru in connection with the alleged forced terminations by the company.

"You (Amazon) are therefore requested to attend this office with all relevant records in the matter either personally or through an authorised representative on the aforesaid date and time without fail," read the Ministry's notice.

The development comes after a complaint filed by the employee union NITES, in which it has alleged Amazon of violating labour laws.

In a letter to Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav, NITES claimed that Amazon staffers were removed forcefully from the company.

Earlier this month, Amazon confirmed it is laying off around 18,000 employees and several teams will be impacted, especially Amazon Stores along with People, Experience and Technology (PXT) organisations.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement that they were not done with the annual planning process as earlier mentioned, and "I expected there would be more role reductions in early 2023".
Something unspoken lurks these days inside Albanys gleaming and magnificent Capitol.

Last week, as Kathy Hochul delivered the State of the State speech following her election as the first upstate governor in more than a century, it still crept through the hallways.

Bob McCarthy: Gov. Kathy Hochul's speech recognizes legislative tightrope that awaits A legislative tightrope awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul, reflected in a speech alternately calling for strengthening the public safety concerns that propelled her GOP opponent last November with others sure to generate genuine Democratic enthusiasm, Bob McCarthy writes.

Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt put it all into words.

She may be governor, but she will always be Kathy Hochul from Hamburg, the North Tonawanda Republican said. At the end of the day, the city is always going to say: We run the state. Shes got to grapple with that.

Ortt, of course, refers to New York City. Its home to 8.5 million people. It dominates the politics, media, culture and finance of a vast and diverse state. And its world view often reflects the famous New Yorker cartoon  the one depicting the known universe ending at the Hudson River, with vague concepts such as Jersey on the opposite shore and California beyond.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's State of the State focuses on housing, crime, mental health In her first State of the State address as an elected governor, Kathy Hochul laid out a "groundbreaking strategy" to spur housing development across New York  one in which state government would seek to override local governments that prove resistant. Hochul is aiming to build 800,000 units of housing across the state over the next decade, and laid out a plan that almost certainly will face resistance from local governments and homeowners who dont want new development. Over the past decade, New York built just half the amount of Hochul's goal.

During a chat in his Senate minority leader office a few days ago, Ortt said what many like to leave alone. He is a partisan Republican who opposes just about everything Hochul advocates. But Ortt cuts her a bit of slack in view of what she faces. It stems from a sense, especially among Democrats, he says, that the states nerve center lies down the Hudson and not out the Thruway.

She doesnt have to deal with it just every time she runs, shes got to deal with it every time shes here, Ortt said. I can empathize, because I have to deal with it, to an extent, as well.

Its politics in New York, he added.

Part of it stems from Hochuls narrow 6-point victory, the closest in three decades. The rest stems from what Ortt calls a fact of life.

Others have noted the city syndrome in the past. Just after his razor thin defeat by Eliot Spitzer for a second term as attorney general, Hamburgs Dennis Vacco noted the same views in 1998. Besides Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, he was the last upstater independently elected to statewide office until Hochul last November.

Stinging from a defeat hinging on about 1.7 votes per election district, Vacco back then pointed to a condescending bias against Buffalo and upstate.

Its subtle, but theres a statewide political perception that upstate and Buffalo is not where its happening, he said upon leaving office in 1998, that if youre from Western New York, youre just a little less.

Still a political insider and successful attorney in Buffalo, Vaccos views have softened. Asked a few days ago to reflect on the Ortt views that match his of 1998, he still believes any upstater in Hochuls position faces a complicated challenge. But thrust into the governors post following scandal and resignation of her predecessor, Vacco notes the important fact that Hochul won a statewide election.

Her victory in November broke the mold in that upstate-downstate divide, he said, though he thinks Hochul might have faced a different landscape had she faced Attorney General Tish James in a primary.

Now, Hochul presides over a state with a Constitution that grants its governor widespread powers. She commands the vast resources and powers of the State of New York.

Shes governor. She controls so much, Vacco says. But it will be interesting as she navigates through the more liberal interests of downstate.

Many of those more liberal interests  a host of New York City senators  are vowing to block her nomination of Justice Hector LaSalle as chief judge of the Court of Appeals. Such a backlash appears unprecedented, contributing to that unspoken feeling in the Capitol.

It will be a test of her strength, Vacco said. My sense is she will prevail.

In her State of the State speech Tuesday, Hochul imprinted her own stamp. She restored a sense of decorum by returning the ritual to the Assembly Chamber sans the glitz and graphics of her predecessor. Republicans and Democrats reacted, so did upstaters and downstaters. Life went on, Just like for every governor, whether from Hamburg or Harlem.
Kathmamdu, Jan 15 : At least 36 people were killed on Sunday after a passenger plane crashed in Nepal's Pokhara region.

Thirty-six dead bodies have been brought out from the wreckage and the fire has been put off, Tek Bahadur K.C., chief district officer of the Kaski district, told Xinhua from the crash site.

The ill-fated ATR-72 plane of Yeti Airlines was flying to Pokhara from Kathmandu and crashed just a few minutes before landing, Jagannath Niroula, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, told Xinhua.

The plane was carrying 68 passengers and four crew members, including 15 foreigners, Xinhua News Agency reported quoting Niroula.
Mumbai, Jan 15 : Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor complained about pollution due to construction work in Mumbai and said that it is 'tortuorous' to drive in the city.

She mentioned in her tweet that she was travelling from her house in Juhu to Bandra bandstand but it took really long to reach to her destination.

She tweeted: "It's torturous to drive through Mumbai. It's taken me an hour to reach the bandstand from Juhu. Too much construction and digging everywhere. Pollution is through the roof. What's going on." Some social media users said she was right, but many criticised her as well.

One user commented: "Have you even SEEN outside? We can't even breathe or open windows. It's THAT BAD. VISIBLE & invisible pollution are two different levels of devastation. If she's trying to make a good change, support." Another said: "Yes, why are they making the Metro and roads for better infrastructure of common people? They should send common people packing in overcrowded local trains, so rich people can enjoy their luxury drives." But most weren't as critical. Sharing Sonam's thoughts, one user commented: "Glad to see @sonamakapoor speak honestly. The city with the worst roads to add to the above. People of influence, please bring more attention to this topic." Sonam is all set for her next project, 'Blind', in which she is playing a visually challenged cop. The movie, directed by Shome Makhija, will also star Purab Kohli, Vinay Pathak and Lillete Dubey in prominent roles.
Lucknow, Jan 15 : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati, on Sunday, announced that her party would not forge alliance with any party in the Assembly elections to four states in 2023 and then the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

She further said that if elections are held through ballot papers, the results would be different.

"Whenever elections have been held through ballot papers, the BSP strength has grown. But after EVMs were introduced, results have been unexpected. EVMs have already been rejected in many countries," she claimed.

Talking to reporters on her 67th birthday here, Mayawati said that the BJP was fooling the people in the name of bringing in investments.

"The Global Investor Summit is just a ploy to cover up the failures of the BJP government. In Uttarakhand, the BJP is displacing people in the name of law," she stated.

Mayawati further said that the BJP was following in the footsteps of Congress and Samajwadi Party on the issue of OBC reservation.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off Vande Bharat Express train connecting Secunderabad with Visakhapatnam via video conferencing, saying that it will link the shared heritage of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

This train will be the eighth Vande Bharat Express to be introduced by Indian Railways and will be the first one connecting the two Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering a distance of around 700 km.

It will have stoppages at Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Vijayawada stations in Andhra Pradesh and at Khammam, Warangal and Secunderabad stations in Telangana.

The introduction of the train from Telangana holds political significance also as the assembly elections are due in the state later this year, and the BJP is trying to emerge as a political alternative to the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which has been in power there since 2014, when the state came into existence after being carved out of Andhra Pradesh.

"Vande Bharat Express signifies that India wants the best of everything. It is a symbol of New India's capability and resolve," Modi said while flagging off the train.

"Work done in the last seven to eight years will transform the Indian Railway in the coming seven to eight years," the prime minister added further.

He informed that eight years prior to 2014, Telangana had a budget of less than Rs 250 crore for the Railways but today it has increased to Rs 3000 crore.

Modi added that many areas of Telangana like Medak are now connected by rail service for the first time.

He also noted that less than 125 kms of new rail lines were built in Telangana in the last years before 2014, while about 325 kms of new rail lines in Telangana in the last years.

The Prime Minister also informed that the work of 'track multi-tracking' of more than 250 kms has also been done in Telangana and added that the electrification of railway tracks in the state has gone up three times during this electrification period.

Modi said that Vande Bharat is also connected to Andhra Pradesh from one end and informed that the Central Government is continuously working to strengthen the rail network in Andhra Pradesh also.

Assembly elections are due in Andhra Pradesh next year, soon after the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP is keen to establish its foothold in both the Telugu speaking states, where it has negligible presence.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Artificial-Intelligence (AI) chatbot called ChatGPT has written convincing fake research-paper abstracts that scientists were unable to spot, a new research has revealed.

A research team led by Catherine Gao at Northwestern University in Chicago used ChatGPT to generate artificial research-paper abstracts to test whether scientists can spot them.

According to a report in the prestigious journal Nature, the researchers asked the chatbot to write 50 medical-research abstracts based on a selection published in JAMA, The New England Journal of Medicine, The BMJ, The Lancet and Nature Medicine.

They then compared these with the original abstracts by running them through a plagiarism detector and an AI-output detector, and they asked a group of medical researchers to spot the fabricated abstracts.

The ChatGPT-generated abstracts sailed through the plagiarism checker: the median originality score was 100 per cent, which indicates that no plagiarism was detected.

The AI-output detector spotted 66 per cent the generated abstracts. But the human reviewers didn't do much better - they correctly identified only 68 per cent of the generated abstracts and 86 per cent of the genuine abstracts.

They incorrectly identified 32 per cent of the generated abstracts as being real and 14 per cent of the genuine abstracts as being generated, according to the Nature article.

"I am very worried," said Sandra Wachter from University of Oxford who was not involved in the research.

"If we're now in a situation where the experts are not able to determine what's true or not, we lose the middleman that we desperately need to guide us through complicated topics," she was quoted as saying.

Microsoft-owned software company OpenAI released the tool for public use in November and it is free to use.

"Since its release, researchers have been grappling with the ethical issues surrounding its use, because much of its output can be difficult to distinguish from human-written text," said the report.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Hansraj College, one of the most famous colleges of Delhi University, has stopped serving non-vegetarian food to the students in its hostel.

Giving information in this regard, the college administration said that the decision was taken with the commencement of offline classes for the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic by the concerned committee.

Along with this, the college accepted that students were not given prior information about the changes made in the hostel's menu and said that it should have been discussed.

The administration further said that no complaint had been received so far from any student regarding the non-provision of non-veg food.

It is not clear when and on whose orders the non-veg food was banned.

The administration apprised that the non-veg food was never served in the college canteen, and was later banned in the hostels due to the pandemic.

Some people associated with the university said that during the pandemic and after the lockdown was lifted, students themselves were seen abstaining from non-vegetarian food for a long time.

The merit list of the college goes up to 99 per cent for admission to undergraduate courses.
Los Angeles, Jan 15 : Hollywood actor-director Todd Field is recalling the moment he found out that Harvey Weinstein's Miramax had acquired his debut film 'In the Bedroom' at the Sundance Film Festival and how Tom Cruise's advice saved him.

Weinstein was known to reshape the visions of filmmakers and Field was worried that when his film was acquired, he would have no say in the editing process, reports Deadline. In an interview with The New Yorker, Field talked about calling the 'Mission: Impossible' star, who gave him some sound advice.

"I was weeping in the bathroom," Field recalled. "I called up Tom Cruise and said, 'Something terrible has happened.' He basically said, 'This is how you're going to play it. It's going to take you six months, and you'll beat him, but you have to do exactly what I'm going to tell you to do, step by step.'" Cruise, according to Deadline, advised Field to not give Weinstein any pushback and allow him to make all the edits. He suggested Field wait until it tested poorly with audiences and then remind them of how well the film did at the film festival, so they would release the original cut.

Cruise's advice ended up working and 'In the Bedroom', according to Field, "grossed more than twenty-five times its budget and was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture." Field's newest film 'Tar' is another critically acclaimed work and star Cate Blanchett recently took a Golden Globe in the Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama category. Field was nominated in the Best Screenplay category but the trophy was awarded to Martin McDonagh for 'The Banshees of Inisherin'.
Chennai, Jan 15 : Tamil Nadu Police on Sunday took into custody two youths who were accused of raping a 20-year-old private company employee on January 11 after firing at their legs.

The incident occurred at Sriperumbudur near Chennai on Sunday.

The arrested have been identified as Nagaraj and Prakash who belong to Tiruvallur. Police said that the duo are habitual criminals and accused in several cases.

The 20-year-old woman had lodged a complaint with the police stating that she was forcibly kidnaped by the two youths after identifying themselves as policemen and then taken her to a desolate place and raped her at knifepoint.

CCTV visuals led the police to Nagaraj and Prakash. When the police team zeroed in on the youths, they hurled country-made bombs at the police and tried to escape. The police had to resort to firing on the legs of the youth to capture them.

The two are admitted at the Sriperumbudur Government hospital under police custody.
Chennai, Jan 15 : Senior Congress leader and MP from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, Dr. Shashi Tharoor has said that politicians have fanned up caste consciousness in the society.

He was speaking at a literary session of the Kerala Assembly Book Festivals on Sunday.

Tharoor said that when he became an MP for the first time, there was a complaint that his office was filled with people from the Nair community. He immediately ordered to include people from other castes into his office staff.

The senior Congress leader, who had contested for the Congress president's post against Mallikajun Kharge, said that this was a conscious decision to include people from other castes in his office staff.

The powerful Nair Service Society (NSS), the social organisation of the Nair community, had openly stated that Tharoor was the Prime Minister material.

The powerful general secretary of NSS, G.Sukumaran Nair while speaking at a public function stated that Tharoor was hailing from a 'Nair background with rich legacy'. He had also said that Tharoor was a global citizen and that the NSS was supportive of him.

There are rumblings in the Congress unit of Kerala over Tharoor, and several senior leaders have come out openly against him.
Colombo, Jan 15 : Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed that India was in the best position to act as a bridge between the developing countries which are facing a debt crisis and the G20 in

which Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds the current chairmanship.

The Sri Lankan President made the remarks while addressing the Concluding Leaders' session of a two- day Voice of Global South Summit hosted by India virtually.

Addressing the Summit, Sri Lankan Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe said that the delay in getting the debt assurance from bilateral creditors which has dragged the much-needed bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was taking a heavy toll on 22 million people in the island nation which is going through the harshest economic crisis since its 1948 independence.

"... we are confident of securing the approvals with the assistance of our partners. However, this uncertainty surrounding technical concerns and the delay in the vital approval is taking a heavy toll on the people of Sri Lanka," Minister Semasinghe was quoted as saying at his address virtually from Colombo.

"The discussions are undergoing, and such technical issues and delays are taking a heavy toll on the lives of the country's people. Therefore, we expect, through mutual understanding, the final step in this process would take place soon," the State Minister urged.

The IMF has agreed a $2.9 billion conditional bailout package to Sri Lanka but the country has to convince the bilateral creditors including India, China and Japan, the major lenders to restructure the loans they have lent.

With 10 sessions in total, the Summit saw the participation of Leaders and Ministers from 125 countries of the Global South including Sri Lanka. Under the theme 'Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose', this one of a kind Summit focused on priorities, perspectives and concerns of the developing world.

The Summit was particularly relevant as the world passes through a difficult period marked by challenges to health, food security, affordable access to energy, climate finance and technologies, and economic

growth, Indian High Commission in Colombo stated.
FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf

By Alex Lawler, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Chen Aizhu

LONDON (Reuters) -Iranian oil exports hit new highs in the last two months of 2022 and are making a strong start to 2023 despite U.S. sanctions, according to companies that track the flows, on higher shipments to China and Venezuela.

Tehran's oil exports have been limited since former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 exited a 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions aimed at curbing oil exports and the associated revenue to Iran's government.

Exports have risen during the term of his successor President Joe Biden, who had sought to revive the nuclear deal, and hit the highest since 2019 on some estimates. This comes despite headwinds such as a stall in those talks and competition from discounted Russian crude.

Energy consultant SVB International said Iran's crude exports in December averaged 1.137 million barrels per day, up 42,000 bpd from November and the highest 2022 figure SVB has reported based on estimates given earlier.

"In comparison to the Trump administration, there hasn't been any serious crackdown or action against Iran's oil exports," said Sara Vakhshouri of SVB. "January exports were so far strong like previous months."

"Lower Chinese demand and Russia's supply to China have been a major challenge for them. Most of its oil still goes to the Far East, ultimately China. Iran also helps Venezuela to export its oil."

Adrienne Watson, a National Security Council spokesperson at the White House, said the administration's enforcement of the sanctions is robust, and "Iran's macroeconomic figures clearly bear this out."

"We have not and will not hesitate to take action against sanctions evaders, together with sanctions against Irans missile and drone trade, and human rights violations against the Iranian people," Watson said. The Treasury Department imposed sanctions late last year on an oil smuggling ring linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

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Consultant Petro-Logistics, which tracks oil supply, said it was also seeing an upward trend in Iranian crude exports which, in its view, in December reached their highest level since March 2019.

Kpler, a data intelligence firm, put Iranian crude exports at 1.23 million bpd in November, the highest since August 2022 and almost on a par with April 2019's rate of 1.27 million bpd, although they slipped to just below 1 million bpd in December.

The Iranian oil ministry did not respond to a request for comment on exports. Iran's draft state budget is based on even higher shipments of 1.4 million bpd, the semi-official Fars news agency reported this week.

China is Iran's biggest customer. To evade sanctions, most of Iran's crude exports to China are rebranded as crude from other countries, according to analysts including FGE. Iran in the past has said documents were forged to hide the origin of Iranian cargoes.

Also, Iran last year expanded its role in Venezuela, also under U.S. sanctions, sending supplies of light oil for refining and diluents to produce exportable crude grades.

MORE TO CHINA

There is no definitive figure for Iranian oil exports and estimates often fall into a wide range. Tanker-tracking companies use various methods to track the flows, including satellite data, port loading data and human intelligence. Iran generally does not release figures.

According to another analyst, Vortexa, China's December imports of Iranian oil hit a new record of 1.2 million bpd, up 130% from a year earlier.

"Most of these shipments found home in Shandong, where independent refiners have turned to discounted grades since the second half of 2022 amid sluggish domestic demand and depressed refining margins," the company said.

The press department of China's Foreign Ministry, in response to a request for comment, said: "The legitimate and reasonable cooperation between China and Iran under the international legal framework deserves respect and protection," without directly addressing Reuters query on China's record Iranian oil purchases.

Vortexa said supply of Russian Urals, the main competing grade to Iranian oil, fell in December - when a price cap on Russian crude exports and European Union ban created uncertainty for buyers.

A revived nuclear deal would allow Iran to boost sales to former buyers like South Korea and Europe.

Still, talks have been at a stalemate since September, and Washington's special envoy for Iran said in November Tehran's crackdown on anti-government protesters and the sale of drones to Russia have turned Washington's focus away from the deal.

Following Trump's removal of the United States from the nuclear deal and reimposition of sanctions, Iran's crude exports fell back to as little as 100,000 bpd at times in 2020 from over 2.5 million bpd in 2018, according to tanker trackers.

(Reporting by Alex Lawler; Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Chen Aizhu and Timothy Gardner; Editing by David Evans)
Jammu, Jan 15 : Jammu and Kashmir Lt. Governor, Manoj Sinha in this month's 'Awaam Ki Awaaz' programme on Sunday paid tributes to the civilians martyred in the Rajouri terror attack.

"My tributes to civilians martyred in the terror attack in Rajouri. Perpetrators will have to pay a heavy price for their heinous action. Concrete measures are being taken to ensure families of martyrs live a life of dignity. The whole nation stands united in its fight against terror," said the Lt. Governor.

"We have entered in the New Year united in step and resolve. We have triumphed over several challenges and achieved new milestones in several sectors of the economy in 2022. The new initiatives have helped fulfill the aspirations of the common man," he added.

"Today, the goal before us is clear. With active public participation, we are treading the path of rapid, inclusive, equitable and sustainable development of Jammu and Kashmir. People's participation needed for effective implementation of projects on the ground," he said.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday wrote a letter to Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena seeking punishment for those officials who "conspired to obstruct the working of Mohalla clinics ahead of the MCD election." "A conspiracy was hatched before the civic body polls to trouble the people in Delhi. You know that around 15 lakh people every month receive treatment in the Mohalla clinics made by Delhi government. Free tests are being conducted by MBBS doctors and free medicines are being given to patients in the clinics. Just before the MCD election, a conspiracy was made to stop all this management and business in Mohalla clinics," Sisodia has said in the letter to Delhi L-G.

He added: "Some officials of Delhi government deliberately obstruct the files in a way that two-month salaries - October and November - before the MCD election couldn't be given to the doctors of Mohalla clinics." Even all tests being conducted in the Mohalla clinics were stopped so that if a doctor comes to the clinic, they can not conduct any test on the patients, the Deputy Chief Minister alleged in the letter.

"Not only that, even the electricity bill was not cleared and the rent was not paid for those clinics being run on rented house," Sisodia said.

He added: "When I contacted those officials, they gave some technical reasons behind all these episodes." "It was a part of big conspiracy to obstruct the salary and other payment of Mohalla clinics just before two months of MCD election," the letter said.

Sisodia has urged L-G Saxena to identify those officials and suspend them on urgent basis.

"I request you to identify those officials behind this conspiracy to halt the files and suspend them immediately," he said.

"If you don't take any strict action against those officials, people will blame that the conspiracy was being hatched by officials on your behalf," Sisodia added in the letter.
Gurugram, Jan 15 : Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij has ordered suspension of two policemen after a woman complainant showed him a video in which the said cops can be seen serving tea to a person who is an accused in a Rs 25 lakh fraud case.

The minister had directed for the suspension of two police officials on Saturday.

The Minister called up Kaithal SP, and said: "Tea is being served to the accused in the police station and you are saying that the accused is not being found. The criminals are sitting in the police station. Suspend both policemen immediately." Not convinced with the reply of the Superintendent of Police, Vij said, "Should I close the police station? How can this happen, SP sir? Will the goons rule the state? I want immediate action." The woman from Kaithal has complained to Home Minister Vij that police are not nabbing the accused in the fraud case. The accused is roaming freely and the police is serving him tea in police station, she aleged.

Within an hour of Vij's reprimand, Haryana police DGP P.K. Aggarwal informed him that the accused has been nabbed.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : In its ongoing presidency of the G20, India will focus on foundational literacy and numeracy. The Ministry of Education, which will lead the Education Working Group (EdWG), plans to hold four such meetings during the event followed by a conclave of education ministers of participating countries between January and June 2023, according to a G20 agenda document.

"Ensuring foundational literacy and numeracy, especially in the context of blended learning, making tech-enabled learning more inclusive, qualitative, and collaborative at every level, building capacities, promoting life-long learning in the context of the 'Future of Work', strengthening research and promoting innovation through richer collaboration, are the underlying themes and priority areas that have been finalised for discussion in the EdWG meetings during G20 Presidency," it said, as reported by a leading media outlet.

The deliberation also aims to discuss leading practices across G20 countries adopted to resolve some of the most pressing problems with respect to demographic trends such as -- silver economy, multi-generational workforce, environmental (green economy) and technological (Web 4.0, Industry 3.0).

Some of the meetings will be held in Jodhpur in a hybrid mode while one of the main seminars will be organised in Bhubaneshwar.

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy is a child's ability to read basic texts and solve basic mathematics problems. It is also one of the major themes of India's National Education Policy 2020.

Even though access to schools has grown globally in the last few decades, the present state of foundation learning around the world has not translated into actual learning.

It is projected that in 2030 about 43 per cent of children in lower-level income countries will still be learning poor, which means that so many children in these countries will not be able to either read or understand the simple text by age 10, reported a leading media outlet.

"The working group will hold two webinars -- mega trends shaping the future of work; and foundational skills, lifelong learning in the context of future work -- as a precursor to the main seminar. Knowledge papers will be prepared based on the discussions in these webinars," the agenda document stated.

The deliberations over the four meetings will focus on gaining outcomes such as sharing of strategies and measures required to "strengthen human and institutional capacity" for the delivery of "future skills" through skilling, reskilling, upskilling and promoting life-long learning.

"One of key deliverables from the meeting includes outlining a consensual roadmap for G20 nations to enable human-centric, intergenerational, and anticipatory policy response," the document said.

It also aims to achieve sharing of flexible pathways to lifelong-learning that lead to creation of a "future ready" workforce that is gainfully employed, reported News18.

Along with basics, social and emotional skills and well-being lay a strong foundation for further learning and development.

Those who fail to attain basic competencies in foundational literacy and numeracy find it difficult to catch up in higher classes and fall behind creating vital learning gaps and leading to increased chances of children dropping out of the school system altogether.

Thus, there is a need to redesign approaches to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy just like India is doing guided by its National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Kolkata, Jan 15 : Ahead of the upcoming Tripura Assembly elections, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is likely to visit the Bengali-dominated state by the month-end.

Trinamool national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the Chief Minister's nephew, is also likely to accompany her on the trip.

Party sources said that both are upbeat about the party's chances about in the coming Tripura and Meghalaya polls.

"Already, Abhishek Banerjee is scheduled for a two-day visit to Meghalaya from January 17 and the Chief Minister is also expected to accompany him there. Now plans are chalked out for the Chief Minister and the General Secretary's Tripura tours by month-end and a couple of campaign rallies there," a senior party leader said.

In December 2022, both Banerjees had been on a two-day visit to Shillong.

During that visit, the West Bengal Chief Minister had promised to launch the 'Meghalaya Financial Inclusion for Women Empowerment', promising a guaranteed income support of Rs 1,000 per month to each woman, if the party comes to power in Meghalaya.

On this occasion, Banerjee also launched scathing attacks against the BJP-National People's Party alliance government in Meghalaya, alleging that it is being run from Guwahati and New Delhi.

"BJP is running a double-engine disaster in Meghalaya," she added.

In Tripura, the Trinamool may face a challenge as the chances of the Congress-Left Front alliance there are increasing. Political observers are keen to see whether the Trinamool is able to forge any understanding with the tribal political forces in the state.
Kozhikode, Jan 15 : Someone who the 'Los Angeles Times' and 'The Guardian' newspapers reported as a potential winner for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2011 and 2022, K. Satchidanandan, a pioneer of modern poetry in Malayalam, translated widely into different international languages stresses that at a time when multiplicity of cultures is being challenged, artists need to emphasise the diversity that forms the very core of India.

"We must talk about the plurality. Our civilisation will be ruined if we reduce it to something monolithic. Destruction of democracy and plurality is my biggest fear. Having a choice is the essence of our freedom, and we need to maintain that," the poet who is also the Festival Director of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) being held in the coastal town tells IANS.

He feels all great poetry in some sense is a conversation between ethics and aesthetics where there is ethical inspiration behind along with aesthetic stimulus.

Adding that all the poets he admires from various parts of the world are concerned with larger issues and try to create a new sense of aesthetics, he adds: "Your poems have to look and read like poetry. They must engage with ethical questions of the time they are written in. The best poets develop a dialogue with themselves and others." Talking about the 8th Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Award for Poetry which he will receive at the upcoming Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), the poet, who has received more than 60 awards says: "I have a long-standing relationship with JLF ever since its inception, and really happy to receive the honour." Someone who has also translated several Bhakti Sufi poets says he felt they were talking to him, and about our times.

"They went beyond the spirituality of established religion -- it was an organic kind of spirituality and beyond science, and how science and both are trying to decode the mysteries of the universe. This is why poetry gains immortality and goes 'beyond'. You remember the finest poets because they were not only speaking to their own people but also to all human beings across generations. While they were often inspired by the past, we read them as contemporaries -- trying to understand the meaning of conflicts in the human mind." The poet, whose poetry collections have been translated into more than 30 languages believes that in contemporary times, a major 'role' of artists is to speak fearlessly as hatred is being manifested in different avatars.

"We must respond to the time we are living in. It is important to keep optimism alive, no matter how difficult that may be. Yes, at times, I do feel pessimistic and do not know if there is a way out. But then, we must keep the will alive and hope one that day people will understand the truth and retrieve our democratic values." Also the President of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, under whose leadership an LGBTIA festival was held recently, he says: "It was a tremendous success as this is for the first time their works were being recognised in public. We discovered several new young poets and authors. It is paramount that akademis are forever on the lookout for new talent."
Kathmandu, Jan 15 : The death toll in the plane crash tragedy in Pokhara of Nepal's Kosaki district mounted to 68.

"The bodies of 64 victims have been taken to the Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences in the city," Kaski Police Chief Superintendent Ajay K.C. was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

Academy director Bahadur Khatri said that the procedure to identify the bodies is on." A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the aircraft that crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport, Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson of Yeti Airlines.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the passengers included 53 Nepalis, five Indians, four Russians, one Irish, one Australian, one Argentinian, two Koreans and one French.
These days, you can find almost all information on the internet - though with no guarantee of authenticity. However, there was a time when this man could teach you how to plan (or avert) the assassination of a leading statesman, track down a Nazi war criminal, organise a coup in Africa, blow up a safe, or assemble bombs (conventional or nuclear).

Frederick Forsyth, however, did not write training manuals for terrorists or security forces, but suspense-laden stories, with intricate plots, meticulously researched background, and taut writing, seemed ripped from the headlines of the day.

His nearly two dozen works, which included 15 novels, two collections of short stories - as well as an autobiography, were always best-sellers, and enhanced the appeal of thrillers, deemed an escapist form of literature and fit only to while away time in long air or rail journeys.

His first three novels- "The Day of the Jackal" (1971), "The Odessa File" (1972), and "The Dogs of War" (1974) and the fifth ("The Fourth Protocol", 1984) also became successful films - with largely the same plots. The fourth ("The Devil's Alternative", 1979) was also under consideration but did not make it to the screen, while some later works were also adapted into films or TV serials.

Born on August 25, 1938, Forsyth had a life as colourful as his stories. He lied about his age to join the Royal Air Force in 1956, and became its youngest pilot at 19. After his military stint, he turned to journalism - working for Reuters in Paris and then, the BBC. Sent to report on the Nigerian civil war in 1967, he protested the decision to pull him out soon, quit the job, and went back to cover it freelance.

This resulted in his first book "The Biafra Story" (1969) but it didn't do well. He then wrote his first fiction work - using experiences of his Paris stint which included covering an attempted assassination of French President Charles De Gaulle in 1962 - in a little over a month in 1970.

"The Day of the Jackal", however, did not interest publishers, on grounds that a plot based on assassinating De Gaulle did not possess any suspense as he was still alive. Only after his death - of natural causes - in November 1970 did a publisher take it. Coming out in mid-1971, it was a runaway hit and went on to be translated into over 30 languages including Hebrew, Chinese, and Thai.

The book achieved a strange notoriety - its admirers included two assassins (that of Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, and the one unsuccessful in targeting then US President George Bush and his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Sakaashvilli in 2005), as well as giving a nickname to the world's most notorious terrorist before Osama bin Laden - Carlos the Jackal, based on an erroneous report that he had a copy of it with him.

"The Odessa File" (1972), again uses a real-life incident - President John F. Kennedy's assassination - to launch a tale of international intrigue and retribution, bringing together the Holocaust, Nazi war criminals (and growing disinterest in their pursuit), and an arms race in the Middle East. A major consequence is that the book's real-life villain, SS officer Eduard Roschmann, then living in Argentina, had to flee from Argentina to remote Paraguay following extradition requests.

On a tycoon's attempt to suborn an African nation (Equatorial Guinea in all but name) where a valuable mineral is discovered (a plot still relevant in our time), "The Dogs of War" (1974) drew from Forsyth's own experiences of mercenaries in Biafra. Coincidentally, in 1973, Spanish authorities had arrested several people allegedly planning a coup in the same nation while a coup actually occurred there in 1979 and another attempt - the preparations mirroring Forsyth's - came in 2004.

"The Devil's Alternative" (1979) deals with moral choices before the world's most powerful leaders in a crisis - and the one of the earliest on how Ukrainian actions can cause global chaos, while "The Fourth Protocol" (1984) is an elegantly layered tale, starring from a burglary to a barely-averted nuclear blast.

"The Negotiator" (1989) features a conspiracy to sabotage an arms treaty between the superpowers - featuring a remarkable cameo from Mikhail Gorbachev, while "The Deceiver" (1991) is an epitaph to the Cold War, its clandestine practitioners across battlegrounds such as East Germany, and the Middle East, and its costs.

Forsyth continued with "The Fist of God" (1994) on Saddam Hussain's weapon programme, "Icon" (1996) set in Russia of 1999, "The Avenger" (2003), where a private manhunt for Serb war criminal upsets a mission to capture Osama bin Laden as the story ends on September 10, 2001, "The Afghan" (2006) and "The Kill List" (2013) on terror plots against the West, "The Cobra" (2010) on drug cartels, and "The Fox" about the new global battlefield of cyberspace.

But his later works pale before the first seven, possibly due to a gloomier tone, or the issues suffering over-exposure, even as they admirably show the grim reality that those engaged in high politics, espionage, and the military cannot afford idealism.

But Forsyth's most magnificent tale is of his own life, during which he tells us how he nearly launched World War III while a correspondent in East Berlin.

In "The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue" (2015), he also recounts how he barely escaped the wrath of an arms dealer in Germany, was strafed by a MiG during the Nigerian civil war, arrested by (then East Germany's) Stasi, came to the IRA's unwelcome attention, and what he and a certain attractive Czech secret police agent once got up to.

What makes it stand out is his account of the lethal faultlines colonialism left in a number of African 'countries' the West created, with the potential for havoc - and plentiful suffering - later, and then, committed more mistakes in dealing with subsequent situations.

And why "Outsider"? Because "in a world that increasingly obsesses over the gods of money, power and fame, a journalist and a writer must remain detached, like a bird on a rail, watching, noting, probing, commenting but never joining. In short, an outsider".

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
Bengaluru, Jan 15 : Superhit pan-India hit movie "Kantara" lead star and director Rishab Shetty wished his fans on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Sunday by posting a family picture with his wife and two children.

"Sesame and jaggery. Let's share happiness with everyone. Happy Makara Sankranthi to all," Shetty said.

His leading lady in the film, Sapthami Gowda, shared a song, wished fans and shared a traditional photo in the post.

Kannada super star Dr Shivarajkumar shared the poster of his new movie "Ghost" on his handle and wished all Kannadigas on the auspicious occasion. "Let the festival bring bundle of joys and comfort and bring new horizons of happiness," he said.

Ganesh, anothe popular Kannada star, shared the poster of his new movie "Banadariyali", which is going to be released on March 17 and conveyed his festive good wishes.

Superstar Upendra released a unique poster of his pan-India venture "U I" and conveyed his festival wishes.

Another much-loved star Darshan posted pictures of him with his pet cow and called on people to celebrate the festival with much fervour. 'Rocking Star' Yash of "KGF" fame and his actress wife, Radhika Pandit, have also wished their fans on the occasion.
Islamabad, Jan 15 : Amid economic crunch in Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that it is embarrassing for him to ask for more loans.

Loans is not a solution to the economic challenges facing the country as they would be returned, The Express Tribune quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, Sharif also thanked Saudi Arabia for the financial support.

During the past 75 years, different governments, whether headed by the political leadership or military dictators, could not address the economic issues, he said.

Addressing the passing out ceremony of probationary officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) on Saturday, he called upon the civil servants to make the country stronger.
Bhopal, Jan 15 : A book titled - "Congress and Rashtranirman ki Gaatha" elaborating the roles of Congress before and after independence, on the other side, raised questions on BJP's ideological body -- Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its leaders' role for the same, is a fresh subject of contention between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh.

With this book, which is in real sense a "booklet" for Congress workers for taking its contents to the people at the grassroot level during the election campaign, seems a strategic step by the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress ahead of the state Assembly elections due at the end of the year.

With this book, the Congress seems willingly daring the BJP to debate on its ideology and the RSS.

The book explains about the role played by the contemporary Congress leaders and freedom fighters in making the nation free, including the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, Lokmanya Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi.

At same time, the Congress made an ideological attack on the BJP, through questioning contemporary RSS members, including its founder -- Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and V.D. Savarkar.

The book written by senior journalist Piyush Bable and the media advisor of Madhya Pradesh Congress President Kamal Nath have pointed on various issues but the content of 47th number page could make BJP leaders furious.

The author has put V.D. Savarkar and Pakistan's founder Mohd. Ali Jinnah in the same category. It has mentioned that "both Mohd. Ali Jinnah and V.D. Savarkar were against Congress' 'Bharat Chhodo movement' (Quit India Movement)".

"Jinnah demanded the formation of Pakistan on the basis of religion (Islam), and Savarkar too had demanded to make India a Hindu rashtra. Therefore, both Jinnah and Savarkar had a similar hardliner ideology," it said.

Babele also wrote that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of Jana Sangh was a "minister in Jinnah's Muslim League in Bengal". He also wrote, "RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar went to jail in 1923 and at that time, he was in Congress and participated in Asahyog Andolan. Hedgewar left the Congress in 1925 and formed the RSS." Anand Jat, a Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesperson, told IANS, "Babele has tried to put a clear picture about Congress and RSS leaders before and after the independence of the country. All the facts presented in the book are verified. If the BJP have any objection, they can debate on it. It is a showcase of ideological differences between the Congress and BJP." Sources said the Congress will distribute this book to its members of 'Bal Congress', the youth wing the party formed under the leadership of former Chief Minister Kamal Nath ahead of 2018 Assembly elections.

Senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh's Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang hit back at the Congress, saying the Nehru-Gandhi family has always insulted great freedom fighters and the newly released book is a follow-up of this trend.

"Today's Congress is a private firm of Gandhi family. Congress people have no right to present distorted facts about RSS leaders. They can't digest the fact and that is why the Congress has always presented wrong facts before the people."
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a roadshow in New Delhi on January 16, the first day of BJP National Executive meeting scheduled till January 17.

According to a Delhi BJP leader,"there will a one-km long roadshow of Prime Minister Modi on January 16, the first day of the party's National Executive meeting. Roadshow will be held from the Parliament Street to NDMC Convention Centre." "Artistes from different states will perform cultural performances during the roadshow. Party workers would be standing along the roads to welcome the Prime Minister," a party source added.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have issued a traffic advisory ahead of Modi's roadshow in the national capital on Monday.

"Bharatiya Janata Party is organising a roadshow having mass public participation on the Sansad Marg from Patel Chowk to Sansad Marg-Jai Singh Road Junction on January 16 from 3 p.m. onwards. The Prime Minister will grace the said roadshow with his presence. Special traffic arrangements will be in place to ensure smooth traffic management in the vicinity of the roadshow route," said the Delhi Police in a statement.
The security system in J&K cannot be judged on the basis of one or a few incidents, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Jammu to the media. He said the aim and resolve of security agencies is to end militancy in the UT in the next few years.

Statements like these may seem to be depicting the all-is-getting-better scenario in J&K, but the fact is that these very one or few incidents exhibit the ability of the terror network to strike at will.

The Dhangri killings in J&K's Rajouri district prove the strike-at-will capability of the terror network. Why the terrorists choose Dhangri may be a part of the probe, which has been taken over by the NIA. The village is Hindu-dominated and the attack was aimed to create fear.

The attack had similar goriness that was witnessed in Prankote in Reasi district on the night of April 17, 1998. Twenty-nine people were massacred and 12 of them were children, some were merely 3 to 4 years old. Their stomachs and heads were severed with axes. An old man had a sharp rod pierce his ears before being hacked to death. A house was set on fire to burn all its residents alive. A girl, set ablaze, ran for a distance before she died in a nullah. The women were repeatedly raped. Seven days after the attack, the mastermind was gunned down, but his over a dozen accomplices were never caught. The survivors had no choice but to flee.

The Dhangri attack was meant to send shivers down the spine and so it did among the locals.

Jammu has witnessed over two dozen massacres since the advent of terrorism in Kashmir in 1990, where Hindus were targeted. Most of these were far away villages where access was not that easy. The motive was to create fear and make the Hindu residents flee their homes much like what happened to the Kashmiri Pandits in the valley.

The Dhangri killings were aimed to create a similar scenario. The killings are the manifestation of the dangerous trend emerging on the terrorism graph in the UT. There have been more targeted attacks on civilians. More off-duty policemen are being attacked compared to the planned attacks as was seen in the past.

Official data suggests terrorists carried out around 29 targeted attacks in Kashmir in 2022, especially on civilians that included non-local labourers and non-Muslim staff, and launched around 12 attacks, including grenade lobbing, on the security forces posted in the Kashmir Valley.

Shah in his statement to media also said, "If you want to judge it (security system), judge it since the beginning of militancy and you will find that after the abrogation of Article 370, J&K has witnessed the least incidents of violence and resultant deaths," adding, "... Our security forces have given befitting replies to terrorists. More terrorists are dying now and fewer civilians are being killed. Even as far as minority killings are concerned, these three years have witnessed the lowest figures".

The government wants to play down the terror threat perception that has in fact never gone away and continues to ominously loom over the UT.

The now banned The Resistance Front (TRF) has been mainly responsible for most of the terror attacks. It regularly issued threats and even released 'hitlists' with the names of pro-India journalists, police personnel and government employees who got jobs under the PM special package. It is the TRF which is said to be behind the Dhangri killings.

The TRF, a shadow organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba, was created by the Pakistan establishment soon after the abrogation of Article 370 to make Kashmir terrorism appear indigenous.

The terror outfit was declared a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on January 5. And a day later it warned of terror attacks on people whose names it released on the 'hit list'.

How well the TRF or the terror network is placed can be gauged from the fact that it is able to get the weapons, right information about its targets and easy movement and escape.

The security agencies do eliminate terrorists in gunfights, but the terror network manages to strike at its will. Its support network exists. Not all locals may be inclined or willing to help, many may be supporting out of fear, and some may be out of religious feelings.

Notwithstanding the booming business, unprecedented tourism and many Kashmiris coming up in several fields, the support to the terror work is still there. And that is also a bitter aspect of Kashmir, which often gets spilled over to regions in Jammu also.

(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)
Mumbai, Jan 15 : 'Shark Tank India 2' judge and executive director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals Namita Thapar has accused her househelp of stealing her phone and putting up an objectionable post.

Namita recently tweeted about the incident and wrote: "This is what hate does to this world, makes people toxic. An educated househelp who was fired stole my phone and put up a hateful post on me on social media." Namita added that she was paying the price for being a public figure.

Namita's Instagram bio was changed to 'Shittier mother, shittier wife'. Also a picture was shared in the now-deleted story that showed her dressed in a blue nightie.

A post shared read: "This is Namita's son. I just want the world to know that the person you see on TV is not you think she is. Unfollow her as soon as possible. Will explain why in due course of time." It was claimed to be posted by one of her sons asking the followers to unfollow her. However, she cleared the air with her tweet. Her phone has also been recovered now.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Four persons, including three juveniles, have been apprehended in connection with the murder of a 32-year-old man in Patel Nagar area of central Delhi, police said on Sunday.

A senior police official said that they got a PCR call on January 13 that a person is lying in a pool of blood in Prem Nagar area and a team was sent to the spot.

Soon after the incident, police learnt that the injured went to a medical shop to buy medicine but then collapsed. He was taken to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Hospital by police where he was declared dead on arrival.

The doctors told the police that the deceased, later identified as Nitin alias Chela, had stab wounds on his chest and right arm.

The police said that during the investigation, it was learnt that the deceased was a vagabond of the area and was involved in 40 cases.

A case under Section 302 of the IPC was lodged and an investigation launched. CCTV footage was checked and local intelligence also gathered, and on the basis of this, police identified the accused, including three juveniles, involved in the matter.

Acting on tip off the police apprehended all the accused. The major was identified as Karan alias Mota.

The three juveniles were sent to child observation home while Mota was sent to judicial custody.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi's mother Bina Modi, with whom he is involved in a family property dispute, refused to comment on his decision to name his son Ruchir as his successor in the K.K. Modi family trust from his side.

Contacted by IANS, Bina Modi declined to comment on the development, but said that she will go as per the advice of her legal counsel.

Earlier on Sunday, Lalit Modi announced that his son Ruchir Modi would be his successor beneficiary from his family's side in the K.K. Modi Family Trust with immediate effect.

In a social media post, Lalit Modi, who has been involved in a legal tussle against his mother and sister Charu over a property dispute in the family, also announced his son as the head of his branch of the family.

"The present litigation with my mother and sister is tedious, strenuous and has gone on for long, and even though there have been several rounds of discussions for settlement, there is no end in sight. It has caused and continues to cause me immense distress... I have discussed this with my daughter and she and I are of the opinion that I should hand over the control of affairs of the LKM (Lalit Kumar Modi) family and its beneficial interest in the Trust to my son Ruchir Modi," Lalit Modi said in a letter addressed to his mother and siblings.

In August 2022, the Supreme Court had appointed former apex court judge Justice R.V. Raveendran as a mediator to settle the family property dispute.

The apex court had observed that counsel appearing for both sides agreed that they would go without any pre-condition and with an open mind to settle the dispute in mediation.

The decision was taken by a bench headed by the then Chief Justice N.V. Ramana.

Bina Modi confirmed to IANS that the mediation process was on.
Seoul, Jan 15 : The construction of a new semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas was going smoothly and will be completed within this year as scheduled, Samsung Electronics Chief Executive Kyung Kye-hyun has said.

"The construction in Taylor is on track," Kyung, co-CEO at Samsung who is in charge of the tech giant's chip business, wrote in an Instagram post.

"The fab will be finished within this year and start producing the best products next year," he added.

Kyung also uploaded a photo of Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell giving him a Samsung Highway road sign, reports Yonhap news agency.

In December, the Williamson County Commissioners Court renamed the road, formerly known as Future County Road near the Samsung's Taylor fab site, as "Samsung Highway." In November 2021, Samsung said it will build a $17 billion advanced chip facility in the city to "help boost production of advanced logic semiconductor solutions that power next-generation innovations and technologies".

It considered multiple factors in choosing the site, such as "the local semiconductor ecosystem, infrastructure stability, local government support and community development opportunities," on top of its proximity to Samsung's current manufacturing site in Austin, about 25 kilometers southwest of Taylor.
Mumbai, Jan 15 : "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah" actor Sunil Holkar passed away at the age of 40. He was suffering from liver cirrhosis and was undergoing regular treatment.

Sunil was associated with the popular sitcom "Taarak Mehta..." around seven to eight years back. He was part of a Navratri special episode and appeared in two of the episodes.

Creator and writer of the show, Asit Kumarr Modi told IANS: " He has performed a character in one of the stories and he fitted well in our show. But he was not playing a regular role. However, he played a good role in our show.

"I must say he was a good and mature actor and it is very unfortunate that he passed away just at the age of 40. My heartfelt condolences to him and his family." Sunil was also seen in many Marathi films and was last seen in the National Award-winning film "Gosht Eka Paithanichi".

As per the reports, when Sunil realised his condition had deteriorated, he asked his friend to share a "final post" on his behalf.

Written in Marathi, it said: "Friends, this is my last message to everyone. This friend of yours has left for the heavenly abode. If I have ever said something wrong or made any mistakes, please forgive me. Goodbye, I had asked my friend to post this on my behalf." Apart from this show, he also featured in films such as "Mandali Tumchyasathi Kay Pan", "Lau Ka Laath", "Sagla Karun Bhagle", among others. He was survived by his parents, wife, and 2 children.

Before Sunil's sudden demise, Ghanshyam Nayak who played the role of 'Nattu Kaka' in "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah" also passed away at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer and chemotherapy.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Sixteen opposition parties gathered for a meet, called by the Congress, here on Sunday to discuss the joint strategy for the meeting convened by the Election Commission on Monday to demonstrate the concept of Remote EVMs for migrant voters.

On the opposition meeting at the Constitution Club, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said: "The participating opposition parties deliberated on the questions to be placed before the EC regarding REVMs. It was decided that the ECI's response to the questions raised by the parties in tomorrowa's meeting will be collectively be considered later and the opposition parties will take a joint stand on the issue." He also said that though Samajwadi Party and Nationalist Congress Party were not present in Sunday's meeting due to unavoidable reasons, they had conveyed their solidarity.

The Election Commission has invited all recognised national and state political parties on January 16 to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote EVM.

With the objective of finding a technological solution for migrant voters which is credible, accessible and acceptable to all stakeholders, the Commission has explored the option of using a modified version of the M3 EVMs to enable voting at remote polling stations, or polling stations outside home constituency, for domestic migrants.

The migrant voters would thus need not travel back to their home district to exercise their right to franchise.
Los Angeles, Jan 15 : "Transformers" director Michael Bay is fighting back against a widely-seen report that said he was charged in Italy for killing a pigeon during production on the 2019 Netflix film, "6 Underground".

The filmmaker called the report "false, reckless, and defamatory", and says he was never charged with killing an animal, reports 'Variety'.

In a legal letter, obtained by 'Variety', Bay's attorney is demanding a retraction or correction from 'TheWrap', after the Hollywood trade publication published a report this past week regarding the pigeon incident.

The filmmaker's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, says TheWrap's story states that Bay has been accused or "charged" with "killing a pigeon" in connection with the film he directed. "Those statements are simply wrong; they are also harmful," Rosengart writes.

TheWrap reported that the filmmaker was facing charges in Italy relating to the killing of a pigeon on the set in Rome of the Netflix film, despite making several attempts to clear the case with Italian authorities.

According to Variety, the report cited a production insider who said a homing pigeon was allegedly killed by a dolly during a take, and because Bay was the director, he was held responsible. (Pigeons are a protected species in Italy, and the country has a national law that makes it illegal to harm, kill or capture any wild bird).

Bay told TheWrap that he would not get into the specifics since the matter is an ongoing court case, but said he declined the option to settle for a small fine with Italian authorities, stating: "I would not plead guilty to having harmed an animal." Bay has fiercely denied the claims. "I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist," Bay had previously said in a statement to TheWrap. "No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I've worked on in the past 30 years."
Environment Canada has issued freezing rain warnings for all of New Brunswick. (Associated Press - image credit)

More freezing rain is expected for New Brunswick Sunday into Monday.

Environment Canada has issued freezing rain warnings for all of New Brunswick.

Freezing rain will start by Sunday evening for most of the province and by Monday morning or afternoon for the north.

CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said a weather system stalled to the south of the Maritimes is bringing the freezing rain and ice pellets into the province from south to north.

Gabrielle Fahmy/CBC

The freezing rain will continue into Monday for southern regions, but change over to showers in the morning, as warmer air is expected to move into southern areas of the province, said Snoddon.

He said there is still some disagreement on the timing for the transition from freezing rain to rain for central and northeastern areas.

Snoddon said the ice will build up on surfaces including roads, walkways, trees and power lines, causing the possibility of power outages.

Areas along the Fundy coast and southeastern New Brunswick also have rainfall warnings in effect, with 20 to 30 millimetres expected from near midnight Sunday until Monday evening.
Bhopal, Jan 15 : A former village sarpanch, and two of his relatives, were shot dead at a village in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district on Sunday, by his opponent in the panchayat elections and his supporters, police said.

The incident occurred the former sarpanch (one of the deceased), along with his two nephews, were on their way to their farm in Pachera village on a motorcycle. According to the police, a group of people, who were supporters of the opposition candidate for gram panchayat elections held recently, cornered them and opened fire on them.

After firing on the trio, the gunmen. Locals informed the police and the three, identified as Hakim, Golu, and Pinku, were taken to a nearby hospital and where doctors declared them brought dead.

Police said the trio were going to their farm when Sarpanch Nishant and his dozen family members surrounded them and fired on them. "The accused absconded after executing the incident. Police are probing the matter and involved in searching the accused," said a police official.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Young talent from over 80 different nations competed for the coveted crown in the most anticipated pageant in the world, Miss Universe 2022, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

R'Bonney Gabriel of the USA was crowned Miss Universe 2022. Amanda Dudamel of Venezuela was named as the first runner-up, and Andreina Martinez of the Dominican Republic was named as the second runner-up.

India's Miss Diva Universe 2022 Divita Rai, who wore an exquisite silver, champagne, and gold ombre gown designed by celebrated fashion designer duo Falguni and Shane Peacock, entered into the prestigious Top 16 category, making her motherland very proud.

Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu in a message to Miss Universe 2022, said: "Remember to live this year to the fullest because tomorrow is never promised. Namaste Universe."
Gurugram, Jan 15 : In a shocking incident, a six-month-old girl was killed and five other,s including two children, were injured after their car was hit by a Haryana Police Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) in Gurugram on Sunday, police said.

The incident took place at Gwal Pahari Road which connects Gurugram-Faridabad Road in Gurugram around 11.30 am when the car was hit head-on by the ERV driver, coming from the wrong direction.

An FIR has been registered against the ERV's driver who managed to escape the spot, leaving the vehicle behind.

Vishwajeet, a resident of Delhi, said he, along with his wife Kajal, son Avi and daughter Saavi, and relatives Babita, Rinku, and Priyank, were going to Delhi from Faridabad when their car was hit by the police vehicle.

The complainant, who was driving, alleged that despite appeals for help, the cops fled the spot leaving all the injured behind.

The critically injured Saavi was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her brought dead, Vishwajeet told reporters.

An FIR has been registered against the ERV driver under the Indian Penal Code's Sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life), 427 (mischief causing damage), and 304A (causing death by negligence) at the DLF Phase-1 police station, officials said.

"A case under relevant sections of the IPC was registered against the errant ERV driver. Further investigation as per the prescribed law will be initiated against the guilty. He will be arrested soon," Gurugram police spokesman Subhash Boken said.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 15 : India completed a 3-0 series win by thrashing Sri Lanka by 317 runs, the biggest margin of victory in ODI history, in the third and final match of the series at Greenfield International Stadium on Sunday.

After Virat Kohli dished out another batting masterclass on a placid pitch with his 46th ODI century and Shubman Gill strengthened his chances of being a long-term opener with his second hundred and propel India to a mammoth 390/5 on a slow, flat pitch, Sri Lanka crumbled like a pack of cards.

They were all out for just 73 in just 22 overs, their fourth-lowest total in the history of the format. Mohammed Siraj got the ball to move around to run through the top order and pick his career-best figures of 4-32 in ten overs, while Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav had figures of 2-20 and 2-16 respectively in India's dominating victory.

Under scoreboard pressure, Sri Lanka just wilted and couldn't put up a fight. Siraj, central to India's success in Power-play in ODIs, delivered the first blow by having Avishka Fernando edge straight to the first slip for a low catch.

In his next over, Siraj used his wobble-seam delivery to force Kusal Mendis into nicking behind to the keeper. Shami was next to strike, coercing Charith Asalanka to punch straight to the backward point.

Siraj had his third wicket when Nuwanidu Fernando went for an expansive drive to an outswinger and chopped onto his stumps. In the final over of the first Power-play, Siraj got his wobble-seam delivery to nip back in from outside off and rattle Wanindu Hasaranga's off-stump.

With half the side back in the pavilion, panic ensued, resulting in a bizarre run-out of Chamika Karunaratne, who was out of the crease after defending against Siraj, and saw the bowler fire in a direct hit at the striker's end.

The crumbling continued with Kuldeep drawing Dasun Shanaka forward and then castling him through the gate. Dunith Wellalage, coming in as a concussion substitute for Jeffrey Vandersay after his nasty collision with Ashen Bandara while fielding, chipped a drive straight to point off Shami.

With Bandara absent injured, Kuldeep finished off the match by castling Lahiru Kumara and ending a 22-run partnership for the ninth wicket, completing a monstrous victory for India.

Brief scores: India 390/5 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 166 not out, Shubman Gill 116, Kasun Rajitha 2-81, Lahiru Kumara 2-87) beat Sri Lanka 73 all out in 22 overs (Nuwanidu Fernando 19; Mohammed Siraj 4-32, Kuldeep Yadav 2-16) by 317 runs
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Alleged terrorists Jagjit Singh, 29, alias Jagga alias Yaqub, and Naushad, 56, had planned to carry out a bigger terror operation, targeting right-wing leaders, but have been arrested before they could implement their plans, the Delhi Police's Special Cell said on Sunday.

Additional Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, Pramod Kushwaha said that Naushad was being handled by a Pakistan base-LeT handler whereas Canada-based designated terrorist Arshdeep Dalla was giving instructions to Jagjit.

"They were being funded and were planning to carry out attack on right-wing leaders," he said.

The Special Cell has learnt in the investigation that the two had killed and chopped up a drug addict to demonstrate their capabilities.

Special CP, Special Cell, H.G.S. Dhaliwal said: "The Special Cell has prevented a major attack." Jagjit Singh was said to be in touch with the Bambiha gang of Punjab and later on he developed contacts with Khalistani operators. "Jagjit has been getting instructions from anti-national elements based abroad. He is a parole jumper in a case of murder in Uttarakhand," a source said.

The duo had killed a boy in December, and the body, which had a 'trishul' tattoo on its shoulder, was recovered from the Bhalswa Dairy area based on the disclosures made by the two alleged terrorists.

"We have learnt that Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI is behind the incident. The two terrorists killed him and made a video of the killing which they sent to their Pakistan-based handler. Naushad was associated with Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Harkat-ul-Ansar. He had been in Tihar for a long time and there he came in touch with Arif Mohammed, an accused in Red Fort attack case, and Sohail, a terrorist. Sohail was later released in 2018 and went to Pakistan and joined Lashkar-e-Taiba but Naushad was in contact with him," a source said.

Sources further said that it was Sohail was gave task of target killings of prominent Hindu leaders to Naushad and send videos of the killings.

Naushad, along with Jagjit Singh, had befriend the boy, a resident of Adarsh Nagar, brought him to their home, and killed up. A video was sent to Sohail. Later the accused cut up the body into eight pieces and dumped them in the Bhalswa Dairy area. All the pieces have been recovered by the police at their instance.

On Friday, the Special Cell had recovered two hand grenades from their rented accommodation in the Bhalswa Dairy area.

"The disclosures made by the accused led the police to their rented accommodation at Shradha Nand Colony under the Bhalswa Dairy police station area. Two hand grenades were recovered from their room," said a senior police officer.

"Traces of human blood were also found by the forensic team," the officer said.

The police said they have also recovered three pistols along with 22 bullets. The duo was sent to 14 day police custody on Friday.
Kolkata, Jan 15 : Filmmaker Onir Dhar -- one of the most heard voices for LGBTQ rights in India, said on Sunday that he was refused entry to the Bhopal Literature Festival on Friday just because he is a gay.

"I deliberately chose the word gay since that is the reason why I was not allowed to deliver my speech at Bhopal," said Onir, the writer of the book "I am Onir and I am gay," at a curated session on the closing day of 14th session of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) 2023 here on Sunday evening.

Onir was to deliver a speech on Friday at Bhopal's Bharat Bhavan at a curated session "Making Literature LGBTQ Neutral".

However, his speech was cancelled at the last moment reportedly because an anti- LGBTQ group threatened to protest his presence.

On Sunday, Onir said in Kolkata that it seemed that the objection was more about him rather than the issue to be discussed at the curated session.

"I heard that the subject-tagline was changed. However, later, I heard another fellow speaker, who is a trans-person, also delivered her speech in the session and she spoke exactly what she was supposed to speak. There I realised that the objection was more about me rather than the issue, which really kept me worried. But anyway! I was sad then. But I am sad no more. I am getting an opportunity to speak here," Onir said.

He said that much before his book came out, "I made my orientation clear on social media".

"But still in this country, some people kept on asking me whether it was true that I am gay. When I grew up, there was not much scope in literature or advertisement or anywhere to express the feeling. But today, I feel happy when someone passing through an airport or a bookstore, clicks the picture of the cover of my book and sends it to me claiming that I really make them feel proud," Onir said.

Colours were added at the 14th edition of AKLF following the presence of Pulitzer prize-winning iconic writer Alice Walker; bestselling author Jeffrey Archer, actor Dhritiman Chaterji, Australian author John Zubrzycki, poet Jeet Thayil, author Anuja Chauhan among the speakers at the literary festival
Srinagar, Jan 15 : A total of 172 stranded workers were rescued and brought to a safe area in an army avalanche rescue operation at Sarbal in Sonmarg area of Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district, the Army said on Sunday.

"At around 5.40 p.m. on January 14, an avalanche struck the workshop area of Megha Engineering and Industry Ltd, the company involved in ongoing constructionA of the Zozila tunnel near village Sarbal, Sonamarg," an army official said.

Another large avalanche two days earlier, on January 12, in close proximity had claimed the lives of two MEIL workers.

"The 2nd avalanche on 14 January 2023 was so strong that the workshop area with 172 workers was completely cut off from the main location of MEIL. The Project Manager of MEIL approached the Indian Army for assistance to rescue the stranded workers.

"On getting the distress call a rescue team was immediately mobilised from Army Camp Gund that negotiated the snow-covered route and reached the site the same night, providing the much-needed reassurance to the stranded workers and MEIL authorities." The Army said due to inclement weather, the rescue operation was planned for next morning.

"On January 15, a rescue operation was launched under Commandant, Assam Rifles Battalion at Wusan employing avalanche rescue teams with specialist equipment, army dogs and medical gear," army said.

"After deliberate efforts the team was able to rescue all the 172 workers stranded in the avalanche to safety. Immediate medical assistance was administered to the injured by the Medical Officer of Wusan Assam Rifles Battalion at the site," the official said.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) has written to the Delhi government making a strong 'vocal for local' pitch as it sought removal of rules that discriminate against Indian-made products and promote imports in the forthcoming excise policy for 2023-24.

Suggesting measures for incorporation in the forthcoming excise policy for the next financial year, the representative body of the Indian alcoholic beverage manufacturers, in its detailed submission to the Delhi government, has urged improvement in ease of doing business rules, rationalisation of wholesale operations, simplification of new product launch process, and digitisation of all operational processes.

Flagging the issue of discrimination against Indian made products and promote imports, the CIABC has stated: "These are regulatory anomalies from the past when India was perceived to be a low-quality producer. For example, the license fee for an imported whisky is Rs 50,000 per year, but if the same product is made in India, it will become minimum Rs 25 lakh. Today when India is producing world-class malt whiskies and craft gins, such rules stick out as simply bizarre. The new excise policy that came into being in November 2021 had addressed these issues but with its withdrawal in toto, the matter is back on table. We hope that the Government offers at least parity, if not preferential treatment, for India-made products." On the submissions, CIABC Director General Vinod Giri said: "Every year we approach state Governments with suggestions that would make the alcohol regulation work for the benefit of all stakeholders, i.e., the government, the industry, trade and the consumers. Delhi, being the national capital has its own special needs and we tailor our recommendations to best serve that purpose." The CIABC has also recommended opening of world-class private retail shops across the city, reopening of trend-setting airport shops, reducing drinking age to 21, and bringing retail timing and number of dry days in sync with the neighbouring states. For improving ease of doing business, it has sought rationalisation of wholesale operations, simplification of new product launch process, and digitisation of remaining operational processes.

It has also raised the increase in cost of production of raw material needed for producing alcoholic beverages such as ENA, glass, paper, fuel and sought permission to pass it on to consumers as it is done in case of other industries.

Besides suggestions for the upcoming excise policy, the CIABC, in its letter, also seeks resolution to its long-pending request for permission to sell stocks left over at the wholesale due to frequent change in the excise policy during 2021-22 and 2022-23, besides clearance of old overdue payments to companies.
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Amid the ongoing tussle between the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government and Delhi Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena, the party on Sunday accused the L-G of subverting the Constitution and the law of the land while bypassing the elected government of Delhi.

In an interview with IANS, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the L-G is not accepting the verdict of the Constitution Bench.

He said that when Delhi CM Kejriwal apprised the L-G of how he was "violating" orders, the L-G termed the Supreme Court's orders to be an opinion.

IANS: The tussle between Delhi Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena and AAP-led government is being escalated on a daily basis on almost every issue that is causing much trouble for the people.

Bharadwaj: Last Friday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal presented L-G Saxena copies of all relevant laws, court orders, Transaction of Business Rules (TBR), to apprise him of how he was breaking the law. In July 2018, the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench had ruled that the L-G has jurisdiction only over the reserved subjects of public order, police and land. The L-G has not been entrusted with any independent decision making powers, he is bound by the aid and advice of the Cabinet and elected government.

Only the elected CM and his government can give their opinion to the L-G, he does not even have the right to refuse the aid and advice of the elected government. In extreme cases, he can refer the subjects to the President.

IANS: Post Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) election, the tussle has widened on every subject...

Bharadwaj: L-G Saxena is not accepting the verdict of the Constitution Bench. How can a man who does not believe in the Constitution be allowed to hold a Constitutional office? When the CM apprised the L-G of how he was violating orders of the Constitution Bench, the L-G termed the Supreme Court's orders to be an opinion. L-G's ignorance of the law is no excuse... the decision of the Supreme Court is an order, not an opinion.

IANS: The rules say that 'the Lt. Governor is Administrator of Delhi'.

Bharadwaj: The L-G was the administrator of Delhi in 2018 too when the apex court gave the decision that the words, whether Lt. Governor or Administrator is written anywhere in the act means the L-G has to hear aid and advice of the cabinet. The elected government will take decisions on these transferred subjects and L-G has no right to take any decision. If he does not like that decision, he can refer to the President only. He has no right to interfere in the daily business of the elected government.

IANS: After the first meeting of newly elected councillors was adjourned without electing the mayor, the party has again sent the date for the election.

Bharadwaj: Delhi has chosen Aam Aadmi Party to run the civic body but again LG is interfering into the business to give the MCD into the hands of Bharatiya Janata Party. But we will not let them do any wrongdoings in the MCD.

IANS: Amid ongoing tussle, Delhi Legislative Assembly session is set to begin from Monday.

Bharadwaj: Yes, Delhi is going through a phase of Constitutional crisis. We are going to raise the issues of constitutional crisis and the interference of Lt. Governor in day-to-day affairs in the house.
Agartala/Shillong, Jan 15 : The coming Assembly election in the first two of the three northeastern states - Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland - will prove to be a litmus test for Trinamool Congress, headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banrjee.

Trinamool leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushmita Dev said that her party would field candidates in Meghalaya and Tripura and would not contest in Nagaland.

The Trinamool is the first party in Meghalaya to declared their candidates for maximum (52) of the total 60 seats.

Twelve MLAs, led by former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma (2010-2018) who had won in the 2018 Assembly election as Congress nominees, joined the Trinamool in November 2021, making the West Bengal-based party the main opposition in the northeastern state overnight.

However, weeks before the announcement of Assembly elections, two Trinamool MLAs switched loyalties to the ruling National People's Party (NPP), while another joined the BJP.

With three MLAs leaving the Trinamool, the party's strength in the Assembly has come down to nine now.

However, Trinamool leaders in Meghalaya claimed that thousands of NPP and other party supporters including some leaders joind their party.

To woo the electorates, the party has promised to roll out the Meghalaya Financial Inclusion for Women Empowerment (MFI WE) scheme that would provide assured monthly income support of Rs 1,000 per woman per household in the state, if the party is voted to power in the forthcoming polls, expected to be held in February end.

The MFI WE, also called 'WE Card', was announced by Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee in Shillong on December 13 sparking a controversy in the state.

The BJP has announced to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission against the Trinamool for its promise to implement an income support scheme. Claiming that the 'WE Card' scheme failed in West Bengal, the BJP leader accused the Trinamool of making false promises since it does not have any development agenda.

However, state Trinamool Vice President George B. Lyngdoh said that opposing 'WE Card' exposes BJP's anti-poor politics, while claiming that two lakh families have already registered for the scheme.

After the Trinamool was founded in 1998, it had set up bases in Tripura, Manipur, and Assam but they could not maintain the political tempo in these states.

Seven MLAs of other parties once joined the Trinamool but subsequently they quit one by one.

Former Tripura Chief Minister Sudhir Majumder, Tripura Speaker and former Congress leader Ratan Chakraborty, Ashish Saha, Subal Bhowmik, and others went to it in 1998 and most of them returned back to Congress in 2001-2002.

Majumder contested in the West Tripura Lok Sabha constituency in 1999 on a Trinamool ticket and secured second position.

Present lone Congress MLA in Tripura Sudip Roy Barman, six other MLAs and many leaders quit the Congress in 2016 and joined Trinamool but the next year, they joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Roy Barman, also a former minister, quit the BJP early last year and was re-elected to the Assembly in by-elections as a Congress nominee.

After the Trinamool started its organisational work in the third phase in Tripura in early 2021, it had been searching for a candidate for the party President's post in the state and finally appointed Subal Bhowmik, a former Congress MLA and BJP leader, in April last year.

But due to internal feud, it removed Bhowmik from the post on August 24 last year and appointed former Tripura Congress President and veteran lawyer Pijush Kanti Biswas in his place on December 11 last year.

On the coming elections, Sushmita Dev claimed that her party would form the government in Meghalaya "mainly because of the allegations against Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government and also since the Congress is almost "inactive in the state".

The MDA government has done nothing for the people of Meghalaya, and the Congress, which once ruled the state and was the main opposition party, is now "non-existent" in the hill state, Dev, a former Mahila Congress chief, told IANS.

She alleged that "except for the atrocities and terror" against the Opposition party workers, leaders, and supporters, the BJP also did nothing in Tripura.

"People have also realised that they (BJP) gave false promises before the 2018 Assembly polls," Dev said. On the prospective Congress-Left alliance in Tripura, she noted that the Congress and Left tie-up did not work in West Bengal and there is factionalism over the alliance.

"If the Congress and CPI-M forge an alliance, there would be further erosion among the Congress rank and file. Grassroots workers of Congress would not accept the Congress-CPI-M alliance as the Left cadres earlier unleashed atrocities on the Congress workers," she said.

Claiming that the people would not vote for the BJP, Dev said: "Trinamool Congress, therefore, is the only alternative that could form the government after the Assembly elections in Tripura." She refused to make any comments about the party's possible alliance with TIPRA (Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance) headed by former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
Ukrainian forces use a Grad multiple rocket launcher to fire rockets at Russian positions at the front line near Soledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Wednesday. (Libkos/The Associated Press - image credit)

Ukraine's ambassador to Canada says she thinks there has been a breakthrough in the supply of weapons being shipped to her embattled country, as Canada prepares to send a major air defence system and other allies provide more arms.

"I would call it the ice breaking, because a lot of kind of the weapons that the government of our partners and allies are supplying us now, we have been asking [for] since February 24," Yulia Kovaliv said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday.

The United Kingdom recently announced it would send battle tanks to Ukraine, while Germany is facing pressure to make a similar commitment. Canada announced this week it would buy a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) for Ukraine, at a cost of $406 million.

"These are the clear signals that our partners and allies are standing firm with the Ukraine, as they've declared steadfast support, whatever it takes for as long as it takes," Kovaliv said.

WATCH | Ukraine needs hundreds more Western tanks, says country's ambassador to Canada:

The war in Ukraine is just over one month away from a full year of conflict. While Ukraine has been able to recapture much of the territory taken by Russia in its initial invasion, Russia controls significant parts of the south and east, where fighting continues.

Russia has argued that the supply of weapons to Ukraine by North American and European countries marks an escalation in the war. Russia itself recently shook up its military command, and Ukrainian intelligence claims the country could soon mobilize half a million new conscripts.

Attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure continue

Canada's announcement of the purchase of an air defence system comes as an intense Russian airstrike campaign targets Ukrainian electricity infrastructure. A Russian missile attack on an apartment building in Dnipro, meanwhile, killed upwards of 23 people, as the death toll continues to climb Sunday.

Story continues

"NASAMS is one of the best-in-the-world air defence system and we do value this big support from the Canadian government," Kovaliv said.

The air defence system Canada is set to purchase is not yet in place. The head of Raytheon Technologies, one of the companies that produces NASAMS, has said it takes about two years to produce the system.

But Defence Minister Anita Anand told Barton in a separate interview airing Sunday that Canada was targeting a shorter timeline, noting they had purchased both the system and munitions at the same time.

The delivery "will occur as soon as possible, may involve multiple shipments and will be delivered as soon as possible.... We are not contemplating years at this point," Anand said. She added that a close partnership with the United States was a key factor in the purchase.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

"We are working all together and we are hoping that it will be coming as soon as it is physically possible and what assurance we've got that the Canadian government from our side and from U.S. will put all the efforts to deliver it as quickly as as it possible," Kovaliv said.

Anand said she remained focused on procuring equipment for the Canadian military even as the government moves to support Ukraine.

"There's no question that we are examining capabilities that are needed across the board, including the Canadian Armed Forces," she said.
Srinagar, Jan 15 : A pregnant woman in a critical condition in Jammu and Kashmir's snow-bound Kupwara was evacuated by air by the Indian Army on the civil administration's request and brought to Srinagar, the army said on Sunday.

"Mrs Nusrat Begum, a resident of Chitrakoot, was admitted at SDH Karnah as she developed labour pain with placenta previa on Saturday evening at 10 p.m. As result of incessant snow fall from last 7 days, the only axis leading to better medical facilities at Srinagar via NH 701 was cut off. Despite the efforts of specialists at SDH, Karnah, the threat to life of mother and unborn child could not be mitigated due to limited medical facilities available," the army said.

"As soon as the civil administration requested for assistance, Indian Army promptly responded to the call and a number of Jawans willingly came forward to donate blood to save the patient's life." Two units of blood were donated immediately to the ailing patient. Simultaneously, an immediate requisition for evacuation by helicopter was begun, while an army doctor from Tangdhar was immediately mobilised to assist the medical specialists at SDH Karnah.

"The helipad was cleared of snow in a short period of time using JCBs so as to ensure early air evacuation. All efforts were made to evacuate the patient immediately but due to weather restrictions, the rescue operation could not be undertaken till morning of Sunday, January 15. As a result of joint efforts of Indian Army and Indian Air force, Mrs Nusrat Begum and another 10-month-old infant were successfully air evacuated till Srinagar at 10.25 a.m. on Sunday."
New Delhi, Jan 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed deep grief over the loss of lives in a plane crash at Pokhara in Nepal.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said: "Pained by the tragic air crash in Nepal in which precious lives have been lost, including Indian nationals. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families." At least 68 people were killed on Sunday when a domestic flight of Yeti Airlines crashed in Pokhara in Nepal, considered to be one of the worst air crashes in three decades in the Himalayan nation.

The passengers on board also included five Indians.

Hundreds of rescue workers scoured the hillside where the flight carrying 72 people -- 68 passengers and 4 crew members, from the capital Kathmandu went down.
Bhopal, Jan 15 : Taking objection to director Rajkumar Santoshi's upcoming Hindi cinema "Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh", the Madhya Pradesh unit of Congress has sought a ban on the movie, saying it "insults Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi".

Upset over the trailer of the film, senior Congress leader and former minister P.C. Sharma on Sunday demanded a ban on its release. Sharma, an MLA from Bhopal, talking to reporters on Sunday, also sought dissolution of the Censor Board.

The Congress legislator said: "I am surprised! How can the Censor Board pass this movie which is insulting our Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi? How can one compare Gandhi with Nathuram Godse?" "The Prime Minister is also from Gujarat. Why this double standard? The Censor Board is acting at the behest of the BJP. I think the board should be disbanded," Sharma said while wondering: "Why is there a Censor Board if it is not independent to take decisions?" "The Congress will request the Madhya Pradesh government to put a ban on ' Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh' in the state. The BJP government of Madhya Pradesh also cites the examples of Mahatma Gandhi. This film should not be released," the Congress leader added.

Ever since the film's trailer was released, the Congress has been raising objections, while also accusing the BJP of being behind the making of such a movie.

On Friday, the Congress workers had burnt the effigy of the film's director Rajkumar Santoshi in Bhopal.

The Congress has warned that the film would not be allowed to be released in theatres in Bhopal under any circumstances.

The party said that after watching the trailer of the film, it seems that this film has been made under "a well thought out conspiracy".

The party said "objectionable scenes and dialogues about Muslim society and Mahatma Gandhi have been shown in this film. Fabricated things have also been told in the film. This film will divide the country".

The trailer of " Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh " was released on January 11.

In the 3-minute trailer, Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse are seen "fighting a battle of ideas". Godse holds Gandhi responsible for the Partition and plans to assassinate him.
Panaji, Jan 15 : The Congress party members on Sunday performed a 'pooja' of Mhadei river at Nanora Valpoi in North Goa and sought its blessings to spread awareness among the people of the coastal state on the "fight for its existence".

Under the programme 'Mhadei Jagor', Congress workers from across the state had gathered to seek blessings of 'Mhadei' by performing pooja for the success of people's movement, which will begin on January 16, at Virdi Amona in Sanquelim constituency.

Goa unit Congress president Amit Patkar, MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira, and their supporters were present on the occasion.

According to Congress leader Amarnath Panjikar, water collected in 'Kalash' from Mhadei will be taken to all the areas of Goa and to make people aware. "If Karnataka gets to divert the water, Goa will suffer and not get potable water. We will visit every place to make the people aware of this issue," Panjikar said.

He said that as the Central government has approved the Detailed Project Report of Karnataka for the disputed Kalasa-Bhanduri dam project, people of Goa will have to fight to get it withdrawn.

He also slammed the government, stating that it failed to protect Mhadei, which is revered as 'mother'. "We need to know the importance of Mother Mhadei," he said.

MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira that our enemy is one who is robbing Mhadei.

"I appeal to people to come forward and support this movement. We need to save Mhadei," he said.

Patkar also appealed to the people of Goa to support the movement and attend the public meeting 'Sankhali' on Monday.

"The Congress has always been vocal in regards to the issue of Mhadei. Even now, we will fight for the cause and will save our Mhadei," he added.

Meanwhile, ahead of the Assembly session and public meeting called by the Opposition on Monday, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant addressed the people of the state to inform them about the steps taken to deal with the Mhadei issue.

Sawant said "the Opposition -- who in the past failed to fight for Mhadei, is trying to politicise the issue".

"We have urged the Central government for immediate constitution of the Mhadei Water Management Authority as given in the award and also urged for the withdrawal of the DPR sanctioned by the CWC," Sawant said.

Earlier, to the address of Sawant, Water Resource Minister Subhash Shirodkar addressed a press conference over the Mhadei issue and said that the government is taking all efforts to protect Mhadei.
Bengaluru, Jan 15 : Karnataka's ruling BJP on Sunday assured all support to the Isha Foundation and Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev to develop its centre in Chikkaballapur district as an international destination for devotees.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, after inaugurating the 112-foot-tall statue of Adi Yogi at Avalagurki in Chikkaballapur, about 70 km from Bengaluru, stated that the region will see all round development.

"Our government will support activities which uphold our culture.

"There is conflict in the country. To maintain balance, Adi Yogi is needed. Sadguru's blessings will be there for the state. Entire Karnataka will see development. There is a force behind it," he said.

Health Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar stated that his government pledges support to the Isha Foundation and all its plans in the Chikkaballapur.

Vasudev declared that Chikkaballapur is going to be an international destination. People from every corner of the world are going to arrive here for exuberance and ecstacy and to know powerful way to live, he said.

Remembering his childhood at Chikkaballapur, he said that his mother visited a hill where she got initiated at the age of 11 years. "She practiced yoga and did not reveal anything about it," he said. "I was drawn here."
London, Jan 15 : Cheolsea returned to winning ways in the Premier League, handing Crystal Palace a solitary goal defeat at the Stamford Bridge on a day on which the Blues paid tributes to the late great Gianluca Vialli.

Kai Havertz scored the match-winner, rising highest in the air 65 minutes into the match to end the goalless deadlock in the London derby to head in Hakim Ziyech's delivery as Stamford Bridge paid its respects to its former player and manager in their first home match since the Italian's passing.

Chelsea were also indebted to a string of important saves from Kepa Arrizabalaga, the most important of which came late on to deny Cheick Doucoure.

The victory ended a run of three consecutive defeats for Chelsea as they moved to 28 points from 19 matches, the same as Liverpool who have a match to play.

With Lewis Hall and Hakim Ziyech providing width across the pitch, Chelsea started with intent and were soon venturing into the Crystal Palace penalty area.

Their teenage full-back Benoi Badiashile led the charge, driving forward down the inside-left channel before firing a ball into the six-yard box that was expertly watched and cleared by Joachim Andersen.

At the other end, the Eagles fashioned opportunities of their own and Kepa Arrizabalaga had to be quick off his line to head clear before the Spaniard thwarted Michael Olise with a flying save to push away a rising strike on the half-volley. In between those efforts, Tyrick Mitchell was also denied by a spreadeagled Kepa save.

In another match, Newcastle United defeated Fulham 1-0 with Alexander Isak scoring in the 89th minute.
Dubai, Jan 16 : Alex Hales cracked an unbeaten 83 runs off 52 balls studded with nine boundaries and three sixes, and along with Sam Billingss 49 runs off 38 balls, with four boundaries and a six, led Desert Vipers to an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Sharjah Warriors in the fourth match of the ILT20 at the Dubai International Stadium, here on Sunday.

The England pair through their array of shots put on a 128 runs partnership in 14 overs to win the match with 20 balls to spare.

Desert Vipers displayed their bowling and batting strength to sting their opponents hard in their opening match to crush Sharjah Warriors for their second successive defeat. Billings fell one short of his half-century when Desert Vipers needed just three runs to win.

Earlier, Desert Vipers, after winning the toss, put Sharjah Warriors into bat and restricted them to 145 for 5 in 20 overs.

The first over of the match saw a top-edge six over the wicketkeeper from Sharjah's opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz off the fifth ball from Sheldon Cottrell. In the third over, opener Evin Lewis, going for a pull, top-edged into the hands of Tymal Mills at short fine leg off Cottrell for a duck.

Gurbaz, who had hit Cottrell for his second six, fell to Gus Atkinson in the fourth over. He tried to hit to mid-wicket but mistimed it and landed up yielding a high catch to wicketkeeper Sam Billings for 22. Atkinson would have gotten the wicket of Dawid Malan too in the same over if Sherfane Rutherford had not dropped an easy catch at the backward point.

Tom-Kohler Cadmore hit Tom Curran past backward square for a boundary but fell getting caught by UAE's Rohan Mustafa at third man for 6. Three down for 38 in 5.3 overs, skipper Moeen Ali joined Malan and they hit one boundary each in the eighth over from Atkinson to take their team's total past the 50-run mark.

At the score of 66, Ali, on 18, lifted Tymal Mills to Tom Curran who took a brilliant running catch. Losing four wickets at the halfway mark, Sharjah struggled for runs. Malan on 18, flicked into the hands of Alex Hales at wide long-on. When half the side was back in the dug-out for 68, Mohammad Nabi joined Joe Denly. But given the tight bowling by Desert Vipers, they could keep the scoreboard moving only through singles and twos.

From 91 for 5, Sharjah added 54 runs in the last five overs. Denly remained unbeaten on 36 and Mohammad Nabi unconquered on 34. The pair put on an unbeaten 77 runs in nine overs to post a fighting total of 146 for 5 in 20 overs.

Desert Vipers began their chase with UAE's Rohan Mustafa and Hales opening the innings. Mustafa fell to the last ball of the first over from Moeen Ali, caught at deep square leg by Woakes for 8 after he had hit two consecutive boundaries.

Skipper Colin Munro joined Hales but got out for a duck, pulling Woakes into the hands of Denly at deep square leg. From the sixth over, Hales began to unleash his aggressive shots. He hit Woakes for a boundary and two sixes to take 16 runs off the final over of the Power-play. Sam Billings played second fiddle and at the halfway mark, Desert Vipers were well placed at 81 for 2.

Needing to score only 65 off the last ten overs, Hales reached his half-century in 39 balls. Billings too began to open out and the pair put on a 100 runs partnership in 12.1 overs and took a firm grip on the match.

"It was a great win for us. We bowled outstandingly. A lot of credit has to go to the bowlers. There's a great atmosphere within the team and it's a great start for us. It's always nice to start on a winning note and it's great for the side's confidence," said Hales at the post-match press conference.

Brief scores: Sharjah Warriors 145/5 in 20 overs (Joe Denly 36 not out, Mohammad Nabi 34 not out; Tymal Mills 1-11) lost to Desert Vipers 148/3 in 16.4 overs (Alex Hales 83 not out, Sam Billings 49; Moeen Ali 1-8) by 7 wickets.
Kabul, Jan 16 : Unknown armed men gunned down former Afghan female parliamentarian Mursal Nabizada along with one of her bodyguards at her residence, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran has confirmed.

"The gruesome incident happened in Ahmad Shah Baba Mina, a neighbourhood of Police District 12 of Kabul city, where unidentified gunmen stormed the house of Mursal Nabizada and sprayed bullets on Saturday night, killing her and one her bodyguards and critically injuring one of her brothers," Zadran told Xinhua news agency.

An investigation has been initiated to identify the perpetrators and bring to justice the culprits, the spokesman added.

Nabizada served as a member of Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of the erstwhile Afghan Parliament, during the former government which collapsed following the withdrawal of the US-led forces in August 2021.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the assassination of the former lawmaker. Neither her family members nor the police have pointed fingers at any particular group or individual.

Afghanistan's capital Kabul has been the scene of increasing security incidents over the past several months. A blast next to the Foreign Ministry left at least five dead and injured over a dozen others on Wednesday.
Jerusalem, Jan 16 : Israel's President Isaac Herzog has warned of an impending "historic constitutional crisis" in the country over a "controversial" plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government to overhaul the judiciary.

Herzog said in a statement that he has been mediating over the past week between the involved parties, including Netanyahu, Justice Minister Yariv Levin who drew up the plan, and President of the Supreme Court Justice Esther Hayut, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We are in the grips of a profound disagreement that is tearing our nation apart," he noted.

Herzog, whose role is mainly ceremonial and focused on unifying the divided Israeli society, said that his efforts are focused on "averting a historic constitutional crisis and stopping the continued rift within the nation." At his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu dismissed the Saturday nationwide rallies, saying that in the elections held in November 2022, "millions of people vote on reforming the judicial system." He said the reforms will be discussed "thoroughly" in a parliamentary review committee, which also includes members from the opposition.

"We will complete the reform of legislation in a way that will fully protect individual rights and restore public confidence in the judicial system," he added.

Last week, Levin announced a series of reforms, including giving the parliament the ability to override supreme court rulings with a simple majority. In addition, politicians will have greater influence in the appointment of supreme court judges and legal advisers to ministries.

Opponents of the plan, who rallied in Tel Aviv and other cities across Israel on Saturday night, argue that it would undermine the independence of the judiciary, harm minority rights and will make it easier for corrupted politicians to evade accountability.

On Thursday, Hayut described the plan as "an uncontrolled attack on the legal system." In rare public remarks, she said it "intended to force a deadly blow on the independence and impartiality of the judicial system".
Kim and Angela, each with several years of real estate experience already under their belts, dreamed of making an impact and providing human-centric real estate experiences infused with authenticity, integrity and enthusiasm.

On January 9, 2023 Maryland real estate team Holmes Glorioso Home Group of eXp Realty (HG Home Group) celebrated its third anniversary.

Three years ago, HG Home Group officially launched as a new Maryland real estate team with realtors Kim Lally Holmes and Angela Glorioso at the helm. Kim and Angela, each with several years of real estate experience already under their belts, dreamed of making an impact and providing human-centric real estate experiences infused with authenticity, integrity and enthusiasm.

What started as a team of two grew to three, then four, and has now grown into a team of nine. Currently, the team includes realtors Carleigh Miller, Marianne Mehrer and Julia Garrison Brown, along with Director of Operations Autumn Rose, Transaction Coordinator Maggie Calhoun, Stager Sierra Fath, and Errand Runner Sarah Hook.

The team is now licensed to sell real estate in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Our agents also travel to the Maryland Eastern Shore and Maryland and Delaware beaches, helping many clients purchase their dream beach homes in Ocean City, Md., Bethany Beach, De., and more.

In the past three years the team has:



Closed 395 transactions in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware, helping clients buy, sell, rent and invest in real estate.

Donated approximately $30,000 to charity and participated in countless volunteer and charitable initiatives, working with Ulman Foundation, Love and Lunches, The Zachary T. Paff Foundation, Maryland Chapter of The TEARS Foundation and many more.

Made a charitable donation on behalf of clients for each transaction, allowing each clients the opportunity to choose from the following charities: Saving Grace Animal Rescue of Maryland, Catch A Lift Fund, Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Ulman Foundation and The Zachary T. Paff Foundation.

Opened an office right on the Square in the heart of Baltimores Canton neighborhood, joining the Canton Community Association.

HG Home Groups Baltimore property management business, One Eyed Jack Property Management, has also grown from managing 11 properties to 54 properties.

The team is looking forward to helping more clients buy, sell, rent and invest in real estate in 2023 and beyond.

About Holmes Glorioso Home Group

Holmes Glorioso Home Group was founded by realtors Kim Lally Holmes and Angela Glorioso in 2020. Together, Holmes Glorioso Home Group has more than 25 years of experience in real estate, and Kim and Angela have helped more than 900 people buy, sell and invest.

Holmes Glorioso Home Group serves the Baltimore Metro region from Pennsylvania to the Eastern Shore, as well as southern Pennsylvania. The team is a one-stop-shop for all things real estate, providing expert guidance and unparalleled client service to sellers, buyers, renters, and investors.

Holmes Glorioso Home Group exclusively partners with One Eyed Jack Property Management to provide our clients with expert property management services.
Page Content

The apprehended suspect has been identified as Tyron Watson (DOB 09/22/1998).

His charges are as follows:

2 nd Degree Burglary

Degree Burglary Larceny after Breaking and Entering

Felony Conspiracy

Larceny of Motor Vehicle

Possession of Burglary Tools







Additional charges are expected to be filed. The investigation, at this point, has revealed three suspects were involved in the initial Breaking and Entering call for service. Based on video surveillance and interviews conducted thus far, it does not appear patrol officers were fired upon and/or targeted. The investigation has confirmed a shot was fired and the investigation is ongoing. Detectives with the Homicide Unit began working this case alongside Freedom Division detectives who will transition as lead.





The investigation into this case is active and ongoing. As additional information develops, it will be released by the CMPD's Public Affairs Office. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS. The public can also leave information anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/. For additional information about this case, please refer to the report: 20230113-2139-02.

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Assault with a Deadly Weapon Against Officers Investigation



Charlotte, N.C.  (Saturday, January 14, 2023)  Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Homicide Unit and Freedom Division are investigating an armed burglary and assault with a deadly weapon on law enforcement officers.

On Friday, January 13, 2023, at approximately 9:39 p.m., Freedom Division officers responded to an active breaking and entering call for service in the 300 block of Tribune Drive involving two suspects. One suspect fired a single gunshot upon approach of the responding officers before fleeing on foot and getting into a vehicle. Freedom Division officers attempted to stop the vehicle. The suspect refused to stop, initiating a vehicle pursuit. The pursuit ended in Fort Mill when the suspect jumped and ran from the vehicle. South Carolina law enforcement agencies were contacted and assisted in the vehicle pursuit, ground search, and apprehension of the suspect.



The investigation into this case is active and ongoing; detectives are still reviewing information in regard to identifying the second suspect. As additional information develops, it will be released by the CMPD's Public Affairs Office. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit detective. Detective Trietley is the lead detective assigned to this case. The public can also leave information anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/. For additional information about this case, please refer to the report: 20230113-2139-02.

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Dr. Rizk is known for his artistic approach to surgical procedures.

Dr. Sam Rizk is an internationally renowned expert in the complex field of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery based in New York. Named one of New York Citys top plastic surgeons, Dr. Rizk is known for his artistic approach to surgical procedures. Dr. Rizk has developed his own techniques and published his methods for customizing procedures to the patients facial structure and degree of aging, as opposed to one size, fits all approach. As he continues to see an influx of younger patients, including men, request facial procedures, Dr. Rizk will continue to use his newer techniques, which he believes are better tailored to them. To that end, Dr. Rizk has authored some landmark articles on facelift, rhinoplasty, and blepharoplasty surgery, describing his new ways of plastic surgery that will be applied to younger versus older patients.

Dr. Rizk is accredited with a double-board certification in facial plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery as well as head and neck surgery. He is the director of the JCAHO-accredited surgical suite, Manhattan Facial Plastic Surgery, PLLC.

Additionally, Dr. Rizk is a Realself Top Doctor where he relies on more than 20 years of combined experience to professionally answer questions from patients around the globe. Dr. Rizk has also been chosen as one of Castle Conollys Best doctors in the NY Metro Area for facial plastic surgery. Furthermore, as a recognized expert on the latest advances he was inducted into The Rhinoplasty Society, a non-profit organization of the most respected nasal surgeons in the world.

Learn more about Dr. Sam Rizk by visiting: https://hauteliving.com/hautebeauty/member/dr-sam-rizk/

ABOUT HAUTE BEAUTY NETWORK:

Haute Beauty is affiliated with the luxury lifestyle publication Haute Living. As a section of Haute Living magazine, Haute Beauty covers the latest advancements in beauty and wellness, providing readers with expert advice on aesthetic and reconstructive treatments through its network of acclaimed doctors and beauty experts.

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Sand Dollar Digital Currency Struggle for Relevance After FTX Disaster

Source: AdobeStock / Ruth P. Peterkin

The Sand Dollar, a digital version of the Bahamian dollar, is in a tight spot within the island nation following the unprecedented collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

FTX, once the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world with a valuation of $32 billion at its peak, was based in The Bahamas. Therefore, after the exchange filed for bankruptcy in November of last year, the island nation started to get worldwide attention, and not in a good way.

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas has been scrutinized over its role in the FTX collapse and subsequent legal proceedings. The regulator initially wanted to handle insolvency proceedings for FTX in the Bahamas, but faced opposition, with some FTX lawyers even claiming the commission coordinated with Bankman-Fried to gain unauthorized access to FTX systems to transfer digital assets to its own custody.

All of this made The Bahamas synonymous with the crypto crash. However, prior to becoming home to FTX and getting caught in the aftermath of its crash, the country was known as a pioneer of digital fiat.

The Sand Dollar was originally rolled out by the Central Bank of the Bahamas in October 2020, becoming the worlds first CBDC. However, the adoption of the CBDC has hardly taken off, and the recent crash of FTX has only made things worse.

Kimwood Mott, the project manager for digital currency implementation at the Central Bank of the Bahamas, has blamed the pandemic for the CBDC's lackluster start. He said Covid-19 shut down the country for months, making it difficult for the government to promote the CBDC. He added:

I am always telling people that this is not a cryptocurrency. But if people dont know what a cryptocurrency or a CBDC is, then Im just making a statement.

Supporters believe the Sand Dollar could help the country's central bank address a wide range of systemic objectivesensuring financial inclusion, reducing fraud and money laundering, guaranteeing sovereign alternatives for digital payments, and more. It can even save lives, allowing the government to instantly send emergency funds to people isolated in the wake of a natural disaster.

However, people first need to adopt it as a form of payment. And in a bid to expedite this process, the Central Bank of the Bahamas is increasing its education efforts.

In October last year, the central bank reportedly promoted a wine and food festival where the Sand Dollar was the only form of payment, producing a notable spike in national usage. Its also working with private digital wallet providers to target niche populations.

Aside from The Bahamas, a total of 10 countries have launched a CBDC, which includes countries like China, Nigeria, Argentina, Austria, and more, according to data from the American think tank Atlantic Council. Furthermore, 105 countries, representing over 95% of the global GDP, are exploring a national digital currency.
Hannah Godwin / Instagram

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/14/2023



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

couple Hannah Godwin and Dylan Barbour have revealed a wedding update over three years after getting engaged."We are excited to move forward (hopefully) with some things that WE love!" Hannah said in a Q&A with her followers via Instagram Stories earlier this week, according to BachelorNation.com.Hannah and Dylan, who got engaged in Mexico on 's sixth season in June 2019, were in no rush to get married after the show, and then they said in 2022 they pushed back their wedding plans to cut back on their spending after buying a new home together in San Diego, CA, in late 2021.But since then, the pair have apparently been living it up and traveling the world, including a recent vacation to Paris, France.Hannah and Dylan therefore have fans questioning when -- or if -- they're ever going to tie the knot."I'm telling you guys, we will give you an update as soon as we have one," Hannah told her fans."I will say we've sneakily seen some venues and we know one that we really like. We're trying to figure things out."Hannah insisted that she and her fiance are "not trying to be annoying and private about it."Instead, Hannah shared on behalf of Dylan, "We've just been in a spot a few times where we thought we had one then something either happened logistically/financially/scheduling wise."Another person asked Hannah for some advice when it comes to people pleasing while planning a wedding, and Hannah admitted she's been struggling with this as well."I really do wonder if it weren't for the 'pressure' if we would've already tied the knot by now," Hannah confessed. "Something about people expecting such a big thing from you takes away the special part of the wedding day in my opinion."Hannah suggested it's best to drown out the noise and just focus on what's important."Tuning everything out makes it feel more like an 'us' decision and special," Hannah noted."I love that people are invested but neither of us want to get married just because so many people are begging us to at this point. Does that make sense lol?"The model and social-media influencer occasionally checks in with her followers to ask their burning questions, and back in February 2022, Hannah answered a question about her dream wedding dress."Part of me wants simple, but then I'm like... I can always wear a simple dress. You know? Maybe I go big, like Vogue. I don't really know," Hannah told a fan.Hannah and Dylan initially decided on an early 2020 wedding, but their planning got derailed due to the global outbreak of coronavirus -- and now more than three years have passed."[The date has been] pushed back a bit. We've been eyeing 2023 so we'll see how it goes," Hannah told Us Weekly in September 2021.Dylan said at the time he and Hannah hoped to wed in Spring 2023 because they don't want to exchange vows in the winter, and Hannah shared how they had already hired a wedding planner and anticipated tying the knot in California since the West Coast has captured their hearts."We're loving being engaged," Hannah gushed to the magazine in 2021. "We are excited to, like, start the next chapter whenever that is though. We are getting eager for it."But Hannah and the Vizer app co-founder were still looking for the perfect place to have their wedding."We've been kind of working on that a little bit. I think that, like, [the] vibe that we've been saying from the very beginning, we're still thinking of anything that feels outdoor, European-ish," Hannah revealed."I don't know where that's going to be, but that's the vibe at least we're aiming towards."Hannah also confirmed she and Dylan don't want to get married on television for ABC cameras and viewers."For our wedding, we'd just want it to be personal, like, as close-knit as we possibly can. We want to just keep it personal and small," Hannah explained.Hannah said she believes the wedding will be "more enjoyable" the more intimate it is."And we won't have to be greeting people the whole time essentially," she added."It's going to be nice I think just to have everybody -- like for it to be a memory for everybody and not just like us. We want to really enjoy it."Hannah and Dylan also expressed how they don't appreciate criticism about their delayed wedding or doubts about their future as a couple.Hannah told Us in 2021 how she and Dylan "love" being each other's rock and support system."We just are each other's No. 1 biggest fan and it's really cool. It's really cool," Hannah gushed.Prior to meeting on , Hannah competed for Colton Underwood 's heart on The Bachelor's 23rd season and Dylan appeared on The Bachelorette's fifteenth season starring Hannah Brown During 's sixth season, Dylan called Hannah the love of his life and had no doubts in his mind that she was his person.Dylan basically fell in love with Hannah during the first week of Paradise, but Hannah was a little terrified of investing her heart into a man after her breakup with Colton.Dylan, however, never gave up on their potential, even when Blake Horstmann was trying to charm her.After Hannah worked through "a few obstacles" inside of herself, she accepted Dylan's marriage proposal.At the reunion portion of the show, Dylan said getting engaged to Hannah was "the best decision" he's ever made."We talk all the time, like, 'How did this all work out for us?' But for some reason, it did. He's my person and I have a different kind of love for him that I knew existed, and that's really special," Hannah shared in Summer 2019.Hannah also revealed at the time they had met each other's families and she'd be moving from Birmingham, AL, to California in order to be closer to Dylan and his job.Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
If youve been paying attention to TV lately, youve probably heard people raving about HBOs adaptation of The Last of Us. The show has been praised both for its accuracy to the game and for some of the masterful deviations. One of these deviations highlights an important trend in media that cannot lose its momentum: The character Sam is deaf.
HARRISBURG  As the Cumberland County 4-H Drill Team finished performing at the 107th Pennsylvania Farm Show on Saturday, some visitors said that they saved the best for last.

The clubs performance, a popular Farm Show tradition for 66 years, blended patriotism and pageantry on the last day of the eight-day Farm Show. This year, 19 youngsters ranging from 9 to 17 years old took part in the teams performance.

Ive been riding since I was old enough to sit on a saddle, said Ashlynn Barrick, 10, of Lower Mifflin Township. She and her 16-year-old sister, Cloey, were one of several sibling pairs in the event.

Ashlynn, a Newville Elementary School sixth grade student, almost didnt get to perform with the team. Duke, her 20-year-old Paint, developed a bad eye infection and had to have his right eye removed.

Duke doesnt like when we ride near, against the wall to his right because he cant see it, she said. But I guide him and hes OK with that. When you have a challenge, you just have to do it anyway.

The performance began when three young members walked the team banner into the ring. Aubrey McBride of Dickinson Township, one of three McBride teenaged sisters on the team, rode into the arena carrying an American flag in one hand and holding her reins with the other.

Three other girls with flags representing Pennsylvania, Cumberland County and the Farm Show rode into the ring moments later. The rest of the team followed, looking elegant in white shirts, sparkling green vests, black pants and helmets.

Marches from John Phillip Sousa and patriotic music filled the Equine Arena as the young equestrians rode their horses in a variety of maneuvers. The mounted youngsters crisscrossed the arena several times. Their maneuvers include a wagon-wheel formation in which they rode four abreast, forming what looked like a carousel of horses.

Thanks to several siblings among the riders, the team had a family feel. Audrey, Ava and Alyvia McBride, all veterans of the team, looked at home on their horses. Ava McBride on Little Red, her 11-year-old quarter horse, said the whole team feels like a family.

J.J. Raudabaugh, 10, of North Middleton Township, rode with his 8-year-old sister, Emma.

Its good to be back after COVID, said J.J., a Crestview Elementary School fifth grade student. The drill team is fun. His sister, in the second grade at that school, agreed.

Scott Wickard of Upper Frankfort Township, riding in his ninth year on the team, said that the group practices every Sunday from October through January. He called the team a lot of work, but fun too.

The performance ended with a recording of Lee Greenwoods God Bless the U.S.A., always a favorite with the rodeo and horse loving crowds. As the song played and the team lined up, the audience members stood saluting the flag or holding their hands over their hearts.

They applauded wildly as the team rode out of the arena.

Sandy Long, the teams founder and long-time director, said that she has turned running the team over to her son, Trevor, and his wife, Kristen, while she stays on as adviser.

Trevor Long said he was pleased with the teams performance, noting that this family sport teaches teamwork and responsibility. I was a team member myself for 10 years, he added.
On Feb. 28, the Coleman-Baker Act, a bill focusing on re-opening unsolved homicides in Georgia, passed in the Georgia State House.

The bill, known also as HB 88, passed with a vote of 168-1. It will now advance to the state Senate.
On Tuesday, Jan. 10, fans of the B-52s packed into the Classic Center Theatre in sequins, boas, glitter and wigs, dressed in every color of the rainbow. Both young and old, some had traveled minutes and others hours to see the worlds greatest party band end their Farewell Tour in the town where it all began.
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Medical workers attend to patients of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at an intensive care unit (ICU) converted from a conference room, at a hospital in Cangzhou, Hebei province, China January 11, 2023.

China said that nearly 60,000 have died from COVID-19 and related complications since authorities lifted harsh restrictions in December after nationwide protests, Reuters reported Saturday.

Jiao Yahui, the head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under Chinas National Health Commission, told a media briefing that 59,938 people had died in hospitals across the country as a result of the virus outbreak.

Some 5,503 of those were directly the result of COVID-19, she added, while others were the result of complicating factors and other diseases alongside the virus infection.

The weekend report comes amid increased scrutiny of Chinas lack of transparency around hospitalizations and deaths arising from recent outbreaks. Until today, authorities had maintained that a little over 5,000 people had died of the virus since the outbreak began in Wuhan in 2019.

Since the official end of the zero-COVID policy in early December, China had reported only 37 virus-related deaths, the Washington Post reported.

Photos of crematoriums and hospitals filling to capacity have flooded social media and netizens quickly rushed to condemn official reports citing low death numbers. In one case, on Dec 26th, authorities reported only one COVID-19 death in China.

"Ask your conscience -- do you believe this?" one comment about the statement read, while another quipped: "Is this the department of disease control or the ministry of magic?"

International health experts have estimated that at least 1 million people have died from COVID-related health complications in 2022, Reuters said. The World Health Organization had repeatedly appealed for increased transparency from Chinese authorities.

The United States and several other countries had cited the lack of transparency around case numbers as the reason behind requiring testing of passengers flying in from China. On Dec 28th, the U.S. joined Italy, Japan, Taiwan, and India in requiring passengers from China to test negative before arrival.

Edited by Malcolm Foster.
When the Taliban returned to power in 2021 in a lightning military insurrection that toppled Afghanistans internationally recognized government, the country immediately fell into diplomatic isolation.



Two of Kabuls neighbors to the north, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, chose a different route, putting the hard-line groups fractious history with the former Soviet Central Asian republics aside and prioritizing engagement over criticism and pressure.



But a giant canal project in Afghanistan now taking shape that the Taliban is pursuing at a rapid pace is giving the two water-stressed countries doubts about whether strategic patience with the Islamic fundamentalist group will yield rewards.



If you look at other projects that have involved Afghanistan and Central Asia somehow, there has often been a win-win element, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, founding director of the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh, told RFE/RL.



But the Qosh Tepa Irrigation Canal, which will divert large volumes of water from the dwindling transboundary Amu Darya River, is a very different case.



This is very much zero sum, because water is a finite good and there dont seem to be any benefits for Afghanistans neighbors here, said Murtazashvili, adding that she expects the Central Asian countries to pursue a lot of quiet diplomacy on the project that will add to the pressures faced by outsized agricultural sectors already battling climate change and historical mismanagement.

But the Taliban will be probing to see how far it can go, Murtazashvili said, something she suggested its downstream neighbors will have to get used to.



If the first Taliban [regime that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001] was weighed down by insurgency and in some ways never really behaved like a state, Taliban 2.0 seems to really like the idea of projecting state power, Murtazashvili said.



Old Project With New Momentum



The stated dimensions of the irrigation canal that workers started digging last spring are enough to understand why the downstream countries have concerns.



With a length of 285 kilometers and a width of some 100 meters, experts believe it could draw a significant portion of the Amu Daryas flow while irrigating 550,000 hectares of land.



An Afghan civil servant with knowledge of the project told RFE/RLs Uzbek Service that work on the second of three stages of the project that began in the spring of 2022 is expected to begin in the coming months, with more than 100 kilometers already dug and visible from space.



The plan to irrigate land in northern Afghanistan is not new.



Farid Azim, an official at the National Development Company overseeing its construction, pointed out last year that Afghanistans first president, Mohammad Daud Khan, had a similar vision in the 1970s.

The project was most recently pursued by the U.S.-backed administration of President Ashraf Ghani -- which the Taliban overthrew less than two years ago.



A press release issued by the United States Agency for International Development from 2018 marking the launch of a Washington-funded feasibility study for Qosh Tepa described a 200 kilometer-long canal serving a cultivated catchment area of 500,000 hectares.



Developing Afghanistans agriculture sector provides great potential for employment and economic growth, then-U.S. Ambassador John R. Bass said in the release.



But the project was not a pressing concern for neighbors, primarily because political infighting and chronic instability in northern Afghanistan had made it impractical.



Bismellah Alizada, a researcher at Londons School of Oriental and African Studies, told RFE/RL that Rashid Dostum, who was the Afghan first vice president from 2014 to 2020, was among the influential politicians with concerns about the project.



One of those concerns was that it would be used to benefit and resettle members of the politically dominant Pashtun group to which President Ashraf Ghani belonged, Alizada said.



Dostum -- an ethnic Uzbek warlord -- long enjoyed strong ties to the regime in Uzbekistan and was even reported to have fled there when the Taliban captured Mazar-e Sharif, overwhelming forces jointly under his command before the group advanced on Kabul.

Members of Dostums exiled Junbish-e Milli party have reiterated these concerns more recently, but the reality is that the Taliban has no opponents capable of preventing it from forging ahead with giant public works projects, Alizada said.



More obvious obstacles are technical capacity and cash, with billions of dollars in funds belonging to Afghanistans central bank frozen after the Taliban takeover. That would make it hard for the cash-strapped Taliban to finance a project whose first phase cost nearly $100 million, according to reports.



But Graeme Smith, a senior consultant for the International Crisis Groups Asia Program, said the Taliban has a strong political will to finish off projects begun by the former government with Qosh Tepa the biggest that the group has revived so far.



With their very limited resources, the Taliban have prioritized [Qosh Tepa], said Smith, expressing skepticism that the Islamic fundamentalist group would pay attention to its neighbors concerns.



The Taliban is a nationalist movement intensely focused on their domestic constituencies, Smith said.



I think its fair to assume they will continue governing with a strong focus on issues inside the country and less regard for concerns outside, he told RFE/RL.



Games Of Leverage



Taciturn Turkmenistan has so far said nothing about the canal project.



But a Turkmenistan-based hydrologist speaking in March to RFE/RLs Turkmen Service on condition of anonymity called the project not a problem, but a disaster.



RFE/RL correspondents in the closed authoritarian country reported this year about severe water shortages in Turkmenistans Soviet-built Karakum Canal, which is four times the length of the one the Taliban is seeking to complete.



The World Resources Institute in 2019 ranked Turkmenistan as one of 17 countries in the world with extremely high water stress. Uzbekistan and Afghanistan were placed in the next highest category. Central Asia as a whole depends on rivers that rise in mountains, where many glacier stocks are being depleted by climate change.



Tashkent, whose own Moscow-imposed, cotton-growing legacy is one of the chief causes of the Amu Daryas demise, has been more proactive on Qosh Tepa.

According to the Talibans deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the topic was among those broached by Uzbek presidential envoy and former Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Komilov when he was in Kabul last month for talks on economic cooperation.



Komilov was cited by Baradars office as saying that Uzbekistan was ready to work with the Islamic emirate (the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan) through technical teams in order to maximize the benefits of the Qosh Tepa canal project.



Uzbekistan provided no comment to that effect in its release on the talks, but President Shavkat Mirziyoev -- in a national address in December -- flagged Qosh Tepa as a concern as he touched on the problem of desertification.

At the moment, we consider it necessary to conduct practical talks on the construction of a new canal in the Amu Darya basin with the interim government of neighboring Afghanistan and the international community based on international standards and taking into account the interests of all countries in the region, he said.



We believe that this approach will be supported by our neighbors.



Mirziyoevs preference for dialogue over threats on transboundary water use has been welcomed by the neighborhood since predecessor Islam Karimov passed away in 2016.



This appears to have worked with upstream Kyrgyzstan, where successful border negotiations saw Uzbekistan granted de facto control of a strategic reservoir located inside Kyrgyz territory, albeit not without a rash of political discontent in Kyrgyzstan.

And although authoritarian Karimov virulently opposed the construction of giant hydroelectric dams in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Mirziyoev has given both his blessing, with Tashkent even attaching itself to Kyrgyzstans Kambar-Ata-1 project as a partner -- a move that will give it a hand in upstream management.



Qosh Tepa, however, is becoming a source of public anxiety in Uzbekistan.



With the volume of the Amu Darya water [already] decreasing, Afghans will take a quarter of its water through this canal, complained Uzbek academic and outspoken government critic Khidirnazar Allakulov in an interview with RFE/RLs Uzbek Service.



Instead of solving the problem, the Uzbek government takes the Taliban to Samarkand, dressing them and presenting them with gifts. The government bows to Afghanistan.. Not only the current generation, but also future [Uzbek] generations can be endangered by the water problem, Allakulov said.



Regular exchanges between the Turkmen and Uzbek governments and the Taliban predated the fall of the Ghani government, and Turkmenistan was among the first countries in the world to accept a Taliban-appointed ambassador.

But in line with the international community as a whole, neither has recognized the new regime in Kabul.



This only complicates what Alizada calls the legal lacuna between Afghanistan and its former communist neighbors, since Kabul had not previously signed treaties with them on transboundary management.



And while Afghanistan is keen for more trade opportunities and relies on its northern neighbors for supplies of electricity for several provinces, there are other areas of these bilateral relations where the Taliban feels it has real leverage, Alizada argued.



For the Central Asian countries, I think the number one concern is hard security, especially with the regions history with transnational extremist groups. The Taliban will continue to use assurances on security in negotiations with these countries going forward.
NAXCIVAN, Azerbaijan -- A sole truck trundles down the wide asphalt road in Araliq, a sleepy village in Naxcivan, an exclave not only largely cut off for decades from the rest of Azerbaijan but also from the outside world.

Araliq is the hometown of Vasif Talibov, who was appointed to run Naxcivan in 1995 by Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan's third post-Soviet president and father of the current authoritarian leader. Talibov, a relative of the elder Aliyev, who was also born here, appears to have topped the two in instituting what human rights groups said was an even more repressive regime.



For years, most Western media outlets and rights groups were banned from Naxcivan. But with uncertainty and change following Talibov's recent shock resignation, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service has been allowed back to report from the isolated exclave, with some residents speaking freely about their lives in what has been dubbed Azerbaijan's North Korea.



Over his 27 years of rule, Talibov built what became, by most accounts, his personal fiefdom in Naxcivan, which is cut off from the rest of Azerbaijan by a wide swathe of territory of rival Armenia.



Naxcivan, whose eponymous capital is home to an estimated 94,500 people, is bordered not only by Armenia but Turkey, barely, and Iran. During the Soviet era, Naxcivan was an autonomous republic within the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.



Talibov's political fortunes were cemented by his marriage to Sevil Sultanova, whose mother's uncle was none other than Azerbaijan's longtime ruler, Heydar Aliyev.



During the waning days of the Soviet Union in 1991, Aliyev left Moscow for his home region of Naxcivan, where he is said to have lived temporarily with Talibov, who ruled the province from 1995 up until last month.



But on December 21, 2022, Talibov, 62, announced unexpectedly that he was stepping down as head of the Autonomous Republic of Naxcivan -- its official name -- for what he said were unspecified health reasons.



While his resignation was a surprise to many, it came amid moves by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev -- who took over from his father, Heydar, in 2003 and has ruled in much the same authoritarian manner -- to retake at least some control in Naxcivan.

'The Khan'

Referred to by many as "the khan," Talibov routinely hounded his critics, targeting journalists and rights activists, and having some locked up in mental institutions. State employees were forced to work Saturdays -- a hated holdover from the Soviet era -- cleaning streets or harvesting crops. He had odd laws passed, including one forbidding washing to be hung from apartment-block balconies.

He and his two sons -- Rza and Seymur -- monopolized local business with their own stores, allegedly forcing competitors to shut down or dash plans to start businesses. The three are believed to have amassed a huge fortune, including millions in allegedly laundered funds from foreign banks. This despite -- officially at least -- their meager state salaries.



Talibov's two sons opened banks accounts with several foreign banks, including Credit Suisse and Barclays, a bank data dump in February 2022 found. According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the two brothers' bank accounts were used for dozens of wire transfers -- amounting to more than $20 million -- from shell companies that were part of the so-called Azerbaijani and Troika Laundromats, two massive money-laundering schemes previously uncovered by OCCRP. Over the years, the brothers acquired properties in Dubai and Georgia worth an estimated $63 million.



While their bank accounts apparently grew fatter, most people in Naxcivan were struggling. With few jobs and abundant repression, many in Naxcivan have slowly left, mostly for neighboring Turkey, which shares a sliver of a border with the exclave and a similar language.

Talibov's surprise announcement came after moves by Baku to rein in the renegade exclave, despite the family ties. With Talibov now out of the picture, Azer Zeynalov, the first deputy chairman of the local legislature -- nothing more than a rubber-stamp body under Talibov -- will step in at least temporarily.



In November 2022, Azerbaijan's State Security Service arrested a customs official in the region. That was followed a few days later by an order from President Aliyev to dissolve the local customs committee and transfer its authority to Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee. Earlier that same month, Baku also took control of Naxcivan's security services.

Fear And Loathing In Naxcivan

On the streets of Araliq, while many praise -- publicly at least -- Talibov for maintaining law and order, others are outspoken in their criticism of his often-brutal regime.



There's little hustle or bustle in Araliq along its wide boulevards lined with tidy homes and stores. For a town of only 1,000, Araliq is home to a hospital that dominates one expansive square, as well as other imposing edifices, including what looks like a newer-built school. During his rule, Talibov made sure his hometown was taken care of, apparently sparing little expense to build it up and keep it well maintained.

In the spring of 2022, resident Safi Abbasov said he had bought 90 kilograms of potatoes and onions in Turkey for his recently departed father's memorial service. When he tried to cross back into Naxcivan with the vegetables, customs officials stopped him.



"I protested. I said, 'I'm just carrying potatoes and onions.' They said, 'No, that's not allowed,'" Abbasov told RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service.



"But [the local authorities] themselves were transporting [food products] by trucks. I just had 90 kilograms," he said, adding that his plight got even worse.



Abbasov said he was dragged away and detained in a jail cell for nine days, suffering what he described as torture, and denied food. He said he was finally released after he paid 3,000 manats ($1,764) to bribe a judge.



Such accounts of beatings at the hands of law enforcement in Naxcivan are not uncommon, with reporters and rights activists often the favored targets.

Idrak Abbasov, a journalist on a fact-finding mission for a human rights report, was hospitalized in February 2009 for injuries suffered during questioning by security forces in Naxcivan.



Igor Nasibov, a former freelance photographer for RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, was brutally beaten by unknown assailants in Naxcivan in August 2014.



And in a case that made international headlines, Yafez Hasanov, a former RFE/RL correspondent, was deported in September 2011 from Naxcivan through Iran after investigating the death of a man reportedly accused of spying for Tehran.

No-Go Zone For NGOs

Such abuse in Naxcivan is believed to be widespread, but word of such cases rarely reaches the outside world, given the exclave has long been off limits for international human rights organizations.



Human Rights Watch said that while Naxcivan was "Talibov's private fiefdom," it could offer no comment on his human rights record since the watchdog has not been on the ground in years.



One of the last reports on the exclave by an outside organization was published in 2010 by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. "Talibov's rule has left the society with little hope, while widespread poverty and a high unemployment rate have had a dramatic negative impact on living conditions. The authoritarian rule and the destruction of civil society has been reinforced by strict censorship and grave human rights abuses," it said at the time.



Back in Naxcivan, Vuqar Babayev recounts bitterly how his teahouse in the village of Nehram, which cost him nearly $2 million, was demolished in 2007. Babayev told RFE/RL that the building was razed as part of what he claimed was a general order to shutter all similar establishments, as well as grocery stores, that were not run by the Talibovs.

"It was our teahouse. We still have the ownership documents. We paid 3,179,048 manats [for it]," he explained, giving the exact purchase price of some $1.8 million, including furnishings, land, and other facilities, including an indoor swimming pool. "They demolished it and did not give us any compensation. Wherever we went to complain, [the authorities] said 'We will put you in prison.' They just said it should be demolished, that's it."



Babayev said the teahouse dated to the Soviet era and served the workers on a collective farm. He said his father used to work there and he bought it after the collective collapsed shortly after Azerbaijan gained independence in 1991 in the waning days of the Soviet Union.



Yusif Rzayev, a retired teacher, said there were 10 teahouses in Nehram in the past, but only one remains today. The 77-year-old retiree laments he does not know where to go to spend his free time. "It was banned. The khan (Talibov) banned it," he told RFE/RL.

Jobseekers Head To Turkey

With the climate for business and job prospects grim in Naxcivan, many have left for Turkey to find work, although officially, up until November 2022, Talibov's government was claiming Naxcivan had no unemployment.



Pakiza Allahverdiyeva told RFE/RL that she has worked a range of jobs in Turkey for 20 years and had moved there with her husband and three children. The early days were stressful, Allahverdiyeva said, and her workday was often a long one, sometimes finishing at 1 a.m.

"We worked in textile production. I was not a machinist. I was just running here and there. They were speaking fast [in Turkish]; I couldn't understand them," she recounted. "I used to ask my children at home [about the meaning of the words in Turkish]. If there was work in my country, why would I leave my homeland?"



She saved up enough money to buy an apartment in her hometown of Calilkend, Naxcivan, but said that hasn't solved all her problems.



"I worked for so long in Turkey. I cleaned stairs. I worked in a textile factory. I worked day and night to furnish this home," Allahverdiyeva said. "I have a home -- yes -- but not food."

Written by Tony Wesolowsky based on reporting on the ground by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service. Translations provided by RFE/RL's Darab Gajar.
Charlottesvilles new chief of police, Michael Kochis, says the role involves striking a balance among three groups: the community, the political environment and the rank and file of the department. Kochis, who is leaving his post as chief of the Warrenton Police Department, will join CPD on Wednesday.

Some Charlottesville residents will argue that there is also a fourth group, one in blue and orange. As a recent University of Virginia graduate, though, Kochis said he is familiar with the inseparable relationship between the school and the city of Charlottesville.

In May 2022, Kochis graduated in the first class of UVas Master of Public Safety program, which was added to the School of Continuing and Professional Studies in 2021.

The classes I took are real-world classes, Kochis told The Daily Progress. For example, theres a stewardship class in the program, and we had to build a police department from the ground up for everything, from creating a mission and vision to a strategic plan. Its pretty intense.

Bryon Gustafson, the programs director, said the program was designed to foster thought and agency leadership skills among working public safety professionals. Most students who enroll in the program already have 15 to 20 years of experience, as Kochis did when he joined. The program offers five core courses that teach students how to build a public safety agency and continue growing their leadership skills, Gustafson said.

Our Creating and Sustaining Community Dialogue course is really about identifying and working with stakeholders, listening, learning to ask open-ended questions and creating shared understanding. That one is very community-specific Gustafson told The Daily Progress. Another course, Transformational Leadership and Changing Times, has some of the same topics but really looks at the organization [students] are in to challenge students to understand the people that theyre working with.

Kochis said he decided to enroll in the program because the days of law enforcement leadership without higher education are over.

I think the expectation [from] our communities is that the police commanders or police executives continue to educate themselves on very complex issues of policing, Kochis said.

Kochis began his higher education journey during his military career when he received a bachelors degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University. He returned to school in 2017 and completed a one-year certified public manager program at George Washington University. One year later, Kochis graduated in Session 274 of the FBI National Academy, which uses a curriculum accredited by UVa.

Kochis ditched the civilian lifestyle when he enlisted in the Army, becoming a paratrooper straight out of high school. After several years of jumping out of planes for the military, Kochis launched his law enforcement career as an officer with the Roanoke Police Department.

After Roanoke, Kochis was an officer with the Alexandria Police Department, where he spent 17 years  the longest stint of his career, he said. In addition to serving as an Alexandria police officer, Kochis was a narcotics investigator, homicide detective sergeant and lieutenant commander who oversaw patrol operations, criminal investigations, vice and narcotics and administrative options.

Kochis said he still remembers one of his first visits to Charlottesville in 2017 to attend the graduation of a cohort from the local adult drug court. He said he was impressed with the program and the people in it who seemed to care about those recovering from drug dependence.

The other thing about Charlottesville is its a community that really wants to be involved with its police department, Kochis said. I know theres been a lot thats gone on in the past, like 2017, that did a lot of damage. I understand that. But I really think theres an opportunity to start building the same relationships back and working towards moving forward.

The Unite the Right rally in 2017 over the removal of the citys Confederate monuments led to the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer and several injuries in a riot downtown. The violence also served as a catalyst in the community, not only sparking a review of the areas ties to and legacy of racism but the areas law enforcement agencies, which many have said are necessarily a part of those ties and that legacy.

CPD has not had a chief of police since former City Manager Chip Boyles fired Police Chief RaShall Brackney in September 2021, citing low morale in the department based on survey data from department employees. In an op-ed published in The Daily Progress on Sept. 17, 2021, Boyles said he fired Brackney because he was concerned that at least 10 leaders said they would leave the department because of Brackneys leadership. Boyles said he felt he had to make a hasty decision to save the department.

The termination came a few months after Brackney ordered an internal affairs review of the former CPD SWAT Team, which revealed discriminatory messages and behaviors. The review resulted in the firing and relocation of four former SWAT Team members before the team was dissolved in the summer of 2021.

Brackney, who was hired in 2018, filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city with the Western District of Virginia in June 2022. The suit lists 11 causes of action including race, color and gender discrimination; tortious interference with employment contract; unlawful retaliation; violation of Virginias whistleblower statute; violation of the right to freedom from government discrimination; defamation; business conspiracy; violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act; and violation of the right to Freedom of Information.

Brackney did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Daily Progress.

Kochins, meanwhile, said he will be spending his first days in his new post meeting with community stakeholders to build relationships and assess community expectations.

The first ninety days will be identifying [stakeholders] and building relationships, so when we get to the end of those ninety days we have a group of stakeholders that can sit down and work on developing specific strategic priorities for the police department, Kochis said. Stakeholders are everyone from the patrol officer on the street to the city manager to City Council to local community groups to community activists. Theyre those who have a stake in the community, within the city of Charlottesville.

Kochis and his family moved to Charlottesville on the first weekend of the year.
Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here. www.rferl.org/a/31793259.html



I'm RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what I've been following during the past week and what I'm watching for in the days ahead.

The Big Issue

Iran appears to be making headway toward renewing official ties with Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf states that in some cases have been publicly avoiding Tehran for decades.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia held talks in Beijing on April 6 in a significant step toward restoring diplomatic relations, which were cut in 2016 after protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran following Riyadhs execution of prominent Saudi Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Iran also accepted an invitation from Saudi King Salman for President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Riyadh, while Tehran said it will send a similar invitation to the Saudi king. Meanwhile, a Saudi delegation traveled to Iran on April 9 to discuss the reopening of the embassy in Tehran and a consulate in Mashhad. The trip came as Iranian media reported on April 8 that a street sign near the Saudi consulate in Mashhad provocatively named after Sheikh al-Nimr had been quietly removed. An Iranian delegation also arrived in Saudi Arabia on April 12 to pave the way for the reopening of Iranian diplomatic missions there.

Iran is meanwhile taking steps to improve ties with other countries in the region, naming an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and working to decrease tensions with Egypt and Bahrain.

Why It Matters: Iran and Saudi Arabia appear to be pursuing implementation of last months Chinese-brokered agreement, possibly clearing the way for Tehran to de-escalate tensions with other countries that followed Riyadhs lead on a rupture seven years ago.



What's Next: Tehran and Riyadh could move surprisingly swiftly toward normalization, but its no sure thing. Abdolrasool Divsallar, a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Milan (UCSC), told me that the political environment between the two regional rivals could encourage the start of military and security talks within months.

But Divsallar also warned that opponents at home and abroad could still undermine the agreement. Hard-liners in Iran may act as a spoiler rather than as a supporter of the deal, he said, adding that Israel could do the same.

The regional tensions between Israel and Iran, on one side, andbetween Iran, Saudi [Arabia] and the United States, on the other side, are two dynamics that make this process very fragile, he said.

Divsallar also suggested that any normalization between Iran and countries with less appetite for a quick restoration of ties, for instance Bahrain, could take longer.

They feel more secure under the current status quo rather than immediately normalizing their ties with the Islamic republic and losing their leverage, he said, adding, They may wait to see a major change of policies.

Stories You Might Have Missed

Irans civil aviation sector has for years been under Western sanctions that prevent it from purchasing new aircraft or spare parts for repairs. Now, Russia's oldest airline, Aeroflot, has sent one of its passenger planes to Iran for repairs for the first time ever. Aeroflot reportedly ran into obstacles at home stemming from Western sanctions over Russias ongoing, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The RBK media group cited an Aeroflot representative and sources close to the company on April 11 as saying that an Airbus A330-300 had been sent to Tehran on April 5 to be repaired by specialists from Iran's Mahan Air.

Iranian pensioners staged protests in more than a dozen cities across Iran, demanding higher pensions amid soaring prices. Protests were reported on April 9 in Tehran, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Isfahan, Arak, Qom, Shush, Tabriz, and several other cities where retirees complained of poor living conditions and chanted anti-government slogans. Labor protests in Iran have swelled as the economy deteriorates following years of mismanagement compounded by crippling U.S. sanctions.

What We're Watching

Prominent Iranian female religious scholar Sedigheh Vasmaghi has challenged Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the Islamic republics mandatory hijab law.

In a letter published online, Vasmaghi asked about the reasoning behind Irans strict model for womens dress and said the Koran does not specify the need for women to cover their hair in public.

There is no evidence to show that during the time of the Prophet Muhammad women were harassed and punished for not covering their hair or even their bodies, Vasmaghi, who has published several books on Islamic jurisprudence, wrote.

Why It Matters: Vasmaghis letter is significant for its timing -- just days after Khamenei asserted that the removal of the hijab in public was religiously banned. But it is also important because it comes from a religious woman who wears the veil while opposing the mandatory hijab, which is seemingly being defied by a growing number of women.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Golnaz Esfandiari

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.
Thousands of Iranian workers have signed a protest letter sent to President Ebrahim Raisi against an increase that would see the minimum wage rise by only about half of the current inflation rate.

In the letter, which was signed by almost 20,000 workers, a request was made to immediately annul the increase and instead approve a new pay rise that would reflect rapidly rising prices.

A government resolution based on a decision of the Supreme Labor Council, which includes representatives from the government, employers, and workers, set the increase at 27 percent for minimum wage for workers after the Persian New Year on March 21.



The February inflation rate was 53.4 percent, while annual price growth in March was 63.9 percent.



While the Iranian president's office has yet to officially respond to the letter, Iranian media quoted the government's economic spokesperson as saying that there are currently no plans to change the size of the wage increase.



The new resolution raises the minimum wage for workers from 41,790,000 rials ($82) to 53,073,300 rials ($104). Inflation for the current year is projected to be in the range of 40 to 60 percent.



Hossein Habibi, a member of the board of directors of the High Council of Islamic Labor Councils, stated that the 27 percent wage increase is not in line with the first and second clauses of Article 41 of the Labor Law and is therefore illegal.

He also reported that workers have filed a complaint with the Administrative Justice Court.



Widespread protests have been held across the country against the wage increase resolution, including demonstrations by workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industrial Complex and retirees of the Social Security Organization in the cities of Shush, Shushtar, and Ahvaz.



Unrest has rattled Iran since last summer in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of welfare support. Labor law in Iran does not recognize the right of workers to form independent unions.



Adding to the dissent, the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly wearing her head scarf improperly breathed new life into nationwide demonstrations, which officials have since tried to quell with harsh measures.



The activist HRANA news agency said that more than 500 people have been killed during the unrest, including 71 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.



Thousands have been arrested in the clampdown, with the judiciary handing down harsh sentences -- including the death penalty -- to protesters.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
BALKANABAT, Turkmenistan -- Worshippers and imams in Turkmenbashi reported an upsetting incident of theft at the coastal city's grand mosque, where several people's shoes, wallets, and mobile phones were stolen while they were praying.

The alleged thefts took place when the worshippers were taking part in Friday Prayers that were followed by a sermon, an elderly man told a correspondent from RFE/RL's Turkmen Service on the ground. The local resident said cash was stolen from the pocket of his overcoat during the January 6 incident.



Another attendee of the mosque said his shoes were stolen. "It was the only pair I had," he said.



This latest incident, which remains unsolved, is part of what many Turkmen describe as a rise in theft in recent months in the secretive and authoritarian country. Privately, many Turkmen blame the rising crime rate on the cost-of-living crisis.



RFE/RL contacted the regional police department in Balkan Province, where the city of Turkmenbashi is located, for comment, but didn't receive any response. However, a police officer there told RFE/RL on the condition of anonymity that law-enforcement agencies have registered similar crimes at several other mosques.



Turkmen authorities don't release any information on crime rates or allow RFE/RL any official access, meaning reporters, often working underground, have to rely on snapshots of data and anecdotal evidence. With independent media mostly barred from the country and all major social media sites blocked, it is hard to get a fully reliable picture of life on the ground.

The police officer, who is based in the provincial capital, Balkanabat, and speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, said the incidents took place in the first week of January. He also confirmed many citizens' claims that theft in general has increased.



The police officer said there has been a "noticeable rise" in Balkanabat in cases where "women walking alone in the streets were targeted by thieves who took their bags and mobile phones." Many of the attacks took place in broad daylight, the officer added.



There has also been an increase in anecdotal reports of burglary, mugging, and supermarket theft across the country, according to many residents, eyewitnesses, and victims who spoke to RFE/RL. A common complaint was children stealing foodstuffs from shops and bazaars, while in rural communities residents reported an uptick in livestock theft.



Many Turkmen blame the trend on the cost-of-living crisis and deepening poverty that the Central Asian country faces despite its abundant natural-gas resources. Others say widespread police corruption has also contributed to the rise in crime.



Turkmenistan has been facing harsh economic conditions over the past near- decade. Low wages, increasing unemployment, food shortages, and rising prices have left many in a desperate economic situation.

LISTEN: This episode of the Majlis podcast looks at some of activists who have languished in Turkmen prisons and examines whether anything has changed since a new president took over in March 2022.

One supermarket owner in the city of Bayramaly, Mary Province, said he was conscious of the plight of the poverty-stricken children who try to steal food from his store.



The businessman, who didn't want to give his name to RFE/RL, recalled an incident in October 2022 when a "young boy in shabby, old clothes" entered his store just before closing time, snatched a pack of cookies, and ran away.

The man said he chased the boy, caught him, and then asked why he was stealing. "The boy said he had two younger siblings at home and that they had nothing to eat. He was taking the cookies to his siblings," the store owner said.



He also found out that the children's father had gone abroad as a migrant worker and hadn't contacted his family for several years. Their mother worked evening shifts but didn't make enough money to feed her family. With official statistics unavailable, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Turkmen work abroad, most of them in Turkey.



The store owner said he decided not to report the incident. Instead, he asked his assistant to take the boy to his mother and sent some food to the family.



Many Turkmen complain the government doesn't have an adequate social-welfare system to help the vulnerable. They accuse the authorities of failing to tackle poverty and chronic unemployment that has forced millions of Turkmen to leave the country over the past decade.

In the eastern city of Turkmenabat, the administrative center of Lebap Province, locals have also complained about a rise in theft of livestock and household appliances.



On January 1 alone, three households in Turkmenabat reported cattle rustling, one of the victims told RFE/RL. Unknown thieves entered the houses located on the banks of the Amudarya River and stole cows, sheep, and goats, while the owners were away.

The man said the police refuse to act, saying they were too busy to deal with such complaints. "They told us, 'We have no time to deal with these kinds of problems. We already have a lot of work to do,'" the Turkmenabat resident told RFE/RL. He said police didn't open a probe until the victims paid them bribes.



RFE/RL contacted the Turkmenabat police department for comment but didn't receive any response.



Authorities in Turkmenistan don't publicly acknowledge the existence of any major problems in the country. State media parrot the government's line of prosperity, abundance, and happiness that they say the people of Turkmenistan enjoy in their daily lives.

Written by Farangis Najibullah based on reports by RFE/RL Turkmen Service correspondents in Balkan, Lebap, and Mary provinces.
The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 40, the national emergencies service said on January 16.

Dnipros municipal council also said 75 people had been injured in the strike in the city, just one of several Ukrainian cities targeted by Russian missiles -- but by far the deadliest attack -- on January 14.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensives, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

"The search-and-rescue operation in the Dnipro has been continuing for almost 40 hours," Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said on January 16.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke directly to the Russian people in his nightly video address: "Your cowardly silence, your attempt to 'wait out' what is happening, will end only with the fact that one day these same terrorists will come for you," he said, speaking in Russian.

Earlier, the city council declared three days of mourning for what it described as the worst "terrorist attack on Dnipro" since the launch of Russias full invasion last February.

Rescuers used a crane to try to evacuate people trapped in the apartment building's upper stories, some of whom were signaling with the flashlights on their mobile phones, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said on Telegram on January 14. He also said more people were likely buried under the rubble.

The Ukrainian military has said it believes the nine-story structure was hit by a long-range Kh-22 missile. As a result of the strike, the entire entrance of the building, in which more than 1,100 people lived, collapsed.

Russia carried out three air raids, 57 missile attacks, and 69 attacks from heavy weapon rocket salvo systems on January 14, Ukraines military command reported on January 15.

Dnipro was just one of several Ukrainian cities targeted by Russian missiles on January 14 in the first major barrage in days.

Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the Odesa region on the Black Sea, and in northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv, the capital, was also targeted.

According to Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles flying from the north.

WATCH: Firefighters continued to clear the rubble and extricate survivors in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on January 15, a day after a Russian missile strike hit a nine-story apartment building.

"The ballistics are not easy for us to detect and shoot down," he told local media.

The warning about the missile threat was late because of the lack of radar data and information from other sources, he said.

An infrastructure target was hit in the morning missile attack, according to Tymoshenko.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions were reported in the city's eastern residential Dniprovskiy district and that parts of a missile had crashed in an uninhabited part of the Holosiyivskiy district. Klitschko said no casualties had been reported and a fire at a nonresidential building in Holosiyivskiy had been extinguished.

The armed forces' commander in chief, General Valery Zaluzhniy, said Russia fired 33 cruise missiles overall on January 14 and that 21 were shot down by Ukrainian air-defense systems.

Meanwhile, uncertainty continued over which side controlled the strategic city of Soledar, which has been shelled into mostly ruins by Russian forces.



In comments broadcast on January 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victories by his troops in Soledar, saying: "There is a positive dynamic [in the fighting]. Everything is developing according to plan."



The Ukrainian military has denied Russian claims of capturing Soledar but acknowledged that heavy fighting continues in and around the city.

The latest Russian missile strikes came as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Britain would provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine.

Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Zelenskiy on January 14, the British leader's Downing Street office said in a statement.

Zelenskiy tweeted his thanks to Sunak "for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners."

Russia slammed Sunaks announcement. The Russian Embassy in London said on Twitter that it would "intensify combat operations."

British Defense Ministry officials have said an official announcement to send up to 12 main battle tanks to Ukraine will be announced at a meeting of Ukrainian donor countries in Germany on January 20.

Reports citing British government sources said four Challenger 2 tanks will be sent immediately, with another eight to follow shortly.

Ukraine has received hundreds of modernized versions of the Soviet-era T-72 tank from European and NATO allies like the Czech Republic and Poland since Russia's unprovoked invasion 11 months ago. But Kyiv has received nothing comparable to Britains Challenger 2 or Germany's Leopard 2 tanks, another weapon Ukraine has requested.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a German newspaper, Handelsblatt, on January 15 that Ukraine can expect more deliveries of heavy weapons from Western countries.

"Recent pledges for heavy warfare equipment are important -- and I expect more in the near future," he said.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
In spring of 2021, the Lyons-Seaman family was preparing to face their worst nightmare for a second time. Their eight-year-old sons leukemia had relapsed after two years in remission.

Colin relapsing just felt like a nightmare because he had such a hard course the first time around, said Dr. Allison Lyons, Colins mother and a primary care doctor at UVa Hospital.

Colin Seaman started experiencing fever and bone pain at just five years old. After a visit and some tests at the UVa Pediatrics Clinic in 2018, Seaman was diagnosed with Philadelphia positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He spent more than 120 days in the hospital between October 2018 and October 2020. Lyons said her sons two years in treatment werent easy at all.

According to the National Institutes of Health, chemotherapy sends only 20% to 30% of children with Philadelphia chromosome-positive into remission. Colins diagnosis is rare and classified high-risk; fewer than 5% of pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia have this.

Because of the rare nature of Colins diagnosis, his family and doctors had to enroll him in a hybrid location clinical trial at the UVa Hospital and the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. At the latter, he had to spend days at a time away from his father and younger sibling. He struggled with gastrointestinal bleeding and pancreatitis during treatment.

Colin, through the original two years of chemotherapy, was in and out of the hospital and was so deconditioned, Lyons said. He was doing physical therapy all the time and at times couldnt walk because he was so nauseous. He had to be tube fed and TPN, which is feeding through an IV. He was so incredibly sick.

Colins leukemia went into remission in October 2020, after two years of consistent chemotherapy. Lyons says he was recovering well until his routine bloodwork looked off during a visit to UVa Hospital in June 2021. She was terrified by the idea of subjecting her son to the same harmful treatment that he had to endure during his first round of treatment.

UVa hospital pediatric oncologist Dr. Daniel Lee told Colin and his family that his leukemia had returned.

While developing a treatment plan, Lee introduced the family to a revolutionary treatment option for some patients with leukemia. Colin was a candidate for this new treatment, one that uses the bodys own T-cells, part of the bodys immune system, to fight the disease. The first therapy developed using this revolutionary technology was approved in 2017. Since then, five other therapies have been approved, all for cancers of the blood.

Dr. Lee helped Colin and his family feel comfortable while facing the nightmare of Colins relapse while assuring them about the science behind his new treatment.

We were just so afraid that of what was going to happen during relapse treatment because we knew he was going to have to go through a bone marrow transplant, Lyons said. We were afraid for all of the chemotherapy he was going to have to go through to get ready for that. Dr. Lee decided that CAR T-cell therapy was the best way to get there.

CAR T-cell therapy is a leukemia and lymphoma treatment that weaponizes T-cells, which are natural immune cells, to make them more effective cancer killers. T-cells are removed from a patient and sent to a lab to be transformed into cells with proteins on them known as chimeric antigen receptors, or CARs. These proteins recognize and bind to specific proteins, or antigens, on the surface of cancer cells.

Once the modified cells return from the lab, they are multiplied by the millions and infused into the patients bloodstream to find and attack the cancer. Thats when the superhero science kicks in, said Lee.

When I talk to kids about what were doing, I find out who their favorite superhero is and tell them were going to make a gazillion Superman cells and give them back to you so your Superman cells can go off and fight cancer, Dr. Lee said. The power in them is that, once we place them back into the patient, they expand exponentially, making copies. We establish this forward loop of superhero cells that are all going around doing one thing: killing off your cancer.

In Colins case, his superhero is Harry Potter, so to Colin, new Harry Potter cells were coming to save the day.

CAR T-cell therapy is different from common treatments like immunotherapy or chemotherapy. One modified T-cell can kill up to 100,000 cancer cells with limited side effects. Rather than rounds of treatment as with chemotherapy, CAR T-cell therapy is a one-time treatment, which doctors monitor for just one month. This meant that Colin had to spend about 10 days in the hospital instead of 120 days.

Colins mother compares his responses to chemotherapy and CAR T-cell therapy as night and day.

During the clinical trial at UVa, Colin had to be hospitalized so his doctors could monitor any side effects from the treatment. Fever and neurological confusion are some common side effects of children in CAR T-cell therapy. Although Colin usually hates going to the hospital, his mother says that he made the most out of it by doing Pokemon Go walks in the hallway and taking laps around the hospital floor.

Although he was out of school for the year, he participated in lessons via Zoom and opened letters of encouragement from caring classmates.

CAR T was a walk in the park for us compared to what he usually does at chemotherapy, Lyons said. It was our healthiest hospitalization ever. He was doing amazing and it made it so much easier for him to get the transplant because he was healthy going into it. Instead of being sick and nauseous and losing weight before the bone marrow transplant, he was basically healthy that whole summer.

After years of being sick and immobilized by leukemia and treatment, Colin was excited about his own body fighting his cancer while he got to enjoy being a normal kid. By October 2021 Colin had received a successful bone marrow transplant along with the good news that his leukemia went into remission again.

Colins CAR T-cell therapy success story illustrates the significant improvement that the treatment has had on childhood cancer treatment. Dr. Lee leads the CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial at UVa Hospital. The treatment offers a 70% response rate, meaning the cancer shrinks or goes into remission, which is virtually unheard of, especially in kids, Lee says.

CAR T-cell therapy gives patients a lifelong preventative measure for keeping cancer in remission. Once the T-cells serve their cancer-fighting purpose, most of them die off, but the few remaining cells create a memory pool that can theoretically stay in the body and fight cancer for a lifetime, Lee said.

Because he began CAR T-cell therapy right before his third-grade school year began and was not allowed to return to school until his immune system recovered from the bone marrow transplant.

Today, Colin is a fourth-grader at Brownsville Elementary School. After two years of remote learning, two years in chemotherapy, one year out of school for CAR T-cell therapy and a bone marrow transplant and more than one year in remission, Colin is enjoying a traditional school year for the very first time.

Hes so happy to be back in school, Lyons said. Were really lucky because hes still immunocompromised and hes just starting to get all of his childhood immunizations again. CAR T and a transplant wipe out your [bodys] entire memory of any immunizations, so hes had to get completely revaccinated. But Brownsville has a class of kids and parents who have volunteered to mask for him. Thats made him feel really safe and comfortable to go back to school.

In Dec. 2022, Seamans parents and 11 other families settled a lawsuit that challenged Governor Youngkins executive order that allowed allowing masks to be optional for schoolchildren. The parents and the ACLU, who represented the families, argued that the order violates the Americans With Disabilities Act and other federal law. The parents won the right to require students and teachers to wear masks to protect young people from Covid.

This settlement is a major step toward righting a wrong, Colins father Chris Seaman said at the time.
Haiti: Briefing and Consultations

This afternoon (17 October), the Security Council will hold an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on Haiti. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) Helen La Lime is expected to brief on recent developments and the Secretary-Generals latest regular report on BINUH, dated 13 October (S/2022/761). Belize and the Dominican Republic are expected to participate under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure.

Todays meeting takes place in the context of a major crisis in Haiti, where endemic gang violence and widespread popular unrest have aggravated an already dire humanitarian situation by limiting Haitians access to basic services and curtailing humanitarian actors ability to respond to growing needs. Mexico and the US, the co-penholders on Haiti, requested to move up the regular Council meeting on Haiti, originally scheduled for 21 October, in light of the severity of the conditions on the ground. This reflects a growing sense of urgency among Council members as they grapple with how best to support Haitian authorities in addressing the situation.

Members are currently considering two potential resolutions: one establishing a Haiti sanctions regime and a second resolution which may welcome the deployment of an international specialised force in the country. They are not expected to vote on these products at this afternoons meeting; discussions are ongoing, and the timing of the potential votes has yet to be determined.

The Council last held a meeting on Haiti on 26 September at the request of China, to discuss the protests which erupted in the country after the government announced a fuel price increase on 11 September. (For background, see our 25 September Whats in Blue story.) Since then, the situation has deteriorated rapidly, as unrest persists and criminal gangs continue to control and block access to critical infrastructure such as the Varreux Terminal, the countrys main fuel terminal. According to the Secretary-Generals most recent BINUH report, which covers developments since 13 June, the blocking of the terminal has brought critical servicesincluding water distribution and sanitation, garbage collection, and the operation of health facilitiesto a virtual stand-still.

The report notes that these conditions have likely contributed to the re-emergence of cholera, as the country reported on 2 October its first cases of the disease, after over three years without a single reported case. As at 11 October, the Haitian authorities reported 32 confirmed cases, including 18 deaths, and 266 total suspected cases. In a 4 October statement, UNICEF warned that cholera could spread like wildfire throughout Haiti if citizens continue to experience a lack of or limited access to basic health, water and hygiene services due to insecurity.

Against this backdrop, on 7 October, the Haitian government appealed for the immediate deployment of an international specialised force to temporarily reinforce the efforts of the Haitian National Police (HNP) to allow the distribution of fuel and water and to facilitate the free circulation of goods and people, in order to stem the humanitarian crisis across the country. Some Haitian actors have expressed their opposition to the governments request. According to media reports, protestors in rallies which took place in Port-au-Prince on 10 October decried the possibility of international intervention in Haiti. The Montana Accord Groupa coalition of civil society organisations which have put forward a transition plan seeking a two-year transitional government under different interim leadership, with elections to be held in 2023have also rejected this option.

On 8 October, the Secretary-General submitted to the Security Council a special report (S/2022/747) outlining options for enhanced security support to Haiti, requested by resolution 2645 of 15 July, which most recently renewed BINUHs mandate for one year. The report was submitted almost a week before the 15 October deadline stipulated in resolution 2645. It recommends that [o]ne or several Member States, acting bilaterally at the invitation of and in cooperation with the Government of Haiti, could deploy, as a matter of urgency, a rapid action force to support the Haitian National Police. This force would support the HNPs efforts to eradicate the threat posed by gangs and provide protection to critical infrastructure and services. The report says that the Security Council could welcome the force in response to the Haitian governments 7 October request, adding that the UN may deploy additional capacities to support a ceasefire or humanitarian arrangements.

The 8 October report articulates several additional follow-on options to the rapid action force in the medium term, as well as actions that can be taken in parallel, such as strengthening BINUHs capacities to support the HNP and for member states to provide bilateral training and equipment to the HNP. It advocates a holistic approach, calling for simultaneous efforts to address the political deadlock and security threats, to reform the judicial sector and penal facilities, and to advance socioeconomic development. In this regard, the report emphasises that [u]nless real and sustainable development opportunities are afforded to the population, gangs will continue to exploit systemic weaknesses. It notes that the Haitian authorities have indicated in past consultations a preference for support options that fell short of action under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, adding that a return to a more robust UN engagement in the form of peacekeeping remains a last resort if no decisive action is urgently taken by the international community.

At the time of writing, there has yet to be a response from any Member State offering to participate or lead the proposed rapid action force. In a 12 October briefing, senior US administration officials indicated that it is premature to really start thinking about whether the US is going to have a physical presence inside of Haiti, adding that US efforts in the past years have focused on augmenting the HNPs capabilities. On the same day, the US announced that its coast guard has deployed one of its major cutters to patrol offshore Port-au-Prince at the request of the Haitian government. On 15 October, Canada and the US delivered security equipment to the HNP, including tactical and armoured vehicles, which were purchased by the Haitian government. In a joint statement, the two countries referred to their work with international partners to strengthen Haitis capacity to train additional police officers and improve law enforcement operations.

The Security Council has also yet to act in response to the Haitian governments 7 October request and the Secretary-Generals 8 October report. Mexico and the US apparently intend to propose a resolution on the matter, but a draft text has yet to be circulated to Council members at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, Council members have been negotiating a Mexico-US draft resolution establishing a sanctions regime on Haiti, including targeted measures (assets freeze and travel ban) and an arms embargo. The co-penholders circulated an initial draft text on 5 October and convened two rounds of negotiations, on 7 and 13 October. A revised draft was placed under silence on Friday (14 October), until today at noon. Several Council members broke silence on the draft text, and it is yet unclear when a vote might take place.

At this afternoons meeting, several members are expected to express their views about possible Council actions on Haiti. At the 26 September meeting, several membersincluding Albania, Brazil, China, and the UKwelcomed the co-penholders proposal for a resolution establishing a Haiti sanctions regime. Several members, such as Brazil, China and Russia, also emphasised the importance of preventing such sanctions from having harmful effects on civilians.

Members are expected to condemn the violence perpetrated by gangs, with many deploring the high incidence of sexual and gender-based violence. In this regard, some may reference the 14 October report issued jointly by BINUH and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which documents gangs use of rape to instill fear, punish, subjugate, and inflict pain on local populations. The report calls on Haitian authorities, the UN and civil society to urgently address sexual violence in Haiti. To that end, it identifies key areas of policing and healthcare, along with the creation of a judicial task force to address impunity for such crimes.

Several members are likely to urge Haitian stakeholders to overcome their differences and find a political way forward. During the 26 September meeting, La Lime noted that national stakeholders have begun to re-engage with a renewed sense of urgency. However, it seems that since then, talks between Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the Montana Accord Group have collapsed and no concrete progress was made. At todays meeting, some members may take note of a 14 October letter (S/2022/764) that was submitted by the Haitian government in line with resolution 2645. The resolution called on all Haitian stakeholders to urgently reach agreement on a framework for a political process with the aim of organising elections and requested the Haitian government to provide the Council with an update on progress in this regard by 17 October. In the letter, the Haitian government describes the difficulties in reaching agreement with other political groups in the country, while expressing optimism regarding its engagement with the private sector.
For six days every January, a team of seven to 11 people enter Monticello at 6:30 a.m., long before any guests would ever think to arrive. They wouldnt be able to get inside anyway  the house is closed for what Monticellos curation and restoration teams call the Big Clean.

Museum technicians, wearing powder blue nitrile gloves and bearing buckets of warm soapy water, file in to do a deep clean of the house, the former estate of Thomas Jefferson, the Founding Father, former president and author of the Declaration of Independence. Starting with the first floor, they use soft-bristle brushes to wipe away dirt; water with a trace of Dawn dish soap to wash the walls; and scaffolding to reach the highest corners of the main hall, parlor, dining room, tea room and Jeffersons bedchamber.

The clean also gives staff the opportunity to check to make sure the historic house remains architecturally intact. Thats an important item on the to-do list for the stewards of a World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark that hosts between 450,000 and 500,000 visitors every year and is 214 years old, according to data from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and operates the property.

Thats not to say that Monticello is cleaned only once a year. The staff does a basic clean of Monticello daily, and deeper cleans once a week, said Tabitha Pryor Corradi, collections and exhibitions manager at Monticello.

Even with those daily and weekly cleanings, we arent able to reach all of the nooks and crannies. We use the Big Clean as our opportunity to clean the house from floor to ceiling, Corradi told The Daily Progress.

The house gets cleaned during the winter months, when Monticello typically sees fewer visitors. That way, nobody gets crowded and the team gets to move more freely as they dust and scrub away, Corradi said.

But those guests who do visit in January get the opportunity to see the behind the scenes of what its like to care for a historic house full of artifacts, Corradi said.

Monticello served as Jeffersons home from 1770 until his death in 1826. After his death, the house and surrounding estate were sold to Uriah Levy, the first Jewish commodore in the U.S. Navy. Levy, who revered Jefferson, is credited by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation for maintaining the home for years after Jeffersons death. The Levy family sold the property to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, a precursor of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, in 1923.
Nikkei Asia, a news service in Japan, ran an article on January 6 saying that Vietnam's offshore wind power sparks an influx of foreign investment.

It noted that Japanese and European companies are making major moves into offshore wind power in Vietnam to take advantage of the developing country's renewable power push.

Vietnam's favorable winds are a main draw, the article said.

According to a map published by the World Bank Group and others, there are areas off the southern coast of Vietnam where winds can exceed 10 meters per second.

Offshore wind power is generally considered viable for development at a speed of about eight meters per second.

In Southeast Asia, winds have this strong blow in Vietnam and the Philippines, while winds around Malaysia and Indonesia are generally weaker.

In addition, with a population of approximately 100 million, Vietnam is experiencing rapid economic growth and an increasing concentration of foreign manufacturers.

However, the power generation infrastructure is not keeping up with development, which could lead to chronic power shortages soon.

At the COP26 United Nations climate summit in Glasgow in 2021, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

In the medium to long term, it will be necessary to secure energy sources to replace coal, which accounts for about 50 percent of all power generation in the country.

Meanwhile, offshore wind is expected to play a major part in the government's power generation plans. Wind power accounts for about 5 percent of the country's energy on a power generation capacity basis, but the government plans to raise this to about 30 percent by 2050.

Wind power in Vietnam is currently dominated by onshore plants operated by local companies. Since the expansion of offshore wind power generation requires both technological and financial strength, the Vietnamese government has high hopes for the active participation of foreign companies, the article noted.

It also named major foreign investors that have eyed or started offshore wind power projects in Vietnam.

Last September, Japan's Sumitomo Corp. announced the development of an offshore wind power generation project. In December, it surveyed to study routes for laying cables. The company plans to begin operations of a wind farm with a capacity of 500 megawatts to 1 gigawatt by 2030.

If the initial plans get on track, the company aims to develop further projects, including in the northern part of the country, according to the article.

Another Japanese corporation, Renova, which specialises in renewable energy, has established a development base in Vietnam.

In April, it signed a memorandum of understanding for offshore wind power development with PetroVietnam Group with plans to develop a 2 GW power plant in the future.

It is also considering developing a floating offshore power plant, in which turbines float on the ocean surface.

Renova is involved in renewable energy projects in other countries such as the Republic of Korea and the Philippines, but it has dedicated the largest number of personnel in Vietnam.

Renova has labeled the country as "one of the most important" for renewable energy development, Kei Saiki, co-head of the global business division, said.

The article published by Nikkei Asia also said Denmark's Orsted, the world's largest offshore wind power company, is leading the way. The company began looking into a project in Vietnam in 2020, signing a memorandum of understanding the next year with Vietnamese conglomerate T&T Group to develop a power plant.

T&T Group has already been expanding into renewable energy, with solar and onshore wind power plants generating 1 GW.

Orsted will incorporate T&T Group's know-how on renewable energy to further develop its projects.
Venezuelan Ambassador to Vietnam Tatiana Pugh Moreno has expressed her impression on Vietnams incredible recovery post the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that it is thanks to strengths brought about by the socialist-oriented market economy.

In an interview with Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the New Year, Moreno said Vietnams recovery was evidenced by the impressive economic growth of 8 percent last year.

She expressed her wish to learn from Vietnams experience in renewal process, saying that Venezuela is seeking economic restructuring solutions and Vietnam should share its experience in the field to the world and Venezuela in particular.Vietnams organisation and development of the economy as well as the involvement of all economic sectors are outstanding examples for the world, she said.

Moreno said Vietnams voice in the international arena carries much weight as the country won its seat at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2023-2025 tenure in October 2022. This will help a responsible country like Vietnam prove its stature via following principles of solidarity and respecting the right to self-determination of nations.

According to her, the fact that Vietnam has a legitimate voice in the UNHRC as one of the responsible members of international community, especially at present, is significant. The world is experiencing challenging times. Being aware of that, the Vietnamese Party and State raised a voice, which is welcomed by the international community.

Recalling a year back, the diplomat said 2022 had marked a special time when Vietnam and Venezuela resumed the exchange of high-level visits, including Vietnam visits made by Vice Foreign Minister for Asia, the Middle East and Oceania Capaya Rodriguez and Vice Foreign Minister for North America Carlos Ron.She said that at a photo exhibition held at the Venezuelan Embassy on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of Vietnam-Venezuela diplomatic ties, there were several photos depicting a meeting between Commander Hugo Chavez and General Vo Nguyen Giap. It was an important meeting between historic figures that motivated the two countries to journey together in the times ahead.

She revealed that the two nations will continue pushing forward cooperation in various areas like oil and gas, and energy. The fourth meeting of the Vietnam-Venezuela Joint Committee, due to be held in Caracas this year, which offers an important opportunity for them to review bilateral coordination and work out measures to further elevate bilateral ties in the near future.

As Venezuela is one of the worlds major energy suppliers amid the global energy crisis, the ambassador said Venezuela is ready to help Vietnam in this field as committed by the late President Hugo Chavez.

On the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, Moreno, on behalf of President Nicolas Maduro and people of Venezuela, conveyed her best wishes to the Vietnamese people.Expressing her delight at enjoying Tet festivities in Hanoi and Vietnam, she said Tet is an occasion to gear toward family values and make plans for the new year.She added that it is also an occasion to taste banh chung (glutinous rice cake), decorate the embassy and private home to ring in the new year.
San Mateo, CA (94402)

Today

Clear. Gusty winds diminishing after midnight. Low around 45F. NW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Clear. Gusty winds diminishing after midnight. Low around 45F. NW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Blockley, who is managing director of payments consulting firm The Initiatives Group, said the COVID pandemic accelerated the proportion of cashless transactions in Australia, accompanied by the drop in cash withdrawals at ATMs and at the point of sale. He said the number of ATM withdrawals have halved over the last seven years. The value of cash withdrawals is declining more slowly, dropping by about a third over the same period. Martina Bertotti, 24, from Bondi Junction said the only time she has cash is when people give it to her to settle a restaurant bill. Rhiannon Feely Credit: Dean Sewell Rhiannon Feely, 21, from Zetland, who used her phone to pay for a smoothie in Coogee, said she cant remember the last time she used cash. I get by without it, she says.  I dont remember [the last time I withdrew cash]. I use Apple Pay. Its easier than carrying cash.

RBA data shows that the percentage of payment transactions, and the payment value transferred in cash had more than halved in the last 10 years to 2019, with further declines expected this year. Debit card transactions have been growing as many consumers enjoy the convenience of tap and go retail purchases. Consumers are also choosing debit over credit cards to help them avoid getting into a debt trap. I dont remember (the last time I withdrew cash). I use Apple Pay. Its easier than carrying cash. 21-year-old Rhiannon Feely In a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Blockley says debit cards have eclipsed credit cards in both number of transactions and total value transacted. While older consumers were still using credit cards, younger people were now shunning them. Ellysha Gillespie, 32, said she received thousands of dollars in cash when she got married in the Hunter Valley earlier this month before holidaying in Sydney. She quickly banked all the money, saying the only time she uses cash is when the eftpos machine at her nail salon has stopped working.

I often use my phone to do contactless payment, she said. I think a lot of it changed during COVID - no one wanted to handle money any more. Since then, it has been more of a pain to have cash with you. Most places have contactless payments now. University of NSW economist Richard Holden said Australia was heading the way of Sweden where the percentage of cash transactions has fallen from 40 per cent to less than 10 per cent in 10 years. He set a challenge for himself to avoid using cash for a year in 2018 and said it was breathtakingly easy. Ellysha Gillespie Credit: Dean Sewell The trend is the global trend, which is cash has disappeared to a great degree from our lives and continues to do so, he said. The Reserve Banks latest figures for 2019 shows that cash payments accounted for 27 per cent of the number and 11 per cent of the value of all consumer payments in 2019. The most common way consumers withdraw cash is through ATMs, which accounted for 72 per cent of the total number of cash withdrawals and 64 per cent of the value of withdrawals in 2021.

Paul Zahra, chief executive officer of the Australian Retailers Association, said cash was on the decline and hit its lowest point during COVID times. As weve come out of lockdowns cash has come into use again, but is a declining tender, he said. Paul Zahra Credit: Nic Walker Theres a significant preference towards credit and/or debit cards, and predominantly debit cards as people have found the ease of shopping that way. We have new retailers that dont even accept cash. That tells you that theres a move towards a cashless society in a big way. Many supermarkets now have card-only checkouts. Some banks including ANZ and retailers including Fishbowl have outlets that are completely cashless.

We are seeing retail stores now that arent even accepting cash, Zahra says. From a retail point of view they are isolating the use of cash to certain registers and ATMs are slowly disappearing because people are doing their banking online, or they are using their cards. Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh. Credit: Louise Kennerley Cards are preferred because they are quick and easy  its one tap, and youre out. The biggest growth is going cardless on your smartphone where you can tap your phone. Australian Banking Association chief executive officer Anna Bligh said the vast majority of Australians preferred to do their everyday banking digitally, including checking their account, transferring money or paying bills.
There you have it  the impetus, the dynamo of moral outrage that drives this epic tale of nationalism (fervid), political and industrial economics (ruthless), famine (deadly), transportation (arbitrary), love, betrayal, perfidy, human frailty and ironic circumstance.

Summer in Ireland, in sight of the sea, should be beautiful, and even if raining, it should be raining angels. Not in 1847. Young lawyer and firebrand John Mitchel and his handsome Catholic friend Thomas Meagher set out across the shaggy slopes of Croughaun, seeking out a clachan, or hamlet, where Mitchel had been generously hosted two years before. What they find is Ghastly silence and the subtle reek of starvation and fever dead Meagher tells Mitchel, You are hard hit, my good friend  I fear you can never forget this.

Its the season to be writing about epiphanies, and Tom Keneally knows exactly what he is doing when he begins his new novel with the shock of a chapter vivid with death, not birth: Famine Epiphany, Summer 1847.

Some of the outrage is Tom Keneallys own, a savage indignation at injustice that has propelled his narratives for all of his long writing life. Lest we wonder where his heart is (we dont), he dedicates this novel to the dispossessed and hunted indigenes of Tasmania, to his own convict forebears, and to the enslaved forebears of all Melanesians and African Americans Whose ghosts still cry out for the fullness of their freedom.

Credit:

But Fanatic Heart is a novel, and while it owes much to history, and to the journalism and Jail Journal of the historical John Mitchel, the shaping is all Keneallys. And he is acutely aware of the risks of this not entirely wisely embarked upon novel of mine, centred as it is upon a historical figure once acclaimed as an Irish revolutionary, but now (and even in his own time) reviled as a supporter of the slavery institutionalised in the southern states of America.

Many Australian readers now may never have heard of Mitchel; Keneallys feat is to have brought him back to life and to have recreated the fraught circumstances that made the complex man  and the remarkable woman, Jenny Verner, who was his wife.

Mitchel was the Irish son of a revered, non-subscribing Presbyterian minister and a fierce mother. Jenny was the illegitimate daughter of Mary (a coachmans daughter), the beloved of James Verner who had once commanded a British troop at Waterloo, and would have been Baron of Armagh had he married properly. The Verners had been involved in the establishment of the Orange Order, yet Jenny was educated to say that if it is hatred of other Irishmen, that is not what the Orange Order was founded for.
Penned by Age writers, this series of pieces range from humorous to poignant and thought-provoking tales of love, loss and summer fun.

The Ages opinion section is rolling out a series of summer pieces on the theme of My Best, My First, My Worst. These stories, penned by Age writers, range from humorous to poignant and thought-provoking tales of love, loss and summer fun.

A fundamental truth smacked me across the face as I retched into the undergrowth at a campsite by a beach on the Great Ocean Road: the idea of camping always outshines the reality.

Our memories erase the flies, the foraging animals raiding the bin, the stench of the toilet and the scrambling around for missing items.

Paul Pennay takes his family on a camping trip on the Great Ocean Road.

At the tail end of a large family, I didnt do much camping growing up. There were bushwalks, but backyard sleepovers in the old tent that Mum and Dad took to Europe in the 1960s was as close as we got to roughing it in the great outdoors.
Emirates will double its daily flights from Dubai to Brisbane from June, boosting Queenslands tourism industry by $75 million in visitor expenditure.

Acting Premier Steven Miles said the announcement came as the state continued to rebuild after the pandemic.

From June, double the number of Emirates flights will fly from Dubai to Brisbane. Credit: Supplied

Its a great result for Queensland and the return for international tourism, he said. Its a clear indication that international travel is back on the agenda.

In addition to the existing A380 service, which lands each morning from Dubai on a yearly basis, this will see 129,210 [extra] seats, 38,610 visitors and $75 million in visitor expenditure.
A former senior executive of collapsed construction giant Grocon has been charged with using a carriage device to menace ex-chairman Daniel Grollo during a bitter dispute over the failure to pay subcontractors after the company went into administration in 2020.

Joe Brinzi was charged by detectives from the financial crime squad in December after he emailed Grollo and several former colleagues in September.

Brinzi will face the Melbourne Magistrates Court in March and is yet to enter a plea but confirmed to The Age and Sydney Morning Herald that he had made a series of offensive remarks to Grollo, including calling him a f---in dog.

Former Grocon executive Joe Brinzi has been charged by police with using a carriage device to menace Daniel Grollo.

All I have ever done is protect the organisation and the contractors, but I cant turn a blind eye to something that isnt right. I have values, and I cant let this go, Brinzi told this masthead.
A bushfire south of Perth has been contained but remains uncontrolled with emergency officials urging the public to be extra vigilant as conditions continue to change.

The fire tore through Shire of Donnybrook-Ballingup. Credit: Nine News

A Watch and Act alert has been issued after some 100 firefighters battled the 6000-hectare blaze in the Donnybrook-Balingup Shire on Saturday before it started to slow its spread.

Emergency officials have warned there is a possible threat to lives and homes in the area and have advised residents to flee.

The fire, believed to have been sparked by lightning, was moving slowly north-west as of Sunday morning after breaching containment lines on Saturday.
The Nationals have already resolved to formally oppose the Voice, with Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price emerging as a leading No campaigner. The Greens are yet to finalise their position, but divisions are emerging in the party room with First Nations spokeswoman Lidia Thorpe highly critical of the proposal, while Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has declared she will support the yes campaign and expects other colleagues to do the same. Dreyfus said politicians were creating confusion by continually posing questions about detail, saying there was enough clarity already about the broad principles underpinning the Voice. Greens senators Sarah Hanson-Young (left) and Lidia Thorpe (right) have opposing views on the Voice. What [Dutton] is doing is the equivalent of someone in 1898, when the final drafting of the Constitution was taking place saying, Im not prepared to agree to a system of free and fair elections until you show me a draft of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. Thats not the way we proceed with constitutional change.

When pressed on why the government would not commit to the 24-member Voice model proposed by Aboriginal leaders Marcia Langton and Tom Calma in their landmark 2021 report, Dreyfus made clear a detailed model would not be debated until after the referendum. What we are voting on is not that structure. What we are voting on is constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, something weve been talking about for decades, he said. Im looking forward to the referendum succeeding and then to having an engaged, appropriate discussion [and] debate in the parliament about the fine detail of the structure that will make up the Voice, but we are not asking Australians to vote on that. Against the backdrop of a political brawl over details, a legal debate has been brewing about the potential consequences of enshrining the body in the Constitution using the three-sentence draft amendment proposed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

It proposes to establish a Voice that may make representations to the parliament and the executive government on matters relating to Indigenous Australians. Loading It was revealed at a Senate estimates hearing last year that Albanese did not seek legal advice from the Attorney-Generals department on the draft wording before announcing it at the Garma Festival in Arnhem Land in July. Dreyfus declined to say whether advice had since been sought, saying: its not the practice of government to comment on advice that we receive from the Solicitor General or the Attorney-Generals department. Separate to any internal advice, the government has established a working group of constitutional law experts supportive of the Voice, which has advised the draft wording affirms the bodys advisory role and in no way gives it veto power over the parliament.

Among the Voice critics is former High Court Justice Ian Callinan who, writing in The Australian newspaper, has argued that a Voice constitutionally enshrined or not, would give rise to a decade or more of constitutional and administrative law litigation. His colleague on the bench, former justice Kenneth Hayne, a Voice supporter, has praised the draft amendment as having great virtue in its simplicity and argued that fears litigation would derail the intended functioning of the Voice, or the workings of the parliament or executive, were baseless. Loading Dreyfus said he disagreed with Callinans view, but added that the prospect of future constitutional challenges to the Voice provision should not be a deterrent. Im sure there will be people who will attempt to litigate this new provision in our Constitution once it is included. But that should not deter us, he said. You could point to a whole range of provisions in our Constitution ... that have been the subject of continued litigation [and] that hasnt prevented us from continuing to govern our country in an orderly way.
The royal soap opera fought out on the front pages of the press has clearly had an impact on perceptions of the monarchy: the number of people who say they were embarrassed by the monarchy has risen from 15 per cent to 21 per cent since September. Ed Owens, a historian and honorary associate researcher at London Universitys Centre for Modern Monarchy, said this week it had faced crises more serious than the current one. The War of the Wales  which pitted Charles and Diana against each other  during the 1990s did far more damage to the Crowns reputation, he said of a series of damaging revelations at the time of their divorce. And the 1936 abdication completely undermined the institution. In this case, an enormously popular king like Edward VIII was replaced by an unknown like his younger brother, George VI. But he said Harrys comments on the Netflix Harry & Meghan six-part documentary, in his book Spare and promotional TV campaign do threaten to overshadow his fathers coronation in May if the couple continue to receive such media attention. The royal family must trust that media interest in Harry will subside, and that there will be no more allegations or revelations that do even more damage to the Crown.

Harrys book reveals hes deeply aware of the familys historical pressure points, and among the early pages he suggests his late grandmother even took something of a final swipe at her uncle and his American socialite wife, Wallis Simpson, by exiling them in the Royal Burial Ground away from everyone else. Edward VIII set off a life-changing chain of events when as his king he renounced the crown for love. Harry suggests in the opening pages of his memoir that his grandmother decided to bury the couple in a distant spot as a last scolding. Recalling a moment when he found himself alone in the royal cemetery at Frogmore, Harry describes the site as the final resting place for so many of us including ... the controversial Wallis Simpson. As well as her double controversial husband Edward, who was king and my great-great uncle. After giving up the throne for Wallis and leaving Britain with her, the two began to worry about their eventual return and became obsessed with being buried [in the Royal Burial Ground]. But Harry is not the first to give damaging public interviews or make damaging revelations. The then Prince and Princess of Wales, that is Charles and Diana, both gave televised interviews around the time of their divorce that sent shockwaves through Britain.

And indeed the exiled Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, released their own memoirs in 1951 and 1956, respectively. A Kings Story charted Edwards early years and his military service during World War I before he ascended the throne on the death of his father George V, in 1936. And indeed it documented his lonely stint as king and his decision to marry against the establishment. Andrew Morton, Dianas biographer, too says Harrys book wont destroy the institution. And if the institution is so weak that it cant stand a ghostwritten book by a junior member, then its probably not worth keeping it, he told The Mirror. I mean, quite frankly, a book written by [a monarch], a future queen, Diana, and a book by the future King Charles are far more relevant and important than a book by, what is he now [but] sixth in line to the throne who will be rapidly going down the hierarchy. He said the Duke had every right to write a memoir and it would not be the last.

Mortons past, working with Diana, was featured in the latest season of Netflixs scripted royal drama The Crown. When the explosive biography was published in 1992, she denied working with him, but after her death, he revealed how he sent her questions and she secretly recorded her answers, sending the cassette tapes back to Morton via a friend. Andrew Morton, biographer of Diana, Princess of Wales, holding his book Diana: Her True Story in 1997. It goes back to Edward VIII which was an international bestseller like this ones going to be. And it upset the royal family, Morton said. Diana wrote with me. Her True Story international bestseller upset the royal family. [The former] Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, wrote his book with Jonathan Dimbleby where he criticised his parents. That was a big book and again, [it] upset the royal family. Spare itself has become the fastest-selling non-fiction book in history, publisher Penguin Random House says, reporting more than 1.4 million copies sold on Tuesday, the first day it went on sale.

On Britains ITV, Harry: The Interview was watched by an average audience of 4.1 million viewers, although the second episode of BBCs hugely popular drama Happy Valley emerged ahead with an average of 5.3 million viewers. And talkback radio programs across Britain and the Commonwealth devoted countless hours and listener calls to the subject. Andrew Marr, a former BBC political editor and now broadcaster on London radio LBC, suggested the monarchy itself is now in play. He said if Harry was genuine in saying he still supported the monarchy, he seemed deluded. He claims still to be a supporter of the monarchy, 100 per cent, and doesnt think, apparently, hes damaging the royal family itself, Marr said. Oh, yes, he is. Hes painting the rest of the royals as cold, manipulative, cowardly because they hide behind media leaks, and deeply messed up. If hes right, Id rather do without them. If hes wrong, then this is the most disgraceful, petulant and damaging smear of all time.

Loading Marr said while the royals have been able to pretend it was tittle-tattle or just look away as in the past, the Netflix documentary, the tell-almost-all book, and the devastating broadcast interviews could not go unanswered. Carrying on and saying nothing  stiff upper lip, never apologise, never explain  now looks like denial. It will suggest to me, and many more, that Harrys right, Marr said. Royal biographer Angela Levin, who has been among the fiercest critics of Harry and his wife Meghan since they quit as working members of the family in 2020, said the institution needed to consider the damage it has suffered in the past month. Theres always a chance that the monarchy can fall, she said.
Dakhla (Refugee Camps) - The revelations concerning the "Marocgate", a resounding corruption scandal in the European Parliament (EU), are only "the tip of the iceberg", said the Polisario Front representative in France, Mohamed Sidati, stressing that other MEPs and European institutions are involved in this vast network of corruption led by Rabat.



"This is only the tip of the iceberg because there are several MEPs and I will say even other European institutions that are involved in these networks (of corruption)," said Sidati in a statement to APS on the sidelines of the 16th Congress of the Polisario Front held from 13 to 17 January in the province of Dakhla, in the Sahrawi refugee camps.



This situation has created "a kind of status quo on the issue of Western Sahara in the European Parliament, he continued.



"We have been dealing with Moroccan actions that have finally succeeded thanks to this complicity and activism of MEPs involved in corruption networks manipulated by the Makhzen regime," he said.



According to the Sahrawi official, these corrupt MEPs that Morocco has bribed in return for an alignment with its theses in Western Sahara "had two objectives.



"They ignore the human rights situation in Morocco (...) and avoid any mention of Western Sahara, especially since the European Parliament has always had a tradition of support for the right to self-determination and the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people," he said.



The representative of the Polisario Front in France regretted the fact "that instead of continuing on the basis of the values of democracy, freedom and the right of peoples to self-determination, the position of MEPs and some European institutions have deviated.



In addition to several MEPs, committees and commissions of the European Parliament are also involved in these corruption cases, referring for example to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Fisheries, and Agriculture.



"The entire mechanism of the European Parliament that is involved, hence the need for this European institution to make its mea culpa and resume its position of support for the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people," he said.



092/SPS/APS
Energy Minister Virgil Popescu says that he has told Director General of the World Green Economy Organization Abdul Rahim Sultan that Romania is interested in becoming active within the organisation to speed up its transition to a sustainable green economy.

"Today, I had a working meeting with AbdulRahim Sultan, the general director of The World Green Economy Organization (WGEO). I made known Romania's interest in becoming active within the organisation to speed up the process of Romania's transition to a sustainable green economy," the minister wrote on Sunday on social media.He added that Romania has already passed a national strategy for the circular economy, and modernisation and innovation of the way we produce and consume energy in the economy represents a current and necessary concern."WGEO supports global actions that follow a green development model based on low carbon emissions. We in Romania also want to have a developed and at the same time green economy," said Popescu.
The cultural dimension is extremely important when it comes to preserving a nation's identity, passing it on to the next generations and, of course, shaping it, head of the National Library of Romania Adrian Cioroianu said in an interview with AGERPRES on the occasion of the National Culture Day.

He said that in order to earn from culture, we must invest first, for the idea of volunteering is a noble and beautiful one but one nation's culture cannot be built just on volunteering. He added that there is need of a real support from the state authorities and more responsibility to promote national culture."Culture is what gives you the feeling of belonging," says Cioroianu, while adding that, "from the very beginning it seemed to me a very good idea the establishment of a day of national culture, especially one related to poet Mihai Eminescu, who has been probably one of the identity and cultural pillars of the Romanian society, for more than a century."In order to increase cultural consumption, says Adrian Cioroianu, we should encourage creativity, at almost any age and especially at young ages, "from music to whatever goes through their head, to robotics or others."While saying that it is a very good thing people go to the theatre, Cioroianu noticed that "we do not think enough about what it means the consumption of ideas, of written ideas, the consumption of books, the purchase of books." That's why, he added, "it is essential for people to read, regardless of the support [physical book or electronic - editor's note], and I think that we should focus a bit more on young people, encourage them, invest in their education and culture. Before earning from culture, we must invest in it. However, in our country, investments in education and culture are relatively low. And let's abandon the idea that education or culture can be done on the basis of volunteering. Volunteering is noble, it's beautiful, it has its virtues, but no nation can build a culture on just volunteering. It takes investments. The sooner we learn this, the better."About poetry, Adrian Cioroianu says that today, "poetry is written in Romania as never before" and publishing a book is no longer a problem. "The problem is the impact and the spread of the books' messages. This is where I think the real problem is.""We have had so many reforms in education in the last 30 years that sometimes I think maybe we only needed to remove references to Ceausescu and communism from the textbooks, considering that, otherwise, education had a fairly good status in society back then, it was more valued than it is today, at least, while now people rather find you charismatic if you say that you didn't learn much in school, but you succeeded in life," added Cioroianu.In Cioroianu's opinion, the main weak point of Romanian culture is the regional character of the Romanian language and the fact that we have not invested in translations, through official translation programmes that promote contemporary authors, classic authors, and here he underscored that "there are many authors that should be translated, many styles, from detective literature to esoteric or oneiric literature or fiction novel, poetry, and, why not, our classic literature."The strong points of Romanian culture lie precisely in the fact that those who come in contact with it, while not having too high expectations, are always surprised of what they discover. the Romanian culture has "a lot of peculiarities compared to what we commonly call the Balkans. And by this I mean that, for a century and a half, the Romanian culture also took something from the Austro-German spirit of the Central Europe, along the Greco-Byzantine spirit of the Balkans and also something from the Slavic sensitivity of the East. In Romanian culture you see these notes, you see these lines and it is an added value, a definite value of the Romanian culture and, I repeat, those who discover it are always very surprised."Finally, Adrian Cioroianu concluded that while "the state doesn't really need to play the part of an impresario anymore, it still needs to get more involved in the promotion of the national culture, which cannot be done without the support of the authorities, regardless of who makes the government. This has nothing to do with the political parties, this should not depend on any political colour, it should just be a priority to all."
Actress Lamia Beligan celebrates the National Culture Day and 173 years since the birth of the poet Mihai Eminescu at Piatra Neamt, with the extraordinary recital of poetry and music "Eternul Eminescu".

It is a performance organized by Carmen Saeculare Center for Culture and Arts in Piatra Neamt, in partnership with the ProValores Association."In this artistic adventure I will be accompanied by the guitarist Tudor Niculescu-Mizil and the painter Gheorghe Pintilie from Piatra Neamt, who will present to the public a selection of his most beautiful paintings. It will be a beautiful show. I hope it will be a show that will delight the Piatra Neamt public. We will be on stage together - he with the guitar, me reciting. It will be a recital between two Eminescu covers - I will start with Eminescu, I will end with Eminescu, accompanied by the music of Tudor Niculescu, and I will extend an arch in time between the poetry of Lucian Blaga and that of Ana Blandiana, two exponential representatives of Romanian culture from the 20th century. The most beautiful part is that Eminescu's poems will be recited, many of Eminescu's poems, without actually uttering any lines, because Tudor Niculescu-Mizil will perform them on the guitar, on the solo guitar, and I think that many of those who will watch us will recognize them. They are compositions with fairly well-known Eminescian themes," said Lamia Beligan for AGERPRES.She confessed that she does not agree with the celebration of culture on a specific day, because National Culture Day should be every day, "without celebrations, without marches, without photos and videos, with people celebrating what many times they don't know or they will never know."Asked to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of culture, Lamia Beligan said that, in her opinion, "the strengths of culture are when culture is truly culture, when it is not a simulacrum of culture.""Authentic culture is the strong point, when it would be wonderful if the theaters and televisions delivered more culture to the people - and Culture with capital letters. The weak point is the absence of culture, its absence is becoming more and more acute. Now, since we are talking about National Culture Day, I wonder who is still interested or how many still have the desire, the interest to see a poetry recital, to listen to classical music. I think we are being delivered, especially by television, but not only that,we are being delivered too many low-quality productions - vulgar, without content, very easy - and too little quality pieces, under the motto that this is what the public wants. No, you can shape the taste of the public by delivering quality work. I find the idea that you don't get ratings if you deliver culture dangerous and wrong" said Lamia Beligan.
In his closing remarks before a vote on a sweeping firearms ban, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon pushed back at critics who contended the prohibitions would violate the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The Oak Park Democrat concluded with a message for Republican lawmakers and other opponents of the measure, which was passed in response to the deadly mass shooting at Highland Parks Fourth of July parade: Well see you in court.

When Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure into law Tuesday after the Democratic-controlled House gave its approval, Illinois became the ninth state to ban so-called assault weapons, winning praise from President Joe Biden. It also set up inevitable legal challenges from gun rights advocates that could take years for the courts to resolve.

In a letter Tuesday to Pritzker, Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch of Hillside, Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, responded directly to the Senate presidents remarks, writing: Challenge accepted.

While no lawsuit has yet been filed, experts on gun legislation and constitutional law said the new restrictions face a murky legal future, particularly in light of the U.S. Supreme Courts June decision striking down New York states concealed carry law.

Its clear that the courts are becoming more hostile to gun safety regulations, said Adam Winkler, a UCLA School of Law professor and author of the book Gun Fight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America. The law (in Illinois) is going to be challenged, and there is a good chance it will be overturned.

Pritzker, who noted hes also a lawyer, said he was very confident the law would withstand legal scrutiny.

The law here that we now have enacted is constitutional, Pritzker told reporters after signing the measure late Tuesday. There was a lot of thought that went into it to make sure that it would be.

The law immediately bans the delivery, sale, import and purchase of assault weapons and .50-caliber rifles. It offers a lengthy definition of the guns that fall under the ban, listing more than 60 specific models and entire categories such as all AR types. The ban covers semi-automatic rifles that can employ a detachable magazine and have a pistol grip, as well as a number of handguns and shotguns.

People who owned such guns before the ban took effect will have to register them, with a serial number, by Jan. 1, facing a misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses.

The law also immediately bans the delivery, sale or purchase of ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds for long guns and more than 15 rounds for handguns. Also banned are devices that increase the firing rates of a gun, known as switches.

Eugene Kontorovich, a law professor at George Mason Universitys Antonin Scalia Law School, said the bill contained several provisions that were clearly unconstitutional on their face.

Among the issues, Kontorovich said, is the provision limiting the number of rounds an ammunition magazine can contain. Magazines exceeding those limits are available for civilian-owned handguns, and the restrictions could be construed as an infringement on a citizens right to self-defense.

Like Winkler, Kontorovich said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the New York case last year will make it much more difficult for states to place restrictions on gun ownership going forward, particularly when it comes to guns purchased for home- or self-protection.

The high courts 6-3 ruling in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen found that the plain text of the Second Amendment protected the right of the plaintiffs to carry firearms for self-defense.

One gun rights group said that the June decision could wipe out every unconstitutional law that stands in the way of someones Second Amendment rights. The ruling was cited last month by gun rights proponents in a pending federal appeals court case over whether Marylands assault weapon ban should be overturned.

Winkler said while courts in other states had upheld gun bans like Illinois in the past, the Bruen ruling greatly expanded Second Amendment protections by imposing a new constitutional test requiring gun laws to be historically consistent with laws on the books in the 17th and 18th centuries.

That test has already led to some mainstream, widely accepted gun safety regulations being overturned in other states, Winkler said, including bans on people with pending domestic-violence restraining orders from having a firearm, provisions limiting guns at summer camps and churches, and even a law requiring guns to have serial numbers.

David Sigale, a Wheaton-based attorney who has filed a number lawsuits on behalf of clients who believe their Second Amendment rights were violated, agreed that the new law wont hold up if the Bruen case decision is applied.

The Second Amendment says the people have the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense purposes. That right is not limited to arms that just existed back in 1791, and its not the governments place basically to say what firearms someone needs or should have or should want for those self-defense or other lawful purposes, Sigale said.

Those claims have to be analyzed under a historical tradition test, and when that test is applied I dont think that these restrictions are going to hold up as passing muster, he said.

Portions of the Illinois law, including which firearms fall under the nebulous definition of assault weapons, are similar to a law passed in Delaware last year that has already prompted legal challenges.

The term assault weapon alone is often nonspecific and controversial. Gun rights advocates say it is a manufactured term used by gun control groups to overdramatize certain guns as weapons of war, even though some firearms that bear the ominous designation are commonplace for recreational use.

One national gun control group on its website defines assault weapons as typically semi-automatic versions of weapons created for deadly battlefield purposes.

They are designed and equipped with features that enable mass killing, including sustained, high-volume rapid fire shooting at large numbers of people in a short period of time, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The Illinois law defines such weapons as having several characteristics, includingany feature capable of functioning as a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand.

The Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle, which was used in the Highland Park shooting, is among the more than 60 types of guns listed in the proposal that are categorized as assault weapons.

Aside from Delaware, the Giffords Law Center noted that seven states  California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York  and the District of Columbia have enacted laws banning so-called assault weapons.

Those laws in many cases are similar, the law center said, but vary in terms of what firearms are defined as assault weapons, what exemptions apply to these guns owned before the ban went into effect, whether the laws require owners to register their assault weapons with law enforcement if they owned them before the ban, and other guidelines.

Three other states  Minnesota, Virginia and Washington  have adopted regulations for assault weapons but not outright bans.

In the Chicago area, Highland Park and about a dozen other suburbs moved to ban possession and ownership of the weapons in 2013 under a legislative compromise that gave municipalities a narrow window to do so as part of a measure that legalized concealed carry, which the state had been ordered to allow by a federal court. More recently, Naperville banned local sales of the weapons in the wake of the Highland Park shooting.

Cook County has had a ban in place since 1993 that closely mirrors the definition in the new state law, though the county prohibits magazines holding more than 10 rounds, while the state allows up to 15 for handguns.

The Cook County ban has survived legal challenges in recent years.

In 2019, the federal appeals court in Chicago upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit from two gun owners who challenged Cook Countys ban, claiming it violated the Second Amendment because it was written so ambiguously that it could broadly apply to nearly all semi-automatic weapons.

The nations highest court, though, has made landmark decisions throughout the years that have been a blow to gun control advocates.

In 2010, the courts 5-4 decision in McDonald v. the City of Chicago struck down the citys nearly three-decade-old handgun ban and allowed Chicagoans to fall in line with the rest of the country by keeping handguns at home for self-defense.

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller ruled for the first time that the Second Amendment establishes the right to own a handgun for personal self-defense  not merely as part of a state militia.

However, the ruling in Heller also held that the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose, a part of the decision that advocates are relying on to bolster bans like the one now in effect in Illinois.

The debate over the ban on the floors of both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly made clear the stark divide on the issue.

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, a Republican from Barrington Hills, suggested the measure jeopardized someones right to defend themselves.

If we wish to amend our constitution and the provisions and protections enumerated in the Second Amendment, as well within any of the other 26 amendments for our law-abiding citizens, we should be on the floor of Congress and not here on the floor of the state of Illinois, unfortunately, he said. We cannot improve the safety of the lives of the innocent law-abiding citizens by restricting the rights to self-defense.

Democratic state Rep. Will Guzzardi argued theres case law saying that the Second Amendment protected the use of guns that were in common use at the time the amendment was written in 1791, and that the types of guns being used to wreak havoc in todays society were not common in the late 18th century.

It is widely recognized, it is established jurisprudence, that the Second Amendment is not a regulatory blank check, Guzzardi, of Chicago, said during floor debate. These weapons have no place in civilian society, and I believe that everybody in this chamber in their heart knows that to be true.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court allowed a new law New York enacted in response to the Bruen ruling to remain in effect while a challenge continues in a lower court. The law places numerous restrictions on where concealed carry license holders can bring their weapons.

But conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas issued a statement telling those challenging the law that they should not be deterred by todays order from again seeking relief if the appeals court does not provide an explanation for its decision to leave the law in place or expedite its review of the case.

And in December, the Oregon Supreme Court blocked a ballot measure approved by voters during the November election to ban magazines capable of holding more than 10 bullets. The states high court is weighing the measure after a lower court ruled it violated Oregons right to bear arms under its state constitution.

Ari Freilich, state policy director for the Giffords Law Center, which helped craft the Illinois ban, acknowledged that the legal landscape has shifted somewhat in the wake of the Bruen ruling, with rogue decisions from, largely, kind of rogue conservative judges using the decision as justification to strike down numerous restrictions on gun ownership.

A federal judge in Texas, for example, used the Bruen ruling as the basis for finding unconstitutional a prohibition on possessing a weapon while subject to a domestic violence restraining order.

Still, given the U.S. Supreme Courts previous opinions in rulings like the Heller case, Freilich said, unless the Supreme Court kind of overturns its own precedent yet again  we expect that if the Supreme Court means what it says, these types of restrictions should stand.

In his closing remarks on the Senate floor, Harmon, whos pushed for many gun control measures during his two decades in Springfield, made clear why supporters feel its both necessary and within the bounds of the Constitution to ban high-powered weapons.

The right of the people to keep and bear arms is intended to produce a secure state, Harmon said. We do not have a secure state. Too many people are dying from gun violence.

Opponents of the ban have made equally clear that they see little room for compromise on a right they see as absolute.

When you ask for a gun ban, theres not a place where we can go, where we can go and negotiate that, Ed Sullivan, a contract lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association, told an Illinois House committee last month at a hearing on the gun ban. There are certain red lines in the sand.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY  A Belleville man charged with murder on Friday was caught after a traffic stop in a stolen vehicle that led police to discovering a deceased woman in a home two days earlier in Freeburg.

Authorities did not release many details about the investigation, but Scottie R. Lambert, 33, is also charged with home invasion, armed robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle.

He was being held at the St. Clair County Jail.

The murder of Linda Waller, 55, is the first homicide investigation in decades for Freeburg, a town of about 4,500 people.

Lambert was pulled over in a silver Ford pickup truck on First and West Main streets in Belleville by Belleville police for an improper turn on Wednesday.

Officers said Lambert appeared to be "extremely nervous," and he consented to a search of his vehicle when asked by police.

While searching, they found evidence that led them to believe a violent crime had been committed" at a residence in Freeburg, police say. Belleville authorities alerted Freeburg's police to search the residence, a trailer on Deerfield Court, where Waller's body was discovered.

Schutzenhofer, who said the woman wasn't shot, did not confirm any other details pending an autopsy.

Belleville police and Illinois State Police also assisted with the investigation.

Lambert was paroled in 2021 after he was sentenced in 2014 for burglary. He was previously found guilty of aggravated vehicular hijackings, aggravated discharge of a firearm and burglary.
In the far southwest corner of Missouri lies tiny Taney County, population 56,300. We would wager that 99% of Missourians know little to nothing about Taney Countys history, including how it got its name. That needs to change, because Taney County is named for one of the nations most infamous racists, whose pronouncements on slavery and the rights of Black people helped prompt the outbreak of the Civil War.

The countys name honors Roger Brooke Taney, the U.S. Supreme Court justice who authored the landmark 1857 Dred Scott decision that declared Blacks to be unqualified for national citizenship regardless of their status as slaves or free people. To reach the bizarre conclusions in his majority decision, Taney had to break court precedent, twist the historical record and do something thats become all too common in the current Supreme Court: rely upon a rigid, originalist interpretation of the Constitution. Taney used that interpretation to strip Black people of their humanity and reduce them to the status of mere property.

A free negro of the African race, whose ancestors were brought to this country and sold as slaves, is not a citizen within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States, Taney wrote.

He cited two clauses of the Constitution that made it morally lawful to deal in [Negroes] as articles of property and to hold as slaves.

Taney also cited the language of the Declaration of Independence  We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among them is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness  to parse what the Founders were thinking at the time. He then came up with a conclusion exactly opposite of what the words actually said: The general words above quoted would seem to embrace the whole human family, and if they were used in a similar instrument at this day would be so understood. But it is too clear for dispute, that the enslaved African race were not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people who framed and adopted this declaration.

Taney was not a person of honor and never deserved to be honored in perpetuity with a county name. Republicans joined Democrats in approving the removal in December of Taneys bust from the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the U.S. Capitol  effectively declaring him unworthy of honor.

For Taney County to continue celebrating his name is Missouris way of celebrating a shameful man who upheld an even more shameful practice. Its not clear what it takes to initiate a name change under the state constitution, but it should start with the residents of Taney County declaring loudly, especially on this particulary national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that the current name, like the bust at the nations Capitol, must no longer stand.
SPRING GREEN, WIS.  My wife and I stopped talking to each other two hours into our three-hour self-guided tour of the House on the Rock in Spring Green, a small town west of Madison, Wisconsin. The displays had grown so large, elaborate and unexpected they shocked us into silence.

An hour later walking to our car I was first to speak. What was that about? I asked.

While I remain taken aback at what we experienced, I do believe the House on the Rock is perhaps the largest piece of outsider art in America. Outsider art is considered art created by someone untrained in the subject.

Moreover, it was masterminded by a man few people have heard of, and about whom little is known. Even Wikipedia begins the page about the creator of the House on the Rock with the sentence: Published information on (Alex) Jordan's life is scant.

So, have you ever heard his name? Assuming the answer is no, you will be surprised to learn the House on the Rock rivals a Walt Disney creation.

Before I relate how this attraction slowly transforms from an actual house on a rock into a menagerie of unrelated displays in mammoth, dark cavernous rooms without explanatory placards, or directions where to go, or people to direct you, let me relate how it came about. Later I will get to the 218-foot long, all-glass Infinity Room, and the largest carousel in the world with 236 one-of-a- kind animals.

First, though, the House on the Rock is, at least in part, a house on a rock. It began innocently enough as a personal retreat for Jordan in 1945. With an awe-inspiring view, the college dropout would picnic on top of what is still known as Deer Shelter Rock. Then he began camping there, but when his tent blew away in a storm he decided on a more permanent structure. Hauling stone and wood singlehandedly 45 feet up a ladder, he began building a one-room retreat.

With no training as an architect or builder, or job, his home slowly expanded to 14 rooms that from the outside resembles a Japanese-style residence. Inside, Jordan incorporated the natural stone formations of Deer Shelter Rock as walls and floors. Windows were built tilted outward for spectacular views of the forest floor, and in-room waterfalls were added. Huge fireplaces were built, although he abandoned plans for one where visitors could sit inside.

When people started hollering up from the forest floor asking if they could get a tour, Jordan began charging 50 cents, all the while continuing to build. Profits were put toward expanding the house and displaying his few collections that had long been a passion.

Visits by Jordan to tourist attractions like Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm in California led to the idea of creating a separate building to house a main street of themed buildings. The store windows were a convenient way to exhibit the ever-growing collections he had hired buyers to search for and acquire from around the world.

As admission revenue steadily increased, his ideas jumped into the larger-than-life fantasy world. He began to employ skilled craftsmen to design and build creations he had sketched on paper, and that were then intermingled with the authentic collections he had amassed.

As with all his collections, he was determined each be the largest in the world, and he was tenacious in his quest to learn as much as possible about each collection theme.

That was his approach when he began to collect dollhouses. He read about dollhouses of note, studied dollhouse plans, and talked to collectors and hobbyists. Soon he determined a collection of at least 265 would be the largest in the world and that number became a goal.

But, as had become his style, he did not just buy dollhouses. He had his shop buy kits, and embellish them. Then he had his craftsmen build more from scratch to match what he imagined.

When the dollhouse collection was completed, each residence had been given appropriate architectural detailing, painting, wallpaper and electrification. Houses span the period from early American to early 20th century. For shock value he included a brothel. In another he added mice in the attic.

As is true with all the attractions in the House on the Rock, the dollhouses are displayed in a dark area, in this case lighted only by the miniature lighting inside each dwelling.

The House on the Rock also includes an incredible collection of animated mechanical music machines that operate off compressed air. All are operated by visitors with purchased tokens. Housed in its own room it features over 40 mannequins playing their instruments on a stage with six levels.

While any of the collections would suffice as a standalone museum, they emerge unrelentingly as visitors wind their way along darkened corridors. Included are assemblages of mechanical banks, miniature scale-model circuses, model airplane and ship replicas, paperweights, replicas of the Tower of London's Crown Jewels, stained glass lamps, suits of armor, antique guns and more. Much more.

The list goes on, and on until it is obvious this is a collection of collections of exceptional scope.

Some of what there is to see are not collections, but one-of-a-kind creations. Chandeliers Jordan designed and had built are made up of dozens of smaller chandeliers. He had plans to build a floor on top of one enormous light to use as his office where he could sit at his desk and observe and listen to visitors as they moved underneath.

From the time Jordan began building his house in the 1940s, he had always dreamed of adding what he referred to as an infinity room. More than 40 years after the original idea, and after Jordan had sketched countless variations on paper, his dream project opened in October 1985.

When a visitor enters, the room is 30 feet wide. But at the end of its 218-foot length, the room has progressively narrowed to one inch in width. He constructed it to jut out over the valley below with no vertical support beneath, building in 3,264 windows and including a glass pane in the floor.

And then there is the 236-animal carousel. First, Jordan began purchasing antique, finely carved horses to create a carousel that, like the Infinity Room, he had been designing in his mind for many years. But, after several purchased horses arrived, he thought he could do better. He wanted exotic animals and fanciful creations that were anything but a traditional merry-go-round horse, and he had his cadre of talented artists build them to match his drawings. What Jordan ended up with were fanciful centaurs, dragons, peacocks and mermaids pulling a royal carriage, all swirling in a dark room lighted by 20,000 twinkling lights.

At 85 feet in diameter, and 35 feet high, the revolving, never-ending parade of fantasy takes up a visitors entire field of vision as it revolves to an ominous orchestral soundtrack that seems to warn an impending crime is about to occur. Perhaps the music is so foreboding because it is a disappointment when visitors learn that no one is allowed to ride it.

However, as was Jordans custom, even the carousel was not enough for the room. Overhead, scores of bare-chested female mannequins with wings and scanty gowns hang suspended, while the walls are covered with the authentic antique carousel horses not used in his creation.

Still not satisfied, he had three giant steam tractors placed against a wall named Firefly, Snowflake and Buttercup. Other than their names, there is no explanation.

As is true with the entire experience of visiting the House on the Rock, in the carousel room there is plenty of wonder, and plenty to wonder about.

Jordon died of congestive heart failure surrounded by friends and associates in 1989. His final request was that his ashes be distributed over the House on the Rock, which was done in December 1989.

A year before his death Jordon sold the House on the Rock to a longtime business associate, Art Donaldson, a collector and businessman from Janesville, Wisconsin. The Donaldson family still owns and operates the House on the Rock as a privately held family business.
"Pandas and royal persons alike," wrote Hilary Mantel in 2013, "are expensive to conserve and illadapted to any modern environment. But aren't they interesting? Aren't they nice to look at? Some people find them endearing; some pity them for their precarious situation; everybody stares at them, and however airy the enclosure they inhabit, it's still a cage."

Suppose now that one of those pandas attempts to leave his cage in search of fresh bamboo. So begins the odyssey of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, who is technically still a prince and duke and still fifth in line to the British throne but who has turned his back on the monarchy for the sake of the woman he loves. An old-school gesture that puts him right up there with his great-greatuncle Edward VIII, only the way he's gone about it is so distinctly 21st century: a self-justifying, multiplatform pilgrimage  Non Mea Culpa, it might be called  which has pivoted from an Oprah sit-down to a Netflix documentary series and which now culminates  or, more likely, gathers steam  with a new memoir, "Spare."

The title, in case you're wondering, is the nickname bestowed on Harry in infancy. He was to be the second-born "Spare" to the "Heir," his older brother William, future Prince of Wales. "I was the shadow," he writes now, "the support, the Plan B. I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy." And if you ever doubted that's a recipe for resentment, here are 400-plus pages to set you right.

Like Harry, the book is good-natured, rancorous, humorous, self-righteous, self-deprecating, long-winded. And every so often, bewildering. More questions are answered about the Prince's todger than you would ever have thought to ask. (It's circumcised, and it nearly froze to death at the North Pole.) And if you're wondering to whom Harry lost his virginity, it was an older woman who "liked horses, quite a lot, and treated me not unlike a young stallion. Quick ride, after which she'd smacked my rump and sent me off to graze."

Written with and almost surely elevated by J.R. Moehringer, who helped make Andre Agassi's memoir so memorable, the book delivers behind-the-scenes vignettes of the royals (the Queen whisking up salad dressing, Charles executing headstands in his boxers) and liberal helpings of woo-woo: Princess Diana's spirit turning up variously in a Botswana leopard, an Eton fox and a Tyler Perry painting and even finding a way to mess up Charles and Camilla's wedding plans. No question that his mother's 1997 death is still the primal wound in Harry's now 38-year-old psyche, and the book's most affecting passages show his 12-year-old self struggling to grieve in public view. He cried just once, at her graveside, then never again, and spent years clinging to the theory that she had simply gone into hiding.

He grew into an indifferent student and a recreational drug user, known variously as "the naughty one" and "the stupid one." (What was he thinking when he wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party? "I wasn't.") Two combat stints gave him a measure of confidence before he settled into the surreal life of a royal  "this unending Truman Show in which I almost never carried money, never owned a car, never carried a house key, never once ordered anything online, never received a single box from Amazon, almost never traveled on the Underground." Whatever relationships he forged couldn't survive the full-court press of tabloid "paps" dogging his every step. "Royal fame," he concluded, "was fancy captivity."

Enter, as you know she must, Meghan.

By now, the stages of their courtship are available to anyone who cares: the Instagram sighting, the dinner date, the week in a Botswana tent. So, too, is the mauling Markle received at the hands of British media, a toxic brew of racism and misogyny that too often, says Harry, went unchallenged by Buckingham Palace. No wonder, for palace staff were either planting the stories or actively courting the reporters behind them. "Pa's office, Willy's office," fumes Harry, "enabling these fiends, if not outright collaborating." "Darling boy," his father counseled, "just don't read it." Not an option for Harry, who was, by his own admission, "undeniably addicted" to reading and raging at his own media coverage. But when he decided to step away from royal duties, the rage came back at him: William, according to one already well-publicized anecdote, grabbed him by the collar and knocked him to the ground. Stripped of their royal allowance and eventually their security detail, Harry and Meg fled first to Canada before settling in America, or, as Harry cheekily calls it, "the undiscover'd country, from whose bourn no traveler returns."

So meet them in their current iteration: still gorgeous, parents to two gorgeous children  and also, the author tactfully concedes, drawing on "corporate partnerships" to "spotlight the causes we cared about, to tell the stories we felt were vital. And to pay for our security." In a more rueful vein: "I love my Mother Country, and I love my family, and I always will. I just wish, at the second-darkest moment of my life, they'd both been there for me."

Yet, in a perverse way, they were there for him, and he for them. The brand he and Meghan have so carefully nurtured is entirely dependent on the brand they so publicly cast off. With each morsel of palace scandal they lob into the news cycle, they feed the beast they deplore, and it will never end, and, for the Windsors' sakes, can never end because that would mean our interest in them has run dry. One ends up almost longing for the days when royals just poisoned each other or waged civil war. If nothing else, they got it out of their systems.

Louis Bayard is the author of "The Pale Blue Eye" and "Jackie & Me."
The U.S. Army has developed a new use for its M120A1 towed 120mm mortar. Rather than towing this Israeli-designed M120A1 lightweight mortar, the new version (called Sling system) will be carried in the back of a hummer, a light military truck. This is a variation of the many 155mm artillery systems that are mounted on the back of a heavy truck. The first of these was developed in the 1990s as the French truck-mounted 155mm Caesar. Entering service in 2003, France sent some Caesar howitzers to Afghanistan. The roads in Afghanistan are pretty bad and wheeled combat vehicles have a hard time of it, but Caesar was built to handle cross-country operations. When a Caesar vehicle halts, the four-man crew can extend the metal braces in the rear, raise the barrel, and be firing within minutes. After firing, the vehicle can be moving in less than a minute.

The Sling does not carry or fire the mortar from the vehicle, but it is quicker to unhook and emplace on the ground than the several minutes to ready the Caesar vehicle to fire. Sling can fire its first 16 13.7 kg (20 pound) shells one minute after its towing vehicle halts, and at ranges up to 7.8 kilometers. The Sling mortar is based on the Israeli Elbit K6 lightweight low-recoil mortar that weighs 146 kg (320 pounds).

The Sling was designed mainly for use by army Special Forces but can be useful for any infantry unit operating off-road and in need of mortar support for light infantry fighting at remote locations. That makes GPS guided shells more useful than unguided ones. Guided 120mm Sling shells weigh 17.3 kg (38 pounds) and have a range of 7.5 kilometers. They land within 10 meters (30 feet) of the aiming point. One guided shell will do the work faster and with one shell while unguided shells take longer and require more shells. Normally the first shot from an unguided 120mm mortar shell will land anywhere within a 136-meter circle. The shells that do not come that close, and some of those that do, often hurt nearby civilians, or even friendly troops. The GPS guided shell gets it right the first time. A guided mortar round is very useful in urban warfare, where a miss will often kill civilians. The 120mm mortar round has about 2.2 kg (five pounds) of explosives, compared to 6.6 kg (15) pounds in a 155mm shell. The smaller explosive charges limit collateral damage to civilians.

The GPS mortar round is deemed the most useful, especially since the troops are satisfied with that degree of accuracy in GPS-guided 155mm artillery shells, 227mm GMLRS rockets and JDAM bombs. These guided shells dramatically reduce the logistical problems that artillery and mortars encounter when they are in areas where getting supplies is difficult and dangerous. Opponents dread the use of guided shells because these hit targets without the normal use of several unguided shells fired to adjust the accuracy of the shells. A first-round hit means the troops in the target area have no opportunity to seek cover. Surprise is the key to success in combat be it with sniper fire or guided shells.
BOSTON, MA, Jan. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, international technology standards organization Object Management Group (OMG) announced that it is attending the NRF 2023 Conference & Expo from January 15  17, 2023, in the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, NYC.

OMGs Retail Domain Task Force oversees an international suite of standards to help retailers manage and share data. The standards, developed by retailers and vendors from around the world, reduce the risk of new technology, preserve the value of legacy systems, and reduce time-to-market and integration costs.

Retailers implementing tech-driven solutions for streamlined services will be the most successful, said Andy Mattice, Solutions Enablement, Senior Software Architect, Lexmark, and OMG's Retail Domain Task Force chair. At NRF, OMG will discuss technical standards, specifications, and best practices essential for retail business models.

UnifiedPOS is an architectural specification for application interfaces to point-of-service retail devices, defining application interfaces to scanners, printers, scales, and more. Today, OMG announced that retailers could use the JavaPOS implementation of the UnifiedPOS specification. JavaPOS enables retailers to use any operating system or hardware, and as it is easier to modify, it can lower implementation and support costs.

Please visit OMG at the NRF 2023 Conference & Expo in the GS1 Booth, 239.

About OMG

The Object Management Group (OMG) is an international, open membership, not-for-profit technology standards consortium representing government, industry, and academia. OMG Task Forces develop enterprise integration standards for a wide range of technologies and an even more comprehensive range of industries. OMG's modeling standards enable powerful visual design, execution, and maintenance of software and other processes. Visit www.omg.org for more information.

Note to editors: Object Management Group and OMG are registered trademarks of the Object Management Group. For a listing of all OMG trademarks, visit https://www.omg.org/legal/tm_list.htm. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Karen Quatromoni Object Management Group SDO 978-855-0412 [email protected]

Source: Object Management Group SDO
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stability AI Ltd.; Stability AI, Inc.; Midjourney Inc.; and DeviantArt, Inc. have created products that infringe the rights of artists and other creative individuals under the guise of alleged "artificial intelligence." The Joseph Saveri Law Firm, LLPa leading class action firm with offices in California and New Yorkalong with Matthew Butterick, and Lockridge, Grindal, Nauen P.L.L.P. have filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of a class of plaintiffs seeking compensation for damages caused by Stability AI, DeviantArt, and Midjourney, and an injunction to prevent future harms. The lawsuit alleges direct copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement related to forgeries, violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), violation of class members' rights of publicity, breach of contract related to the DeviantArt Terms of Service, and various violations of California's unfair competition laws.

Multiple companies sued for allegedly creating products that use AI, infringing upon artists and other creatives' rights

As alleged in the Complaint, Stable Diffusion is an artificial intelligence product used by Stability AI, DeviantArt, and Midjourney in their AI image products. It was trained on billions of copyrighted images contained in the LAION-5B dataset, which were downloaded and used without compensation or consent from the artists. If Stable Diffusion and similar products are allowed to continue to operate as they do now, the foreseeable result is they will replace the very artists whose stolen works power these AI products with whom they are competing. AI image products are not just an infringement of artists' rights; whether they aim to or not, these products will eliminate "artist" as a viable career path. In addition to obtaining redress for the wrongful conduct, this lawsuit seeks to prevent that outcome and ensure these products follow the same rules as any other new technology that involves the use of massive amounts of intellectual property. If streaming music can be accomplished within the law, so can AI products.

"As burgeoning technology continues to change every aspect of the modern world, it's critical that we recognize and protect the rights of artists against unlawful theft and fraud," said Joseph Saveri, founder of the Joseph Saveri Law Firm, LLP. He continued, "This case represents a larger fight for preserving ownership rights for all artists and other creators."

"AI needs to be fair and ethical for everyone," said lawyer/programmer Matthew Butterick. "But Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt are appropriating the work of thousands of artists with no consent, no credit, and no compensation. As a lawyer who is also a longtime member of the visual-arts community, it's a pleasure to stand up on behalf of fellow artists and continue this essential conversation about how we the people want AI to coexist with human culture and creativity."

Since its founding in 2000, DeviantArt had grown to be a haven for artists of all stripes. A core aspect of participating in the DeviantArt community for artists is the practice of sharing digital images of their artwork. Today, DeviantArt bills itself as "the world's largest art community," hosting millions of images. At the same time, it offers DreamUp, a product that unlawfully infringes on the rights of its own art community. To add insult to injury, a large portion of the training data for Stable Diffusionwhich powers DreamUpwas made up of images scraped from DeviantArt without permission from the artists that posted them.

For more information, please see our case page www.saverilawfirm.com/ai-art-generators-copyright-litigation and our case website stablediffusionlitigation.com.

ABOUT THE FIRMS

The Joseph Saveri Law Firm is one of the country's most acclaimed, successful boutique firms, specializing in antitrust, class actions, and complex litigation on behalf of national and international consumers, purchasers, and employees across diverse industries. For further information on our practice and accomplishments on behalf of our clients, please visit www.saverilawfirm.com or call us at (415) 423-1799.

Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. has served clients throughout the Midwest and in Washington, D.C. for more than 40 years. It has extensive experience in local, state, and federal government relations as well as antitrust, business, campaign finance, consumer, data breach, governmental, health care, employment, environmental, ERISA, intellectual property, real estate, securities, and tribal law litigation. For further information, please visit https://www.locklaw.com/.

ABOUT MATTHEW BUTTERICK

Matthew Butterick is a lawyer, programmer, designer, and writer. He has been professionally involved with open-source software since 1998. His books Typography for Lawyers (typographyforlawyers.com) and Practical Typography (practicaltypography.com) are relied on daily by lawyers and writers worldwide. For more information, please visit https://matthewbutterick.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/class-action-filed-against-stability-ai-midjourney-and-deviantart-for-dmca-violations-right-of-publicity-violations-unlawful-competition-breach-of-tos-301721869.html

SOURCE Joseph Saveri Law Firm LLP
(Tribune News Service)  A federal investigation found officials with the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station's fire department filed falsified firefighting and safety training records, crediting employees for training they never received over a three-year period.

The investigation was prompted nearly three years ago by an unidentified former member of the fire department who became a whistleblower, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

"These trainings are intended to instruct first responders on procedures and protocols to handle life-threatening emergency situations," said Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner. "It is unconscionable that so many employees and instructors whose job is to save lives would be complicit in this type of fraud."

The investigation found that from 2017 to 2019, over 120 fire department employees received credit for trainings they did not attend, 41 instructors submitted false training documents for validation, and six fire department employees improperly verified false training documents.

"The evidence showed many (Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Fire Department) employees  both students and instructors  on leave during the reported training courses, which they could not have reasonably taken or taught," the Office of Special Counsel said. "Students also received credit for multiple training courses that overlapped, including courses taught by different instructors that occurred on the same date and time."

The fire department provides fire protection and emergency services to the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, responding to medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, rescue calls and incidents involving hazardous materials.

The Office of Special Counsel released its findings this month. The investigation was launched in March 2020 and completed in 2021. The Office of Special Counsel said the Air Force's report largely substantiated the claims. The Air Force's report said the investigation "did not reveal a criminal violation." Employees' names in that report were redacted.

The Air Force's report said the conduct of three fire department officials, who were not named, constituted "gross mismanagement," because untrained emergency personnel had responded to incidents that could have put first responders at risk and compromised public safety.

"These officials failed to ensure proper internal controls to monitor and verify training compliance," the Office of Special Counsel said. "The agency indicated it would consider disciplinary action for these individuals."

A spokesman for the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station did not respond to a request to comment on Saturday.

Under a change made in 2021, the fire department now reports directly to the 914th Air Reserve Wing mission support commander, "to improve oversight and provide clear, concise communication through a direct chain of command," the Office of Special Counsel said.

The Air Reserve Wing also put into place a revised training schedule to complete makeup training and has implemented audits to verify training attendance and record keeping.

(c)2023 The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.)

Visit at www.buffalonews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
About two weeks after the end of World War II in Europe, French women were serving U.S. soldiers coffee and doughnuts in a Red Cross tent in France. Two Black soldiers went inside to get some.

This was a breach of norms: In a segregated Army, many white American soldiers did not want Black men talking to French women.

The Black soldiers  Allen Leftridge and Frank Glenn  were challenged by a white sergeant, according to a witness. When a white armed guard arrived, he fatally shot the two men. A third soldier  a white man just released from a German prison camp who was not named in documents related to the incident  was caught in the crossfire and killed, a newspaper from the time reported.

These deaths, briefly touched upon in a 1984 oral history, were not widely chronicled at the time beyond Black publications. Documents in the Library of Congress archives  including pleas from civil rights advocates and responses from military officials  reveal details of the case and further evidence of how white U.S. soldiers fighting fascism abroad brought racism overseas. The consequences were fatal  and some victims of racial violence were robbed of compensation.

Two white soldiers were acquitted in a court-martial over the deadly incident. Leftridge's widow was denied military benefits because her husband's death was ruled not in the line of duty "due to his own misconduct."

"They weren't breaking a law  unless there's a law against being a Negro soldier," a legal advocate for the slain Black soldiers wrote in 1946. "They were visiting a Red Cross tent  on the post on which they were stationed  and were shot down by trigger-happy guards who had prejudice[d] orders not to allow Negro soldiers to talk to French women."

"That's not how people think about World War II," said Matthew F. Delmont, Dartmouth University history professor and the author of a book about African American troops in World War II. "Incidents like these between Black and white troops really spotlight that things were not unified in any real way."

However, there may be a remedy. In another case from the same period, a Black soldier slain in a Jim Crow incident in Georgia was wrongly blamed for the circumstances that led to his death until his record was corrected last year. This didn't just clear his name, but may also make it possible for his family to receive financial benefits.

More than 80 years after World War II, some racial injustices endured by Black servicemen are finally being addressed.

A long-forgotten case

Most of what is known about Leftridge and Glenn comes from the reporting of Alfred A. Duckett, a Black war correspondent who served in Leftridge's regiment and later became a speechwriter for Martin Luther King Jr.

In an interview published in Studs Terkel's oral history "The Good War," Duckett, who died in 1984, said the regiment was stationed at Camp Lucky Strike in Saint-Valery-en-Caux, France, about 120 miles north of Paris.

These Black troops were charged with guarding German prisoners, Duckett told Terkel. But some white U.S. officials feared these Black men would engage in normal interactions with white Europeans.

"There was an almost psychotic terror on the part of white commanders that there would be a great deal of association with the white women," Duckett said. One white Army chaplain, he added, warned Europeans that Black soldiers had tails.

Leftridge and Glenn went on their doughnut mission in this charged environment. As they were being served, Duckett said, military police showed up. There are varying accounts of what happened next.

"When a white MP ordered him not to stand there talking to this woman, Allen turned his back on him," Duckett told Terkel. "He was shot in the back and killed."

In an undated statement from the Library of Congress archives, a witness, Solomon Johnson, said Leftridge and a sergeant "got into a hot discussion and suddenly came to blows." After the fight was broken up, Leftridge "took one step" toward a guard, who then fired on him, according to Johnson.

"He never gave the command 'Halt' or gave any warning," Johnson said. The Post could not locate or reach him for comment.

"When is all this going to stop?" the Pittsburgh Courier, once the nation's most widely circulated Black newspaper, wrote a few months after the incident. "Now that prisoners have been liberated from Nazi tyranny in Germany, when will we be freed of it in our own lines?"

Seeking justice for a war widow  and marrying her

After Leftridge's death, the lives of those he left behind changed irrevocably.

In a 10-page letter written the day before he died  a copy of which was provided by his family to The Post  Leftridge mused that he might have to stay in France for only three more months and asked about his infant daughter: "What is baby doing now? Can she say any words yet?"

The shooting also transformed Duckett's life  more so after a meeting with Leftridge's widow, Sarah, and the couple's daughter.

According to the account in Terkel's book, Duckett had heard that Sarah wanted more information about her husband's death, so he paid her a visit. He found her at home with a young girl  Leftridge's daughter, whom he hadn't lived to meet.

The war correspondent and war widow stayed up late talking. When "The Star-Spangled Banner" came on the radio at the programming day's end, Duckett said, Sarah turned it off. She couldn't bear to hear the national anthem.

"She was very bitter about what had been done to her husband, to herself, to her little girl," Duckett told Terkel. As their relationship developed, Duckett ended up marrying Sarah, and her daughter became his.

The Post reached out to Leftridge's family; Carolyn Holman, his daughter and Duckett's stepdaughter, declined to comment.

Her son William Holman  Leftridge's grandson  told The Post that because of his grandfather's death, his mother grew up without a "stable male figure" after Duckett and Leftridge divorced when she was 5.

For reasons that aren't clear, Frank Glenn's death was ruled in the line of duty, archived documents show, and his widow was awarded a "gratuity."

But Sarah's efforts to secure military benefits came to nothing. The documents, including her handwritten letters to what was then the Veterans Administration, show she was denied a widow's pension and a $300 gratuity because the Army attributed her husband's death "to his own misconduct."

In 1947, the Army denied Sarah's application to correct her late husband's record.

"Private Leftridge was killed  after he failed to heed the challenge of an armed guard," an Army official wrote to the NAACP, which had taken up Leftridge's cause.

A fight for fair compensation in a new century

In such incidents in which white soldiers killed Black colleagues, the battle to clear a victim's name can stretch decades. In one 1941 case, a white military police officer shot a Black soldier after he talked loudly on a bus. The surviving family of that soldier  Albert King  succeeded in correcting the subsequent "not in the line of duty" designation only in November.

"This finding reverses a decision that is as wrong today as it was 82 years ago," Margaret Burnham, founder of Northeastern University Law School's Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, which tracks such cases, wrote in an email. "It is never too late."

Attorneys for King's family  a trio of lawyers with military records from the firm Morgan Lewis  took the case pro bono to clear King's name. Now that King's record has been corrected, they're trying to determine what financial benefits, if any, are available to the family.

The idea that the armed forces will pay compensation to a slain soldier's family is "one of the fundamental transactions that occur when you join the military," said Chris Melendez, one of the attorneys. "He should have been taken care of."

It's not clear how much Sarah Leftridge would have received had the Army reversed course  or how much her heirs could receive now. A $300 gratuity in 1945 is worth about $4,900 today. Widows' pensions, meanwhile, may be worth thousands of dollars per year and continue until the widow's death. His grandmother died in 2009, William Holman said.

In a statement, spokeswoman Madison Bonzo said the Army "puts a high priority on honoring the legacy of all our Soldiers and their families, especially when there may be an error or injustice."

"The Army is standing by to assist the Leftridge family through the Army Board for Correction of Military Records at the Army Review Boards Agency, should they decide to submit a records correction request," the statement said.

Holman said he's looking into how to pursue the benefits that were denied to his grandmother, leaving her "destitute."

Charissa Threat, a history professor at Chapman University, said that paying benefits to Black men who died because of racism in military ranks must be part of the conversation about racial justice.

"This boils down to a question of reparations," she said. "It's reparations under a different name."

Duckett died without clearing Allen Leftridge's name and decades before talk of reparations revived. Even amid civil rights gains, he knew a storm was coming.

"We've come a long way," Duckett said. "But racism is just as alive today, maybe even more virulent."

Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.
Tuzla Air Base, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Feb. 17, 1996: Paratroopers of Southern European Task Forces 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team run to the CH-47 Chinook helicopter that will fly them to Hungary on the first leg of the trip back to their home base at Vicenza, Italy. The soldiers were some of the first peacekeepers to enter Bosnia-Herzegovina, landing at Tuzla Air Base in mid-December 1995.

Looking for Stars and Stripes historic coverage of U.S. operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina? Subscribe to Stars and Stripes historic newspaper archive! We have digitized our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through https://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/
For months now, most focus on the Russia-Ukraine war has centered on projecting whether Russia, Ukraine, or both will launch a winter offensive. Western analysts have weighed in on various battle scenarios and which side may win. Biden administration officials, however, should be spending their energy contemplating a dilemma that will soon present itself no matter who wins winter or spring battles: pressure on the U.S. to escalate its involvement in the war and a commensurate increase in the risk of getting drawn into the fighting.

In recent months the United States has provided Ukraine with an arsenal of increasingly sophisticated weapons, many of which were once considered taboo, or in crossing Russian red lines that might expand the war. This month the Biden administration announced its biggest military package yet, including two additional modern weapon platforms of top-line gear, the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer.

France and Germany have committed to giving Ukraine a NATO tank (the AMX-10) and armored personnel carrier (Marder), respectively; reports suggest Germany may be considering providing some of its best main battle tanks (Leopard 2) and the U.K. vowed Saturday to add its Challenger 2 tanks to the mix. This significant expansion of NATOs most modern battlefield platforms may be used by Ukraine to outfit its army for an expected spring offensive (it will take months to get these new weapon systems prepared for delivery, shipped, and the Ukrainian troops trained and ready to employ them in battle).

While the mantra from White House and Pentagon officials has, for months, been that the U.S. will supply Ukraine for as long as it takes, none have yet defined what it means: until the Ukrainian flag flies in Crimea? Until Ukraine retakes the Donbas? Until Kyiv reaches a favorable negotiated settlement? Having a clear definition is critical to setting effective U.S. policy. But the decisive factor for the U.S. cant be based on what Ukraine wants  policy must be based on how American interests are best served. Washington cant afford to wait until April or May to see how the war progresses, only then deciding what to do next. Heres why.

Regardless of how the winter and spring fighting concludes, Washington will come under pressure to ramp up its already-high support. The U.S. committed to the Ukraine war effort more than $100 billion in 2022, and we suffered significant degradation in our own wartime stocks of ammunition and weaponry. Few in Washington seem to be contemplating the ask that Ukraine will make of the U.S. whether it wins or whether it suffers loss in the looming battles.

If Ukraine succeeds and first blunts Russias winter drive and then uproots Vladimir Putins forces through an offensive in the spring, we can expect emphatic calls from Kyiv and their supporters in the U.S. to significantly ramp up calls for more money and the types and quantities of weapons provided. Ukraine has Russia on the ropes! the thinking will likely go, so we need to give them more offensive weapons to finish the job!

If, on the other hand, Ukraine fails to stop Russia in a winter offensive and Putin is able to drive Ukrainian forces further west, then there will be urgent calls to provide yet more money and even larger quantities of modern offensive weapons to stave off defeat. We cannot allow Russia, under any circumstances, to win this war, the thinking will surely go. We must send hundreds of NATO tanks, personnel carriers, jets, and long-range missile systems, immediately!

It is necessary, now, before either a winter or spring offensive has been launched by either side, for the United States to begin giving serious consideration to what comes next. The primary obligation for the U.S. government is to ensure the security of our country, the viability of our armed forces, and safeguard our economic potential. Anything that puts those primary objectives at risk must be avoided.

Washington should ask itself the hard questions and begin to formulate effective policies in response: how much money can we surrender to Kyiv long term before it starts to negatively impact our own economy or security? How much longer can we deplete our most modern and capable platforms and ammunition before it puts our own security at unacceptable risk? If Ukraine starts to drive Russia off Ukrainian territory and threatens Moscows control of Crimea, how high does that raise the risk of nuclear escalation? Would we continue pouring our Bradleys, Patriots, Paladins and other key gear into Ukraine if they started losing? Many of these questions represent anguishing choices Washington may have to make but ones that are plausible.

The U.S. rarely had a plan throughout the long Vietnam War for what we would do if things went south. For 20 years we had no plan for what we would do if the Afghanistan War failed. The cost of that failure in Vietnam and Afghanistan was astronomical to our country, in both blood and treasure. Getting this one wrong could have even more catastrophic consequences. We must stop to consider, right now, before getting into an unavoidable crisis, where American national interests are and how best to ensure our continued security and prosperity as a nation.

Daniel L. Davis is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who deployed into combat zones four times. He is a Senior Fellow for Defense Priorities and the author of The Eleventh Hour in 2020 America.
DNIPRO, Ukraine  Two hours after a Russian missile slammed into a Ukrainian apartment complex on Saturday, shocking the city that has served as a relatively safe haven for the war's displaced, rescue workers digging through rubble spotted a sudden movement from above.

On the eighth floor, they could see the arm of a bloodied elderly woman, so buried in debris she could barely move, waving a piece of red fabric. Below her, dozens of apartments had collapsed, swallowing residents into some 30 feet of rubble.

From inside the damaged building, she was somehow alive - and calling for help.

Russia's blatant attack on civilians here  the worst to strike this city since Russia invaded Ukraine last February  came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed his most senior military officer, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, as the new overseer of his relentless war in Ukraine.

The strike, which coincided with the Orthodox New Year, served as a grim message that Putin's close confidant is likely to continue the violent missile strikes on civilian targets that have become a hallmark of Russia's assault. The bombing, one of a wave of attacks Saturday across Ukraine, may have destroyed as many as 30 apartments in the sprawling complex, said Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky who shared a video of the destruction.

Residents were trapped as flames engulfed part of the structure, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office, said on Telegram.

At least 12 people died in the apartment building Saturday, and at least 73 others were wounded. At nightfall, at least 38 people had been rescued, he said. Many more are believed to be buried in the ruins. . As the city neared its midnight curfew, dogs wearing specialized shoes to protect them from injuries were scaling the mound of debris, sniffing for survivors. Off to the side, the dead lay on the ground in white bags, red and white tape wrapped around them.

The living, hundreds of them, appeared out of the darkness, as they do in so many Ukrainian towns on so many nights, to clean up and hand out food and hot drinks.

While Russian missiles struck other Ukrainian cities on Saturday, none caused anything close to the scale of damage in Dnipro. The attack came as an exceptional shock here because it's been something of a refuge. Many displaced people, from places such as the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol or the front line regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, have relocated here seeking safety and normalcy.

"We don't have any safe spaces in Ukraine anymore," said Maksym Chornyi, 32, who volunteered to help rescue people at the scene. "It needs to be clear to Europe, as well, because these rockets can land there, too."

He was at home on the other side of Dnipro on Saturday afternoon when he heard the attack - so powerful it sent a shock wave through much of the city.

He rushed to the scene, where he climbed through the wreckage to search for survivors with nothing more than a face mask to protect him from the smoke billowing through the air. After several hours, rescue workers asked him and other volunteers to move back so they could bring heavy machinery into the area to keep digging. He stepped away, his face dark with soot.

What he witnessed inside the wreckage was nightmarish.

At one point, he heard screaming and thought it was coming from below. Then he realized it was the woman trapped on the eighth floor, who told rescuers her name was Lyuba. Later, he looked up and realized a dead man was hanging off the other side of the building - his intestines ripped out of his body.

Just nearby, "there was blood streaked down the wall," Chornyi said. "I feel horrible."

Just before 8 p.m., rescue workers finally dug Lyuba out of the remains of her home and slowly lowered her to the ground in a yellow stretcher. She lay silently as they wrapped her in a foil blanket.

One of the workers who carried her down blew her a kiss and leaned over her. "I promised I was going to save you and I did," he said. "Everything is going to be ok."

Then they whisked her away in an ambulance.

One of the Ukrainian Red Cross medics who helped carry her to safety said she believed both her legs were broken. Her face was covered in blood.

When asked what message she would want to send the world after this attack, the medic, who identified herself only as Natalya, 36, didn't hesitate.

"Stop Russia," she said.

Nadya Yaroshenko's son Rostyslav, who is 12, was home alone in their third-floor apartment when the missile struck. He called his mom in a panic, asking how he could flee, she recalled.

"'There are no stairs,'" he told her. With much of the building destroyed, he crawled toward the elevator and waited for help, she said.

Her friends pushed past first responders, screaming that there was a child trapped inside. Then one scaled the building and carried him out through a window, unharmed.

Hours later, the family was still waiting for any sign of their missing cat and dog.

Then her neighbor, Andriy Filkovich called with good news. "Nadya, the dog is next to me with her savior. Where are you?" he said.

A firefighter handed the shaking dachshund, named Cola, back to Yaroshenko, who wrapped her in her arms. "You were so scared," she cooed. "Don't be scared."

Their cat, Bilyash, whose blue and yellow eyes match the Ukrainian flag, was still missing.
DNIPRO, Ukraine  Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities in a major attack Saturday, killing at least 12 in a strike on an apartment building in the central city of Dnipro  the latest salvo in a brutal war that has convinced Kyiv's Western allies to send increasingly advanced military equipment to Ukraine.

Dozens of first responders scrambled through the wreckage of the apartment block, searching for survivors. Rescuers battled smoke billowing from the flattened multistory building, passing ladders through debris that stood several stories high.

At least 73 were wounded in the attack, according to Ukraine's top military commander, including 14 children. At least 38 had been rescued.

The toll could rise, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, suggested in a Telegram post. Up to 200 people, including 50 children, lived in apartments in the destroyed entrance, he said. More than 1,000 residents may need emergency shelter.

Earlier, explosions shook Kyiv residents awake in what Ukraine's air force said was "most likely" a ballistic missile attack. Ukraine lacks the capability to detect ballistic missiles, so Kyiv residents heard sirens only after the attack. The city's mayor said missile fragments landed in a nonresidential part of the city, sparking a fire that caused no casualties.

Ukraine's air force said it had shot down 25 out of 38 missiles launched in Saturday's attack. But rockets hit energy infrastructure in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and other regions, prompting Ukraine to introduce emergency shutdowns "in most regions," Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said in a Facebook post.

"The next few days are going to be difficult," he added.

Maksym Kozytsksyy, head of the Lviv regional administration, said around 40 percent of the region, or about 300,000 homes, were without power.

The attack came as Britain confirmed plans to send heavy battle tanks to Ukraine, answering a long-standing request from Kyiv as its fight against Russia's invasion approaches the one-year mark with no signs of abating.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call Saturday that his country would provide Challenger 2 tanks, along with additional artillery systems, according to a news release from 10 Downing Street.

The announcement marks a significant escalation of military aid to Ukrainian forces as they seek to take back more territory and fend off a potential Russian springtime offensive. Western allies had previously held back, partly out of fear of provoking a broader confrontation with Russia.

It's unclear how many tanks Britain will send and when they might arrive. Previous reports indicated Britain would provide about 10 tanks.

The action is "entirely symbolic," said retired colonel Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic & International Studies' International Security Program. "Britain only has about 250 of those tanks, so it cannot send many without severely weakening its own forces."

But Ukraine hopes the move will encourage other allies to follow suit. In particular, Kyiv has sought German-made Leopard 2 tanks  more than 2,000 of which are scattered across Europe.

"Always strong support of the UK is now impenetrable," Zelensky tweeted on Saturday, adding that he had thanked Sunak "for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners."

Russia's embassy in London warned that the move would "only serve to intensify combat operations," saying the tanks would become "legitimate large-scale targets."

Sunak's announcement came a week after the United States, Germany and France agreed to send advanced infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials expressed gratitude for those vehicles, but asked for heavy tanks as well. Kyiv's forces have so far been using Soviet-era tanks, such as the T-64 and T-72.

Since Ukrainian forces took back large swaths of territory from Russia in sweeping counteroffensives this fall, the war has essentially stalled along a front line stretching hundreds of miles across eastern and southern Ukraine. Russia claimed Friday to have captured Soledar, a small salt-mining city in the Donetsk region  what would be its first significant territorial gain in several months. Ukraine's military said fighting was ongoing.

Those ground battles over territory are separate from the punishing missile strikes Russia has unleashed on cities under Ukrainian control, which have reduced homes and hospitals to rubble. Many of those strikes have targeted critical energy infrastructure, plunging millions of Ukrainians into the cold and dark as winter took hold. Ukrainian authorities have described the wave of attacks as a campaign of terror.

In a televised address Saturday evening, Zelensky said the only way to stop "Russian terror" was through "those weapons that are in the warehouses of our partners and that our troops are so waiting for."

The Challenger 2 is the British Army's main battle tank. Designed to destroy other armored vehicles, the tank has heavy armor and a 120mm rifled tank gun, as well as a 7.62mm chain gun and a separate mounted machine gun. The British Army used it in military operations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.

The tank is built to cross open terrain, which could prove especially useful in the fields of eastern Ukraine. It is capable of carrying out strong, rapid advances that shock enemy forces.

"With NATO-type tanks, we will move towards victory much faster," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a statement posted to the ministry's Telegram channel.

Analysts warned that the Challenger 2 can be difficult to use and maintain.

The tanks "would provide quite a lot of logistical challenges to the Ukrainians, because these are very heavy vehicles," said Sonny Butterworth, an analyst at Janes, the intelligence firm. "They're going to have to be able to support these vehicles in the field appropriately, otherwise they won't be able to deploy them to where they need to go."

Complicating matters, the Challenger 2 uses a rifled gun that differs from the NATO standard.

Poland indicated Wednesday that it intends to transfer a company of Leopard 2s to Ukraine as part of a broader package supported by an international coalition. But the re-export of the German-made tanks requires approval from Berlin, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not yet granted.

The United States is similarly hesitant. "We absolutely agree that Ukraine does need tanks," Laura Cooper, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense, told reporters earlier this month. But she raised concerns about the ability of Ukrainian forces to look after Abrams tanks.

"Certainly we know that the Abrams tank, in addition to being a gas guzzler, is quite challenging to maintain," she said.

Sunak told Zelensky he and his government would work "intensively" with international partners to send more military aid, the Downing Street statement said. Defense ministers from dozens of countries will gather Friday for a meeting of the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany, where they will discuss Ukraine's defense needs.

- - -

Stern reported from Mukachevo. Parker reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Andrea Salcedo, Ellen Francis, Francesca Ebel and Stefanie Le contributed to this report.
Adam Kinzinger, the former Illinois Republican House member, put it best: The political system, he said on CNN, doesnt do nuance.

He was talking about the implications of the revelation that President Biden, like former president Donald Trump, had possession of classified documents from his days as vice president in locations where they were not authorized to be. Whatever the legal distinctions between the two cases - and there are many - they could be washed away in the political fallout.

As the legal machinery is cranking up, Americans are left with the reality that the two potential opponents in the 2024 presidential election will both be subjects of special counsel probes as their campaigns take shape. And as Kinzinger so aptly noted, for the time being at least, legal distinctions could be lost in the political debate that will follow.

The Biden case has unfolded rapidly - at least in the public arena. It is now known that classified documents have been discovered at the offices of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, a think tank in Washington; in the garage of Bidens Wilmington, Del., residence; and in another location at the Wilmington house.

The first batch was discovered on Nov. 2, six days before the midterm election. Those in the Biden garage were found on Dec. 20. Lawyers for the president revealed on Thursday that another document had just been found in a room adjacent to the garage at Bidens Wilmington home. Biden said the garage, which is where his Corvette is stored, is locked.

Hours after that last revelation, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he was appointing Robert K. Hur, a former top Justice Department official and U.S. attorney in Maryland, as special counsel to investigate the matter. Garland seemingly had no choice but to appoint a special counsel, however different the facts turn out to be from the investigation into the Trump documents.

The legal differences are potentially significant, although much less is known about the Biden case. What is known is that Trump had hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, some with the highest classification. Biden had far fewer - about 10 at the Biden Penn Center office and a few more in Delaware. Biden said he was surprised to learn that the documents were in his possession, adding that he takes classified material seriously. He also said he has not asked about the contents of the documents found.

Another difference is that one of Bidens personal lawyers discovered the documents and called the White House counsel. The documents were voluntarily turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration. Some of what was found was marked top secret. On Nov. 4, the inspector general at the National Archives contacted the Justice Department to alert officials about what had happened.

Ten days later, Garland asked John Lausch, the U.S. attorney in Chicago and a Trump appointee, to do a preliminary investigation, which led to Hurs appointment on Thursday. Bidens White House said he and his lawyers have been cooperating with the National Archives and the Justice Department and will continue to do so.

In contrast, officials at the National Archives repeatedly sought the return of documents from Trump and were rebuffed, leading to an FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago last summer. Even after Trumps lawyers told the government that no more classified documents remained at the former presidents residence, more were discovered. Among the issues in the Justice Department investigation into Trumps documents is whether he or others obstructed justice.

Bidens team has questions to answer, both to Hurs team and to the public. So far, the president and his team have not been fully forthcoming. The classified documents were discovered before the midterm elections, but no one among Bidens team said anything publicly at the time, even though Biden had used the investigation into Trumps documents as a political talking point during the fall campaign, calling Trumps possession of classified material irresponsible.

The rules for handling highly classified materials are clear. They are never to be moved from secure facilities. Prompt revelation before the election would have been embarrassing at the least and potentially politically damaging for the Democrats.

When CBS News reported last week that documents had been found at the Penn Biden Center, White House officials confirmed that story but did not reveal that other documents had been found at Bidens residence, although that had been known for weeks. On Saturday, Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, revealed that he had found an additional five documents at Bidens house when he went there to look at the single document that had been found earlier.

These are other examples of a lack of transparency, although perhaps the White House felt it should not reveal facts about a Justice Department investigation. By the time the first story broke last week, Garland had received a recommendation from Lausch to appoint a special counsel.

There will be much for Hur and his team to sort out in the investigation. The history of such probes suggests that it will be many months before the investigation has been completed and decisions about charging or not charging someone have been made. Some Biden defenders question the need for a special counsel in the absence of evidence of a crime. But the politics of the matter left Garland with no choice but to turn the matter over to a special counsel.

One other factor in all this is that Justice Department policy holds that a sitting president cannot be criminally indicted. A former president can be.

Trump and his allies have seized on the fact that Biden had classified material in his possession after leaving the vice presidency to suggest that the two cases are equivalent and that charging Trump but not Biden would be a miscarriage of justice.

Garland has been accused of a double standard, launching a high-profile raid against the former president in the middle of an election year while making no mention of the Biden documents ahead of the election or until it was reported in the media. Trump will use Bidens possession of classified material as leverage to try to escape possible indictment.

Trump has accused Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the investigations into Trumps possession of classified documents and his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, of personal bias and wants him removed. He has stepped up those attacks in the past few days.

Meanwhile, some conservatives are questioning Hurs evenhandedness because, when he was at Justice, he was involved in overseeing the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Muellers investigation showed various contacts between Trump officials and Russians but found no criminal conspiracy.

The revelations about Bidens possession of classified documents are a political gift to House Republicans, who spent the first week of the year arguing among themselves over the selection of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House speaker in a display of chaos unlike any speakership election in more than a century.

House Republicans were already planning investigations into the Biden administration and into Bidens son, Hunter. Now they have a new target. Republicans have the potential to overplay their hand, but for now, they have a pass to put Biden on the defensive - and shift attention away from their own disorderly conference.

Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, asked for a classified briefing about the matter by the end of the month. So too has Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who chairs the Oversight and Reform Committee, has gone further, asking the White House for all relevant documents and communications related to the documents by Jan. 24. On Friday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent Garland a letter asking for executive branch documents and communications, indicating their determination to investigate as well.

At the Biden White House, where officials hope to use the year ahead to draw ever more attention to the positive impacts of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the bipartisan Chips bill and the prodigious spending on climate initiatives approved on a party-line vote last summer, the documents saga is an unexpected setback - a clear distraction for which there is no outside adversary to blame.

Garland has tried to assure that the investigations, into Trump and now Biden, will be carried out by the book, that charging decisions will be based on the facts and the law. For defenders of Trump, the mere fact that classified material held by the former vice president, now president, ended up at a think tank and at Bidens personal residence is all that matters. Which, regardless of what Garland says about investigative probity, thoroughly complicates the work of both special counsels.
James Burns, who served two tours of Afghanistan, was only released from prison two days before Christmas

A former Royal Marine turned serial perpetrator of domestic violence has been accused of breaching a restraining order.

A court was told the new partner of James Burns contacted his ex to announce her pregnancy and the pair began to argue.

It was claimed the breach occurred when the 30-year-old called his ex on Friday to talk to her to get her back onside so she wouldnt call police.

He also allegedly sent a text message to his ex declaring she shouldnt have spoken to you like that, I shouldnt have done what I done, f*** that, I still love you.

A police officer told Ballymena Magistrates Court yesterday he objected to bail being granted.

The victim has been deemed at high risk from the defendant and he has been flagged as a serial perpetrator of domestic violence, said the officer.

It was revealed Burns, who served two tours of Afghanistan, was only released from prison two days before Christmas.

A defence solicitor said Burns, from Portlee Walk in Antrim, accepts the breach of the restraining order, but claimed there were counter allegations made against his ex which are being investigated by police.

The restraining order, set to run to August next year, was imposed after Burns set fire to two cars owned by his ex and her mother.

He phoned his former partner in February 2021 threatening her if she got him sent back to prison, warning he would burn her out.

Later that night she looked out and saw Burns approach her Seat Ibiza.

He paused at the rear wheel, threw something using both hands and the vehicle immediately ignited, a Crown lawyer said, adding that firefighters went to the scene but the car was gutted.

Minutes later he arrived at the home of the ex-partners mother in Greenisland and set fire to her Hyundai i10.

Burns admitted arson, threats to damage property, breaching a non-molestation order, and criminal damage to an electronic tag.

District Judge Oonagh Mullan yesterday freed Burns on bail with a condition not to contact his ex-partner.

And she issued a stark message to Burns: I will not accept any excuses. This is your final warning.
Coleraine creep Harold Burke is accused of breaching his SOPO

This is the online child predator who has been charged with breaching his court-imposed Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Coleraine creep Harold Samuel Burke is accused of breaching his SOPO by having a laptop without the prior approval of his designated risk manager in September 2021.

None of the facts were opened on Friday in the court sitting in Ballymena and the case was adjourned until later this month.

Its almost three years since Burke, from Quilly Road in Coleraine, was handed a lifelong SOPO and three-year probation order.

The 63-year-old made legal history by being the first pervert snared by a paedophile hunter gang to have his case sent to the crown court.

Although he walked free from court that day, the judge noted it was mainly because he had already served time in jail.

Burke had admitted three counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity over the summer of 2018.

The court was told how the conversations with the decoys, who were posing as 13- and 14-year-old girls, were of a highly sexual nature.

Burke used the name Hal, with his own photograph attached to his profile, to chat with those he thought were underage girls called Zoe, Fiona and Angel.

The conversations quickly became extremely sexualised and explicit, with Burke requesting them to do certain things.

He later asks Zoe to meet for sex and tells her to try and recruit others... to create a network.

Burkes sick activities were exposed by paedophile hunters from Decoy Central who then handed over transcripts of their chats with the pervert to the PSNI.

One of the women who posed as girl Fiona said after the case: He was just vile  he is one sick man and he is a real danger to children.
Jake Boles walked free after slamming Jody Duggans head against a wall, smothering her with a pillow, spitting in her face and throwing her down stairs

This is the violent security worker convicted of a series of brutal assaults and coercive control of his former partner, who said she will always be looking over her shoulder after he walked free from court this week.

Twisted thug Jake Boles (24), from Ratborne Avenue, Ashtown, Dublin 15, subjected his then-partner Jody Duggan (22) to a sickening series of abuse during their relationship.

He was responsible for a string violent assaults on a weekly basis that included punching her, slamming her head against a wall, smothering her with a pillow, throwing her down stairs and spitting in her face.

Evil Boles tried to control every aspect of her life  from her finances, to where she would go, who she could see and what she could wear, even down to the underwear she put on.

The thug also locked her in rooms, controlled what she could eat, hacked into her online accounts, tracked her every movement on her phone, and isolated her from her friends and family to the point where she wanted to end her life.

He also threatened to have her killed, said he would abduct her and her young brother and tie them up while he burned down her family home with her parents inside  and would make her watch while doing it.

Brave Jody, who suffers from PTSD as a result of the abuse, told the Sunday World that when she tried to leave him he would pin her to the ground, hold a knife to his neck and say he was going to kill himself and blame it on her.

This will stay with me forever, it wont go away. The cuts and bruises will go but the emotional stuff will never go.

Jake took so much from me. Some things I dont think Ill ever get back. I feel stuck in the time this happened to me, Jody said.

Despite the horror abuse, Boles  who the Probation Service deemed to be of moderate risk of re-offending  walked free from Trim Circuit Court on Friday with a suspended sentence.

The court was told that his new partner recently had a baby with him and he was working in the security firm owned by his father.

References were provided by the security firm and his new partner, who supported him through the court case.

Boles and Jody started going out together when Jody was 17 and Boles was 19, but he became abusive and she broke up with him. They rekindled the relationship two years later and he initially pretended to be a changed man  but it wasnt long before the mask slipped.

When we got back together, I thought he was the best boyfriend ever and he was so nice but, bit by bit, it was you cant wear that, you cant do that or go there.

He would make me have my location (phone) on, so if I went a different way home hed call me and say why are you going a different way home, who are you with. It was all about control.

Jody said she was still so young and it was her first relationship so didnt realise the severity of what was happening at first.

He picked away at Jodys insecurities as his toxic behaviour increased.

He tried to turn me away from my family, saying they didnt love me and I was an inconvenience for them. It was either him or them and if I chose them, hed kill himself.

He said my friends hated me, nobody liked me. I was so young and insecure. I didnt really understand what was going on. I lost all interest in myself. I was an absolute mess.

As well as controlling her, he would be physically violent and assaulted her on a weekly basis. The attacks included punches, slamming her head off walls, smothering her with a pillow until she passed out, spitting in her face and even throwing her down a flight of stairs.

He would also smash up rooms and her possessions in his rage.

When he hurt me, he would never be remorseful afterwards. He would just tell me it was my fault.

Jody, who is a make-up artist, would try to hide her injuries from her family and friends.

I was hiding it because I was so embarrassed. Id hide bruises and black eyes. Id blame injuries on me being clumsy.

Efforts to control were endless.

I would be out and he would literally pull up my dress and say youre not allowed to wear that underwear.

He took my passport. He smashed my phone. He stole a set of keys for my house. He told me hed light my house on fire, tie me and my little brother up outside and leave my mam and dad in there and watch them burn.

Jody broke down in tears as she described how he would constantly lock her in rooms or hold her against her will.

On one occasion when she was feeling ill after eating food, he wouldnt let go to the bathroom.

I told him Im going to get sick but he made me stand there and get sick in my hands because he wouldnt let me leave the room. Then he said it was my fault. 

She was at the brink of suicide.

It got to the point where I was self-harming because I didnt want to be with him.

In March 2019, they were due to go on holiday to Amsterdam but Jody said she didnt want to go.

I didnt want to go because I was so scared. He pinned me down held a knife to his neck and said if you dont come with me Im going to go to Amsterdam, Im going to kill myself over there and Im going to leave a letter to say it was your fault, she recalls.

She left him April 2019 but he attacked her again when she went to collect things from his house.

He grabbed my phone and pushed me down the stairs when I went to collect my things. After this incident she told her mother and went to the Gardai.

Jody got a protection order, but Boles continued to threaten her by contacting her friends and her new boyfriend.

He said he was watching me and knew where we were and was saying he was going to punch our heads in, stand all over us.

She said gardai told her he wasnt breaching the order as he hadnt contacted her directly. Boles pleaded guilty to coercive control, a number of assaults on Jody and criminal damage on various dates in 2018 in 2019.

He finally apologised for actions when he handed in a written apology to court on Friday.

Hes not sorry. I was absolutely disgusted with the letter. He only did that because the judge asked him for an apology. He didnt write the apology. I can tell by the language in it.

Judge Orla Crowe sentenced Boles to two years for the assaults and two years for the coercive control offences, with the criminal damage offences taken into consideration but the sentences were suspended in full on a number of conditions including that he does not contact Jody again.

Boles young age, the fact he is a new father, has steady employment, is not taking drugs and was engaging in counselling were taken into account in mitigation.

Jody said she was disappointed with the sentence and will be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.

Im always on edge and even though I know I have my protection order I dont feel safe... When I go out, I worry hell be there.

She said she will carry what happened to her for the rest of her life.

I not only have carried that weight but have dealt with him threatening the people I love and care about well after I left.

People dont realise the impact an abusive relationship can have on someone the cuts and bruises fade but the psychological and emotional abuse that I endured has scared me and will sit with me forever.
Kristini Ponisi almost talked herself into an extra stay in prison

This is the heroin smuggler who almost talked herself into an extra stay in prison.

Kristini Ponisi was offered the chance of community service and probation that would see her walk free but under strict supervision.

The 27-year-old, who appeared at Newry Crown Court via videolink from jail, told the judge she was worried she may not be able to complete what is officially called an Enchanced Combination Order (ECO).

The reason, she said, was that sometimes she gets really paranoid. She was then given a choice between the ECO and further spell in custody, she opted for two years on probation and 80 hours community service.

Ponisi, from from Irwell Court in Belfast, had earlier admitted importing heroin and possession of the class A drug in June 2021.

She was arrested alongside her then boyfriend, fellow heroin addict 40-year-old John Joseph Goodman, from Glenbawn Close in Dunmurry.

Previous courts heard how cops stopped an Audi car on the A1  Goodman driving and Ponisi his passenger.

A police sniffer dog discovered a specially constructed hide which contained a tin of deodorant and it was inside that, cops uncovered the 52% pure heroin with a street value around 15,000.

Last December Goodman, who had confessed to the same charges, was handed a two-year sentence split half and half between jail and custody.

Sentencing Ponisi on Friday, Judge Kerr said he was taking into account her guilty pleas and previously clear record.

He warned Ponisi that if she breached any aspect of the order, or committed further offences, she would be jailed.

In addition, the judge also ordered forfeiture of 303 in cash which cops had seized.
From January 15 to 18, northern and north central coast of Vietnam will be hit by a cold front, with the temperature gradually getting warmer by the Lunar New Year holiday.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, due to the influence of a strong cold spell, which arrived early Sunday morning, the weather in the coming days in northern Vietnam will have three periods with different characteristics.

From January 15 to 18, it will be cold and rainy in some places. The highest temperature will be around 14-17 degrees Celsius, with the lowest around 9-12 degrees Celsius. And in the mountainous areas, temperatures will range between 6-9 degrees. Mountainous areas that are 1,500 m above sea level could see temperatures tumble to below 3 degrees Celsius, with snow and frost possibly appearing.

From January 19 to 23, it will rain in a few places, with light fog in the early morning. The highest temperature will be 17-22 degrees Celsius, with some places can get over 23; the lowest is 12-16 Celsius, mountainous areas are below 11, the higher mountains are below 8. During this period, the blistering cold will only appear in the mountainous region.

From January 24 to January 26, the north of Vietnam will have light rain and fog, with the highest temperatures 17-21 degrees Celsius, and the lowest 11-15 degrees, the mountainous region below 9 degrees and the high mountains below 5.

Vietnamese will have a seven-day Lunar New Year break from January 20 to 26.

Vietnam's Lunar New Year break will last from January 20 to 26, 2023. Graphics by VnExpress/Tien Thanh

Meanwhile, southern Vietnam stays warm from January 15 to 31, with sunny weather and little to no rain. The highest temperature is around 29-32 degrees Celsius, while the lowest is from 22-26.

From January 24 to 26, it will often rain during the afternoon and evening. The highest temperature is 28-31 degrees Celsius, while the lowest is 21-25.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that in January the average temperature in the northern and north central coast areas will be 0.5 degrees higher; while the northeast region will be 0.5-1 degrees Celsius higher than the average for many years in the same period.

The total rainfall in the northern and north central is 5-20 mm lower than the average of many years, while other areas are about 10-30 mm higher.
This bus departed Rathbourne Avenue at approximately 8.30am and travelled to Spindrift Avenue, Royal Canal Park, Dublin 15, where an incident took place

Gardai have appealed for passengers on Dublin Bus route number 120 to come forward following the death of a woman in Ashtown yesterday.

It has emerged that the murder suspect was held by gardai after people reported him shouting during a disturbing rant on a bus that he had killed someone.

The detention of the man at a bus stop in west Dublin then led to the discovery of the womans body in an apartment at Royal Canal Park.

The victim, named locally as Maud Coffey, had been stabbed multiple times in an attack in her home.

This evening gardai issued an appeal to passengers who were travelling on Dublin Bus route number 120 (Rathbourne Ave to Merrion Road) on the morning of Friday, January 13, to come forward.

This bus departed Rathbourne Avenue at approximately 8.30am and travelled to Spindrift Avenue, Royal Canal Park, Dublin 15, where an incident took place, gardai said.

Gardai are appealing to anyone that was travelling on this bus, or to anyone who was in the vicinity of Spindrift Avenue, between 8.15am and 9am, to contact them.

They are also appealing to those with video footage from the bus or at any of these locations to make it available to them.

Meanwhile, a man in his 50s who arrested as part of the investigation remains in Garda custody at Finglas Garda Station under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

A post-mortem has been completed and a preliminary report provided to the investigating team. However, details are not being released for operational reasons.

The scene remains sealed off subject to an ongoing forensic and technical examination.

A Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) has been appointed to the case and a Garda Family Liaison Officer (FLO) continues to liaise with the family of the deceased.

Anyone with information is asked to Gardai at Cabra on 01 6667400, The Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.

The victim has been described as a vulnerable lady and her suspected killer is understood to have been battling drug issues as well as mental health matters in recent times.

Sources said there had been major concerns about the mans health in recent times and it has emerged that a female relative contacted gardai yesterday morning to carry out a welfare check on him.

Officers went to his home and discovered that he was not in the property in the north inner city.

About the same time, gardai received a number of calls about a middle-aged man who was on a Dublin Bus who was scaring children and other commuters by claiming he had killed someone.

Gardai were called and the man was detained at a west Dublin bus stop under the provisions of the Mental Health Act.

Video footage at the bus stop captures the clearly ill murder suspect ranting about apostles, men and sex.

After his detention, gardai visited an apartment in Royal Canal Park, Ashtown, about 10am.

It was at this location they discovered the body of Ms Coffey, who was aged in her 40s, and who had suffered a number of fatal stab wounds.

Ms Coffeys murder has caused deep shock in the area where she lived.

Tanya Murphy, who lives in the Royal Canal Park area, said she knew the woman.

She was so nice, she said. She played with the local kids and would draw chalk on the ground with them. She used to pick up all the litter on the street. She was just so nice. She was harmless. She just kept to herself and didnt bother anybody.

I feel sick to know this happened on my doorstep, and to such a harmless woman. She wouldnt hurt a fly.
Shortly afterwards, police arrested a man also aged in his thirties on suspicion of a number of offences

A man in his thirties was kidnapped and assaulted in Dunmurry in Belfast on Saturday afternoon.

It was reported that the victim was forced into the back of a van by two men in the Upper Dunmurry Lane area just after 12pm.

He was then driven around in the van and taken to a nearby property where he was assaulted.

He sustained multiple injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening.

Shortly afterwards, police arrested a man also aged in his thirties on suspicion of a number of offences.

Detective Sergeant McCartan said: "It was reported just after 12pm that a man was forced into the back of a blue Citroen Berlingo van by two men in the Upper Dunmurry Lane area before it was driven away from the Michael Ferguson roundabout.

"At this stage, we believe the victim, aged in his thirties, was driven around in the van for two to three hours and at one point, he was taken to a nearby property where he was assaulted, sustaining a number of injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening at this stage.

"A short time later, police arrested a man, aged in his thirties on suspicion of a number of offences. He remains in custody at this time.

"This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and as our enquiries progress, we are keen to speak to anyone who was in the Upper Dunmurry Lane, Colin, Poleglass or Twinbrook area of Dunmurry yesterday between 12pm and 4pm and saw anything which could assist us.

Police have also asked for anyone who has relevant dashcam, CCTV or other video footage to contact them.
Izabel Fonseca opens up about her grief as she visits spot where her sister died

Izabel Fonseca in Liberty Street, Cork, where her sister Bruna was found in a flat on New Year's Day. Picture by Gerry Mooney.

I wish I had done more to help you, Izabel Fonseca says, running a hand through the dark hair of her late sister Bruna who lies in a coffin at a funeral home in Co Cork. I wish I was here with you. I would never have wanted you to have gone through all of this alone.

There are candles behind the dark wooden coffin where the body of the 28-year-old lies. She is dressed in black, her hair combed to one side. She died a violent death on New Years Day, but there is calm in this place.

There are no flowers. Her photograph is not on display. There are no queues of mourners to shake hands with the family. This is not a wake, but a meeting point  Izabels and her sisters.

Izabel travelled 11,000km to be by her side in that room in Ballincollig, on the west side of the city to believe that she was really dead. Its one more stop before taking Bruna back home to Formiga in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where she will be buried next to their grandparents.

Bruna Fonseca in a family photo

I am sorry I could not protect you, she says. And now, at this moment, I feel like you are protecting us. This is just your body, your soul is already with people we love and are gone.

She strokes Brunas hair and face once more. Only now does her death seem real, she admits. For over two weeks, she refused to believe it.

The emotion is very strong because I never expected to see my younger sister in this place. I feel her cold body in front of me knowing that there is a girl, a woman, who has always been a light on the path of those she crossed.

This is a place of peace, but it is not easy to see her and not be able to feel her embrace.

Izabel landed at Cork Airport the night before  a long journey from Brazil via Barcelona and Paris  and says that on that last flight to Ireland, she felt a lot of sadness.

I knew it was getting closer and it brought a lot of pain. It was becoming more real.

As soon as she arrived in Cork, the locals welcomed her with open arms. Now, she says, she cannot understand how after something so bad there can be so much love.

People are opening their hearts to us, Izabel says. We walk to the scene where Brunas body was found in a flat. It is Izabels first time here. Bouquets of flowers are piled outside the door. There are red, white and pink roses nestled among photographs of Bruna and candles. Even though it is raining, three of the 63 candles still burn.

I feel pain knowing that she died here; it moves me, she cries, I feel the love that people had for Bruna. She touches a picture of her sister.

Its a busy street: theres a pub nearby and in front of it a mural with iconic images of the War of Independence.

Izabel struggles with herself to feel guilt-free.

I should have been here with her. That will remain in my memory. I should have said: Ill bring you home. I wanted to be here, but not like this.

Izabel Fonseca and husband Francisco Rosa at St Francis Church in Liberty Street, Cork. Picture by Gerry Mooney

Brunas final hours pass constantly in her mind. Her sister was celebrating the new year with a group of Brazilians at the Oyster Tavern in the city hours before she was killed.

It was on the same day the sisters had their last text exchange over WhatsApp.

She was the typical little sister and didnt want to listen to me. She used to ignore my advice and get upset.

She wanted to see the good in everyone she met. We had a fight on New Years Eve and when I called her later that night she didnt answer; she was ignoring me.

Izabel shows me the text messages she sent Bruna that night. Everything I did was to protect you, one of these reads. You are in my heart forever.

I ask what she would say to her sister now if she could: I would say: Bruna, please text me back. Please get in touch. Let me hear from you... please get back to me.

She cries again.

At around 6.30am on January 1, gardai received a call from a man about a disturbance inside the flat. There they found Bruna unconscious on a bed. They attempted CPR in a bid to resuscitate her, as did paramedics who arrived shortly after, but were unsuccessful.

The qualified librarian who studied English and worked as a cleaner at Mercy University Hospital, a short walk from where Izabel now stands, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Miller Pacheco (29), who is also a Brazilian national, has been charged with the murder of his former partner.

Brunas cousin Marcella, who lives nearby, had to break the news to her family at home  a memory she has now blocked out of her head.

The pain is very great, Izabel says, but I remember getting everyone together to tell them, including our mother Marina, who has a heart problem. I was worried about how she would take the news, they were very close. She did not take it well and was taken to hospital.

Bruna Fonseca, left, in a family photo

Bruna had a passion for travelling and moved to Ireland last year, Izabel says, so she could give our mother a better life.

When she talks about Bruna she smiles. She describes her sister as beautiful inside and out  a person who hated any kind of prejudice and was always helpful in everything we asked of her.

She knew how to solve everything and when I say everything, I mean everything. She always felt obligated to care. She took care of everyone and most of the time she forgot about herself, Izabel says.

Comforting Izabel is her 18-year-old daughter Maria, who had been staying with Bruna. She says the last fortnight has been the worst time of my life and recalls the last moment she saw her aunt alive  at a party on New Years Eve.

A few hours before she died, we were together. At the end of the night, we hugged and said goodbye. But I didnt know it was our last farewell.

The torment hurts her too. Im not coping very well with her death; I am on medication.

Maria went home that night and hours later, after charging her mobile phone, she heard about the tragedy.

The garda was outside the apartment where she died. I was losing my mind. I was trying to get inside to get to her. I wanted to be there. I wanted to go in, she says.

It is difficult for her family to comprehend what has happened when they are thousands of kilometres away from home, though she says everyone from the gardai to the undertaker and all those who organised vigils in Cork hugged our family and helped us get through this.

Last Thursday, Brunas coffin was placed in the back of a black hearse and taken to Dublin Airport to be flown back to Brazil.

Izabel, too, will return home this weekend.

She accepts that for the time being she does not know how we are going to live without Bruna.

As time goes by, we will have to learn to live with the pain of loss, with the days of deep longing, but we will live for her, for her dreams. She will be missed in pictures and family gatherings but she will always be with us in our hearts, she says.

Izabel stares at a photograph of Bruna on her phone and shares with me the last text message Izabel sent her after she was found dead.

It reads: You are gone. You have now become a star, the fairest of us. How I miss you and with sadness I will live because of that goodbye that I could not give.

But it is a different conversation  one of the last she had with Bruna  that haunts her the most, when her sister, trying to alleviate her concerns, said: Do not worry, Izabel, I will be fine.
AN IRISHMAN was rushed to hospital in critical condition following a machete fight on a busy London road in front of shocked witnesses on on Friday.

The two men, who spoke with Irish accents, were filmed fighting each other with hooked machetes on Gallows Corner in Romford, East London, at 3.50pm on Friday.

Two Irishmen involved in a machete fight in London

The injured man was rushed to hospital and later arrested in connection with the incident while the other man, who is understood to have links to a crime clan from Clondalkin is west Dublin, fled the scene and was still being sought by police yesterday.

On a video widely-shared on social media, shocked witnesses can be heard trying to intervene as the two men attack each other with deadly weapons in the middle of the road.

Cars were forced to brake suddenly as the men slashed wildly at each other. At one point, one of the men is on the ground as the second man hits a machete off his head. Both men appear to be injured in videos of the incident.

One witness can be heard shouting: Someone call the police man, before another shouts put your f***ing weapons down you c**t.

At this point one of the men drops his machete and tries to escape. The second man picks up his weapon and chases after him while carrying two machetes in his hand.

The first man can then be heard shouting: I need an ambulance and the police. I need an ambulance.

By this point the second man has got into a grey BMW while onlookers keep telling the first man to run away.

The second man speeds after the first man as onlookers shout: run, bruv, run.

At this point the second man gets out of the vehicle and chases the first man into a shop.

A follow up video shows the first man lying on the ground with his jeans down and a significant injury to his leg while people try to help.

He can be heard saying a name out loud as another man calls emergency services and says the victim is 23.

The victim was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said his condition has since stabilised.

Police were called at around 15:50hrs on Friday, 13 January, to reports of a fight with knives between two people in the Gallows Corner area of Harold Wood.

One male was taken to hospital

The condition of the injured man, aged in his 20s, has been assessed as not life-threatening. He remains in hospital but has been arrested on suspicion of Grievous Bodily Harm.

Enquiries are ongoing to trace the second man, a spokesman said.

The second mans registration plate can clearly be seen in a video of the incident and it is understood police are aware of his identity.

Sources said he has close links to a well-known crime clan based in Clondalkin in west Dublin.
Darius Musinskas (54). who lived in Ireland for almost 20 years, was extradited back to his homeland in November

A Lithuanian man has been jailed for his involvement in a human trafficking gang who lured two Lithuanian teenagers with learning difficulties to work as prostitutes in Ireland.

Darius Musinskas (54). who lived in Ireland for almost 20 years, was extradited back to his homeland to face the human trafficking charges in November.

Musinskas, whose family still live in Ireland, was convicted and sentenced to one-and-a-half years behind bars two weeks ago.

He admitted involvement but said he didnt plan to profit from it however a judge rejected that claim.

Authorities found he was part of an organised group with fellow nationals Kestutis Laurynas and Stanislovas Ruskus who recruited two vulnerable 18-year-old twin sisters with learning difficulties to work as prostitutes in Ireland in 2011.

Laurynas, who previously lived in Ireland, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years for human trafficking in 2013 in relation to the case while a criminal case against Ruskus was dropped after he died in Sweden the same year.

The sisters were persuaded by the group to go to Ireland in the spring of 2011 to work as prostitutes.

The court heard one of the young teens had just graduated from school when she was approached. She was given false promises and told she would be well looked after and not have any trouble in Ireland. She told her sister who also said she would go.

The court heard both teens were living in poverty, were naive and immature and were unable to actively resist.

They told their mother they were going to work on a strawberry farm in Ireland.

Musinskas admitted he was contacted by Laurynas who asked him buy plane tickets from Riga in Latvia to Dublin for the teens arrange and accommodation for them in Ireland, buy them clothes and cosmetics and meet with then when they arrived.

Musinskas claimed he wasnt planning to profit from the girls work as prostitutes and wasnt aware of their financial problems and learning difficulties.

"Everyone helps each other, he said. He claimed he only helped at the request of Laurynas because everyone in the Lithuanian community helps each other.

However, evidence gathered by investigators contradicted his denials that he was going to profit from the operation.

The court found that phone evidence showed that Musinskas actively communicated with Laurynas and discussed committing a criminal act, bought the plane tickets and waited for the girls arrival knowing they would work as prostitutes and he had to take care of them and control them.

In one conversation Musinskas was speaking on the phone to Laurynas who told him the girls were escorted and the driver who took them to the airport and was paid 100 litas.

In the recorded conversation Musinskas asked if the teenagers had been examined by a doctor and his accomplice assured him that they were clean.

At another point they discussed whether the girls would obey instructions and Musinskas snapped that they would listen to him.

On April 28, 2011, Lithuanian border guards stopped the vehicle carrying the two victims at the Latvian border on the way to Riga Airport.

The guards became suspicious when the girls couldnt tell them their destination while the driver of the car was also vague with his answers.

The guards then took the girls away from the driver of the car and they were visibly shaking and said they werent going to Ireland voluntarily.

Laurynas was jailed in 2013 and gardai approached Musinskas in Ireland in 2014 and told him a pre-trial investigation was underway against him in Lithuania.

He said he lied to Irish authorities by saying an unknown person had asked him to buy tickets for the teens.

He admitted using his wifes credit card to buy the plane tickets but falsely claimed he felt sorry for the girls and was just helping out in an act of kindness.

He was then summonsed to appear in Lithuanian but said he ignored the summons saying he did so because he had children and family in Ireland.

He subsequently fought extradition but was eventually extradited in November.

He was facing a sentence of between 4 and 12 years for human trafficking but Lithuanian news outlet Lyrtas reported that Siauliai District Court Judge Nerijus Masiulis he would hand down a lower sentence of one-and-a-half years due to a number of factors.

The mitigating circumstance included Musinskas guilty plea, his good work history before and after the crime, a lengthy period of time had passed since he committed the crime and he had not committed any other crimes while living in Ireland since the crime.
Citroens e-C4X is a fully electric version that blurs the segment lines, but it works

We took the e-C4X for a spin in Madrid ahead of its arrival in Ireland

There were more than a few questions about what the new e C4-X actually is when the gathered motor press arrived into Madrid and got a first look.

The thing is, motoring journalists (and motoring engineers/designers, for that matter) like to put cars in boxes. The segments are lettered and, as you would imagine, there are a huge number of them as the lines continue to blur.

Citroens newest baby is the full-electric version of the recently announced C4 X, a longer saloon (ish) car that sits high and long.

The combustion engine version of this car is for sale elsewhere, but Citroen Ireland is one of the 14 regions globally to only take on the electric version of the brand new model. And it is a brave move that we think will benefit the company.

The blurred lines of the segment choice may bother some people, but it doesnt bother me, and it certainly isnt a consideration to the car-buying public.

I think it is a great looking car with a good, sturdy set up and build that sits up off the road a little more than you would expect of a fastback saloon.

The Citroen e-C4 X interior

The preferred view is the rear. Its like they just wanted this new car to stick its bum in the air and have created a deeper, more spacious boot as a result. Its now capable of 510 litres which is pretty good. It is more than the likes of the Arkana, for example, which I think is a good comparison on body shape, even if the powertrain is completely different.

The saloon-style boot door and extra length means the space has grown by 130 litres in the cars hatchback version, which almost justifies the chassis style change alone. And theres a new sloping roofline that makes the whole thing look really well.

The wheel arches have a black plastic cover which (when paired with any paint job other than black) gives an added height and girth that you dont normally see in cars of this shape.

The presentation on Tuesday in the Spanish capital suggested that you get a feel of SUV out of it, even though it sits in a different segment.

OK, so enough about the outside. The interior of the e-C4 X is well laid out and has some nice design features using several different materials. There is a good, chunky multi-function steering wheel that is almost flat bottomed and topped and sits in front of several well-designed screens.

The digital cluster behind the wheel is nicely designed and lit and connects directly to a colourised head-up display that erupts from the dashboard when the car starts.

The 10 touchscreen sits right in the middle of the dashboard and continues to use Citroens infotainment system that we have seen in recent new models and model refreshes. Rather cleverly, they have a half dozen or so built-in tutorials which walk you through the personalisation of the car and several handy tip videos to get new buyers comfortable with the car as quickly as possible.

There is a good wireless smartphone mirroring so you can connect and run Android Auto or Apple CarPlay without any cables and there is a wireless phone charger available which worked really well during my test drive.

Actual knobs and controls are included for climate control too, which is also welcome.

Row two is another positive from me as legroom and headroom is very good. A third adult in the rear is probably going to be an uncomfortable stretch but I will test that out properly when I get a full week in the car as soon as it lands in the country in the coming months.

Powering the e-C4 X is a 50kWh battery and a 100kW (approximately 136hp) electric motor that drives the car from the front wheels. It is a very smooth and comfortable drive, and despite our test drive taking place during rush hour in the Spanish capital, I think this is where the car is built to perform.

When you get out of the city, you find yourself on motorways where the e-C4 X has a little pep in its step to safely overtake when necessary but isnt anything that you would take to a drag race.

The range is supposed to be 360km also but I dont think that is accurate. I look forward to testing it properly over the course of a week of school runs and weekday urban commutes. The motorway just seemed to soak up the range.

There are three different driving modes: Normal, Eco, and Sport but as I say, just leave it in Normal and you will do just fine.

Pricing is yet to be finalised and while Irish buyers will only have the full-EV version to choose from they will have the choice of four specification grades: Feel, Feel Pack, Flair and Flair Pack.

In conclusion: It may have a slight identity crisis, but only among a few small corners of the industry. The most important and relevant segment is the "car buying one and if Citroen get the price right they should do really well with this new EV.
Staff at Pygmalion in the capitals city centre are concerned that homeless figures are at an all-time high and want to do our part to help.

One of Dublins busiest bars is axing its entry fee for the rest of the month and is instead asking customers to donate to homelessness charities.

Staff at Pygmalion in the capitals city centre are concerned that homeless figures are at an all-time high and want to do our part to help.

For the remainder of January (and hopefully longer), the South William Street venues owners are cutting their entry fees and are asking clubgoers to donate as much as they can to the Peter McVerry Trust.

And the waived fee extends to ticketed events, even for well-known international DJs that have been confirmed for the weeks ahead, such as Barista Boy and Luis Angel.

100pc of all donations will go directly to the Peter McVerry Trust and patrons can donate by contactless payments at the door or while booking tickets online.

Its not the first time Pygmalion has launched this initiative, as the bar and club adopted the same approach back in 2020 shortly before the pandemic hit.

The initial idea was warmly received with our customers in 2020 and with homeless figures at an all-time high today, we felt it was time to reintroduce this idea and help to raise funds and awareness once again for our citys homeless crisis, said Pygmalion Group owner, Paul McGlade Jr.

It also gives our patrons the opportunity to help this great charity a little, which generally theres a really warm response to.

I think so many of us in Dublin want to do our part to help but more importantly just desperately want to see this ongoing homeless crisis come to an end in our city.

Speaking in response to the announcement, CEO of Peter McVerry Trust Pat Doyle said: Its fantastic to see initiatives like this in January  typically a quieter month for donations after Christmas.

Were very grateful to the team at Pygmalion for choosing our charity and for highlighting the issue of homelessness to a younger audience. The money raised will enable us to help more people to leave homelessness behind for good.
After they both contracted Covid, the then-prince wrote to her. She responded, and they are now very cordial pen pals

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has revealed she has become pen pals with King Charles.

She says they have shared a number of very cordial letters, including writing to each other when they each had Covid.

She also recalled hearing Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams speak in the 90s and thinking they had a plan for peace, which spurred her into joining Sinn Fein.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Times, Ms McDonald explained why she wants Britain to help pay for Irish reunification.

Ms McDonald revealed that she liked the future King Charles after meeting him in 2018.

I like him very much, and I found him very interesting and very interested, she told The Sunday Times.

After they both contracted Covid in 2020, the then-prince wrote to her. She responded, and they are now very cordial pen pals.

She also wrote to express her sympathies following the deaths of both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

She had apologised for the IRA assassination of Lord Mountbatten the day after Prince Philips funeral.

In the interview, Ms McDonald touched on the issue of who should pay for reunification  a Belfast Telegraph-Kantar poll in May 2021 showed that just 22% of the voters in the Republic would be willing to pay for it through higher taxation.

While she believes it could be funded in part by high taxes, she feels reunification could also be partly funded by Britain.

We need to talk to the British exchequer. I would look for a commitment from them. Not in perpetuity. We dont want to be reliant on others to fund our economy, she said.

We dont need to be. Look at the southern economy  its modern, its dynamic. It can reimagine itself and reshape itself. That can happen in the north as well.

When asked about a time frame for British financial help for a newly-formed united Ireland, she said she wouldnt give a figure but said that pensions needed to be considered

Lets be practical, they will have a pension commitment to people who have pensions. That will have to be met, she said.

She also talked about what moved her to join Sinn Fein.

I found them [Sinn Fein] in the 1990s through a lot of things, and meeting people, and thinking about things, she said.

At one meeting, she heard Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness speak and thought: These guys have a plan for peace, politics, change and unity. They have their act together. Its the moment where Ireland is moving from conflict to peace.

She said the IRA hunger strikes in 1981 had a huge impact on her as an 11-year old and remembered there being upset in the family at the time.

Lastly, she opened up about her relationship with Mr Adams, her predecessor as Sinn Fein leader.

I really like Gerry, were on very good terms, she said.

Certainly it wouldnt be weekly, but I suppose every couple of weeks Id be in touch with him. If I needed to talk to him, I can always lift the phone.

Mary Ms Lou McDonald also denied that her reputation has been damaged following the involvement of former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall in a gangland murder trial.

Dowdall was jailed for four years in October after he pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016.

She added: Anybody who knows me at all would know that my tolerance for anything associated with gangland is zero. Had I known that Jonathan Dowdall would be capable of going on to do the things that we know he did, or the things that he is now alleged to have done, he wouldnt have been anywhere near me.
Former broadcaster George furious at media reaction to his rape comments: I was angry as hell...they compared me to Harvey Weinstein

George Hook was kicked off his radio show after his comments about a rape case in the UK

George Hook has doubled down on his controversial comments about rape saying women who have 25 vodkas should be warned they could be taken advantage of.

The former radio presenter and TV pundit also reveals he was dramatically confronted by his wife and daughters over controversial remarks he made about rape in 2017, which ultimately led to the end of his media career.

In his first TV appearance in more than five years, the former rugby pundit insists that there is a place in broadcasting for the likes of him and Kevin Meyers and Joe Brolly.

And the 81-year-old rages against The Irish Times for equating him to film producer and sexual predator Harvey Weinstein.

George Hook and Martin Beanz Ward talk during Virgin Medias Eating With The Enemy

Hook was initially suspended from his radio show on Newstalk in September 2017 over controversial comments he made then about rape, and was later replaced by Ciara Kelly.

The Cork-born star has not appeared on either radio or television since.

Womens groups at the time were up in arms over his remarks relating to a UK rape case, when he questioned why the woman had gone back to the hotel room of a man she had just met, asking: Is there no blame now to the person who puts themselves in danger?.

In a TV debate about cancel culture with Tuam comedian Martin Beanz Ward, Hook brings up his sacking and how he was tempted to sue for libel.

Like, The Irish Times famously compared me to Harvey Weinstein, he says.

I had, and it cost me my job, certain views that when we send our girls out we have a responsibility to tell them that if they have 10 vodkas they are not in a good position to defend themselves against predatory men, and I was viewed as I was sort of supporting rape culture, rape.

He admits he was furious at the media backlash.

The point Im trying to make is was I offended?. Of course I was offended, of course I was offended. Did I do anything about it, which I probably could have done, no.

He says he was furious about the way he was portrayed in the media following his comments.

I was angry as hell. The thing is, I think there is a place for George Hook, there is a place for Kevin Meyers, there is a place for you (Ward), he notes.

Hook points out there are ways to fight back, but says his wife and children persuaded him not to go down the legal route.

There is. Its called the law of libel. When The Irish Times compared me to Harvey Weinstein, I had the right to take an action, he says.

It is now incumbent on the newspaper, the radio, or the television to give the alternative view.

Martin Beanz Ward

Hook admits that he toyed with the idea of suing The Irish Times, but was persuaded not to by his family.

Im taken out by wife and my two daughters and they said Pop, if you think for one minute you are dragging the entire family through all this horse manure again just for you to try and get some kind of release, its not going to happen, Pop.

On Virgin Medias Eating With The Enemy programme, Hook still appears to be sticking by his guns that women need to take more responsibility and urges them not to get drunk on nights out on the town.

There have been some famous rape cases in the last number of years, in which there have been girls who literally did not know where they were. Were they taken advantage of? Absolutely.

"Should those guys have gone to jail? Absolutely. All those things are a given, he reflects.

Now, do you tell your daughter as she goes out, sweetheart dont have 25 vodkas, its not a smart idea.

At the beginning of the show, which centres on two diners with conflicting opinions, Hook describes himself as very poor in Cork and now living happily here with a tonne of money in Dublin.

He adds: My mother thought I was born in a stable in Bethlehem, she did not train me for marriage. I am undisputedly a s..h..one..t.

George Hook was kicked off his radio show after his comments about a rape case in the UK

There are no opinions anymore. If everybody who writes and talks is afraid to say what they truly believe, then we are in a bad way. Nobody is going to change my mind on it.

He tells Ward that people can be too cautious about offending others.

Theres two great words that immediately shut down all discussion. One word starts with R. If you say thats racist, and now youve no comeback, he insists.

And the second one deployed brilliantly by Fianna Fail politicians I find, is thats Trumpism. If youre accused of Trumpism, theres no way back.

I didnt do anything. I just became a retired broadcaster. This isnt about George Hook, Joe Brolly, Kevin Meyers, the list goes on.

Ward (37), who has no children, brings up the topic of feminism.

All the women in my life, family, dating, marriage, have all been incredibly strong women, Hook points out.

Im a huge fan of women. If I had this affliction while I was a child of wearing womens underwear, I may be a feminist. I think the interesting thing about that, in todays world, if they had discovered that 70-year-old George was wearing womens knickers I would then get injected with some sort of stuff to help me transition to transgender. It is true. Do you think thats not happening?

When Ward argues that Hook is conflating transgenderism and crossdressing and theyre two different things, Hook insists theyre not.

The topic of abortion is also addressed.

This foetus is our child as well as the womans child, maintains Hook.

While he confirms that women have a right to choose, he discloses he is fundamentally opposed to abortion.

I have a religious objection to abortion. In the referendum I voted against abortion, but what I believe in, absolutely, equally, passionately is the right of the Irish people and they have and are happy with it, he adds.

I voted against abortion, but I voted for gay marriage.

As a former businessman the former rugby analyst says he became suicidal when his company went down the tubes.

My biggest regret is pretty simple, and its why Im so passionate about career guidance, he remarks.

 My biggest regret is to go into a business because I wanted to show people how good I was, whereas out of two million people you couldnt pick a worse businessman than me.

I wasted 25 years in my life in business. It drove me to Dun Laoghaire pier, to take my clothes and plan on diving in and ending it all. The trauma of the 25 years, damage to marriage, family, relationships with friends, my own self esteem20 years of so-called success doesnt fix that.

Hook then becomes emotional when talking about his late mother.

Theres two things in my life I carry in my head, he says. Every day of my life I think about the wasted 25 years, and I think of my mother, who adored me as an only child, she loved me, she got me to school and all that sort of thing.

Then I treated her like crap. She was old, and then she was dying. That was all happening at a time when I was avoiding the cops and the creditors and the Revenue Commissioners and everybody and I didnt give my mother the time.

Here was this woman who has done everything, everything, and Im not there.

Its why I believe in Heaven, because Im going to get there, and she is going to be there. Peter is going to say at the gate, George your mother is over there. And Im going to go over and Howya Mam, Im really sorry. I came good in the end, fulfilled your beliefs. I mean that, there isnt a trace of pretence about that. I believe that, every day of my life.
One year on, and Save the Children says that children are still displaced, afraid and have faced significant disruptions to their education, following a volcanic eruption in Tongan in 2022.

The eruption and subsequent tsunami damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and schools across Tonga, says Save the Children.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano violently erupted on January 15 2022, blanketing much of Tonga in ash and triggering a tsunami that reached a height of up to 15 metres.

More than 80,000 people were affected by the disaster, including at least 28,000 children.

As children head into the new school year, and with many schools still badly damaged, some have had to relocate just to access education while hundreds more are in temporary housing after being relocated from the worst-impacted areas.

These Tongan children and teachers received a special delivery of childrens learning resources after the tsunami struck their small island home earlier this year. Photo: Supplied.

Children continue to show signs of distress, with some children experiencing nightmares and struggling to sleep at night.

The disaster, which caused an estimated NZD$285 million (US$182 million) in damages - approximately 36.4 per cent of Tongas GDP - occurred while the country was still recovering from the impacts of 2020s Tropical Cyclone Harold and the economic losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lose, 10, who lived in a small coastal village in Tonga says her family fled for their lives when the volcano erupted.

"I was at home together with my grandparents. The first rumble of the eruption, I thought it was just workers in the area. The second rumble we quickly got in our van and fled," says Lose.

"We did not take anything with us. We did not take any food or any other necessities.

"We drove and saw families standing by the side of the road, so we stopped and gave them a ride. We dropped them off far from where they were, safe from the volcanos reach."

Loses home was inundated by the subsequent tsunami, with the family losing most of their possessions. The familys field remains covered in debris, including fallen coconut trees and electric wires, rendering farming, and therefore the family livelihood, impossible.

Her grandfather, Sunia, 72, says not a single house in their village was spared by the tsunami.

"If a house was left still standing, there was a great amount of sea water and ash inside that particular house, [and] that left us with nothing of importance or usefulness.

"But when you came and distributed the resources, that was a huge blessing to us parents and also the children. Some children might not have had any school materials or even a backpack," he says of Save the Childrens support.

These Tongan children and teachers received a special delivery of childrens learning resources after the tsunami struck their small island home earlier this year. Photo: Supplied.

Maaimoa Mafileo, Tonga Country Lead for Save the Children, says Tongan children have endured multiple disasters in recent years.

"Its been one year since the volcanic eruption occurred, and children are still having nightmares and are struggling to sleep at night," says Maaimoa.

"For anyone, let alone a child, the experience of losing your home, your belongings and fearing for your life can have significant negative impacts on your wellbeing and mental health, well into the future.

"For children, going to school and being surrounded by friends can help them cope with the impacts of experiencing a disaster, but the first cases of Covid-19 arrived just weeks after the tsunami hit and so children were forced to stay at home instead, prolonging their recovery,' says Maaimoa.

"Children are also living with the fear of another disaster occurring, and unfortunately, in November 2022, this fear was realised when there was another earthquake followed by a tsunami warning, forcing thousands of families to flee their homes in the middle of the night once again."

Textbooks and Teachers Guide were delivered to GMS Ohonua and GMS Angaha Form 2 classes, the only 2 government middle schools in Eua. Photo: Supplied.

Maaimoa says Tongans are resilient but these kinds of traumatic events can seriously impact a childs wellbeing and mental health.

"So we need to make sure that recovery efforts are long-term, community led and put children at their centre."

In partnership with the Tongan Ministry of Education and Training, and the Australian High Commission in Tonga, Save the Children dispatched and distributed classroom kits, toys, chalkboards, face masks, hand sanitiser and school bags to disaster-impacted schools in Tonga.

In November 2022, Save the Children and Tongas Ministry of Education and Training partnered to launch the AHP Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai and COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Activation program, which will train representatives at all schools in Tonga to better prepare for risks and emergencies, establish a Safe Schools Committee to coordinate resilience and disaster risk reduction activities and drills, and improve policy planning and guidance.
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the overseas Vietnamese community on Saturday night that he appreciated the contributions they have made to their homeland and to the success of Vietnam's foreign relations.

Speaking at Xuan Que Huong (Homeland Spring), an annual New Year event for overseas Vietnamese, Phuc said that 2022 was a year in which the overseas community helped Vietnamese people unite, share resources, overcome difficulties and achieve great socio-economic achievements.

"The overseas Vietnamese community has helped expand trade and investment cooperation, contributing dozens of billions of dong (VND1 billion = $42,660) to support the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and help Vietnam overcome the damage of natural disasters, storms and floods," he said. "The overseas Vietnamese community is also an important catalyst contributing to the success of [Vietnams] foreign relations."

According to the Vietnamese president, through cultural and religious exchange activities, the overseas Vietnamese community has helped preserve the identity and promote the image and cultural values of Vietnam abroad. He said the formation of a network of ambassadors of friendship to the world was part of the great efforts made by Vietnamese across the globe.

President Phuc said that as of October 2022, Vietnam was home to 385 FDI projects launched by Vietnamese from 29 countries and territories around the world, with a total registered capital of more than $1.7 billion.

Foreign remittances sent to Vietnam accounted for about 7% of the countrys GDP last year, he added.

The president said that more than half a million overseas Vietnamese intellectuals were an important source of scientific and creative brainpower. He said they had helped build a startup ecosystem, improve the quality of human resources, develop domestic technology, and had contributed to the development of the country in general. He said it was with the support of this community that Vietnam would realize its target of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045.

Speaking at the opening of the 2023 Homeland Spring event, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son also said that some of Vietnam's most important achievements were supported by overseas Vietnamese.

"Our overseas compatriots are supportive of others and willing to help shoulder the country's responsibilities," Son said.

President Phuc then used the occasion to wish all Vietnamese living far from home, as well as overseas Vietnamese who have returned to their homeland, good health and prosperity in the new year.

Homeland Spring strives to honor the community of about 5.3 million Vietnamese living, studying and working abroad. At the same time, it is also an opportunity for Vietnamese leaders to listen to the thoughts and aspirations of overseas Vietnamese around the world, as well as a platform to honor groups and individuals who have made great contributions to the country.
Slingshot customers in Tauranga are reporting they are experiencing an internet outage.

"Our internet has been out for three hours," says a SunLive reader.

"Something has happened. [I] rang the internet provider - Slingshot - they said that there is an outage.

"I think businesses are affected, my friends are saying they have no Eft-pos at work."

Slingshot say there is "an outage right across Tauranga at the moment".

"It's affecting our copper line and fibre lines," says a Slngshot spokesperson.

"We don't have an update yet on when it will be restored."

A Sunlive reader in Whitianga reported at 5.25pm that there was also an internet outage there during the afternoon.

"We are with Sky Broadband and been witthout internet for over three hours as well.

Called Sky they were contacting Chorus but have not heard back ETA yet."

Another SunLive reader, who lives in Waihi is also experiencing a Slingshot internet outage.

"My internet suddenly turned off at approx 1pm today and isn't on yet. When you call the line it does say there are outages in this area. As well as Tauranga it seems.

A SunLive reader in Whakamarama also reported on Sunday evening their internet services were down.

"No fibre internet in Armstrong Road, Whakamarama."

Are you experiencing an internet outage?

Email us on newsroom@thesun.co.nz or phone 0800SUNLIVE.
A series of tropical lows are continuing to form north of New Zealand.

WeatherWatch says more rain is likely in a couple regions this week as the first low swipes the north eastern corner of the North Island.

"Rain and some wind will likely impact East Cape, Gisborne, Northern Hawke's Bay and perhaps Bay of Plenty mid to late this week - and behind it more lows are likely to form around the Coral Sea and Vanuatu," says a spokesperson for the weather organisation.

"It's a messy set up but another tropical cyclone, or two, are possible in the coming week or so north of New Zealand, offshore for now.

"Highest risk areas for a cyclone to form would be the central/eastern Coral Sea and around New Caledonia and southern half of Vanuatu."

WeatherWatch says New Zealand is more protected than it was earlier this month, thanks to an uptick in high pressure in our part of the world.

It says the highs - like the one tracking over NZ this weekend - are centred further south which leaves northern NZ more vulnerable to easterlies and lows from the tropics (or sub-tropics) as they track by.

It also explains why many in the South Island are asking if a drought is forming with such dry weather continuing on (also some wet weather is coming later this week for a few South Island regions), says the weather organisation.

"Mid this week Low 1 will be near East Cape while Low 2 will be up near New Caledonia/Vanuatu. Low 2 may form into a Tropical Cyclone. The Fiji Metservice agrees with a "moderate" risk of tropical cyclone formation this coming week for Low 2.

"By this Saturday Low 1 will have gone from New Zealand, but Low 2 (possibly an ex-tropical cyclone at this point) will now be near East Cape. It may well remain out at sea and not impact holiday plans - but is one to watch as it may also churn up some eastern beaches.

"Also a new low - which we call Low 3 - forms again in the Coral Sea. This means the Saturday weather map for next weekend look remarkably similar to the weather map for this coming Wednesday."

But there is plenty of high pressure also coming out from south of Australia in the southern NZ area for now, also tracking from west to east - which is why these tropical lows aren't all making it down the country.

WeatherWatch says the incoming high pressure means more dry, settled, summer weather is on the way. Most regions lean drier than average for the next week ahead (East Cape the exception).

"A weak cold front at the end of this coming week will bring some rain and showers into the West Coast and patchy falls across Southland.

"This will see temperatures fall next weekend. Dunedin's highs will only be around 15 to 17 degrees next Saturday and Sunday while inland places like Gore will go from highs near 30 degrees on Thursday to late teen highs by Friday/Saturday.

"However, it's worth noting this cooler change late week in the south is ahead of yet another block of high pressure moving in.

"So, high pressure is so far keeping many of these tropical lows offshore (other than ex-TC Hale last week)."

IN A NUTSHELL:

The low coming in this week (Low 1) brings some likely rain to East Cape and surrounding regions. Low 2 may miss NZ as an ex-tropical Cyclone (but one to watch as too early to lock in). Low 3, forming in the Coral Sea later this coming week, is worth monitoring too as it also tracks South-East towards New Caledonia, Vanuatu and maybe to the north of New Zealand in over a week.

How this Thursday is likely shaping up, as LOW 1 falls apart near the eastern side of the North Island and LOW 2 up in the Tropics may be another Tropical Cyclone to monitor offshore.
Elko County Board of Fire Commissioners will meet at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, in the Nannini Administration Building. The board will consider approving a collective bargaining agreement with the International Association of Firefighters.

Elko County Board of Commissioners will meet at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, in the Nannini Administration Building. The board will consider an agreement with the Elko Lions Club to provide a grant for the rebuilding and development of the Lions Camp in Lamoille Canyon. Also on the agenda are ordinance changes that would remove the 25-year limit on collection of court facility assessments, and repeal animal control districts.

Elko County Board of Health will meet at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, in the Nannini Administration Building. The board will consider a request to place a moratorium on COVID-19 and flu vaccines in Elko County and discontinuing local advertising for them pending the results of the Florida Supreme Court case to investigate the wrong doing related to COVID-19 vaccines.

Elko County Planning Commission will meet at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, in the Nannini Administration Building. The board is scheduled to appoint chairman and vice chairman, but there are no other action items on the agenda.
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Re: The "New Luxury Car" Price Check Thread | Track Discounts, Offers & Deals on Audi, BMW, Mercedes Quote: Cartoon Originally Posted by I did some investigation on fuel certification of Audi engines. The showroom folks havent been able to provide any technical documentation on the ability of the engine to handle ethanol blends (so forget E20, there is no proof that it can handle E10 fuel either). I have been googling to find out some proof that BMWs are E25 compliant (couldnt find that either).



This nice chart, I came across in the wiki shows it's not as much as the engine, but other parts, a significant set of them that are impacted. And if they go south in any of the European steeds, am pretty sure it will cost a pretty penny to get them fixed. Now the only one from that list that seems to be safe from this mess are the BMWs as they officially support up to E25 blends. I know the Camry has E85 capable units running in Thailand. Baring that I am unaware of any gasoline powered car in the value luxury or premium segment in India that either supports the E20 blending already or has proven capability to do so with units running elsewhere in the world. I had been doing some similar research as I have been going back and forth on my decision. I am cross posting what I already posted in the Ethanol blending thread.This nice chart, I came across in the wiki shows it's not as much as the engine, but other parts, a significant set of them that are impacted. And if they go south in any of the European steeds, am pretty sure it will cost a pretty penny to get them fixed. Now the only one from that list that seems to be safe from this mess are the BMWs as they officially support up to E25 blends. I know the Camry has E85 capable units running in Thailand. Baring that I am unaware of any gasoline powered car in the value luxury or premium segment in India that either supports the E20 blending already or has proven capability to do so with units running elsewhere in the world. Last edited by SR-71 : 24th December 2022 at 13:51 .
To show the progress in the implementation of the Medium and Long Term Youth Development Plan (2016-2025) (hereinafter referred to as the Plan) and according to the statistical monitoring outline of the Plan, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and the National Bureau of Statistics collected data in 2020 by coordinating relevant ministries and government departments and made comprehensive analysis on the changes of youth development in various areas by combining some historical figures.

The result shows that some indicators have reached the standard ahead of schedule along with the continuous and in-depth implementation of the Plan and the display of the effects.

1. Overview of Youth Population

According to the seventh national census in 2020, China's population of youth aged 14-35 was about 400 million, making up 28.4 percent of the total population. Combined with historical data, the youth population has seen a gradual decrease since 2000, when it peaked at 490 million. The figure fell by about 90 million in the two decades to 2020.

Figure 1 Changes of proportions of youth population in the world and some countries

From a worldwide perspective, the proportion of young people in the world population and in some countries[1]has been declining since 1990. Among them, the decline in China, ROK and Japan is faster, and it is slower in the United Kingdom where the proportion is lower. The decline in the United States of America slowed down after 2000. It was after 2010 that India experienced a slow drop.

2. Implementation of the Plan in Various Areas

1) Ideology and Moral Integrity

Education has been carried out on Xi Jinping Thought onSocialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, on ideals and convictions, and on core socialist values. Young people received ideological baptism from the study of the history of the Communist Party of China. They stand firm in their conviction of Marxism and socialism in historical references and in the national reality.

Courses of ideology and politics have been given more emphasis. From 2016 to 2020, ideological and political education in higher education institutions has been part of a credit-bearing course. For these compulsory courses, 16 credits are required for undergraduates, 8 for junior college students, 3 for postgraduate students, and 2 credits for doctoral students. In vocational schools 36 hours of these courses are maintained in each semester. While in high schools, 6 credits were readjusted for compulsory courses on ideology and politics and 0-4 credits were added as selective courses in 2020.

2) Education

Education coverage continues to expand. Since 2016, there has been a continuous rise in the completion rate of compulsory education, the gross enrollment rate of high school education, and the gross enrollment rate of higher education, reaching 95.2 percent, 91.2 percent, and 54.4 percent, respectively, in 2020. Among them, the gross enrollment rate of higher education achieved ahead of time in 2019 the goal of more than 50 percent set in the Plan.

Figure 2 China's education coverage in various stages in 2016-2020

The average years of education for newly increased labor force have grown steadily. Between 2016 and 2020, the number of years rose from 13.4 to 13.8 on average, achieving ahead of time the development goal of "more than 13.5 years" set in the Plan.

Figure 3 The average years of education for China's newly increased labor force from 2016 to 2020

Education equity has been promoted steadily. During the 13th Five-Year-Plan period (2016-2020), the ratio of fiscal expenditure on education in GDP remained above 4 percent, and a financial aid system covering students in all levels of education has been established. In 2020, 85.8 percent of children of migrant workers studied in public schools or benefited from government purchase of private school service.

3) Health

The physical health of young students continues to improve. More students have met the standard of good physical health. The ratio of students aged 13-22 achieving "excellent physical health" level rose to 17.7 percent in 2019 from 14.4 percent in 2014. There has been a continuous improvement in student morphological development indicators. Compared to 2014, there was a significant increase in height, weight, and chest measurement for boys and girls aged 13-22 in 2019.

More attention has been paid to youth mental health. Political, legal, educational and health departments and the CYL organs have been facilitating the improvement of adolescent mental health service system. In 2020, more than 400,000 calls concerning adolescent mental health and legal counseling and more than 3,100 individual cases were dealt with by 12355 Youth Hotline Service run by the CYL Central Committee main station and its six regional centers.

4) Marriage

The number of marriage registration for young people of right age[2]continues to decline. From 2016 to 2020, the number fell from 17.51 million to 12.23 million.

There is a growing trend of late marriage for young people of the right age. The average age of first marriage rose from 26.1 years old in 2016 to 26.8 years old in 2020. Among young people aged 20-35 who have registered to get married, a considerable shift is seen in the proportion of the age group 20-24 and that of the age group 30-35, with the former decreasing from 36.5 percent in 2016 to 29.0 percent in 2020, while the latter increased from 17.0 percent to 26.1 percent.

Figure 4 Proportions of young people of right age in different age groups in marriage registration

5) Employment and Entrepreneurship

The situation of youth employment fluctuates. In 2020, youth employment was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the downward pressure of the world economy. A total of 750 million people were employed among which young people aged 16-34 accounted for 31.6 percent, down 2 percentage points from the previous year. The monthly urban unemployment rate for young people aged 16-24 was higher than the same period of the previous year, reaching a peak of 16.8 percent in July and August. A total of 11.86 million new urban jobs were created, 1.66 million fewer than the previous year. In 2020, 8.74 million students graduated from colleges and universities and 4.82 million graduated from secondary vocational schools, showing that young people still make up the majority of new employees.

Figure 5 The monthly urban unemployment rate for young people aged 16-24 in 2020

There are more diversified employment channels for youth. With rapid growth of new business forms such as e-commerce and shared economy driven by fast development of internet, new career choices have been emerging. In 2020, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security added 25 new occupations in two batches. Young people have become the main force of employment in new occupations, and can get a job in a broader way. For young people, part-time jobs and job-hopping have become normal.

6) Culture

Young cultural talents enjoy a better growth environment. In 2020, artistic talents and managing personnel have attended online and offline training for more than 9,200 times. Among them, young people made up 37.9 percent, an increase of 11.5 percentage points over the previous year. From 2019 to 2020, China National Arts Fund has sponsored 560 young artists, with total funding of 87.15 million yuan.

The number of books that each young person reads rose in 2020. Young readers on average read 6.9 paper books and 4.3 e-books in 2020. Both figures are higher than the previous year. Paper books, being read by 68.4 percent of young people, remain the main medium for reading and learning by the younger generation.

Figure 6 The number of books that each young person read every year from 2016 to 2020

Internet penetration continues to be strong among young people. In 2020, there were 989 million netizens in China. Young people were the main consumers of cyberculture, such as online literature, music, videos, games, and learning.

7) Social Integration and Participation

Young people are more willing to take part in volunteer service. By the end of 2020, 54.06 million young volunteers have registered on the "China Volunteer" platform, 4.58 million more than the previous year. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, more young people have been devoted to volunteer service, with over 1.37 million young volunteers participating in joint prevention and control efforts in various localities.

Youth international exchange has been affected greatly by the pandemic. In 2020, a total of 14.6 million overseas trips were made by young people in Chinese mainland, down about 79.8 percent from the previous year.

8) Safeguarding the Lawful Rights and Interests of Adolescents

Legal protection of minors continues to be improved. In 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress revised the Law on the Protection of Minors, in which contents of protection by family, school and the society were enriched and new chapters on protection by the cyberspace and the government were added. The Law on Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency was revised, after which a system of differentiated treatment of juvenile deviant behaviors based on seriousness was established. The Amendment (XI) to the Criminal Law was deliberated and passed, so as to crack down on sexual assault against minors. Opinions on a Mandatory Reporting System for Cases of Infringement on Minors were jointly formulated by the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the CYL Central Committee. Thus, a judicial social support system for minors is established.

Rule of law and rights service have been more widely accessible. The lawful rights of minor victims are fully protected in judicial proceedings, and a "one-stop" inquiry and assistance mechanism is in operation for obtaining evidence, psychological guidance, judicial assistance, etc. By the end of 2020, there were more than 1,029 case processing zones for "one-stop" inquiry and assistance, and minors across the country have received more than 120,000 times of legal aid.

More qualified and caring staff have been involved in the protection of minors and their level of care service has been improving. By the end of 2020, nationwide there were a total of 29,000 community service centers for children, 249,000 community service stations, 360,000 parent schools in urban and rural communities, and more than 320,000 children's homes, places for children's activities in urban and rural communities. At county level, there were 55,000 children's supervisors and at village level, there were 667,000 directors of children.

9) Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency has been effectively curbed. Compared with 2019, the number of juvenile offenders was significantly reduced in 2020 by more than 10 percent. Of the total, the proportions of juvenile offenders and minor offenders declined.

10) Social Security

More young people with disabilities receive education. The number of disabled college students rose from 23,615 in 2016 to 49,565 in 2020. In secondary vocational schools (technical schools not included), the number increased from 18,407 in 2016 to 26,597 in 2020. For youth with disabilities, their employment status has been improving.

Housing problems faced by young people are being tackled. The country is accelerating the establishment of a housing system featuring multiple suppliers and various channels of support that encourages both housing rentals and purchases. The goal is to develop a well-regulated market for long-term house rental by increasing the supply of affordable rental housing. By the end of 2020, 180,000 young medical doctors and 380,000 young teachers became beneficiaries of the public rental housing.

[1]China's data is from national censuses, and the first census after the reform and opening-up was conducted in 1982. The data for other countries is from United Nations World Population Prospects Report 2019.

[2]Young people of right age refer to the youth population aged 35 and under and having reached the legal age of marriage.
Some affected Amazon employees in India reportedly broke down and were left crying in the workplace when they found out they had to go after the company revealed plans to lay off 17,000+ workers worldwide, including almost 1,000 in the said country.

Sad News

An Amazon India staff reported terrible images at workplaces, including individuals crying following the notification of layoffs, News18 reports.

The photos were posted on Grapevine, a community app for Indian professionals. The caption said that 75% of the staff had to leave the company.

"Although I'm in the remaining [25%], I don't feel motivated to work anymore. They are firing people in cabins. People are crying in the office," said the post.

Unfortunately, media outlet Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) was not able to confirm with any degree of certainty which Grapevine user was laid off during Amazon's last round of layoffs.

The user's screenshot was also shared on Corporate Chat India's Twitter.

Atmosphere at Amazon India as layoffs take place:



You can hear people breaking down and crying in the office



"75% of my team is gone, I'm still employeed but don't feel like working anymore



Link to post on Grapevine: https://t.co/Af6tAtOgLw pic.twitter.com/qqGpKYV2sd  Corporate Chat India (@anonCorpChatInd) January 13, 2023

Also Read: Amazon's Shutting of Three UK Facilities Threatens 1,200 Jobs

Layoff Plans in India

New hires and veterans were affected by layoffs at Amazon India's operations in Bengaluru, Gurugram, and others.

The majority of the company's shutdowns have involved startups.

Amazon was served with a notice last week by the Labour Commission Office in Pune for their huge layoffs and voluntary separation policies.

The letter to the IT workers' union requested a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17, to address the company's reported layoffs in India.

"Livelihood of 1000s of employees and their families has now been made vulnerable. As per procedures laid down under the Industrial Dispute Act, the employer cannot, without prior permission from the appropriate government, layoff an employee featuring on the muster rolls of the establishment," said Harpreet Singh Saluja, President of the employees' union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES).

Prior to this, Amazon extended its voluntary departure policy to its staff in November of last year.

In the same month that Amazon India was accused of forcing out employees, the Union Labour Ministry issued a demand to the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner in Bengaluru.

It reads as follows: "You [Amazon] are therefore requested to attend this office with all relevant records in the matter either personally or through an authorized representative on the aforesaid date and time without fail."

According to NITES, Amazon has been accused of breaking labor regulations, prompting the organization to submit a complaint.

NITES wrote to Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav claiming that employees at Amazon were forcibly terminated.

Amazon's Latest Move

Earlier this month, Amazon stated its plans to lay off about 17,000 people. Numerous teams would be affected, primarily Amazon Stores, along with People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) groups.

As per Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's comments, the company is still in the midst of its yearly planning process, and he anticipates further layoffs in the first quarter of 2023.

Also Read: Amazon Loses Unionization Vote at Staten Island Facility

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Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), WTO and other international organisations in Geneva (Photo: VNA)

The diplomat said that the event will also offer a chance for Vietnam to call for investment and resources from international organisations, economic groups and investment funds in the world and Switzerland in particular.

Ambassador Mai highlighted that amid numerous crises and challenges in the world political and economic situation, Vietnam has emerged and been recognised by the world as a bright spot in the region and the world, not only for its strong commitment and consistent implementation of green transition, energy transformation, digital transformation for post-pandemic recovery, and sustainable development, but it also for the countrys impressive performance.

The countrys GDP expanded 8.02% in 2022, the highest in the past 12 years, with the scale of the economy exceeding 400 billion USD for the first time, ranking 30th globally.

Vietnam stood at the 23rd position in the world in terms of the trade scale and has become the largest ASEAN trade partner of three economic centres, namely the US, China, and the EU.

Vietnamese economic growth in 2023 is forecast to reach 6.3%, leading Southeast Asian nations, she noted.

According to Ambassador Mai, the WEF 2023, slated for January 16-20 in Davos, Switzerland, is taking place when the world is facing plenty of challenges, such as a cost-of-living crisis, economic recession, economic decline, climate crisis, disruption caused by climate change, a food crisis, and increasing social polarisation. Along with these issues, many problems are deepening divisions and dividing the geopolitical landscape.

The goal of the meeting, in the words of Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, is to discuss ways to address fragmentation and increasing trust erosion at both global and national levels through increasing ties between governments and businesses, thereby enabling a strong and sustainable recovery.

This year's meeting agenda focuses on solutions and public-private partnerships which can deal with the world's most pressing challenges, whilst encouraging world leaders to work together on issues relating to energy, climate and nature, investment, trade, infrastructure, advanced technology, employment, skills, as well as social and health issues, along with geopolitical cooperation in a multipolar world.

Ambassador Mai said that Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha will attend the event from January 16-17, which will be the first trip abroad by Ha since he took office.

Ha will give speeches at discussions on food and water security, and this represents a good stepping stone to draw the attention of the international community on food security before the country hosts the fourth Global Conference on Sustainable Food System in April.

In addition, the Deputy PM will co-chair a Vietnam-WEF global business forum which will focus on green and creative transformation.

During his stay, Ha will hold a number of bilateral meetings, including those with Prof. Schwab; Achim Steiner, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP); and Axel van Trotsenburg, Managing Director of Operations of the World Bank (WB).

Ambassador Mai said that since Vietnam and the WEF set up their relations in 1989, leaders of the two sides have paid great attention to bolstering the ties across all fields.

Vietnam has attended the WEF at a high level, including the Prime Minister level at four WEF Annual Meetings in Davos, the same level at four WEFs on ASEAN, she said, adding that the country hosted the WEF ASEAN Summit in 2018, the first WEF-Mekong Conference in 2016, and the WEF East Asia Conference in 2010.

In line with the COVID-19 pandemic containment efforts, the two sides held the first National Strategic Dialogue in 2021 with the aim of strengthening the public-private partnership as a key driver in the comprehensive recovery and sustainable and inclusive development plan.

The two sides are also working for the signing of a Vietnam-WEF cooperation agreement in the new period, creating a framework for deeper and more extensive partnership.

The Vietnamese side always highly values the WEF's recommendations and cooperation with Vietnamese Government agencies in the fields of sustainable development, digital transformation, and innovation, she said, underlining that the country hopes that the WEF will continue to assist Vietnam by offering access to advanced knowledge and resources in order to serve the sustainable development goals and make effective use of new growth drivers.

Deputy PM Ha's participation at the WEF 2023 manifests the efforts of Vietnam - a dynamically developing country, a reliable friend and partner, and a responsible member of the international community which is ready to engage itself in the settlement of global challenges, Ambassador Mai stated./.
Listen to the rest of Charlotte Perriand's story told by Virginie Girod. A free woman, a pioneer of modernity, she is one of the leading personalities of the design world of the twentieth century who helped define a new art of living. Free traveler, avant-garde, Charlotte Perriand has throughout her life nourished by her explorations, particularly Asian ones, to transcribe them in her works. In the 1920s, Charlotte Perriand joined the agency of the famous architect Le Corbusier. She quickly understood that the art world was ruthless with women. Often demoted to the rank of collaborator, Perriand decided to emancipate herself from her mentor. After the Second World War, France experienced a massive episode of rural exodus. For a city like Marseille, the lack of housing is felt. It was at this time that Le Corbusier recalled the designer for a major architectural project: the Cite radieuse, a housing unit considered the ancestor of the HLM. Virginie Girod continues her story in the footsteps of this great designer. Find Virginie Girod in Madame Figaro on newsstands on April 14 with an unpublished portrait. https://madame.lefigaro.fr "Au Cur de l'Histoire" is a Europe 1 Studio podcast.
Ingrid Christensen, Director of ILO Country Office for Vietnam (Source: ILO)

In an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the new year, Ingrid Christensen, Director of ILO Country Office for Vietnam, remarked that the Vietnamese Government has made significant efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic within its national resources and context.

In parallel with the prevention and control of COVID-19, we are aware that in consultation with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), and the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA), the Government has extended various relief packages through different policies including on tax, capital, credit, and social security to retain jobs and to support businesses and workers, Christensen said.

She appreciated the support of the Vietnamese Government through the relief packages, citing for example adjustments in tax regimes for businesses, which has enabled enterprises to continue operations and retain workers in the difficult time. The Governments support package gave businesses access to loans to pay salaries to employees, and provided deferral in paying social insurance, unemployment insurance, and trade union premiums.

According to the Ministry of Labour  Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnams labour market has leaped in both size and quality, gradually modernized and integrated into the world. Specifically, the size of the workforce is increasing and the supply is guaranteed with over 51.6 million people. The quality of workers is improving with the rate of trained workers rising year by year.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed shortcomings such as the pressure of job creation for nearly 2 million workers who were forced to leave the labour market, and the shortage of labour in some fields. This situation requires the labour market to shore up its ability to cope with internal and external influences in order to develop sustainably.

The director of the ILO Country Office for Vietnam said due to the efforts to protect the population throughout the COVID-19 period, Vietnam has appeared to be recovering well. But with new potential crises on the horizon, economic and labour market challenges could still confront the country and these would require attention.

According to Christensen, to realize the goals of becoming a high-middle-income country by 2030 and a developed, high-income country by 2045, Vietnam may need to accelerate social upgrading, together with economic upgrading.

Strengthening the macroeconomic foundation and maintaining adequate and regular investment in social protection is one of the key factors for Vietnam to pass through the challenges and sustain its inclusive and sustainable development, she said.

About vocational training for rural workers in localities of Vietnam with the goal of helping them get new jobs and better income, Christensen cited statistics of the General Directorate of Vocational Training (DVET) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, which show 4.57 million rural workers were supported in vocational training, of whom nearly 4 million, or 89.3%, had jobs after vocational training, during the 2016-2020 period.

She said the above information has provided a promising scenario for further investment in DVET for rural workers. Furthermore, upgrading workers skills should be a core element of enterprises long-term development strategy. Workers should also pursue lifelong learning principles to gain more knowledge, improve skills and enrich his/her work experience.

In the coming years, ILO is committed to continuing working with DVET to support this important skills development and capacity building for rural workers through our development cooperation projects, she said./.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, on a tour of the South Pacific, stops to chat with a U.S. Marine patient in a navel hospital, in this Sept. 23, 1943, file photo. During World War II, Eleanor seemed to be everywhere and into everything. She toured American airfields in Britain, visited the wounded on Guadalcanal, and coaxed the Navy into allowing blacks to serve as sailors on warships instead of just as servants in the wardrooms. (AP File photo)
The acting chief executive of the City of Greater Geelong is taking his own council to court after it rejected his plans for a contentious property development that has infuriated nearby residents.

Guy Wilson-Browne held the senior role of city services director for five years. Credit: Twitter

Guy Wilson-Browne is seeking to implement a two-lot subdivision on land he owns in the Geelong suburb of St Albans Park and has taken the development application to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The tribunal is scheduled to hear the case in June.

Council officers recommended the permit be approved, but councillors unanimously refused the proposal in October last year because of concerns about a perceived conflict of interest.

Wilson-Browne was director of city services at the time, a position he held since 2017.
The first inkling Exmouth Tackle and Camping owner Steve Riley had that Aprils total solar eclipse would be a big deal for his little WA tourist town of 2700 people came about three years ago.

One of the guys who owns a caravan park in town had a phone call from a chick in America who said, I want to hire out your whole caravan park for a week, whats your number? Gimme a price, he said.

As the eclipses path of totality clips the western edge of Australia at 11.29am on April 20, it will travel perfectly over the North West Cape, making Exmouth one of the best spots in the world to experience the 59 seconds of total loss of sunlight behind the moon.

The WA government twigged that the phenomenon could be a moneymaker about two years ago and has spent $21 million to deal with tourists travelling to the world heritage-listed Ningaloo Marine Park region to witness it. But a mammoth effort is needed to deal with the convergence of so many people in such a sparsely populated region.
A staff member puts a shared medical kit at the entrance of a residential community in Yangfangdian Subdistrict of Haidian District in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 27, 2022.

In Yangfangdian Subdistrict, care packages including medicines and COVID-19 prevention materials have been offered for senior residents living alone and those with disabilities. Shared medical kits have also been provided for residents in case of emergency. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

A community worker (R) talks with a resident in a community in Yangfangdian Subdistrict of Haidian District in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 27, 2022.

In Yangfangdian Subdistrict, care packages including medicines and COVID-19 prevention materials have been offered for senior residents living alone and those with disabilities. Shared medical kits have also been provided for residents in case of emergency. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

A community worker (L) tells a resident the contents of a care package in a community in Yangfangdian Subdistrict of Haidian District in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 27, 2022.

In Yangfangdian Subdistrict, care packages including medicines and COVID-19 prevention materials have been offered for senior residents living alone and those with disabilities. Shared medical kits have also been provided for residents in case of emergency. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

Community workers prepare care packages in a residential community in Yangfangdian Subdistrict of Haidian District in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 27, 2022.

In Yangfangdian Subdistrict, care packages including medicines and COVID-19 prevention materials have been offered for senior residents living alone and those with disabilities. Shared medical kits have also been provided for residents in case of emergency. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

Community workers deliver care packages to senior residents in a community in Yangfangdian Subdistrict of Haidian District in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 27, 2022.

In Yangfangdian Subdistrict, care packages including medicines and COVID-19 prevention materials have been offered for senior residents living alone and those with disabilities. Shared medical kits have also been provided for residents in case of emergency. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

A community worker (R) hands a care package to a resident in a community in Yangfangdian Subdistrict of Haidian District in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 27, 2022.

In Yangfangdian Subdistrict, care packages including medicines and COVID-19 prevention materials have been offered for senior residents living alone and those with disabilities. Shared medical kits have also been provided for residents in case of emergency. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)

Editor: WXY
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Anthony Albanese should release a draft bill on the model for an Indigenous Voice to parliament if he doesnt plan to legislate it before this years referendum, following the Coalitions approach in the lead-up to the same-sex marriage vote.

Dutton, who has previously called on the prime minister to consider legislating the model before Australians go to a vote as early as this year, said the government could release the detail in the form of a draft bill and regulations.

Peter Dutton is calling on Anthony Albanese to release more detail on the Voice. Credit: Sydney Morning Herald

Dutton confirmed that he does support constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, but said Albanese was playing a tricky, but dangerous political game in holding back the detail on how the Voice would operate.

The Australian public wont vote for something the prime minister refuses to explain, Dutton said.
London: The UK will send 14 tanks as well as self-propelled guns to Ukraine in a move that adds to international pressure on Germany to follow suit.

Downing Street announced the news in a short statement after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.

A British Army Challenger 2 battle tank during a training exercise in Finland. Credit: Bloomberg

A spokesman said that during the call the leaders reflected on the gains made by Ukraine in pushing back Russian troops.

They agreed on the need to seize on this moment with an acceleration of global military and diplomatic support to Ukraine, the spokesman said.
Wilmington, Delaware: US President Joe Bidens counsel says that five additional pages with classified markings were discovered at the presidents Wilmington, Delaware, home and they were immediately handed to Justice Department officials.

Bidens special counsel, Richard Sauber, said he travelled to Bidens Wilmington home on Thursday to facilitate the handover to the Justice Department of a document with classified markings that was found there earlier.

Joe Biden is already under fire for waiting two months to announce the original discovery of classified documents at an office he used after his vice presidency. Credit: AP

While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them, Sauber said in a statement.

Bidens legal team acknowledged this week it had found classified documents relating to his time as vice president in the Obama administration at his Delaware home, including some in his garage.
Rapid Response unit of Ukrainian Red Cross Society helping rescuers at site of missile strike in Dnipro

KYIV. Jan 15 (Interfax-Ukraine)  The rapid Response unit of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) is working at the site of the elimination of the consequences of a missile strike on a residential building in Dnipro.

"Volunteers are providing the first aid and first psychological aid to the wounded, eyewitnesses and helping rescuers," the URCS reported on its Facebook page.

The Dnipropetrovsk Regional Organization of the URCS is also working at the scene of the tragedy providing the necessary humanitarian assistance to the victims.
Cheyenne, WY (82001)

Today

Overcast. High near 70F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Cloudy. Low 32F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
On February 4, 2023, the Wyoming State Museum will host a collaborative celebration of the people, departments, and tools that keep our state running all winter long. Wyoming Winter is part of the museums monthly Family Day programs, hosted on the first Saturday of every month.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., adults and children alike are invited to participate in this fun-filled event featuring crafts, games, up close encounters with museum collections, story time, and more.

Partners from Wyoming State Parks, Wyoming Game & Fish, WYDOT, Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, and Wyoming Trails Program will come together to teach kids and families how teams across the state work together to keep winter fun and safe for everyone in Wyoming.

Visitors will find a snow plow, sno-cat, snow mobiles, and other equipment parked on the State Museum lawn. Participants will get to learn how these machines are used to manage winter conditions, then go inside the museum to explore information booths about how people can enjoy winter activities like ice fishing and snow camping. The museums education staff will also be teaching about the many ways that animals have adapted to survive harsh winters in Wyoming.

In addition to the many fun and educational activities, The Hawthorne Tree will be selling beverages and snacks throughout the event.

Family Days are generously sponsored by SCHEELS in Johnstown, CO. Thanks to their support, these events are always free and open to everyone! Family Day fans can follow the museums Facebook and Instagram accounts to stay in the know about upcoming events: @wyomingstatemuseum.

People of all ages are welcome to attend Wyoming State Museum Family Days. Register at wyomuseum.wyo.gov/familydays or register by phone at 307-630-2573.

The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Ave, in Cheyenne. Please call 307-630-2573 for more information.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi agreed with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the need to continue joint efforts between the two countries to strengthen cooperation and solidarity among Arab nations to face growing challenges on all levels.
Alberta Premier Clarifies Comments Made About COVID-19 Prosecutions

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a press conference after members of her cabinet were sworn in, in Edmonton on Oct. 24, 2022. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

EDMONTONAlberta Premier Danielle Smith took to the airwaves on Jan. 14, using her weekly radio show to clarify earlier comments she made about talking to Crown prosecutors about cases involving alleged COVID-19 health violations, comments that caused uproar from the opposition.

Of course, Ive never called a Crown prosecutor. Youre not allowed to do that as a politician, Smith said on the radio show Your Province. Your Premier. that broadcasts every Saturday morning.

The premier said she may have used some imprecise language, but she was referring to the Justice Department in her comments made on Jan. 12. She also noted that my contacts there have always been through the attorney general Tyler Shandro and his deputy.

The department has confirmed that I have not talked to Crown prosecutors, and the association itself has issued a statement saying I have not talked to to Crown prosecutors, she added.

She was referring to the Alberta Crown Attorneys Association, which has issued a statement confirming Smiths clarification, stating it was not aware of any case where an elected official has attempted to contact a specific Crown prosecutor to inquire about a prosecution.

Prosecutorial independence is fundamental to the role of Crown prosecutors, the statement said.

The associations statement noted that the Crown applies a two-part standard to every case that proceeds to trial: whether there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction, and whether proceeding is in the public interest.

Prosecutors must follow the Alberta Crown Prosecution Services Code of Conduct, which requires them to perform their duties independent of political or other improper external influences, the association said.

Prior to the associations statement, the Justice Department had also issued a statement stating, The premier has never spoken with any Crown prosecutors about any particular court/legal matter they deal with.

The premier had met to discuss prosecutions at a high level with the attorney general and deputy attorney general, said spokesperson Jason Maloney.

Obtaining Advice

Smiths comments had been interpreted as being interference with the judicial system, with Albertas Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley stating to reporters on Jan. 13: Shes scrambling. She is either lying now or she was lying then. Clearly lying is happening. There is a lot of lying going on.

The deputy attorney general, when it comes to individual matters that are before the courts, does not meet with the premier to have the premier try and coax him into changing what happens with respect to decisions, Notley said.

The NDP called for an investigation.

During her radio program, Smith said she obtained legal advice after taking office because she was concerned about the prosecution of Albertans who had been charged during the COVID-19 pandemic for violating public health orders.

Smith said she wanted to obtain information on what options were available with respect to outstanding COVID-related cases.

During Smiths campaign, she promised to change laws to prevent discrimination against individuals based on their COVID-19 vaccine status. On Jan. 12, Smith told reporters, The way our system of justice works is we do have an independent Justice Department and independent Crown prosecutors.

She said some of the cases were being dropped and some failed, but I do want to make sure they have an independent process for assessing that.

But I ask them on a regular basis, as new cases come out, is it in the public interest to pursue and is there a reasonable likelihood of conviction?

Smith did not indicate at the time whom she was referring when she said they and them.

Those comments from Jan. 12 were similar to ones she made to Rebel News in an interview in late December 2022.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Australian Government Urged to Step Up on Vaping

Vaping has reached record levels in Britain, according to a new report (PA)

Australian public health experts are calling for updated advertising laws to stop the promotion of vaping to young people on social media.

Experts are weighing in on possible solutions to the looming youth vaping crisis ahead of a public consultation deadline on nicotine e-cigarette reforms.

Chief executive health officer of Victoria Health, Sandro Demaio, said companies were targeting young people by using fruity flavours, childish packaging and shaping the products like hoodie toggles or highlighters.

Young people are clearly being targeted and targeted very successfully, the government needs to step up and take action, he told Channel Seven.

He said companies were also using social media to market vaping products to young people.

Our billboard is now in our pocket, not on the street  we need to make sure that our advertising rules are updated to protect young people.

Victorias health promotion foundation also wants to see tougher border restrictions on these products, a clampdown on sales in stores and more support services for addicted youths.

Dr Demaio said the industry was using a loophole on nicotine-free e-cigarettes as a Trojan horse, with research revealing many products contain nicotine despite the packaging suggesting otherwise.

Health Minister Mark Butler announced the review of Australias regulatory framework in late November in the hope of quickly pushing through flavouring and labelling controls on imports.

Why on earth would you be marketing bubble gum-flavoured vapes with pink unicorns on them except to appeal to children, not even adolescents, young children? he said in November.

The reforms are targeted at preventing access to young people while supporting adults to access regulated products to quit smoking with a doctors permission.

Submissions to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) reforms on nicotine vaping products close on Monday, Jan. 16.
Australian States Push to Scrap Red Tape for Deer Culling

Wild deer are running rampant in Victoria and Tasmania, destroying crops and natural habitats, prompting calls to change local laws and allow the animals to be classified as pests.

The Invasive Species Council is pushing for deer to be classified as pests in the stateswhich are the only Australian jurisdictions where deer are legally protected as game animals for hunting purposes.

There are workarounds, so landowners can kill deer on their own properties and authorities can go on to public land and cull them.

However, not classifying deer as a pest creates a conflicting message about whether they can be culled, the council says, Theoretically, the animals can run wild on neighbouring properties without restriction.

The National Feral Deer Action Plan, being developed by a working group and is being backed by the federal government, estimates there are up to two million wild deer in Australiaup from around 50,000 in 1980.

In Victoria, there could be as many as one million, the Invasive Species Councils state deer project officer Peter Jacobs says.

That protected status of deer is very much a relic of the past when there were small numbers of deer in Victoria that were basically released into the region right back to the mid-1800s for hunting, he told AAP.

One landowner sees them as being a serious pest, and the next landowner thinks theyre cute and likes the idea of them running around  and they dont have to do anything about it.

If feral deer populations are left uncontrolled in good conditions, they could rise by up to 50 per cent a year, which means a herd of 30 deer could grow to 500 in a decade, according to the action plan.

Jenny OSullivan, a beef and sheep farmer in Victorias South Gippsland region, spoke to 15 other farmers near Cape Liptrap as part of a Landcare weed and pest control program.

Every farmer was concerned about the enormous increase in deer damaging trees, prompting them to form a community action group to control the animals.

Were really keen to respect the deerwe dont like killing them  theyre very cute. But we cant stand the damage that theyre doing to the bush, OSullivan said.

Theres always going to be deer for the hunters to hunt, but we cant continue to do what were currently doing because its not adequate.

She emphasised deer control should be done by experienced shooters.

Victoria has its own planthe Victorian Deer Control Strategywhich sets out a clear plan to manage deer populations.

The animals game status does not prevent their control when they are damaging the environment or property, a spokeswoman for the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action said.

In Tasmania, up to 100,000 deer are estimated to cover about one-quarter of the state, encroaching on the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

Projections suggest more than 500,000 deer will be roaming Tasmania by 2050.

Culling permits differ for landowners in Tasmania, Invasive Species Council conservation officer Tiana Pirtle said.

Theres still a lot of bureaucratic red tape for landowners to wade through, Pirtle said.

Theres lots of landowners  in the Midlands where deer are the biggest problem and also the most difficult to get permits to control, and theyre just really fed up with all these restrictions and unwillingness to recognise that this is a problem.

The Tasmanian government says its Wild Fallow Deer Management Plan takes a balanced approach to managing the impact of deer on agriculture, along with conservation areas and forestry zone, while maintaining deer as a traditional hunting resource.

The federal government continues to work with the states and territories to address the significant threat of feral deer, a Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spokeswoman said.

The government is pouring $224.5 million (US$156.72 million) into the Saving Native Species Program and has given Tasmania $400,000 to put toward eradicating deer in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park.

Some $18 million has been funnelled directly into feral deer management programs since 2015, according to the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The National Feral Deer Action Plan is pushing for national authorities to create a containment zone and eradicate small deer populations beyond the zone.

A draft action plan is open for public comment until March 20, after which it will be considered by the federal agriculture departments Environment and Invasives and National Biosecurity committees.
Biden in Very Big Mess Over Document Scandal, Needs to Get the Facts Out: Former White House Adviser

The brewing scandal of classified documents poses a very serious problem for President Joe Biden, warned David Gergen, a White House adviser-turned-political analyst.

Speaking on CNN on Saturday, Gregen was asked by host Anderson Cooper how big a mess the Biden administration is in following the discoveries of classified documents at Bidens private offices. He responded, Its a very, very big deal.

News broke earlier this week that classified material dating from Bidens vice presidency had been found in the Washington office of the Penn Biden Center, a think tank affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, in the days leading up to the 2022 midterm elections. The White House later admitted that more pages of classified documents were discovered in the presidents Delaware home.

The Biden people are not dealing with this political crisis properly, according to Gergen, a former adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. I do think that they may be making a big mistake, he said.

I dont think sitting there, hunkering down now, just acting like its not out there, is a good strategy. Theyre going to get creamed doing that, Gergen told Cooper, noting that the longer the White House remains reluctant to tell the truth, the more eager the American public will become to ask the question, What are they hiding?

As matters now stand, that long delay in putting it out there is going to encourage people to believe, Well, what are they hiding?' he said.

Instead of giving in to the temptation to hunker down, Biden should simply get the facts out, Gergen argued, pointing to the Iran-Contra affair that occurred during Reagans second term. When it was exposed that the CIA had secretly sold missiles and other military weapons to Iran in exchange for some Americans held hostage by Iran-backed terrorists and used the money to fund anti-communist Contra fighters in Nicaragua, the Reagan administrations popularity took a dip, largely because of the White Houses unsuccessful damage control attempts.

Theres a temptation in every one of these kinds of crises to hunker down, he said. You are going all the way back to Iran-Contra and other kind of crises like that. Youve just got to get the facts out.

While Gregen describes the classified document scandal as a political crisis, it appears that its turning into a legal one as well. On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur, a former Maryland U.S. attorney, as special counsel to investigate whether Biden improperly handled classified material.

Hur, who was appointed to the Maryland court by President Donald Trump and currently works at a Washington law firm, said in a statement he would conduct the investigation swiftly and thoroughly with fair, impartial, and dispassionate judgment.

Meanwhile, the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee announced Friday that theyre starting their own probe into the matter. In a letter to Garland, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Johnson (R-La.) gave his department until Jan. 27 to provide information about Bidens mishandling of classified documents, including the apparently unauthorized possession of classified material.

The Republicans also specifically asked for records related to the appointment of Hur as special counsel. The circumstances of this appointment raise fundamental oversight questions that the Committee routinely examines, the congressmen wrote.
Biden Issues Major Disaster Declarations for California, Alabama

President Joe Biden approved major disaster declarations for California and Alabama on Jan. 14 to assist state and local recovery efforts following major storms in both states.

Storms in California have left at least 19 people dead amid widespread flooding, mudslides, and other adverse weather incidents, while severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes affected Alabama on Jan. 12. The storms in Alabama were among the severe weather that left at least nine people dead across the southeast.

Waves of storms have hammered California since late December 2022 as part of what the National Weather Service (NWS) says is an atmospheric river.

The presidents action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Merced, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz, the White House said in a statement. Federal funding also is available to state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in the counties of Merced, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz.

The NWS stated that more rain is expected through Jan. 16 in some parts of California, according to a Jan. 15 bulletin. However, after that, drier weather is anticipated in much of the state.

Lower elevation valley/coastal rain and heavy high elevation mountain snow continue to expand across the west as multiple storm systems affect the region, the agency stated. The first system that brought more heavy rain and flooding concerns across California on Saturday is moving through the Great Basin and towards the Rockies today ahead of another system moving in from the Pacific early [on Jan. 16].

Up to two inches of rain was predicted for the already-soaked Sacramento Valley, where residents of semi-rural Wilton, home to about 5,000 people, were ordered to evacuate as the Cosumnes River continued to rise. Another three inches of snow and gusty winds were expected in the Sierra Nevada. Interstate 80, a key highway from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe ski resorts, reopened after being closed for most of Jan. 14 because of slick roads, snow, and whiteout conditions.

The University of CaliforniaBerkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab posted on social media on Jan. 15 that it received 21.5 inches of snow in 24 hours. Its snowpack of about 10 feet was expected to grow several more feet by Jan. 16.

At least 19 people have died from storm-related incidents over the past three weeks, reports say. Some died in rockslides, falling trees, or flooding, according to the reports.

More than 68,000 utility customers were without power by the morning of Jan. 14, a number that dwindled to about 12,000 by Jan. 15, the website shows.

On Jan. 14, the swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County, and to the east, flood warnings were in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited to take stock of storm problems.

A rainstorm hits the Southland in Newport Beach, Calif., on Jan 5, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The reality is that this is just the eighth of what we anticipate will be nine atmospheric riverswere not done, Newsom said at a briefing with local leaders, where he urged people to be vigilant about safety for the next 24 to 48 hours.

In a visit to Montecito on Jan. 13, Newsom asked residents to exercise caution and to heed warnings from public safety officials.

I know how fatigued you all are, Newsom said. Just maintain a little more vigilance over the course of the next weekend.

Drought

The waves of storms and rainfall have lowered Californias drought intensity, according to the U.S. Drought Monitors latest report. Much of the state is labeled as being in a moderate or severe drought as some portions of the state were considered extreme two weeks ago.

Good news is that [the reservoirs] are off historic lows, Michael Anderson, an official with the states Department of Water Resources, told reporters on Jan. 11. The challenge is that they still have a lot of recovery to make before they would be back to normal operating conditionsso something to be mindful of.

Meanwhile, federal funding is being made available to state, eligible local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations in Alabama on a cost-sharing basis, for emergency work in Autauga and Dallas counties.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cardinal George Pell on Final Journey Home to Australia

Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher conducts a Solemn Pontifical Requiem mass to pay homage to Cardinal George Pell at St Marys Cathedral in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 12, 2023. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

Cardinal George Pell has been remembered as a man who experienced great suffering at a requiem mass at St Peters Basilica in Rome, where Pope Francis gave the final blessing.

Cardinal Pell was farewelled on Saturday at the Vatican in the same church where he was ordained in 1966 and where Pope Emeritus Benedict XVIs funeral was held earlier this month.

The most senior Australian member of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Pell died in Rome on January 10 at the age of 81 from heart complications following hip surgery.

The mass was led by an Italian cardinal, Giovanni Battista Re, in his role as Dean of the College of Cardinals, before the final blessing, delivered in Latin, was recited by Pope Francis.

Cardinal Pell was the Vaticans top finance minister before stepping down in 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne on child sexual abuse charges, for which he was jailed for more than 400 days before his conviction was overturned by the High Court in 2020.

Cardinal Re said his later years were marked by an unjust and painful condemnation.

He was an experience of great suffering endured with confidence in Gods judgment, he said.

Cardinal Re said Cardinal Pell was a man of God and man of the Church characterised by a deep faith and great steadfastness of doctrine, which he always defended without hesitation and with courage, concerned only with being faithful to Christ.

Soon after Cardinal Pells death, it was revealed that the cardinal was the author of a memo that had been circulating in the Vatican for months. The memo lamented that the current papacy was a disaster and a catastrophe.

Cardinal Pells funeral in Rome came nine days after he attended former pope Benedicts farewell when, the Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher said, he was in sparkling form  witty and wise.

After the mass, Australian officials were due to collect his coffin to return his remains to Australia.

He will be buried in the crypt at St Marys Cathedral in Sydney, where he served as archbishop, this week.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Victorias Daniel Andrews have ruled out holding state services for the former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney.

A representative for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said masses would be dedicated to Cardinal Pell on Sunday.
Class Action Lawsuit Against Twitter Blocked, Had No Legal Basis, Judge Rules

A sign outside of the Twitter office building in San Francisco, Calif., on July 9, 2019. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)

A judge ruled on Friday that several former Twitter employees who had filed a class action lawsuit against the social media giant must pursue individual arbitration instead.

The case involved five former Twitter employees involved in a class action against Twitter for not being given adequate notice before being laid off.

U.S. District judge James Donato ruled that the five former employees must pursue individual arbitration because of the arbitration agreement they had signed with Twitter.

The San Francisco judge did not rule as warranted by developments in the case whether the entire class action should be dismissed. The reason was that three other former Twitter employees were part of the class action lawsuit, and these three employees alleged that they had opted out of the Twitter arbitration agreement.

Last year, Donato had ruled that Twitter must notify the thousands of workers who were laid off after its acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk following a proposed class action accusing the company of failing to give adequate notice before termination.

Elon Musk gives interviews as he arrives at the Offshore Northern Seas 2022 meeting in Stavanger, Norway, on Aug. 29, 2022. (Carina Johansen/NTB/AFP via Getty Images)

Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, and hundreds more subsequently resigned.

Other Legal Cases

Twitter faces several other legal cases, among them being sued for allegedly not paying rent for an office in San Francisco.

The landlord of the office filed a complaint for breach of lease against Twitter, which is headquartered in California, in state court on Dec. 29, 2022.

Twitter was alerted in mid-December that it owed approximately $136,260 in rent and that if it did not send payment within five business days, it would be in default of the lease, according to an exhibit attached to the suit.

Twitter failed to comply with the requirements, Columbia Property Trust, the landlord, said.

The headquarters for the social media company Twitter in San Francisco, on Nov. 11, 2022. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment when The Epoch Times first reported on this matter earlier this month.

The company was served with a summons before the New Year, according to the court docket.

A case management conference has been scheduled for May 31.

In another lawsuit, Twitter was sued in late 2022 for allegedly failing to pay nearly $200,000 for flights.

Twitter entered a purchase agreement in 2020 with Private Jet Services Group, and several employees used the private air charter services in 2022, according to the suit filed in federal court in New Hampshire.

But invoices totaling $197,725 for the flights were never paid, the suit alleged.

Private Jet Services Group is seeking damages, attorneys fees, and any other relief deemed necessary and proper. The legal case monitoring website law.com said that counsel has not yet appeared for the defendant.

Reuters and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Democrat Senator Says Biden Classified Documents Certainly Embarrassing

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) talks during a press conference following the Democrats Policy Luncheon at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Oct. 26, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) conceded Sunday that it is embarrassing that President Joe Biden was in possession of classified documents but asserted that his situation is different from former President Donald Trumps.

Its certainly embarrassing, Stabenow told NBCs Meet the Press Sunday. Its embarrassing that you would find a small number of documents, certainly not on purpose. They dont think its the right thing and they have been moving to correct it, working with the Department of Justice, working with everyone involved with the archives. Its one of those moments that obviously they wish hadnt happened.

A member of Senate Democratic leadership, Stabenow then asserted, without evidence, that GOP-led investigations into Biden would cause problems for the U.S. economy.

What Im most concerned about, this is the kind of thing that the Republicans love, Stabenow said. Lets talk about investigations, lets create chaos. Lets not talk about the fact that we have a manufacturing renaissance going on in this country, more jobs created, lower unemployment rate, higher wages. And what [Republicans] are proposing to do would interfere with that, would really put us on the edge economically.

Republican leaders, including House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), have vowed multiple investigations into the Biden document incident and whether it is connected to his son Hunter Bidens overseas business deals. At the same time, McCarthy and others have expressed outrage regarding how Trumps Mar-a-Lago was searched by FBI agents last year as they attempted to find classified materials amid a legal dispute with the National Archives.

A tranche of classified records during Bidens time as vice president were recovered by Bidens lawyers on Nov. 2 at the Penn Biden Center in Washington that had served as his office between 2017 and 2019. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced last week that he appointed a special counsel, former U.S. Attorney Robert Hur, to investigate the matter.

Days later, White House lawyers confirmed they located a small number of additional Obama-Biden administration records with classified markings at Bidens garage in Wilmington, Delaware. On Saturday, special counsel Richard Sauber said he found five pages of classified records at his Wilmington home on Saturday.

Delaware Visitor Logs

On Sunday, Comer asked White House chief of staff Ron Klain to produce visitor logs for Bidens home in Delaware. Last week, Comer and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) indicated theyre investigating Biden and sought documents and communications from the White Houses counsel and the Department of Justice.

White House chief of staff Ron Klain attends a briefing in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on June 30, 2021. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

Without a list of individuals who have visited his residence, the American people will never know who had access to these highly sensitive documents, Comer said in the letter.

There is no legal requirement that U.S. presidents disclose visitors at their home or at the White House. The Biden administration reinstated disclosures of official guests to the White House and released its first batch of records in May 2021. Former President Donald Trump had suspended the practice shortly after he took office in 2017.

The White House has promised to cooperate with the Department of Justice investigation and says the documents were inadvertently misplaced. It has declined to elaborate, citing the Justice Department probe.

In his announcement, Garland said Hur, who served as the top federal prosecutor in Maryland under Trump, will act as a quasi-independent prosecutor to determine whether classified records from Bidens time as vice president had been improperly stored at his residence in Delaware and a think tank in Washington. Hur, he added, will examine whether any person or entity violated the law.

In September, Biden called Trumps handling of classified documents totally irresponsible. The former president, responding to the latest developments on his Truth Social platform, questioned when Bidens homes would be searched. Trump announced his own reelection bid last year.

Earlier this month, Stabenow, 72, announced she would not be seeking reelection in 2024.

For the next two years, I am intensely focused on continuing this important work to improve the lives of Michiganders. This includes leading the passage of the next five-year Farm Bill which determines our nations food and agriculture policies. It is also key in protecting our land and water and creating jobs in our rural and urban communities, she said in her announcement.

Reuters contributed to this report.
EgyptAir, the country's national carrier, announced on Monday that it will start two weekly direct flights between Cairo and Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on 14 May.
Facing Recruitment Crisis, US Army Develops Program to Help Aspiring Soldiers Meet Eligibility Requirements

Female Marine Corps recruit Kylieanne Fortin, 20, of Williamsport, Maryland goes through close combat training at the United States Marine Corps recruit depot in Parris Island, S.C., on June 23, 2004. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In times of national emergency, the United States military has been far less restrictive in its recruitment policies than it is today.

In fact, during World War II, some noncitizen men who couldnt provide proof of legal entry to the United States were permitted to enlist.

Also during World War II, men ages 18 to 64 were eligible to be drafted.

Strict Eligibility Requirements

As the U.S. military is facing its biggest recruiting crisis in the 50 years since it became an all-volunteer force with the end of the draft in 1973, its eligibility requirements are receiving considerable attention.

Criticism has long been leveled at the armed forces that the requirements are too strict and that they disqualify many who could serve effectively in defense of their country.

Uncle Sam may be listening.

Helping Aspiring Soldiers Qualify

To boost recruiting numbers, the Army is now offering aspiring soldiers who dont meet the requirements to begin basic training help to improve physical fitness and conditioning and increase their aptitude exam scores.

In August 2022, the Army launched the Future Soldier Preparatory Course (FSPC) pilot program at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, which would, as the Army described in an announcement, provide education and training to help American youth overcome academic and physical fitness barriers to military service.

FSPC isnt part of basic training but a U.S.-military-run type of preparatory camp intended to qualify people for basic training.

The pilot program will provide focused academic and fitness instruction to help recruits meet the Armys desired accession standards for body fat composition and academic test performance prior to basic training, the Army announcement stated. It includes two separate tracks: a fitness program and an educational program for recruits who need help improving their scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT).

Participants are expected to remain at most 90 days in FSPC and have the opportunity every three weeks to move on to basic training if they attain or exceed the enlistment requirements.

Not yet six months into the pilot, the FSPC course is delivering excellent results.

On Jan. 9, the Army reported that a total of 3,206 students have attended the course as of the end of 2022, of which 2,965 students have already graduated and are continuing to basic combat training.

With the FSPC concept proven successful, the Army announced earlier this month that it will continue and expand the program.

Thats not the only change among the U.S. service branches.

On March 10, 2022, the Pentagon amended its Physical Fitness/Composition Program (PF/CP). The change allows each branch, while still needing to adhere to certain standards set for the entire U.S. armed forces, flexibility in setting and arranging its eligibility metrics.

In December 2022, the Navy announced that it had lowered the minimum score that aspiring sailors must attain on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) to enlist.

The Marine Corps has kept its body fat percentage standard the same. But since August 2022, the procedure and technology it uses to calculate that percentage will result in more recruits making the grade.

Until recently, those seeking to join the Army who have tattoos on their hands, necks, or behind their ears could serve, but only after receiving a waiver, which could take several weeks.

That policy has changed, with limits. Whats allowable for body ink is detailed in a June 23, 2022, Army statement: One tattoo on each hand that does not exceed one inch in length, and the option to place one tattoo no larger than two inches on the back of their neck and one, inch-long tattoo behind each ear, and tattoos can be impressed between fingers as long as the designs cannot be seen when the fingers are closed.

Maintaining Army Standards

While the Army may be permitting a little more body art, it maintains that it wont lower recruiting standards to hit its recruiting marks.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 3, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

This was the message that Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James McConville delivered emphatically and without ambiguity on July 28, 2022, when he said: What I dont want to do, and weve done this historically, is lower standards and convince ourselves thats the right thing to do. Were not going to achieve squat.

And yet the Army, and all the military branches, must deal with the reality, as reported in a Sept. 28, 2022, Military.com story citing Pentagon statistics: 77 percent of young Americans would not qualify for military service without a waiver due to being overweight, using drugs, or having mental and physical health problems.

For the 2022 recruiting year, the Army came up short of its goal, while the Air Force, Navy, and Marines made their numbers, even if just barely.

Space Force, the newest branch of the military, and the smallest, with 1,643 active military personnel, hit its recruiting target.

The Coast Guard has had four consecutive years of not hitting recruiting goals.

The U.S. Army is by far the largest branch of the military, with about 485,000 active soldiers, compared to Coast Guard, which has a little more than 41,000 active guardsmen.
Federal Food Stamps Applications Hit 5-Year High in Orange County, New York

The number of federal food stamp applications in Orange County reached a five-year high of 14,261 in 2022, according to data from the County Department of Social Services.

During the past five years, the countys food stamp applications have been on an upward trend, with the pandemic year of 2020 having the largest single-year bump, at 20 percent.

In 2021, the number of applications was 13,526.

The federal food stamp program, formerly called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP,) offers qualified low-income families with benefit cards to buy basic food at approved grocery stores.

Active county SNAP recipients have also been on the rise since the pandemic, reaching 16,649 in Nov. 2022.

For the two years prior to the pandemic, the number steadily decreased from around 17,000 to 15,500.

County Department of Social Services Commissioner Darcie Miller told The Epoch Times, Our numbers typically ebb and flow with the economy, and this really has to do with peoples desperation due to the economy.

The county SNAP hotline now averages 1,400 calls a day, up from 800 prior to the pandemic.

Miller said she had moved personnel from other units to process the increased SNAP inquiries.

They are working overtime. They are coming in early and working late. They are coming on Saturdayswe are desperate to catch up on these applications, Miller said.

A sign alerting customers about SNAP food stamps benefits at a Brooklyn grocery store in New York on Dec. 5, 2019. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)

SNAP is administered in every state with different eligibility requirements, including household income, whether a family has seniors or disabled members, and whether the family receives other social benefits, among others.

In New York, for a family of four with no elderly or disabled members to receive SNAP benefits, the monthly household income (including social benefits) must be below $3,469; if a family of four has no earned income and rely on government aids for a living, the monthly benefits received must be below $3,007.

A qualified family of four can receive up to $939 in SNAP benefits every month.

The income guidelines are updated every year.

Miller said the best way to determine ones eligibility is to apply.

Upcoming Changes

Due to a pandemic-era emergency rule, each SNAP recipient now receives the maximum benefit allowed under guidelines as well as an $85 supplemental payment.

However, that allowance is set to expire at the end of February under the recently passed 2023 federal spending bill.

As a result, many SNAP recipients in the county will see their benefits reduce in March.

Local residents line up to get food from the Easterseals Project Discovery food pantry in Port Jervis, N.Y., on Dec. 19, 2022. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Miller said the county government would monitor the impact and likely allot more money to the Hudson Valley Food Bank if needed.

In addition, in 2023, Social Services new cost-of-living adjustment takes effect and Medicaid also expands income eligibility, which might also impact ones SNAP benefits.

About 131,000 county residents are enrolled in Medicaid.
First Jan. 6 Defendant Who Breached Senate Acquitted of Obstruction Charge, Found Guilty of Others

A large group of protesters stand on the East steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

An Alabama man who had reached the Senate floor of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has become the first Jan. 6 defendant to be acquitted of obstruction of an official proceeding, which is a felony charge.

Joshua Matthew Black, 46, was cleared of the charge on Jan. 13 while also being found guilty of other charges, including felonies, following a trial in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

They include: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. The two charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Black was also charged with unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon on Capitol grounds or buildings, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Other chargesentering and remaining on the floor of Congress; and disorderly conduct in a Capitol buildingcarry a maximum sentence of six months.

The above charges also carry potential financial penalties.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson has scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 5.

According to the Department of Justice, Black was illegally on Capitol grounds and entered the building, eventually making it to the floor of the Senate chamber. The DOJ said he was captured in photos and video on social media platforms.

Black later posted a video to YouTube in which he discussed entering the Capitol and the floor of the Senate chamber on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the DOJs account. He explained that once we found out Pence turned on us and that they had stolen the election, like officially, the . . . crowd went crazy. I mean,  it became a mob. We crossed the gate, we got up.

He also admitted carrying a knife to the Capitol because youre not allowed to carry guns in DC and I dont like being defenseless,' according to the DOJ.

The FBI, at a search of Blacks residence in Leeds, Alabama, on Jan. 14, 2021, recovered the knife that Black admitted he carried into the Capitol. They arrested him later that day at a police station in Moody, Alabama.

Police and protesters outside the U.S. Capitols Rotunda in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

The joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, was temporarily interrupted when a sizable group of protesters entered the Capitol building and its surrounds. Outside were thousands of other mostly peaceful protesters who had gathered in Washington on the day to express their concerns about election integrity.

Four Americans died on Jan. 6, 2021, amid the mayhem that took place that day on Capitol groundsTrump supporters Ashli Babbitt, Rosanne Boyland, Kevin Greeson, and Benjamin Phillips.

Read More US Capitol Police Says 6 Officers Involved in Wrongdoing on Jan. 6

Babbitts death was ruled a homicide. Paul Sperry and RealClearInvestigations in late 2021 identified U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Lt. Michael Byrd as the person who shot Babbitt prior to her death.

The deaths of Greeson and Phillips were officially determined to be due to natural causes. But independent journalist Tayler Hansen, who was wearing press credentials while among the crowd that day, alleged that the two men both suffered fatal heart attacks from the munitions being thrown by the Capitol Police. Hansen previously published a video showing some explosive munitions that went off in the crowd and the resultant panic on the day.

Meanwhile, Boylands death was ruled as an accident, but video unsealed in December 2021 showed that she was struck repeatedly by one police officer as she lay unconscious near the Capitol building.

More than 950 individuals have been dealt charges by the Department of Justice, accusing them of having committed federal crimes on Jan. 6, 2021. Dozens of Americans continue to be held in prison without trial.

Correction: This article inacurately stated the charge that Joshua Black was acquitted of. He was acquitted of an obstruction of an official proceeding charge, which is a felony. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Government Looking at Tougher Penalties for Poor Airline Service: Transport Minister

Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra speaks with reporters before appearing as a witness at a House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities in Ottawa on Jan. 12, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

The government is aiming to toughen penalties for poor airline service this spring, said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, who appeared before a parliamentary committee on Jan. 12 looking into whether current fines are too modest or applied too sparingly.

Were going to keep our eye on the ball, Alghabra told reporters in a Jan. 12 media briefing. Were going to keep ensuring that the airline sector remains focused on protecting passengers right.

Several airlines experienced widespread delays and cancellations during and after the Christmas holidays when a severe winter storm disrupted their operations, affecting thousands of passengers. Some travellers were reportedly left stranded at their destinations for days, while others sought alternative means to return home.

Alghabra said the government is looking to strengthen Canadas Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) and will be introducing a proposal for legislative or regulatory changes in the spring.

Im waiting as well for committee members to provide their input. My plan is to table the proposal this spring, he said.

The APPR sets compensation for a variety of airport situations. Penalties for flight delays range from $400 for delays of three hours to $1,000 for delays of over nine hours.

Minimum compensation for denial of boarding starts at $900 within six hours and up to $2,400 when such delays persist for over nine hours. Airlines could also be liable for up to $2,350 in compensation for damaged, delayed, or lost baggage during international travel.

The regulation also allows the federal regulator, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), to levy fines of $25,000 per passenger. However, the maximum penalty has never been imposed, according to Blacklocks Reporter.

Right now there are fines of up to $25,000 per passenger that are possible under existing legislation, and yet the only time weve seen the CTA issue airlines fines under the APPR, we saw fines of about $200 per passenger, NDP MP Taylor Bachrach said at the House transport committee meeting on Jan. 12.

Why didnt you use your ability under the Canadian Transportation Act to order the CTA to increase its fines and strengthen its enforcement to act as a deterrent? he asked Alghabra. When you have companies worth hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars, what is the purpose of a $200 fine?

We provided the CTA with the authority to impose significant fines, Alghabra replied. We leave the discretion to a quasi judicial independent body to decide, based on the facts before them, what type of fines they impose.



Bloc Quebecois MP Julie Vignola said the maximum penalty in the United States in $400,000.

Are you considering that Canadian fines should increase to really dissuade companies from non-compliance with regulations? she asked.

We are looking at the issue of fines, Alghabra said. If there is an opportunity to increase the fines or enhance the rules, I welcome this committees suggestions.

In 2018, Parliament passed Bill C-49, An Act To Amend The Canada Transportation Act, which allows regulators to set compensation for poor service. Subsequent regulations were introduced in 2019. The Transportation Agency says it currently has the equivalent of a two-year backlog of complaints, more than 30,000.

Executives from several major Canadian airlines also testified at the House transport committee on Jan. 12 to explain the travel chaos over the holidays. They were asked about how their companies plan to compensate the affected passengers, many of whom have filed complaints, particularly with Sunwing, which has received up to 7,000 complaints to date.

Airlines told the committee that they would support a review of the APPR, but argued that it should include shared responsibility for delays and cancellations.

Andrew Gibbons, vice-president of WestJet, noted that airport delays or cancellations can be the result of many different groups.

This is not about blame game. It is simply about improving the system overall, and making sure theres full transparency so that Canadian traveller understands what is the root cause of their delay or cancel, Gibbons said.

What weve asked for and what weve submitted to this committee in late November as part of our recommendations is that the priority should be shared accountability.


A previously healthy 12-year-old who can no longer walk. A surgeon whose career is over. A woman who can no longer cook or clean. These adverse reactions are real, not rare  heres how theyre shaming and abandoning them, while hiding their stories.

The film calls for an open dialogue and a movement from humanity to acknowledge the risks of COVID-19 shots, as well as those who are suffering due to them

With no programs in place to help those injured by COVID-19 shots, and many doctors afraid to even acknowledge the shots connection to patients symptoms, many of those harmed have nowhere to turn for help

Those injured by the shots have been largely abandoned by the mainstream medical community; their medical issues have been politicized, while society provides no empathy

Those who spoke out about their shot-related injuries have been shamed, ridiculed and labeled unethical

The film Anecdotals provides a glimpse into the lives of people who have suffered significant adverse reactions from COVID-19 shots

People who have been harmed by COVID-19 shots have suffered a range of medical issues  everything from death and permanent disability to pericarditis, nerve damage and overwhelming fatigue. While their symptoms vary, they share several common themes:

Abandonment  Those injured by COVID-19 jabs have been largely abandoned by the mainstream medical community and government.

Shame  Those who spoke out about their injuries have been shamed, ridiculed and labeled unethical; their medical issues have been politicized, while society provides no empathy.

Hopelessness  With no programs in place to help those injured by COVID-19 shots, and many doctors afraid to even acknowledge the shots connection to patients symptoms, many of those harmed feel lost and dont know where to turn for help.

Bringing attention to the issue  and to the people whose lives have changed drastically since receiving a COVID-19 shot  is the first step to recovery. The film Anecdotals does just that, providing a glimpse into the lives of people who have suffered significant adverse reactions from COVID-19 shots.1

Many of them have been told their stories dont matter. After all, theyre just anecdotes. But as youll see in the film, their journeys need to be heard, not only so they can access much-needed medical care but also so society becomes aware of the real risks of COVID-19 shots that have been covered up and censored.

Secrets From the Trials

One case involves Maddie de Garay, who was a healthy 12-year-old when she signed up for Pfizers COVID-19 trial for 12- to 15-year-olds. She suffered a severe systemic adverse reaction to her second dose of the shot, however, and struggled through 11 ER visits and four hospital admissions in the year and a half that followed.

Injuries from the shot have left her unable to walk or eat  she receives her nutrition via a feeding tube  and suffering from constant pain, vision problems, tinnitus, allergic reactions and lack of neck control.2

As though the physical trauma werent enough, Maddie and her family were continually dismissed by the medical professionals put in place to help, ignored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and denied the care needed to help Maddie. But the first red flag, Maddies mother Stephanie said at a hearing, was the way the trial was set up in the first place.3

Participants were given access to the TrialMax app to record side effects, like a swollen arm, but de Garay was surprised at the format it used. There wasnt space for open-ended comments, only direct questions with yes or no options for answers, or check boxes to signify a set of predetermined potential effects.4 She explained:5

I just want to give everybody a little better idea of what happened in our trial, because I did not know when you enter the trial, everybody uses a trial app. The app only allows you to record solicited adverse events  fever, redness, mild, moderate.

Theres no free form to fill in any other reaction that you have. What you have to do, if you have any other type of adverse event, is you have to call this study doctor. This leaves a lot of room for human error and concern of reporting bias coming from the principal investigator.

In Pfizers April 2021 disclosure of Maddies case to the FDA, its stated only that she had abdominal pain:6

One participant experienced an SAE [serious adverse event] reported as generalized neuralgia, and also reported 3 concurrent non-serious AEs (abdominal pain, abscess, gastritis) and 1 concurrent SAE (constipation) within the same week. The participant was eventually diagnosed with functional abdominal pain. The event was reported as ongoing at the time of the cutoff date.

Then, a day before Pfizer submitted their request for emergency approval of the COVID-19 shot for 12- to 15-year-olds to the FDA, they added functional neurological disorder as a diagnosis in Maddies chart.7 Her mother noted in the film:8

By the data cut off for the trial, Maddie experienced over 35 adverse events. None of these were mentioned  Maddie was in the hospital when the EUA [emergency use authorization] was approved. I thought that Maddie would be in the best hands possible in the rare chance she has a severe reaction. That was not the case. They did everything in their power to hide everything. Neither Pfizer, the FDA or the CDC has ever talked to us.

Pfizer Trial Like Nothing Ive Ever Seen

While health agencies continue to assure the public that COVID-19 shots are safe, those working closely on the trials had a different take. I was working on Pfizers trial, Brooke Jackson, a regional director formerly employed by Pfizer subcontractor Ventavia Research Group, which was testing Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine, said in the film.9 What I saw was like nothing Ive ever seen before.

She witnessed falsified data, unblinded patients, inadequately trained vaccinators and lack of proper follow-up on adverse events that were reported. After notifying Ventavia about her concerns repeatedly, she made a complaint to the FDA directly  and was fired the same day.10 In her words:11

The speed in which they were enrolling in the study  four to five coordinators pushing through 40, 50, 60 patients a day. We were not storing the vaccine at its appropriate temperature, the failures in reporting serious adverse events. We had so many reports of adverse events  we just could not keep up. The study doctor signed a physical exam when he wasnt even in clinic.

Then Ventavia had unblinded every patient that was randomized in the trial. When we brought it to their attention, thats what we were instructed to do  remove the evidence and destroy it. Emails about mislabeled blood specimens per Pfizers protocol, we should have immediately stopped enrolling, but they never told Pfizer.

I would bring the concerns to my managers and it was, Were understaffed. The FDA, they only see what Pfizer gives them. So I was documenting all of this. And on the 25th of September, I went directly to the FDA, and about six and a half hours later, I lost my job. I was fired.

The FDA and Pfizer attempted to hide the COVID-19 shot clinical trial data for 75 years, but the FDA was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to release redacted versions of trial documents on a much faster schedule. As part of the court order, 80,000 pages of documents related to the FDAs approval of Pfizers COVID-19 shots were released June 1, 2022.12

Among those documents were case report forms (CRFs) revealing that deaths and severe adverse events took place during Phase 3 trials, but, as reported by Childrens Health Defense, Pfizer had a trend of classifying almost all adverse events  and in particular severe adverse events (SAEs)  as being not related to the vaccine.13 Journalist Naomi Wolf explained:14

Weve got these amazing 2,500 volunteers  highly credentialed medical researchers, doctors and nurses  pouring over these 55,000 documents that a court order forced Pfizer and the FDA to release.

Well, theyre finding that there were horrible harms  deaths, spontaneous abortions, neurological problems, fainting, heart damage, debilitating muscle pain, debilitating joint pain  that were concealed by Pfizer and the FDA from the American people.

Adverse Reactions  Real, Not Rare

The film details adverse reactions that have stolen careers, independence and the ability to function normally in daily life from countless people. Dr. Joel Wallskog, a former orthopedic surgeon, shared his story after getting the shot:15

My life has dramatically changed after this adverse reaction. My career of 19 years, that I took almost 14 years to train for, is likely over. Im just not safe to work as an orthopedic surgeon. Assuming the FDA and the CDC would be alarmed at my diagnosis, I expected to be contacted soon after my VAERS [Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System] submission. No phone call, no contact.

Kellai Rodriguez also detailed her struggles since receiving a COVID-19 shot:16

I lost my ability to speak naturally. I have become unable to walk without a walker, and never know if or when the tremors will come or go. I can no longer cook, clean or even pick up and hold my baby for too long, before my body begins to shake uncontrollably or is thrown into excruciating amounts of pain.

Ive seen countless ER doctors as well as two neurologists who have given me no diagnosis, no further testing besides regular bloodwork, CT scans, ECGs, EKGs and an MRI, all of which the doctors told me came back normal.

At a rally for those injured by the shots, hundreds came together to share their experiences, with striking similarities. Many suffered from tremors that left them unable to walk, with onsets within days of receiving the shots. In the hospital, nurses shared that other patients were experiencing similar symptoms, but doctors refused to label the conditions shot-related. Jennifer Bridges, a former nurse with Houston Methodist Hospital, who was fired for not getting the shot, explained:17

Ive seen emails, where hospitals threatened their doctors  you cannot sign medical exemptions, you cannot talk about, you cannot report adverse reactions to these vaccines. And if somebody was actually brave enough to do that in writing, there were other people higher up to erase those. I have the proof, and I have the people that have shown me these things.

Stories Censored and Silenced

Those injured by the shots were left abandoned during shot mandates. The films director, Jennifer Sharp, is among those who suffered from debilitating symptoms after the shot, including facial numbness, electric shock-like feelings and muscle weakness. She opted to not get a second dose of the shot after experiencing the serious adverse events after the first dose, and lost her job as a result:18

In January 2022, I lost a job because I wasnt vaccinated. I had a VAX card showing one shot, I had a blood test showing that I still had antibodies and a doctors exemption. And I was willing to get tested every day. They didnt care. I couldnt go to restaurants, gyms, malls, events.

So when the anti-mandate rally came to Los Angeles, I attended it to represent those of us who were suddenly societal outcasts just for doing what the government asked us to do. Even if you fundamentally disagree with someone elses stance, does that justify the lack of compassion for them losing their livelihoods?

Yet, when those affected tried to speak out about their experiences, they were silenced and shunned. One woman who was injured by the shots shared:19

We are being so censored that we cant get the message out that were even being censored, because if its through social media, they are one of the platforms that is censoring us. And even if its not outwardly, were being shadow banned 

So you could share something, but nobody acknowledges it. And youre thinking, Oh, Im isolated, Im alone, but theyre probably not seeing it. Its been moved to the bottom of the timeline or its not in existence. You literally cannot post on social media about having a vaccine reaction without it being censored.

When Sharp decided to film Anecdotals, she made a pitch video that she shared privately on the platform Vimeo. It described her reaction to the shot and the need for compassion. It was removed for misinformation. They said they dont allow content that goes against the CDC recommendations. I am not allowed to tell my own story, she said.20

Suicides Due to COVID-19 Shot Reactions

Brianne Dressen, cofounder of React10, a nonprofit offering financial and other support to those suffering from long-term adverse events from COVID-19 shots, detailed several suicides among victims suffering from electric shocks, neuropathy, tinnitus, tremors and other effects from the shots. She also considered suicide due to adverse effects she suffered after participating in the AstraZeneca trial:21

I dont think people realize how debilitating the symptoms are. My husband couldnt leave me alone for months. Hed leave the house and he didnt know if he was going to come home to a wife that was alive. He was afraid, every moment of every day, and it seeps into our kids lives.

Six months, I was not mom, I was not a human. I was just going to drive down to the lake. And I was going to carbon monoxide my car. And I was gonna put AstraZeneca did this on a sign in the window. And I was too sick to do it. So only reason Im alive is because I was too sick to do it. And I would like to finish with a letter from a friend, Bree:

I cannot take this any longer. This has taken everything away from me, my career, my family, my life, my body will not stop attacking itself. And this is beyond the worst amount of torture. Please accept my apologies. I must bid farewell to this world. Please make sure the world knows the cruelty that has been imposed upon us. Goodbye, my dear friend, I will see you on the flip side.

Rochelle Walensky. Janet Woodcock, Peter Marks, Anthony Fauci, you erased her and the many others like her, their blood is on your hands. You cannot bring my friends back. But you can save others from their fate. If you finally just tell the truth.

The film calls for an open dialogue and a movement from humanity to ask the difficult questions and acknowledge those who are suffering due to COVID-19 shots. We must be seen, believed and helped, Sharp said. Our stories are anecdotal, but in a situation where the science is changing, the studies are flawed and political agendas regulate, anecdotes could quite possibly be the most reliable data that we have. Yes, we are anecdotal. And these are our stories.22

Originally published January 14, 2023 on Mercola.com

Sources and References
House Oversight Chairman Promises Swift Investigation After More Classified Documents Found at Bidens Home

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, speaks to reporters on his way to a closed-door GOP caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 10, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said that swift congressional oversight is coming, after the White House revealed on Jan. 14 that additional pages of classified documents had been found at President Joe Bidens home in Wilmington, Delaware.

We first learned about the Penn Biden Center classified documents months after they were found in an unsecure closet, Comer wrote according to a statement. Then it took the White House weeks to inform the public about the documents found in President Bidens Wilmington garage.

And now days later, we are learning that there are more documents at the Wilmington residence. Are there more classified documents to be found? Comer asked.

Classified Documents

It has been a tumultuous week for the Biden administration, since White House lawyer Richard Sauber on Jan. 9 revealed that documents with classified markings were found at the presidents former office space at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington.

The timing of the revelation has raised some questions, given that the public didnt become aware of the documents immediately after they were found. According to Sauber, the documents were found on Nov. 2, 2022just days before the midterm electionsand were turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) the next day.

On Saturday, Sauber announced that five additional pages with classification markings were found in Bidens Wilmington residence two days earlier, in addition to one classified document found there on Wednesday.

The six pages were found in a room next to the garage at his Wilmington residence, according to Sauber.

The potential mishandling of classified documents and other government records from the Obama administration is under investigation by a former federal prosecutor, Robert Hur, who was named as a special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Jan. 12.

President Bidens three strikes against transparency will be met with swift congressional oversight, Comer wrote. The White House, the National Archives, and the Justice Department failed to promptly inform Congress and the American people about mishandled classified documents from Joe Bidens time as vice president.

On Friday, Comer announced that his committee had already launched an investigation into Bidens documents, in a letter to White House counsel Stuart Delery. The Kentucky Republican requested the White House to turn over a range of documents and other materials by Jan. 27.

The Biden White Houses secrecy in this matter is alarming, Comer added. Equally alarming is the fact that Biden aides were combing through documents knowing there would be a Special Counsel appointed.

Many questions need to be answered but one thing is certain: oversight is coming.

Double Standard

Following the discovery of another batch of classified documents at Bidens home, some Republican lawmakers took aim at the Department of Justice, wondering why FBI agents have not searched Bidens home.

More classified documents found in President Bidens home, yet still no FBI raidthe double standard is apparent, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) wrote on Twitter. Americans deserve to know why President Biden had these documents & who had access to them.

Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) posted on Twitter, WHERE IS THE FBI? TWO SYSTEMS OF JUSTICE!

Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) wrote on Twitter saying that Bidens home is a crime scene.

Why is the @FBI not raiding his home the same way they did President Trumps? Harshbarger wrote. The @FBI owes the American people answers.

FBI agents raided Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in August 2022, seizing over 11,000 documents and photographs without classified markings and around 100 documents marked classified or top secret. However, Trump has said he declassified the materials when he left office.

In November, Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel overseeing DOJ probes related to Trump.

Full FBI raid happens when? Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote on Twitter.

Investigation

The House Judiciary Committee is conducting its own investigation into the discovery of classified documents at Bidens home and former office.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the chairman of the committee, and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote a letter to Garland on Friday announcing the investigation.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) speaks during an on-camera interview near the House Chambers during a series of votes in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 09, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

We are conducting oversight of the Justice Departments actions with respect to former Vice President Bidens mishandling of classified documents, including the apparently unauthorized possession of classified material at a Washington, D.C. private office and in the garage of his Wilmington, Delaware residence, the two lawmakers wrote.

It is unclear when the Department first came to learn about the existence of these documents, and whether it actively concealed this information from the public on the eve of the 2022 election, they continued. It is also unclear what interactions, if any, the Department had with President Biden or his representatives about his mishandling of classified material.

The committee requested a range of documents and communications by Jan. 27, including those among the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Executive Office of the President.

We expect your complete cooperation with our inquiry, they added.
Iran Sentences Belgian Aid Worker to Prison, Lashes

This is a locator map for Iran with its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo)

DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesIran has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to a lengthy prison term and 74 lashes after convicting him of espionage in a closed-door trial, state media reported Tuesday.

The website of Irans judiciary said a Revolutionary Court sentenced 41-year-old Olivier Vandecasteele to 12.5 years in prison for espionage, 12.5 years for collaboration with hostile governments and 12.5 years for money laundering. He was also fined $1 million and sentenced to 2.5 years for currency smuggling.

Under Iranian law, Vandecasteele would be eligible for release after 12.5 years. The judiciary website said the verdicts can be appealed.

Iran has detained a number of foreigners and dual nationals over the years, accusing them of espionage or other state security offenses and sentencing them after secretive trials in which rights groups say they are denied due process.

Critics accuse Iran of using such prisoners as bargaining chips with the West, something Iranian officials deny. Vandecasteeles conviction comes after an Iranian diplomat in Belgium received a 20-year prison sentence in 2021 over masterminding a thwarted bomb attack against an exiled Iranian opposition group in France.

Iran has not released any details about the charges against Vandecasteele. It is unclear if they are related to anti-regime protests that have convulsed Iran for months or a long-running shadow war with Israel and the United States marked by covert attacks on Irans disputed nuclear program.

The nationwide protests began after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained for allegedly violating Irans strict Islamic dress code. Rallying under the slogan Women, life, freedom, the protesters say they are fed up with decades of social and political repression. Iran has blamed the protests on foreign powers, without providing evidence.

Vandecasteeles family said last month that he has been detained in an Iranian prison for months and has been on a hunger strike. They said he was deprived of access to a lawyer of his choice and is suffering from serious health problems.

Belgium has urged its nationals to leave Iran, warning that they face the risk of arbitrary arrest or unfair trial.

Iran has provided no official information regarding the charges against Olivier Vandecasteele or his trial, Belgiums Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said in a statement. We will summon the Iranian ambassador today, given the information that is circulating in the press.

Belgium continues to condemn this arbitrary detention and is doing everything possible to put an end to it and to improve the conditions of his detention, she said.

The anti-government protests, which have continued for nearly four months with no sign of ending, are one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution that brought it to power.

At least 520 protesters have been killed and more than 19,300 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the unrest. Iranian authorities have not provided official figures on deaths or arrests.

Iran has executed at least four people after convicting them of charges linked to the protests, including attacks on security forces. They were convicted in Revolutionary Courts, which do not allow those on trial to pick their own lawyers or see the evidence against them.

London-based Amnesty International has said such trials bear no resemblance to a meaningful judicial proceeding.

Norway and Denmark summoned Iranian ambassadors this week to protest the executions and Irans handling of the demonstrations.

What is happening in Iran is completely unacceptable and must stop, Norways Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said. We have strongly condemned the executions.

In Denmark, Foreign Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen called the executions completely unacceptable and said the European Union should impose additional sanctions on Iran.

Separately on Tuesday, the state-run IRNA news agency said Irans intelligence ministry arrested six teams of operatives linked to Mossad, Israels chief intelligence and secret-service agency.

Without providing evidence, the report said the spy teams planned to assassinate an unnamed high-ranking military official and had carried out several sabotage operations in the countrys big cities.

The report also said security forces identified 23 alleged members of these teams and had arrested 13 of them who were in the country.
Iran Sentences Former Presidents Daughter to a 5-Year Prison Term

Faezeh Rafsanjani, daughter of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, speaks to a journalist as she attends a reformist campaign for upcoming parliamentary election, in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 18, 2016. (Raheb Homavandi/Reuters)

DUBAIThe activist daughter of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been sentenced to five years in prison, her lawyer said on Tuesday.

The lawyer did not give detail of the charges against Faezeh Hashemi. But Tehrans public prosecutor indicted Hashemi last year on charges of propaganda against the system, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

State media in September reported she had been arrested for inciting riots in Tehran during protests triggered by the death of a young Kurdish woman in police custody.

The demonstrations have posed one of the biggest challenges to Irans clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution.

Following the arrest of Ms. Faezeh Hashemi, she was sentenced to five years in prison but the sentence is not final, defense lawyer Neda Shams wrote on her Twitter account.

In 2012, Faezeh Hashemi was sentenced to jail and banned from political activities for anti-state propaganda dating back to the 2009 disputed presidential election.

Her father died in 2017.

Former president Rafsanjanis pragmatic policies of economic liberalization and better relations with the West attracted fierce supporters and equally fierce critics during his life. He was one of the founders of the Islamic Republic.
Loudoun County Prosecutors to No Longer Handle Certain Misdemeanor Crimes

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va.Loudoun County Commonwealths Attorney (CA) Buta Biberaj has announced that her office will no longer automatically be involved in prosecuting certain misdemeanor crimes, including trespassing, petty larceny, underage possession of alcohol, and being drunk in public.

The announcement came on Friday, a day after ABC7 reported a letter Biberaj wrote to Loudoun County judges on Dec. 30 announcing the change, effective from Jan. 16.

I would like to have the opportunity to present to you changes that are occurring in the Office of the Commonwealths Attorney that may impact your courts, Biberaj began in the letter. The change was based on the decision to prioritize resources for prosecuting the more egregious cases that are being charged by law enforcement and threaten the safety of our community.

Friday morning, Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman released a statement stating that his office hadnt received any official correspondence from Biberajs office. While we are disappointed in this action by the Office of the Commonwealths Attorney, we are doing everything in our power to support our deputies through this transition and will make every effort to ensure that we continue to partner with the community to provide the same great service to the everyone in Loudoun County.

At the press conference on Friday afternoon, Biberaj said the letter to the judges was prematurely released.

You didnt know because it wasnt your time to know, she responded to a reporters question that law enforcement and others were surprised by the change.

We invited our general court judges to have a conversation: how can we do this and best serve you and best serve our community? she said of the process. And from that conversation, the next step would be to talk to our law enforcement partners. The next step is to talk out to our defense bar in our community and then to be able to share that with the public.

Biberaj said that her office promised transparency and had been under a microscope. Since weve had Attorney General Miyares coming to office, theres been a direct attack on our office about the things that we do, she said.

In response to Biberajs comment and her new policy to stop handling certain misdemeanors, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told The Epoch Times, Prosecutors cannot cherry-pick laws to enforce and laws to ignorethats not how our government works, and it establishes a dangerous precedent.

Far-left Commonwealths Attorneys who ignore crime create an environment that only encourages more of it. Virginians deserve better, he added.

Will Loudoun See Crime Open Season?

At the press conference, Biberaj said that misdemeanor crimes will still be prosecuted after Jan. 16.

If anyone reads the letter, theres a portion in it as such talking about the fact that these cases are prosecuted, and theyre presented to the court by law enforcement.

She said no one should read her letter and interpret it as, This is an open season; go commit a crime.

She added, We would still prosecute those if were needed. So thats the point Im trying to make: all those cases will continue to be prosecuted. What were doing is we are extending the opportunity to our law enforcement officers to take the lead and making those presentations, but the prosecution has not changed. They will all be prosecuted.

Chris Kachouroff, a criminal defense lawyer and a former police officer, said that the words of the letter plainly indicate that the Loudoun Commonwealths Attorney will not prosecute these crimes. Thats open season. He said that the CAs office policy change would effectively lead to those misdemeanor cases not being prosecuted. According to his experience, law enforcement officers wouldnt make the arrests if certain charges werent prosecuted.

Kachouroff also gave an example: Virginias petty larceny is any theft up to $1,000. If you dont think the bad guys know what this means, you are mistaken. They do, he added. And if these people arent even going to be arrested by the sheriff, theyre going to walk into all the retail stores, take clothes off the rack, and walk out. Theres nothing that anybody can do about it. Take a look at what is devastating the stores in California who has implemented the same policy.

He also commented, police officers are not lawyers, and they arent allowed to represent the state. He said that sometimes the Virginia courts play fast and loose with the rules in traffic cases, but these cases are not run-of-the-mill traffic cases. Sheriffs deputies are not trained lawyers and cannot legally play the role of a prosecutor.

I think people here are not ready for that, he told The Epoch Times. And I think she [Biberaj] is getting a little bit of backlash.

According to him, the law requires an artificial person, like a corporation or company, to be represented by a lawyer in court. He said a local government is also treated as an artificial person, and a lawyer is required. If not, a local government is getting an unwritten legal exception, and thats not right, said Kachouroff.

Kachouroff added that the police officers role in court is more like a witness answering questions posed by the prosecutor, whose goal is to present the facts, so the judge will find the defendant guilty.

When a prosecutor is missing from the picture, the judge shouldnt fill that role, said Kachouroff. If a judge plays the part of the prosecutor, then one person would simultaneously exercise the powers of the judicial and executive branches, which violates Article III of the Constitution of Virginia, entitled division of power.

Loudoun County Sheriffs Office hasnt responded to Epoch Times inquiry about whether the office would still arrest misdemeanor offenders whom the CAs office wouldnt prosecute.

Biberaj Challenged in Re-Election

Earlier in the week, Elizabeth Lancastera Democrat, criminal defense lawyer, and former deputy public defenderannounced to run against Biberaj in the primary for the next CA in Loudoun County. The next general re-election for the countys leading criminal justice officer position is in November 2023.

Anyone who works in the justice system knows that the types of misdemeanor crimes Ms. Biberaj is refusing to be involved with are most often committed by our most vulnerable populations; folks with substance abuse disorders or those experiencing a mental health crisis, Lancaster told The Epoch Times.

Charges like trespass and drunk in public are often brought against our homeless population. These populations are already struggling to advocate for themselves for their basic needs, and yet we are going to ask them to do this in Court? she added. It is a dereliction of duty generally. It is an abomination for an elected official who ran on a platform of criminal justice reform.

Lancaster had represented the victims family in the infamous high school bathroom rape in Loudoun County.

CA Personally Prosecuted Recent Trespassing Case

Jon Tigges (C), his attorney Chris Kachouroff (R), supporter Ralph Polachek outside the Loudoun County courthouse in Leesburg, Va., on Jan. 4, 2023. (Courtesy of Jon Tigges)

While a lack of resources was the reason for the CAs office to drop the automatic involvement in some misdemeanor cases, on Jan. 3 and 4, Biberaj personally prosecuted a Loudoun fathers trespassing appeal case.

Jon Tigges was arrested during a Loudoun County school board meeting on June 22, 2021, for trespassing after refusing to leave the board room of the public meeting. He was found not guilty after the two-day trial.

Biberajs office didnt respond to The Epoch Times inquiry about why she personally prosecuted a trespassing case while shifting her offices resources away from trespassing and other misdemeanor cases.

Tigges attorney Chris Kachouroff previously told The Epoch Times that Biberajs involvement in Tigges case was highly unusual.

Ive been practicing for 22 years. There are two times I can remember a Commonwealths Attorney personally prosecuting any case, and both were high-profile murder trials, Kachouroff told The Epoch Times. I cannot conceive of a Commonwealths attorney ever prosecuting a misdemeanor. They have the power, but thats like the President screwing in the light bulbs in the White House. Can she do it? Sure, but why?

The office said in a previous statement to The Epoch Times that it relies on law enforcement to make charging decisions. When charges are filed and referred to the Office of the Commonwealths Attorney, we assess the evidence and present it to the court. We may be disappointed at the decision, but we respect the decision and thank the court for its time and consideration of this matter.

In August 2021, Virginians for Safe Communities (VSC) launched a signature campaign to recall Biberaj. The organization said the CAs neglect of duty, misuse of office, and incompetence in the performance of her duties were reasons for its petition.

VSC told The Epoch Times, We are rapidly approaching the required threshold of signatures. But as the 2023 election fast approaches, our efforts will begin to transition toward voter education ahead of the June 2023 primary election to ensure Ms. Biberaj is removed from office one way or another.

Below is the complete list of misdemeanors that the Loudoun County CAs office will cease to be involved in without a request from the Sheriffs office:

Traffic Offenses; Traffic infractions (the consequences are fines) Reckless driving: speeding under 90 mph First offense driving on suspended/no operators license Hit and run: property damage Eluding Registration and titling offenses

Criminal Offenses, includes those offenses that are statutorily eligible for deferred findings: Trespass (deferred finding eligible) Petty Larceny Possession of Schedule III/IV (deferred finding eligible) Drunk in Public (max fine is $250) Underage Possession of Alcohol (deferred finding eligible) Noise Complaints Violations of Ordinances Failure to Appears Trials in Absence (not punishable by jail/fine only)

This article was updated to include a comment from Virginias attorney general.
Marxist Scholar Who Helped to Cement Deng Xiaopings Rise to Power Dies

Hu Fuming's writing questioned the 'Two Whatevers'

Patients on stretchers are seen at Tongren hospital in Shanghai on Jan. 3, 2023. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

News Analysis

In early January, headlines around the world noted the passing of Hu Fuming, professor of philosophy at Chinas Nanjing University. Hu died on Jan. 2, as COVID-19 raged in China. He was renowned for his role in writing Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth, a 1978 article that helped former leader Deng Xiaoping consolidate power.

On May 11, 1978, state media Guangming Daily published Hus article on its front page. Chinas propaganda machine boasted that the article sparked a huge shock in Chinas ideological and theoretical circles, setting off a nationwide discussion on the question of the criteria of truth, and marking a prelude to liberation of the mind.

Although Hus writing of the article was unsolicited, its publication was carefully planned. Hu Yaobang, Chinas propaganda head at the time, carefully organized and promoted it in order to support Dengs takeover from Mao Zedongs successor Hua Guofeng.

Questioning the Two Whatevers

In July 1977, one year after the ending of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reinstated Deng Xiaoping to leadership positions in the Party, government, and army. However, Deng was very dissatisfied with the Two Whatevers political slogan advocated by Hua Guofeng, Mao Zedongs successor.

The phrase may sound slightly comedic to Western ears. However, the Two Whatevers was a very serious slogan. It referred to Huas statement that we will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave.

Hu Yaobang was a close ally of Deng. In December of 1977, at the pivotal CCP meeting that marked Dengs rise to power, Hu said the evaluation of the Cultural Revolution depends on the actual results, and it must be tested by real-life practice, rather than relying on certain documents or someones speech.

In early 1978, the CCPs Theoretical Research Office decided to put Hu Yaobangs opinions into writing with the title, Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth.

Coincidentally, Hu Fuming had submitted an article on the same topic to state newspaper Guangming Daily. The Theoretical Research Office decided to combine the two articles into one piece directing criticism at the Two Whatevers.

Instrumental in Dengs Rise to Power

After being reviewed and approved by Hu Yaobang, the article was published on May 10, 1978, in Theoretical Trends, an internal CCP publication. The next day, Guangming Daily published the full text on the front page under the byline of a special commentator. Subsequently, Xinhua News Agency, Peoples Daily, and the PLA Daily reprinted the article, and within days, it spread throughout the country.

The article helped Deng Xiaoping gain absolute power within the Party. After ascending to the top of Party leadership, Deng adopted the reform and opening up policies that saved Chinas economy from the brink of collapse and ultimately allowed the CCP to sustain its regime.

State media stopped referring to Hua Guofeng as the wise and great leader by January of 1979, and Hu Yaobang replaced him as Party Chairman in 1980.

As the maxim Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth came to be widely accepted by the Chinese people, it helped Marxism in China to wrap itself in the cloak of so-called truth.

Because of the article, Hu Fuming received many commendations and honors from the CCP. Four decades later, the CCPs central authorities continued to praise him for his contribution. The State Council awarded him the title of Reform Pioneer in December of 2018, and again, the title of Most Beautiful Striver in September of 2019.

Marxism Inflicted Untold Misery

Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth claims that Marxism and Mao Zedongs thought are the truth, saying that Marxism is recognized as the truth because it has been proven by millions of people over a long period of time and Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought are powerful precisely because they are objective truths that have been tested in practice.

Is Marxism the truth? Both Chinese and foreign philosophers, as well as world leaders, have analyzed and discussed it.

In a May 2018 article in The Strategist, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt wrote that Marxism has inflicted untold misery on tens of millions of people who have been forced to live under regimes waving its banner. For much of the 20th century, 40 percent of humanity suffered famines, gulags, censorship and other forms of repression at the hands of self-proclaimed Marxists.

It [Marxism] was all rubbish, and Marxs theory of historydialectical materialismhas since been proved wrong and dangerous in practically every respect, Bildt continued. The great 20th-century philosopher Karl Popper, one of Marxs strongest critics, rightly called him a false prophet.

False prophet refers to Marxs prediction that when private propertywhich Marx believed to be the root of all evil in capitalismis abolished, classes will disappear and mankind will have a harmonious future.

Wang Jiadian, former director of the History Institute at the Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences, wrote in Modern Chinese Studies that in the fifty years after World War II, in the silent contest between the free democratic camp and the camp of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the latter was an indisputable loser.

Hu Fumings Death: A Wake-Up Call

The death of the man whose influential article gave a veneer of truth to Marxism post-Maoat a time when COVID-19 is ravaging Chinashould be a wake-up call.

In March 2020, during the initial stage of the pandemic, Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi wrote an article entitled Stay Rational. He said, Truth be told, pandemics only come when peoples morals and values have turned bad and they have come to have a massive amount of karma.

Li said he believes that the pandemic has a clear target.

A pandemic like the current Chinese communist virus (or Wuhan virus) comes with a purpose behind it, and it has targets. It is here to weed out members of the Party and those who have sided with it, Li said.

Li warned, What people should do, instead, is to repent to the divine with all due sincerity, admit to their faults, and pray for a chance to change their ways.
Chinese oil giant Sinopec on Wednesday became the first Asian firm to get a stake in Qatar's expansion of North Field East, the Gulf country's energy company announced.
Masterclass of Hypocrisy, Private Jet Use at Davos Attracts Severe Criticism Due to High Emissions

Founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab delivers remarks at the Congress centre during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on May 23, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

Private jet use during Davos meetings in May 2022 pushed up carbon emissions by four times, with event participants coming under criticism for pushing the climate change agenda on one hand while not undertaking any actions to rein in their own excessive emissions.

During the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos between May 2226, 2022, 1,040 private jets flew in and out of airports serving Davos, according to a Jan. 13 report by Greenpeace. This caused carbon dioxide emissions from private jets to be four times greater than when compared to an average week.

The number of jets coming in and going out of Davos had doubled during the week, resulting in 9,700 tons of CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to roughly 350,000 average cars. The majority of these jets are attributed to private flights undertaken by participants for the WEF meeting.

Klara Maria Schenk, a transport campaigner for Greenpeaces European mobility campaign, called the private jet use at Davos a distasteful masterclass of hypocrisy given that WEF claims to be committed to the Paris Climate Target of keeping the climate warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Eighty percent of the global population who suffer from the consequences of climate-damaging aviation emissions have never even flown, she said, according to a Jan. 13 press release.

Meanwhile, the rich and powerful flock to Davos in ultra-polluting, socially inequitable private jets to discuss climate and inequality behind closed doors, said Schenk.

Private Flight Pollution

Of all the private jets tracked during the Davos meeting week, 53 percent were found to be short-haul flights below 750 kilometers which the Greenpeace report says could have been done with car or train trips. Out of these, 38 percent were ultra-short distance flights under 500 kilometers, with the shortest flight just 21 kilometers.

France, Italy, and Germany were found to be the three nations that recorded the highest number of arrivals and departures out of airports in Davos.

Davos has a perfectly adequate railway station, still these people cant even be bothered to take the train for a trip as short as 21 km. Do we really believe that these are the people to solve the problems the world faces? Schenk said.

On a per-passenger kilometer basis, private jets are the most polluting mode of transportation. The issue of private jet emissions came to attention last year after several public figures were criticized for using these jets to make short journeys.

In the European Union, private jets are not subjected to regulation. But in 2022, France led other nations in the bloc to push for regulating private jet emissions in the region.

Jets Versus Train Emissions, Greenpeace Leftist Agenda

In an article last year, Kelvin Chan, a business writer from London who works with the Associated Press noted that his 870-km train trip to Davos ended up outputting only 12.2 kilograms of carbon dioxide per passenger. In contrast, if he had taken a flight, the same trip would have resulted in 197 kilograms of emissions.

Private jets are estimated to emit 10 times more carbon dioxide per person compared to commercial flights and roughly 50 times when compared to trains. In total, aviation accounts for around 2 percent of carbon emissions globally.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace, the organization behind the Davos private jet emission report, has faced intense scrutiny for allegedly hyping up the issue of climate change.

In an email obtained by The Epoch Times in September, Patrick Moore, who founded Greenpeace and left the organization in 1986, points out that the group was hijacked by the political left when they realized that the environmental movement came with money and power.

Leftist political activists from Europe and North America have changed Greenpeace to a political fundraising organization from a science-based one, he stated.

The campaigns run by environmental groups against CO2, plastic, and nuclear energy are misguided and designed to make people think that the world will come to an end unless they destroy their economies and cripple their civilizations, Moore wrote.
Minnesota Mans Murder Conviction Vacated in Wifes Death

Thomas Rhodes smiles as he walked out of a Minnesota state prison, in Moose Lake, Minn., on Jan. 13, 2023. (Fong Lee via AP)

A Minnesota man who served nearly 25 years in connection with his wifes death walked out of prison on Friday after authorities vacated his murder convictions and allowed him to plead guilty to manslaughter, citing a problem with expert testimony from a doctor whose statements in other cases have also come under scrutiny.

Thomas Rhodes, who is now 63, was convicted in 1998 of first- and second-degree murder in the death of his 36-year-old wife, Jane Rhodes, who fell overboard and drowned on a night-time boat ride with her husband on Green Lake in Spicer in 1996.

The murder conviction hinged on the testimony of Dr. Michael McGee, who said Rhodes grabbed his wife by the neck, threw her overboard and ran her over several times, the Attorney Generals Office said in a statement Friday. Rhodes told investigators his wife fell out of the boat and disappeared while he frantically searched for her in the dark.

The Conviction Review Unit in the Attorney Generals Office examined the case. As part of that investigation, a forensic pathologist found that Jane Rhodes death was not inconsistent with an accidental fall, the office said.

With the benefit of a thorough review of all the evidence and circumstances, the CRU found that the medical evidence used in Mr. Rhodes conviction was flawed, the statement said.

I look forward to hugging my sons Eric and Jason, being a good grandfather to my six wonderful grandkids, and having time to create new memories with family and friends, Rhodes told the Mankato Free Press on Friday.

Messages left Saturday at phone numbers listed for Michael McGee were not immediately returned. Efforts to reach him through social media were not immediately successful.

The states report did not exonerate Rhodes: the Attorney Generals Office said there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction of second-degree manslaughter, saying negligence led to his wifes death. However, Rhodes has spent nearly 25 years in prison, which is more than twice the maximum sentence allowed for the manslaughter conviction.

Rhodes drove a small, unstable boat late at night at top speed, knowing that his wife could not swim, the statement said. She was neither wearing a life jacket nor were life jackets available. Also, the boat had no flashlights or a quick way to call for help.

On Friday, a Kandiyohi County judge vacated Rhodes murder convictions. The Minnesota Department of Corrections said the judge then accepted a plea to second-degree manslaughter. Rhodes was sentenced to four years in prison, and got credit for time served, which led to his release, the corrections department said.

Rhodes is the first person released in Minnesota since the Conviction Review Unit was created in 2021. The unit reviews legal cases for people who claim to be innocent.

He was beaming the whole time, Hayley Drozdowski-Poxleitner, a spokesperson for the Great North Innocence Project, said of Rhodes. This has been a long, long time coming.

The Great North Innocence Project, which worked with the Attorney Generals Office, said in a news release that nine forensic pathologists reviewed the case and found that Jane Rhodes injuries were most likely caused by a blow to her head, possibly from falling out of the boat or from an unintentional hit by the boat as Rhodes searched the water.

None of the forensic pathologists would have called her death a murder, the organization said.

Testimony from McGee has been questioned in several cases in recent years. In 2021, a federal judge threw out the death sentence of a man who was convicted of kidnapping in the 2003 slaying of North Dakota college student Dru Sjodin, in part because of testimony from McGee. That judge said new evidence showed McGee, the former Ramsey County Medical Examiner, was guessing on the witness stand. Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. is expected to be re-sentenced, and prosecutors have said they will still seek the death penalty.

By Margaret Stafford
New Online Portal Released for Sexual Assault Survivors in Australian State

In Australia, more women than men have reported being exposed to physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner. (Idanupong/Adobe Stock)

Victims and survivors of sexual assault in New South Wales (NSW) will now be able to report their experience to police online.

NSW Police Force released on Jan. 13 the enhanced new online portal of the Sexual Assault Reporting Option (SARO), which will allow victims of sexual assault to report and provide information without taking part in a formal police report or go through a legal process.

Since 2012, victims and survivors needed to print off and complete a 14-page document before emailing it to the State Crime Commands Sex Crimes Squad.

The new online portal will now replace this old process, allowing victims to report experiences at their own pace and anonymously.

The system allows victims to upload images and is available in 12 languages including English; making it more accessible and easy for victims.

NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Police Paul Toole said the new online portal will encourage victims and survivors to come forward with their experiences.

While we want to stop would-be perpetrators before its too late, its absolutely critical we take a victim-focussed approach to supporting those involved through the reporting option, Toole said.

Through the hard work of those involved in the Sexual Violence Project, NSW Police have been able to identify ways to better support victims through their journey and to also ensure we take all opportunities to reduce offending.

Supporting Victims With Reporting Cases

With many sexual violence and assault cases being under-reported, the online portal allows victims to take the first step to record their sexual assault without commencing a police investigation straight away. NSW Council of Social Services (NCOSS) reported that although in NSW there are around 2,500 reports of domestic violence every month, this likely represents only 40 percent of actual crime levels due to underreporting.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA  MARCH 07: A woman holds a protest sign calling for action against domestic violence in Hyde Park during the Sydney International Womens Day march on March 07, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. International Womens Day is celebrated around the world on March 8 every year and is the focal point for the womens rights movement. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

While the online portal does not commence a police investigation, it empowers victims of sexual assault to take the first step and record their sexual assault, whether or not they wish at a later date to have the matter investigated, Toole said.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said this new reporting option will help police understand sexual violence in the community, assist victims, and hold offenders accountable.

For many victim-survivors, a police investigation and court process are the farthest thing from their mind and often they feel further traumatised through the process, Webb said.

NSW Police Sex Crimes Squad Commander, Superintendent Jayne Doherty said that the police force is continuing to review and improve its methods and processes around sexual violence.

While trauma affects individuals in different ways, reporting can be therapeutic for those victims who wish to share their experience and do so online from their own home or a safe location. For some victims, this may be their first disclosure of the sexual assault, Doherty said.

After taking the step to submit the report, victims can opt-out of further contact with police, or they can choose to be identified and request that police follow up in certain circumstances.

With records of reports in the SARO system, victims can also return at a later day to make more statements when they are ready.

When youve gone through something so traumatic youre a shell of what you once were so the last thing you want to do is go through a rigorous reporting process, said abuse survivor Harrison James, reported News.

Sexual Assault Trends on the Rise in NSW

The number of reports made on SARO continues to increase each year, with the monthly average increasing from 64 reports in 2021 to 70 reports in 2022.

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Researchs (BOCSAR) NSW Recorded Crime Statistics Quarterly Update September 2022 released on Dec. 12, 2022, shows that police reports of domestic violence assault increased 13.1 percent in the five years to September 2022. Sexual assault increased 25.9 percent over the same period.

The Sexual Violence Reform Priorities paper released in November 2022 by Full Stop Australia, highlights sexual assault as the fastest growing violent crime across Australia.

Reporting recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports (pdf) that whilst there was a decrease in personal crimes such as homicide, theft, and kidnapping between 1995-2020, sexual assault increased by 110 percent during the 25 years period.

Support from Rape Survivor Groups

Full Stop Australias Director of Clinical and Client Services Tara Hunter supported the initiative and said it was a great step forward in addressing issues experienced when reporting sexual violence.

Full Stop Australia is an organisation and charity that supports people affected by sexual, domestic or family violence.

We know sexual violence in our community continues to be under-reported and we see the SARO as a tool for victim-survivors to make initial contact with police following an incident of sexual violence, where they are able record the details and return to making a more formal statement if and when they are ready, Hunter said, report ABC news

Full Stop Australia supports these improvements to increase the reporting of sexual violence incidents in our community and look forward to continue working to better our justice and support systems for survivors of sexual, domestic and family violence.

Sexual abuse support organisations Survivors and Mates Support Network (SAMSN) and Stepping Out have been reached for comment.
North Macedonia: 4 Officers Arrested Over Convicts Escape

SKOPJE, North MacedoniaNorth Macedonia authorities said Saturday that four prison officers, including a police commander, have been arrested under suspicion of having helped a prisoner convicted of murder escape while being transferred to a hospital.

The prosecutors office said in a statement that the commander in charge of external security at the capital Skopjes main prison of Idrizovo and three officers helped and enabled the convict Bekim Memeti to escape. They are charged with illegal release of a person deprived of liberty.

According to the prosecution, Memeti injured himself by cutting the palm of his hand late Thursday and, following the police commanders instructions, he was sent without an escort to an emergency treatment center instead of being treated in the prisons infirmary.

Procedure requires that if a convict needs to be treated in an outside facility, prison authorities must request a police escort.

Furthermore, and against the rules, Memeti was placed in the middle, which enabled him to grab the pistol from one of the prison officers and start shooting inside the van, injuring the driver and demanding that the vehicle stop. Mehmeti escaped with a car parked in front of the van and none of the prison officers gave chase.

An investigating magistrate ordered that three of the prison officers be placed in custody for eight days, while the fourth was banned from leaving the country. Custody could be extended as the investigation continues, and pending a trial.

Police are searching for the escapee and have issued a warrant. Memeti was sentenced to 20 years in prison a for murder committed in 2016. He has already escaped once before.

By Konstantin Testorides
Not a Coup, but a Coverup

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is joined by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch during a press conference at the Justice Department to announce the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the discovery of classified documents held by President Joe Biden at an office and his home, in Washington on Jan. 12, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Commentary

Speculation is growing in Republican media circles that the recent scandal over President Joe Bidens improper possession of classified information from his time as vice president represents an internal coup. The theory holds that Democratic Party insiders, particularly Obama-era officials situated within the Biden administration, are using the revelations of Bidens carelessness to push him aside or at least prevent him from running for reelection in 2024.

Capitol Hill sources say its true that the Biden administration is a hornets nest with several factions vying for control, including one led by domestic policy adviser Susan Rice and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, both Obama loyalists. However, a careful look at the evidence shows that senior Biden aides, Democratic officials, and the partys media apparatus are circling the wagons to protect Biden. What were watching isnt a coup but a coverup.

Press reports show that at the beginning of November 2022, Bidens lawyers found classified documents in his office at a Washington think tank affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania that bears his name: the Penn Biden Center. This account is improbable. If Bidens legal team, rather than his administrative staff, typically sorted through his papers, its likely they would have previously identified the classified records in question.

There were at least two other opportunities for Bidens aides to find the papers among his belongings. The first came when his staff packed his boxes as he left the Office of the Vice President in January 2017. It isnt yet known where the documents were kept between then and when they were moved to the Penn Biden Center when it opened in 2018. The move would have given his staff another chance to find the classified documents. Hence, it seems likely that it was an outside source that alerted either the Biden team, the National Archives, or the Department of Justice to the fact that the president was improperly holding classified documents.

In a press conference on Jan. 12, Attorney General Merrick Garland said that on Nov. 9, 2022, he asked the FBI to assess whether those records had been mishandled. On Nov. 14, 2022, he asked the U.S. attorney in Chicago, John Lausch, to conduct an initial investigation.

Administration officials and Biden loyalists in federal law enforcement knew they had a problem. Mishandling classified documents was the basis of a broad Democratic Party campaign against Bidens possible 2024 rival, former President Donald Trump.

The FBI raided Trumps Florida home in August 2022 to seize classified documents, and rumors circulated that indictments were in the offing. Eventually, the Department of Justice appointed a special counsel to investigate Trump. Biden even chastised his predecessor for mishandling classified documents in a September 2022 media interview. And now, here was Biden as culpable as the man they hoped to destroy with the same instrumentclassified documents.

The Biden team moved to attenuate the potential fallout with a leak to the press. A Nov. 14, 2022, Washington Post article citing people familiar with the matter explained that FBI interviews with witnesses so far, they said, also do not point to any nefarious effort by Trump to leverage, sell or use the government secrets. Instead, the former president seemed motivated by a more basic desire not to give up what he believed was his property.

That is, contrary to the public outcry that Trump had taken the documents for illicit purposeshe was selling U.S. nuclear secrets to Saudi Arabia, one journalist claimed without evidence or reasonthere was nothing sinister at play. Rather, he was simply motivated by ego.

The Nov. 14, 2022, article was evidence that the Biden circle was walking back its scorched-earth campaign against Trump on classified papers. Nearly three months later, its clear whyto reframe the context for when news of Bidens own problems with classified documents went public.

When the story broke last week in administration-friendly media outlets, Democratic lawmakers not only rallied around the president but also compared his response favorably to Trumps. Unlike Trumps team that argued with the institution tasked to keep U.S. records, Bidens lawyers, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) intimated, appear to have taken immediate and proper action to notify the National Archives.

Dozens of media publications, from The New York Times to Vox, have published explainers showing why what Trump did is much worse than what Biden did. Trump had more documents, the argument runs; Bidens lawyers were more forthright; and so forth. The fact is that no one on the Democratic side has broken with the president or even so much as hinted that he did something wrong. This isnt what an internal coup looks like.

The special counsel appointed to investigate Bidens handling of classified documents identifies as a Republican but he appears to be a Never Trump Republican. Robert Hur is a protege of Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general under Trump who reportedly offered to wear a wire to spy on the previous president.

Rosenstein furthered the anti-Trump cause by withholding documents from the investigation led by former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) into alleged FBI crimes and abuses committed during the bureaus TrumpRussia probe. He also allegedly threatened to subpoena Nuness staffers, including Kash Patel. A winter 2018 chain of emails (pdf) between Department of Justice officials shows that Hur was part of the law enforcement team tasked to stonewall Nuness investigation.

Former congressional investigators say that Hurs appointment as special counsel is intended not to uncover potential crimes committed by the president but rather to give the appearance of a genuine investigation and thereby bury the issue once and for all. And thus, actions taken by the Biden administration and the responses of Democratic officials and the media show that whats unfolding at present isnt a coup, but a coverup.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Old Nazi Map Sparks Treasure Hunt in the Netherlands

OMMEREN, the NetherlandsAn old map believed to mark the spot where German soldiers hid treasure worth millions of euros during World War II sparked the imagination of amateur treasure hunters in the Netherland.

Armed with metal detectors and shovels, groups wandered through the fields surrounding rural Ommeren in the east of the country after the map was made public by the Dutch National Archive on Jan. 3.

The archive said the map was believed to indicate where Nazi soldiers had hidden four large boxes filled with diamonds, rubies, gold, silver, and all sorts of jewelry which they had looted after an explosion at a bank in August 1944.

The map was obtained from a German soldier shortly after the war by the Dutch institute that was tasked with tracing German capital in the Netherlands after the country was freed from Nazi occupation in 1945.

The research file which held the map was released last week as the maximum period of 75 years during which it could be held confidential had lapsed.

Although the existence of the treasure could never fully be confirmed, the institute undertook various failed attempts to find it in 1947, National Archive spokeswoman Anne-Marieke Samson told Reuters.

A street in the Dutch village of Ommeren, Netherlands, on Jan. 6, 2023. (Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters)

We dont know for sure if the treasure existed. But the institute did a lot of checks and found the story reliable, Samson said.

But they never found it and if it existed, the treasure might very well have been dug up already.

But the small chance of finding any valuables did not deter the amateur gold-diggers.

I see groups of people with metal detectors everywhere, 57-year old Jan Henzen told Reuters as he took a break from his own search.

Like a lot of people, the news about the treasure made me go look for myself. The chance of the treasure still being here after 70 years is very small I think, but I want to give it a try.

Former Ommeren mayor Klaas Tammes, who now runs the foundation that owns the lands that might hide the treasure, said he had seen people from all over the country.

A map with a row of three trees and a red cross marking a spot where a treasure should be hidden sparks the imagination, he said.

Anyone who finds anything will have to report it to us, so well see. But I wouldnt expect it to be easy.
Plane Crash in Nepal Leaves at Least 68 Dead: Officials

Rescue teams work to retrieve bodies at the crash site of an aircraft carrying 72 people in Pokhara in western Nepal on Jan. 15, 2023. (Bijay Neupane/Handout via Reuters)

At least 68 people were killed in Nepal when a plane crashed into a river gorge in the city of Pokhara on Jan. 15, officials said.

The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepals Yeti Airlines, was flying to Pokhara from the capital, Kathmandu, a 27-minute flight.

It was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nationals, and four crew members, Nepals Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina, and France.

According to data from flight tracking website Flightradar24, the plane departed at 04:47 UTC on Jan. 15. The website shows the 15-year-old twin-engine ATR 72 stopped transmitting its position at around 05:05 UTC (12 a.m. ET) and sent its last signal minutes later at 05:12 UTC.

The rescue operation is still in progress, the Nepalese aviation authority stated. No survivors have been found yet, and no Americans were on board.

Following the incident, a rescue team and helicopters were deployed in a prompt rescue operation to try to find survivors, the Civil Authority said. We expect to recover more bodies, a Nepal army spokesman told Reuters before saying that the aircraft has broken into pieces.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to the airport after the crash, set up a panel to investigate the accident. On Twitter, Dahal said he was deeply saddened by the sad and tragic accident.

I sincerely appeal to the security personnel, all agencies of the Nepal government, and the general public to start an effective rescue, he wrote.

Crowds gather as rescue teams work to retrieve bodies at the crash site of an aircraft carrying 72 people in Pokhara in western Nepal on Jan. 15, 2023. (Bijay Neupane/Handout via Reuters)

Local resident Divya Dhakal told the BBC that she saw the plane plunge to the ground and crash at around 11 a.m. local time.

By the time, I was there the crash site was already crowded. There was huge smoke coming from the flames of the plane. And then helicopters came over in no time, she said. The pilot tried his best to not hit civilization or any home

There was a small space right beside the Seti River and the flight hit the ground in that small space.

South Koreas Foreign Ministry said in a statement that its still trying to confirm the fate of two South Korean passengers and has sent staff to the scene. The Russian ambassador to Nepal, Alexei Novikov, confirmed the death of four Russian citizens who were on board the plane.

Pokhara, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas. The citys new international airport began operations only two weeks ago.

The type of plane involved, the ATR 72, has been used by airlines around the world for short regional flights. Introduced in the late 1980s by a French and Italian partnership, the aircraft model has been involved in several deadly accidents over the years. In Taiwan, two accidents involving ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600 aircraft happened just months apart.

In July 2014, a TransAsia ATR 72-500 flight crashed while trying to land on the scenic Penghu archipelago between Taiwan and China, killing 48 people onboard. An ATR 72-600 operated by the same Taiwanese airline crashed shortly after takeoff in Taipei in February 2015 after one of its engines failed and the second was shut down, apparently by mistake.

Our first thoughts are with all the individuals affected by this, ATR said in a statement after the Nepal crash. ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
When entering a building or a room, one naturally looks around. Yet Rafael Guastavinos engineering and architectural artistry immediately draws the eyes upward. For a century and longer, the juxtaposition of tiles arranged in domes and arches have awed countless people.

In fact, the Spanish immigrants indelible mark graces numerous iconic American structures, including New Yorks City Hall subway station and the Registry Room at Ellis Island, as well as Bostons Public Library. The myriad American buildings receiving Guastavinos signature stamp are grandly emblematic of a hopeful and prosperous America.

A Major Talent

Architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (18421908). (Public Domain)

Guastavino, born in 1842 in Spain, aspired to become a musician, according to John Ochsendorf, a professor in civil and environmental engineering and architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Instead, Guastavino became the master behind a unique, fireproof, patented ceiling tile arch system that involves self-supporting arches and interlocking terracotta tiles.

Guastavino entered Barcelonas School of Master Builders in 1861, studying such subjects as mechanics, descriptive geometry, and constructionall of which prepared him to understand the age-old European system of tile vaulting. Ochsendorfs 2010 extensive resource Guastavino Vaulting: The Art of Structural Tile states that Guastavinos well-rounded education in Spain enabled him to enter and win an 1868 design competition for a textile mill project. He applied his accumulated architectural knowledge and innate creativity and, as Ochsendorf pointed out, succeeded spectacularly. His first major project garnered significant attention, with a contemporary newspaper account describing the young architects ability to combine stone masonry and brick in order to create a magnificent industrial establishment.

After Guastavino earned a medal of merit for architectural plans submitted to the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, he decided to immigrate to the United States in 1881 in order to bring revolutionary lightweight vaulting  technology to North American cities for the first time, Ochsendorf wrote. With him came his 9-year-old son, Rafael Jr., who would eventually join his father as business partner.

Safety and Beauty

Guastavinos tiles cover the ceiling of the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant in Manhattan, N.Y. (Leonard J. DeFrancisci/CC BY-SA 3.0)

By 1882, Guastavinos architectural drawings in the Spanish Renaissance style, featured in the new magazine Decorator and Furnisher, launched his U.S. career. He subsequently submitted the winning design for the Progress Club in New York City. After that project, over the next several years, Guastavino was involved in construction aspects of more than 200 structures in New York City, including the main entrance to Carnegie Hall and the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station.

Each time he approached a new construction project, it was with a focus on safety: how to make a building, especially vaulted ceilings, both stunningly beautiful and durably fireproof. According to Guastavino, his vaults functioned through an internal bonding together of the tiles and mortar, which allowed each vault to function as a unified material that could take tension, and therefore exerted no thrust on the supports, Ochsendorf wrote. In fact, between 1885 and 1937, his company filed and received 24 patents for technically innovative construction systems.

Looking west from a balcony at Bridgemarkets vaulted ceiling, under the Queensboro Bridge. (Public Domain)

The geometry of many interlocking groin vaults defies logic, Jane Rogers Vann said in an email. Vann is a retired Rowe Professor Emerita at Union Presbyterian Seminary of Richmond, Virginia, and a Guastavino Alliance board member.

A Guastavino dome is in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington. And in 1893, Guastavino was the principal architect of the Spanish pavilion at the Worlds Columbian Exposition, also called the Chicago Worlds Fair.

Standing the Test of Time

Guastavino settled and built a home in Black Mountain, North Carolina, near Asheville, the site of the Basilica of St. Lawrence, which he designed. What he dubbed his Spanish Castle no longer exists; it was razed in the 1940s due to neglect. Yet one of the two kilns he built on the propertykilns that at one time could fire thousands of tiles at a time, including those used to construct the basilicais still intact. Guastavino died in 1908 and is buried at the basilica. His son, Rafael Jr., who continued his fathers work at their Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company, died in 1950.

Inside the dome of the Basilica of St. Lawrence, where architect Rafael Guastavino is buried, in Asheville, N.C. ( Jen G. Bowen CC BY-SA 3.0)

Ochsendorf noted that although elaborate and ornate construction projects began to wane by the 1960s, Guastavinos vaulted ceiling tile system has stood the test of time. No Guastavino vault has ever failed due to a lack of load capacity.  Although Ellis Island was abandoned for decades and the buildings fell into terrible disrepair, the Guastavino vault remained in excellent condition. Upon careful inspection, only 17 of the nearly 30,000 tiles were replaced.

Vann summed up the masters legacy: Without the work of Guastavino, our architectural heritage would be less interesting, less beautiful, and less apt to stand the test of time.
Ranj Pillai Officially Sworn In as Yukons 10th Premier

Yukon Deputy Premier Ranj Pillai takes questions from the media as Alberta deputy premier Sarah Hoffman looks on at the Western Premiers' Conference in Yellowknife, N.T., May 23, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Pat Kane)

Yukons newest premier promised to stay the course on Liberal government policies on Saturday as he formally took the reins of both his party and territory.

Ranj Pillai, a member of the territorys Legislature since 2016, was officially sworn in as Yukons 10th premier at an afternoon ceremony in the territorial capital of Whitehorse. The ceremonyin which his new cabinet members were also sworn insaw him officially succeed Sandy Silver in the role.

After officially taking office, Pillai said he was honoured to take the helm.

The Yukon remains a place full of promise, a promise that can be realized through purpose and hard work. As premier, Im dedicated to making sure that the work the government does is done with all Yukoners in mind, he said.

Continuing the previous governments work in housing, healthcare and energy will ensure all residents are represented and will benefit from the territorys strong economic growth, Pillai said.

Silver announced in September he was stepping down as premier and did not intend to run in the territorys general election in 2025.

Pillai, who ran unopposed, inherits a minority government that functions through a confidence and supply agreement with the Yukon New Democrats after the Yukon Liberals and Yukon Party each took eight seats in the 2021 election.

He will also serve as the minister responsible for the Executive Council Office, the Yukon Housing Corporation and minister of economic development.

Our team is strong. We are passionate, committed and dedicated to serving all Yukoners as we advance the territory in the years ahead, Pillai said in his first speech as premier.

Yukons new cabinet contains several familiar faces.

Jeanie McLean was elevated to deputy premier, but will retain her positions as education minister and minister of women and gender equity.

Outgoing premier Silver retains his role as finance minister while taking on new portfolios as minister of public service commission, minister in charge of the Yukon Liquor Corporation and minister responsible for the Yukon Lotteries Commission.

Tracy-Anne McPhee, who previously served as deputy premier, will keep her other roles as minister of health and social services, minister of justice and the territorys attorney general.

Nils Clarke retained his position as environment minister and minister of highways and public works, while Richard Mostyn kept his job as minister of community services and minister responsible for the workers safety and compensation board.

John Streicker succeeded Pillai as tourism minister while maintaining his previous roles as energy minister, minister responsible for the Yukon Energy Corporation, minister for the Yukon Development Corporation and minister responsible for the French Language Services Directorate.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement on Fridayahead of the formal swearing-in ceremonysaying he had spoken to Pillai to congratulate him on being selected as the territorys newest premier.

I look forward to working with incoming Premier Pillai to continue to build healthy and resilient communities in the Yukon and a better future for all Canadians, the statement read.

Together, we will work to advance key priorities for people in the territory and across the country. This includes making life more affordable, building an economy that works for everyone in the Yukon, moving forward on the shared path of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, taking ambitious action in the fight against climate change, expanding access to child care for Yukon families, and improving access to safe, affordable housing and quality health care.

Trudeau also thanked Silver for more than 11 years of service to the territory, including the past six as premier.
T.J. Belsterling couldnt recommend Shen Yun enough after attending its evening performance at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, on Jan. 14, 2023. (NTD)

PITTSBURGHT.J. Belsterling, the owner of a landscaping company, had no idea what to expect when he arrived to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts on the evening of Jan. 14. At the conclusion of the show, Mr. Belsterling couldnt recommend the experience enough.

Ive never seen it before. I was pleasantly surprised to get a really good message. [Shen Yun] made a lot of good points. Its not only something everyone would enjoy but [the performance had messages] that everyone can take away from, he said.

Upon finding out that the company guarantees a brand-new set of music and choreography each year, Mr. Belsterling said he would definitely be returning for more.

[The dancers] movements, their fluidity, the way they moved together, the storytellingit was all wonderful. True art, really.

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is currently the worlds top classical Chinese dance and music company. Met with wide acclaim since its founding in 2006, Shen Yun has grown to include eight equally sized companies that tour the world simultaneously.

For Mr. Belsterling, Shen Yun talked a lot about virtue and how weve gotten away from caring about one another. Were so consumed in our own worlds, in our own heads.

I think [Shen Yun] challenges us to embrace each other rather than just ourselves. [We need to] express the divinity within ourselves and let the world see that, he said.

Founded by leading Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of Chinas communist regime, Shen Yun performers have made it their mission to revive and share with the world Chinas 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture from the pre-communist era.

While Mr. Belsterling expressed that its a shame Shen Yun is currently forbidden by the communist party to perform in China, he believed that the show challenges people to think about not just what is going on in China, but in all the countries around the world.

I hope one day [Shen Yun] can go to China because it has an awesome message. Its one that everyone needs to hearespecially the people whose culture they represent, he said.

Whats important is not just the dancing, not just the artistry, but the actual message that comes through. Its calling for that divinity within.

Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Tseng.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
A small airplane with 22 people on board flying on a popular tourist route was missing in Nepal's mountains on Sunday, an official said.

The Tara Airlines plane, which was on a 15-minute scheduled flight to the mountain town of Jomsom, took off from the resort town of Pokhara, 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Kathmandu. It lost contact with the airport tower shortly after takeoff.

Police official Ramesh Thapa said there was no information on the turboprop Twin Otter aircraft and a search was underway.

There were six foreigners on board the plane, including four Indians and two Germans, a police official, who was not authorized to speak to the media, said on condition of anonymity.

It has been raining in the area for the past few days but flights have been operating normally. Planes on that route fly between mountains before landing in a valley.

It is a popular route with foreign hikers who trek on the mountain trails and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple.

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Mr. Koto Toshikazu, president of the famous Japanese manned space company JAMSS, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kamakura Performing Art Center in Kamakura, Japan, on Jan. 14, 2023. (Fujino Takeshi/The Epoch Times)

KAMAKURA, JapanMr. Koto Toshikazu, president of the famous Japanese manned space company JAMSS, said he was energized and full of force after attending Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kamakura Performing Art Center in Kamakura, Japan, on Jan. 14.

The female dancers are very elegant. Its fabulous! You wont believe a dancer can dance such difficult moves, said Mr. Koto. The dancers bodies are very flexible, and their movements are so agile. I was very moved. I feel very happy after attending the show.

Mr. Koto said he was very touched by a dance that tells a story about divine beings saving humans.

When I saw it, I was kind of like wowthis moment arrived! I felt huge energy, he said. I hope I was among them (who were saved by the divine beings).

Mr. Koto was amazed by Shen Yuns patented dynamic backdrops.

It surprised me. Its magic. Dancers exchanged their places, then flew up (into the backdrops). Its fantastic! This is a very good design! he said.

In the beginning, Mr. Koto wasnt aware Shen Yun performed with a live orchestra that has about 40 musicians playing both Western and Chinese instruments for dances.

The orchestra is superb! When MC introduced it, there were humorous plots. Its very interesting. I like it, he said. The sound of the erhu (a two-stringed ancient Chinese instrument) is very nice. I will buy its CD. I must buy one.

Mr. Koto said he was uplifted by Shen Yun, and planned to attend next year as well.

Shen Yun Performing Arts World Companys curtain call at the Kamakura Performing Art Center in Kamakura, Japan, on the afternoon of Jan. 14, 2023. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times)

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company. Its name Shen Yun translates into the beauty of divine beings dancing. Each Shen Yun performance consists of nearly 20 vignettes, presented through highly-expressive art forms such as classical Chinese dance, original orchestral music performed live, soloists who sing in the bel canto tradition, animated digital backdrops, and more.

Shen Yun Is Amazing, Says Mayor

Mr. Maruyama Itaru, mayor of Sakata, also couldnt hide his joy after attending Shen Yun.

Its really amazing! I have never thought a human body can be as flexible as Shen Yun dancers. They float in the air, jump very high, and flip freely, said Mr. Maruyama. The dances are magnificent.

Mr. Maruyama said the most brilliant part of Shen Yun is that the performance integrates the dynamic backdrops, dances, and live orchestra into one body. The backdrops present a living and vivid world where the dance happens, the music creates the atmosphere and explains the dance, and dancers tell the story via dancing on the stage as well as inside the backdrops.

The backdrops coordinate with the dancers movements on stage  Then the dancers dance the stories. This made the dance so entertaining and so magical. It represents great artistry, he said.

Mr. Maruyama said the orchestras music was very powerful and could penetrate peoples souls.

The tunes and melodies are very well composed, he said. The combination of the music, dance, and stage is very creative. It presents us something really spectacular.

Mr. Maruyama Itaru, mayor of Sakata, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kamakura Performing Art Center with his wife in Kamakura, Japan, on Jan. 14, 2023. (Fujino Takeshi/The Epoch Times)

Shen Yun has in recent years set a new bar for classical Chinese dance internationally. The Shen Yun 2023 season will be its biggest yet, with its eight equally sized touring companies set to visit more than 180 cities across five continents.

I Have Been Full of Happiness

Mr. Hatake Kenji, president of an IT company, was inspired by Shen Yun.

When the curtain first opened, my heart was suddenly opened. I have been full of happiness since then, he said. All dances are so rich. The dancers movements are like heavenly beings. This show is enchanting  I enjoyed it a lot.

Mr. Hatake said he felt that Shen Yun presents traditional values and culture, which brings happiness and love to all audiences and people in the world.

I absorbed the energy that Shen Yun spread  I can go home full of energy and use this energy to live for the future, he said, adding that he saw the theatergoers around him seemed to feel the same. I hope everybody can (attend Shen Yun to) be enriched by Shen Yuns love and happiness. I believe the world will be better then. This is a wish that humanity shares.

Shen Yun has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of China before communism. For 5,000 years Chinas civilization was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, virtues like loyalty, propriety, wisdom, justice, and benevolencevalues that are universal and shared the world over.

Shen Yun Saved the Essence of History

I have never seen a show as beautiful as Shen Yun, said Mr. Kasei Yasuhito, an architect. I was shocked when the curtain first opened.

Mr. Kasei enjoyed classical Chinese dances. He said the rhythm of Shen Yun moved his heart, that his mind and soul followed Shen Yuns performance from the beginning to the end.

Shen Yun saved the essence of history and presents us with these traditional cultures one after another in this short time, he said. Its very effective  We can feel these historical cultures by attending the show.

Mr. Kasei was amazed by the saturation of Shen Yuns colors, which he said is very captivating.

Every year, Shen Yun puts on an all-new production, including new choreography, music, costumes, and backdrops. Several audiences told The Epoch Times that they were ready to buy the tickets for next year.

Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Kamakura, Japan.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
WORCESTER, Mass.John Pitcher, CFO of Bunker Hill Community College, was happy to have experienced the authentic Chinese culture after attending Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Hanover Theatre, where Shen Yun was performing for one weekend.

I would say that this is a show that they should try to certainly go to if they can, it would be enriching; it would be a way to expand their cultural awareness of the world, its a very moving show, said Mr. Pitcher. I like the show very much, very much, its somewhat sad that this is no longer available in China.

New York-based Shen Yuns mission is to show China before communism through classical Chinese dance and music. For 5,000 years, concepts like reverence for the divine, and harmony between heaven, earth, and humankind formed the bedrock of Chinese civilization.

The current communist regime in China, atheist in nature, is the same one that has violently uprooted Chinas spiritual traditions through campaigns like the Cultural Revolution. As such, Shen Yun is not welcome in China.

Why cant the Chinese enjoy their culture the same way, why does it have to be repressive there? he said. Its a very good show!

Mr. Pitcher felt the spiritual nature of traditional Chinese culture was evident in what Shen Yun presented.

Oh you can feel it, you can feel it; you can see it in the way that the show is uplifting, he said. I believe that that culture is very rich.

Mr. Pitcher described the mini-dramas Shen Yun told through dance, and the ethnic and folk dances he enjoyed.

The energy that they show is exciting, and the emotion that they show, he said. Very good, thank you!

Thousand of Years of Human Yearning

Theresa and Jeff Cooper, professors at a local community college, had come to celebrate Mrs. Coopers birthday.

It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful, said Mrs. Cooper, who said it was a fun birthday experience, but also left her with a takeaway deeper than just a performance.

As Christians, weve been following persecution in China. Jeff especially has been known to reach out to people who have been falsely imprisoned, she said. It kind of reminded me of our privilege, and those that are still being persecuted in the world, and yet, the beauty of how you share the message interwoven with laughter and, but such sadness, was just absolutely beautiful.

So, something certainly inspiring for me and makes me remember things I might have forgotten in the busy day of what we do for work, she said.

Mr. Cooper said the performers delivered a message beautifully, straight from their hearts to the audiences.

Theyre very human, theyre very, they come from the heart, he said. From there you can connect their distant and historic things [that] hearts have been feeling for centuries, you know. They express it right out in front, in present time. You know, real-time, youre hearing this. Thousands of years of human yearning, and loss and gain and hope.

He thoroughly recommended the experience: Open your heart and mind to a story for all your senses for all the time.

Mrs. Cooper summed up the experience as an escape thats real and timeless.

Reporting by Weiyong Zhu.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
BERKELEY, Calif.Philosophy professor Stephan Johnson exited the Zellerbach Hall on the evening of Jan 14, surprisingly pleased with Shen Yun Performing Arts. I liked it a lot! I liked the aesthetics, the orchestra, and the narration. The dancing was impeccable. It was a great time.

New York-based Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party. Its mission is to bring back Chinas 5,000 years of traditional culture that had been destroyed by decades of communist rule.

In the 2023 touring season, Shen Yun performers will be traveling to more than 180 cities across five continents to share with the world, through dance and music, the beauty of pre-communist China. However, the company is currently banned by Chinas ruling communist party from performing in China.

Ive been to China five or six times. Its amazing how little of this you see in contemporary China. Thats too bad. Theres more to the culture than people see nowadays, Dr. Johnson said.

What I think is interesting is how much communism has changed China. A lot of people realize that there is a difference between China now and [China back then.] But people dont evaluate how much Marxism has [pushed the country] away from its traditional cultural roots.

Prior to the communist takeover, Chinese people were deeply spiritual. The foundation of their culture was built upon the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. Following the communist regimes takeover and spread of atheism, these beliefs were systematically erased.

Dr. Johnson was impressed by Shen Yuns modern-day dance piece that depicts the Chinese Communist Partys persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice whose followers uphold the values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

I liked the forthrightness of the message. I like that [Shen Yun] is honest about it and they dont hold back.

Also in the audience, on the evening of Jan. 14, was former dancer Laura Boone. This was the first time Ms. Boone attended Shen Yun and she felt that the energy given off by the performers was very warm and full of light.

Referring to the performers mission to revive traditional culture, Ms. Boone said it was breathtaking, beautiful, and emotional too. If you listen to what [theyre trying to convey,] theyre dancing for that reason. Theyre so strong and passionate.

I think we all need to practice tolerance and forgiveness and be loving. Express ourselves and stand up to people who are telling us we cant do that.

Reporting by NTD, Lily Yu, and Jennifer Tseng.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
DALLASVic Domhoff, architectural design consultant, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts because he wanted to see historical China before the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) took control.

I respect the culture, the history of China, and Im particularly concerned about the persecution of the Falun Gong and other minorities in China, Mr. Domhoff said at the Winspear Opera House on the evening of Jan. 14, during intermission of the sold-out Shen Yun performance in Dallas.

Coming here achieves both for me, he said. I can learn more about the rich Chinese culture, but at the same time I can pay tribute to those people that are being persecuted under the present regime.

Shen Yuns mission is indeed to show audiences a China before communism through music and dance. The New York-based company is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company, and was formed in 2006 by artists of faith who fled the oppressive communist regime of China.

Today, Shen Yun cannot perform in China, where the atheist CCP has the arts company blacklisted. Many of Shen Yuns members still have family in mainland China, and some face persecution by the regime for their faith.

Mr. Domhoff expressed gratitude and encouragement after seeing Shen Yun.

We [can] all learn from this. Its a very rich heritage, and the Chinese people should be proud of this heritage, he said. Theyre doing a fantastic job, especially for a Western audience that doesnt know about some of these things and this rich heritage.

For 5,000 years, China was deeply spiritual, even dubbed the Land of the Divine. Spiritual teachings from Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism formed the bedrock of civilization, and the cardinal virtues of loyalty, wisdom, propriety, benevolence, and justice were prized.

Only the CCP could call Shen Yun propaganda, Mr. Domhoff said, but I think that were smart enough to know the real story, and thats why you have such a wonderful attendance tonight.

Its because people innately, in their gut, inside, they feel like this is a representation of really the rich heritage of China, he said.

When you see productions like this, youre reminded about where we are grounded, where we started, because it goes back to a values-based beginning.  Vic Domhoff

When you see productions like this, youre reminded about where we are grounded, where we started, because it goes back to a values-based beginning, he said. And I think that people yearn for that. They have an urge for that. And I think its a wonderful thing.

Also in the audience were Kenny and Shelley Williamson, who were aghast when they realized Shen Yun could not perform in China.

We loved it, Mrs. Williamson said, and Mr. Williamson echoed her, adding we loved it very, very, very much.

I would like for this company and for this group here to continue doing what theyre doing in the United States, he said.

They cannot perform in China. That is unheard of, Mr. Williamson said. I love these people from New York  They are gracious human beings, and I love them very much.

Reporting by Sally Sun and Sonia Wu.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Jonathan and Emily Clode attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the New Theatre, in Oxford, on Jan. 14, 2023. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)

OXFORD, UKLearning about a foreign culture can be both exciting and daunting, but experiencing it through the universal languages of dance and music can make it much more accessible.

Jonathan Clode, a product manager, enjoyed learning about Chinese culture with his daughter Emily Clode, a media and graphic designer, when they attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the New Theatre on Jan. 14.

So interesting to learn about Chinese culture, and really eye-opening to see, said Ms. Clode. Beautiful dance, beautiful dancing  I grew up dancing, [but] Ive never seen dance moves like these. The costumes are stunning. I absolutely love it.

Its new, its unique, I havent seen anything like this before.  Jonathan Clode

I think that they were brilliant, said Mr. Clode. I think that they were so professional and amazing. Theyve obviously worked very, very hard and were really excited to see this. Its new, its unique, I havent seen anything like this before.

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists who fled Chinas oppressive communist government. Their mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture through classical Chinese dance and music, and to show its audiences the beauty of China before communism.

As a designer, Ms. Clode appreciated Shen Yuns exquisite costumes.

The colors, the patterns, the intricacy of the costumesIve loved seeing the traditional Chinese dresses and how theyre used in the choreography of the movement.

Shen Yuns program is made up of several dance vignettes, some of which are story-based dances. While most dances focus on the essence of ancient China, there are also dances set in modern-day China that depict the Chinese Communist Partys persecution of followers of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

The father and daughter duo praised Shen Yun for spreading the truth about what was happening in China.

Its really, really eye-opening to see some of the realities of what living in China is like at the moment, said Ms. Clode.

I thought it was fantastic, showing [the] persecution in China, which is really topical at the moment, Mr. Clode added. I thought was really great and very brave.

I would love to see a return to tradition [in] China, said Ms. Clode. It makes me so sad to think how much it has been changed because of the control there at the moment. How brave they (Shen Yun) are to be performing this and how proud it must make them feel that they are dancing and wearing the costumes of pre-communist China.

Ms. Clode also appreciated the spiritual side of Chinese culture that Shen Yun presented.

Im a Christian, I believe in God, I loved seeing how they (Shen Yun) have incorporated their faith in this and how they believe that God is their hope for their future, she said. I very much believe that too, so thats beautiful to see. I hope that there is a return to that for China.

Reported by Mary Mann and Wandi Zhu.

he Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Some Republicans Are Set to Attend the Elite Swiss Globalist WEF Conference

A World Economic Forum (WEF) sign is seen at the Davos Congress Centre during the organizations annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 23, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

Multiple GOP lawmakers are set to take part in the 2023 annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting, with some justifying the participation as necessary to expand American exceptionalism while others are choosing not to take part in the elite event.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) are two GOP members scheduled to take part in the America (Un)Bound event at the meeting. America (Un)Bound will discuss what to expect from Americas reshaped legislative landscape in terms of domestic and foreign policy. WEF 2023 will be held in Davos between Jan. 1620.

Governor Kemp looks forward to traveling to Davos to share with leaders who the State of Georgias long record of conservative governance, protecting individual liberty, and championing opportunity can serve as a model for economic success across the country and around the world, a spokesperson from Kemps office said in a statement. No further details about the trip or his planned remarks were revealed.

A spokesperson representing Salazar told The Daily Wire that the lawmaker will ensure that she highlights American exceptionalism and opportunities available under a free market economy at the event.

Kemp and Salazar will be joined at the panel by Democrats like Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) as well as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).

Justifications for Attendance

According to the U.S. embassy, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) are also scheduled to attend the Davos meeting.

In a Jan. 11 press release, Issa justified his decision to attend the Davos meeting by stating that he had earlier taken the message of American exceptionalism everywhere it needed to be heard throughout his career, including places that may not agree.

Over the years, the WEF has gotten much wrong like the manifest dangers of the Chinese Communist Party, the global energy crisis, climate extremism, and crippling COVID-19 lockdowns. This year, the WEF has invited the presidents of Congo and Azerbaijan while also offering a special platform for a major Chinese official, which Issa says are mistakes as well.

No conservative should be unwilling to go where progressive activists, world leaders, and the mainstream media are gathered and tell them when they are wrong. I believe we benefit from participating in conversations where we tell the truth about Americas point of view, Issa stated.

We should not accede to being excluded from a deeper dialogue at the World Economic Forum any more than being shut out of college campuses, online platforms, or public forums. This is what liberals are doing all over the world to drive away dissent and prevent free speech.

Threat to Freedom

A spokesperson for Gallagher told The Daily Wire that though the lawmaker was invited to the conference, he chose not to attend.

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) was earlier listed as a member of the U.S. delegation set to attend the WEF meeting, according to the U.S. Embassy in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. However, an updated list does not mention Rischs name. A spokesperson confirmed to the media outlet the lawmaker is not attending the event.

Floridas Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis had recently taken a dig at Davos attendees, characterizing them as a threat in a speech earlier this month.

The threats to freedom are more complex and more widespread than they have been in the past. The threats can come from entrenched bureaucrats in D.C., jetsetters in Davos, and corporations wielding public power, he said.

Back in August, DeSantis had made it clear that he does not want the values of Davos imposed on Florida but values from places like Dunedin where he grew up.

Things like the World Economic Forum, those policies are dead on arrival in the state of Florida. We are not gonna go down that road, he said.
900 Million in China Infected With COVID-19, Study Estimates

Mourners gather outside memorial halls for the deceased at a funeral home in Shanghai on Dec. 31, 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

About 900 million Chinese are estimated to be infected with COVID-19 in Chinas latest outbreak, with nearly 80 percent of them facing severe symptoms, according to a study by Peking University. Meanwhile, Chinese health officials on Jan. 14 acknowledged that about 60,000 COVID-related deaths have occurred in hospitals across the country in the past month, following international pressure for transparency and data.

As of Jan. 11, 64 percent of Chinas 1.4 billion populationabout 900 million people had been infected with COVID-19, mainland Chinese media outlet Economic Observer reported on Jan. 13, citing a recent study from a research group led by professor Ma Jingjing at the National School of Development of Peking University.

The report states that the highest infection rates for the current round of the outbreak are in three provinces in western China. Gansu province was highest ranked with about 91 percent of people being infected, followed by Yunnan province with an 84 percent infection rate and Qinghai province at 80 percent.

The model estimates of infection rates in the study were calculated based on search volumes on online platforms for symptoms related to COVID-19 infection, according to Ma. Given the lack of official data, the authors used the number of online searches for symptoms such as fever and cough as an indication of local infection rates, she said.

A man stands in front of a cordoned-off area, where COVID-19 patients lie on hospital beds in the lobby of the Chongqing No. 5 Peoples Hospital in Chinas southwestern city of Chongqing on Dec. 23, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)

The study likely didnt include many older Chinese, since they arent accustomed to searching for information online, China affairs commentator Li Muyang pointed out during his talk show on NTD on Jan. 13. Reinfection rates also arent likely captured by the estimates from the study. The actual infection number in China could be higher than 900 million, he said.

The modeling in the report also predicted that the current wave of COVID-19 infections across China reached its peak on Dec. 20, 2022. However, other experts believe that infections may continue to increase as the Lunar New Year holiday approaches.

COVID Wave Yet to Peak

Zeng Guang, former head of Chinas Center for Disease Control, said at the Shenzhou Cell New Crown Recombinant Protein Multivalent Vaccine Research and Development Conference on Jan. 8 that the COVID wave has just begun to reach its peak in some places and hasnt yet peaked in rural China, according to mainland Chinese media outlet Caixin. Zeng estimated that the peak of the COVID wave will come sometime between February and March and that the duration of the peak of severe cases will be longer.

Zeng expressed concern about the situation in Chinas rural areas, where many Chinese are expected to visit over the New Year holiday. He said there are a large number of elderly, young, sick, and disabled in rural areas and that the medical infrastructure and conditions there are poor.

Zhang Wenhong, Chinas top epidemiologist and director of the China Medical Center for Infectious Diseases, said in a lecture this year that the infection rate of this wave is very high.

During the Lunar New Year on Jan. 23, the national infection rate may reach 80 percent, which means that more than 1.1 billion people will be infected, he estimated.

Severe Symptoms

The research group at Peking University surveyed 11,443 COVID-19 patients and 76 percent of them reported that their symptoms were worse than that of the flu.

The report states that most of the infected people interviewed had one or more symptoms of fever, cough and sputum, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, altered sense of taste and smell, and diarrhea. The most common symptom was a fever, with 82 percent of infected respondents developing the symptom, of which 75 percent had a high fever (38.5 degrees Celsius/101.3 degrees Fahrenheit and above), and 47 percent had a fever lasting for three or more days.

As many as 86 percent of the infected used antipyretic drugs.

Patients lie on beds in a hallway in the emergency department of Zhongshan Hospital amid a COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai on Jan. 3, 2023. (Staff/Reuters)

On Jan. 13, the Peking University report became the most searched item on Chinas websites, sparking heated discussions.

Didnt the so-called experts say previously that 90 percent of the infected people are asymptomatic? one netizen posted. Now come out and explain.

Another posted, I have a fever. My whole body is sore and I feel weak. I was told that I was a mild case.

A post reads, The aftereffects of COVID are very serious. I was infected almost a month ago, and I am still weak, and I am out of breath when I move around.

Major online Chinese news portals such as sina.com soon deleted articles discussing the study.

On Jan. 14, Chinas National Health Commission finally released a report outlining 59,938 COVID-related deaths in Chinas hospitals from Dec. 8, 2022, to Jan. 12.

The release of the number came following widespread international criticism, including from the World Health Organization, of the Chinese communist regime for underplaying the severity of the outbreak and its lack of transparency.

It immediately became the most searched topic on baidu.com, the Chinese equivalent of Google. Many Chinese are still questioning the accuracy of this official number.

Mourners gather outside the memorial halls for the deceased at a funeral home in Shanghai on Dec. 31, 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

One posted on social media, Hospitals recorded more than 50,000 deaths, but there are many deaths in urban and rural areas that havent occurred during hospitalization and are not recorded!

Another netizen said, How many deaths are there in rural areas that are not in the hospital? It should be many times the death toll in the hospitals.

One post reads, How many died without going to the hospital?

Feng Chongyi, a China expert and professor at the University of Technology Sydney, told The Epoch Times on Jan. 14 that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is seriously concealing the truth and that the actual COVID-19 death toll may be much more than what the Party has reported.

Because foreign media reporters went directly to the funeral homes to see the situation and posts flooding social media showing so many dead bodies and so many coffins everywhere, everyone knows that Beijing is lying, Feng said. The relationship between the WHO and CCP is also very tense, as the WHO kept asking it to release the real data. The Chinese regime is under pressure. It is now making a slight change, even if it reports tens of thousands more [deaths], it is still far from reality. The actual death toll is likely 10 times, 20 times, or 30 times more than the data it just released.

He noted that the CCPs top echelon know very well that many people have died during the latest outbreak, but they dare not admit to their policy failure.

Even though Xi Jinpings Zero-COVID policy was abandoned, he never came out to say a word about it, nor did he express even the slightest sympathy toward the people for their sickness and death, Feng said. He is still praising his achievements [in handling COVID].

Feng believes that the delay and concealment of the real data in this round of Chinas COVID-19 outbreak has shattered the CCPs credibility.

Ning Haiphong and Luo Ya contributed to this report.
George Washington and the play that helped make America

Throughout the ages, heroic men and womenreal and mythologicalhave roused the spirits of those who hear or read about their exploits. Achilles, Hector, Antigone, Aeneas, and other Greco-Roman figures galvanized entire cultures. In story and song, the Middle Ages celebrated Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Charlemagne, Richard the Lionheart, Joan of Arc, and scores of other dames and knights.

Americans, too, have their pantheon of heroes. Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Wilbur and Orville Wright, and Theodore Roosevelt are only a few of the names inscribed in that hall of champions. They were extraordinary human beings whose words and deeds have inspired their fellow citizens.

Even in todays postmodernist culture, where some disparage so many of our great predecessors, we look for heroes we might emulate. Children and adolescentsand some adultsfind their role models in Marvel comics and movies. Others lift up film stars, athletes, or entrepreneurs like Elon Musk as their exemplars. Still others take lessons from fictional characters, like Aragorn or Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings.

And George Washington was no different.

A Heros Heroes

Joseph Addison Esq., 1733, by John Faber the Younger and Sir Godfrey Kneller. Mezzotint on medium, slightly textured, beige, laid paper. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Conn. (Public Domain)

From his youth, George Washington was fascinated by Joseph Addisons play Cato. He may have lacked the classical training of Adams, Jefferson, and others of our Founding Fathers, but Washington shared their enthusiasm for the ancient Greeks and Romans, and in Cato he found a lifelong mentor.

As a young man, he quoted from Addisons play in a letter. He saw Cato staged many times throughout his life, and he often used its lines or paraphrased them in correspondence and conversation. Following the miserable winter at Valley Forge, in May 1778, he had the play performed for his soldiers, drawing a crowd of civilians from nearby Philadelphia. Contemporaries have reported that he slept with a copy of the play beside his bed.

Long before he became the general of Americas revolutionary army or the first president under the new countrys Constitution, Washington found in Cato, and in some of the plays other characters, beliefs and virtues that he sought to make his own.

A Brave Man

One line from Cato, which reads A brave man struggling in the storms of fate, is preceded by these instructions regarding the play:

To wake the soul by tender strokes of art,

To raise the genius, and mend the heart;

To make mankind, in conscious virtue bold,

Live oer each scene, and be what they behold.

This introduction in verse to Cato by Alexander Pope explains the intentions of Addisons tragedy and why it attracted the devotion of Washington and other proponents of honor, virtue, and libertyboth in colonial America and in Great Britain.

First performed in 1713, Cato tells the tragic story of that Roman republican and statesman who died resisting the army of Julius Caesar at Utica in North Africa. Surrounding Cato the Younger are other men and women who share his passionate belief in the Republic: his two sons Portius and Marcus, their sister Marcia, the senator Lucius and his daughter Lucia, and Juba, the prince of Numidia.

Opposing Cato, there is not only Caesar and his far superior army but also two traitors: the Roman senator Sempronius and the aging Syphax, general of the Numidians and Jubas right-hand man. Like Cato himself, both men doubt their chances against Caesar. Unlike Cato, however, they are unwilling to die fighting for a lost republic, and devise their scheme of treachery. The main plot and theme of Cato lies in the tension between the traitors and those loyal to Romes ancient principles and customs.

Cato is also a romance, again encompassed by high ideals. Juba wishes to take Marcia for his wife, while brothers Portius and Marcus have both fallen in love with Lucia. The two young women are friends and exchange confidences regarding their suitors, and though in love themselvesLucia prefers Portius to his brotherthey nobly agree that now is neither the time nor the place to act on these desires.

The play ends with the discovery of the conspiratorsJuba slays Sempronius, and Syphax dies in a melee at the hand of Marcus, who is himself killed in the fighting. In the play, as in life, Cato sees that all is lost, ensures the safety of his family and followers, and takes his own life after blessing the proposed union of Marcia and Juba. With his death, the dream of a republic restored dies as well.

The Critics

Without a major overhaul, Cato would never succeed on the stage today. Even in its time, critics found the play long-winded, short on action, and burdened with dialogue. Moreover, Addisons language strikes the modern ear as archaic, and the references to figures and events of antiquity are no longer familiar to most Americans.

In their introduction to Cato in the 1938 book Representative English Plays: From the Miracle Plays to Pinero, J.S.P. Tatlock and R.G. Martin describe the play as emotionally frigid, in part because of the difference in taste between the contemporary world and that of the 18th centurys Age of Enlightenment. They then add, The polished style, faultily faultless some call it, indirect and highly literary, heightens the sense of coolness, but the feeling throughout is one of detachment.

These criticisms are just, but if that is so, we are then compelled to ask: Why did Cato so charm and intrigue the audiences of that age, even decades after Addison had written it? And why in particular did it appeal so strongly to Washington?

A reading of Cato readily answers those questions.

Duty, Honor, and Country

Cato tells the tragic story of that Roman republican and statesman who died resisting the army of Julius Caesar at Utica in North Africa. Death of Cato, circa 1640, by Gioacchino Assereto. Musei di Strada Nuova, Genoa, Italy. (Public Domain)

In nearly every passage of the play are discussions or mentions of honor, virtue, and liberty. Here, Juba and Cato converse about nobleness of soul. Here, Lucia swears before the gods and Portius, Never to mix my plighted hands with thine, while such a cloud of mischiefs hangs about us, and she keeps that vow until it is no longer applicable. Here, Juba pledges to Cato, If I forsake thee whilst I have life, may heaven abandon Juba! When the senator Lucius urges Cato to seek mercy from Caesar, the older man retorts, Would Lucius have me live to swell the number of Caesars slaves, or by a base submission give up the cause of Rome, and own a tyrant?

In these lines and scores of others, we see the relevance of Cato to Washington and other patriots during and after the American Revolution. When, for instance, the British executed 21-year-old Nathan Hale as a spy, his purported last words were, I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country. In the immensely popular play, Cato remarks on seeing his dead son Marcus, What pity is it that we can die but once to serve our country! Some scholars believe that Hale might even have recited that line before his death.

Death before dishonor is no empty phrase in Cato. Honor and virtue are everything, money and power nothing, and that idea likely appealed to the soldier and the man, George Washington.

The negative opinions of critics should not dissuade us from reading Cato, which can be found online. Once we accustom ourselves to the ornate and formal language, the play moves along at a good pace, keeps our interest, and offers insights into the charms and attractions that this play held for Washington and his contemporaries.

Nor does Addison entirely deserve all the negative assessments he receives for being dispassionate. As the tensions increase with the approach of Caesar and the heightened treachery of Sempronius and Syphax, the speeches and musings on freedom take on greater urgency. And certainly, the scene in which Sempronius describes how he will take Marcia against her willWhen I behold her struggling in my arms, with glowing beauty and disordered charmsis anything but cold.

Finally, we may well gain some of the courage and character that Washington found in Addisons words. At one point, Marcus asks this question regarding his father: But what can Cato do against a world, a base, degenerate world, that courts the yoke, and bows the neck to Caesar?

The play gives us the answer just as it gave the answer to Washington. We can all imitate Cato, facing a base, degenerate world but refusing to bow before it or its tyrannies.
The White Sedan: How Police Found Suspect in Idaho Slayings

Bryan Kohberger (L) looks toward his attorney, public defender Anne Taylor (R), during a hearing in Latah County District Court in Moscow, Idaho, on Jan. 5, 2023. (Ted S. Warren/AP Photo, Pool)

MOSCOW, IdahoThe white sedan cruised past the gray, three-story rental home on a dead-end street in Moscow, Idaho. Then again. And again.

It was unusual behavior in the residential, hillside neighborhood in the quiet hours before dawn. And according to a police affidavit released on Jan. 5, surveillance videos showing the vehicle that November night were key to unraveling the gruesome mystery of who killed four University of Idaho students inside the house.

With little else to go on as a panicked community demanded answers, investigators canvassed security footage from the neighborhoodincluding one recording of the car speeding away after the slayingsto get a sense of the killers possible movements, the affidavit said.

Eventually, the document said, police were able to narrow down what was at first known only vaguely as a white sedan to a 2015 Hyundai Elantra registered to Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old doctoral student in criminology at Washington State University (WSU), just across the border in Pullman, Washington. Further investigation matched Kohberger to DNA at the crime scene, it said.

The cars first pass by the home was recorded at 3:29 a.m. on Nov. 13less than an hour before Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death in their rooms, Moscow Police Cpl. Brett Payne wrote in the affidavit.

(LR) Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen. (Obtained by CNN)

The vehicle drove by twice more and was recorded a fourth time at 4:04 a.m., Payne wrote. It wasnt seen on the footage again until it sped away 16 minutes later.

This is a residential neighborhood with a very limited number of vehicles that travel in the area during the early morning hours, Payne wrote. Upon review of the video there are only a few cars that enter and exit this area during this time frame.

A forensic examiner with the FBI determined the car to likely be a 20112013 Hyundai Elantra, though subsequently said it could be a model as late as 2016, according to the affidavit.

Surveillance footage from the Washington State University campus offered further tantalizing information: A similar vehicle headed out of town just before 3 a.m. on the day of the killings and reappeared on cameras in Pullman just before 5:30 a.m., the affidavit said.

On Nov. 25, the Moscow Police Department asked regional law enforcement to look for a white Elantra. Three nights later, a WSU police officer ran a query for any white Elantras on campus.

One came back as having a Pennsylvania license plate and being registered to Kohberger. Within half an hour, another campus officer located the vehicle parked at Kohbergers apartment complex. It came back as having Washington state tags. Five days after the killings, Kohberger had switched the registration from Pennsylvania, his home state, to Washington, the affidavit said.

Investigators now had a name to go on, and further investigation yielded more clues. Kohbergers drivers license described him as 6 feet tall and 185 pounds, and his license photo showed him to have bushy eyebrowsall details consistent with a description of the attacker given by a surviving roommate, the affidavit said.

More research revealed that Kohberger had been pulled over by a Latah County, Idaho, sheriffs deputy in August while driving the Elantra. He gave the deputy a cellphone number.

Armed with that number, Payne obtained search warrants for the phones historical data. The location data showed the phone was near his home in Pullman until about 2:42 a.m. on the morning of the killings. Five minutes later, the phone started using cellular resources located southeast of the homeconsistent with Kohberger traveling south, the affidavit said.

There was no other location data available from the phone until 4:48 a.m., suggesting Kohberger may have turned it off during the attack in an effort to avoid detection, the affidavit said. At that point, the phone began taking a roundabout route back to Pullman, traveling south to Genesee, Idaho, then west to Uniontown, Washington, and north to Pullman just before 5:30 a.m.around the same time the white sedan showed back up on surveillance cameras in town.

It remains unclear why the victims were targeted.

Kohberger opened the account for the phone on June 23, the affidavit said, and location data showed that he had traveled to the neighborhood where the victims were killed at least a dozen times before the attacks. Those visits all came late in the evening or early in the morning, the affidavit said, and it was on one of those trips that he was pulled over by the sheriffs deputy on Aug. 21.

The cellphone data also included another chilling detail, the affidavit said: The phone returned to the victims neighborhood hours after the attack, around 9 a.m. But even though one of the surviving housemates had seen a strange man inside and heard crying after 4 a.m., the killings were not reported to police until later that day, and there was no police response at the scene by 9.

Though Kohberger, with his 2015 Elantra, had first come to the attention of WSU police by Nov. 29, its not clear how soon that information was relayed to the Moscow Police Department, which issued a news release on Dec. 7 asking for the publics help in finding a white 20112013 Elantra. The release suggested such a vehicle had been near the home early on Nov. 13 and that any occupants may have critical information to share regarding this case.

Law enforcement agencies sometimes use such public statements to throw off suspects and keep them from learning they are under suspicion. Tips poured in and investigators soon announced they were sifting through a pool of around 20,000 potential vehicles.

I think they got a lot of flack for keeping their cards tight to their chest  so I was pretty elated when they caught this guy and all this evidence was revealed, said Telisa Swan, a Moscow resident who put a sign thanking the police outside her business.

Kohberger apparently remained at WSU until mid-December, when he drove to his parents house in Pennsylvania, accompanied by his father, in the Elantra. While driving through Indiana, Kohberger was pulled over twice on the same day for tailgating.

On Dec. 27, police in Pennsylvania recovered trash from the Kohberger family home and sent DNA evidence to Idaho, the affidavit said. The evidence matched the DNA found on the button snap of a knife sheath recovered at the crime scene, it said.

Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary. He will have a preliminary hearing in late June.
Thousands in Israel Hold Protests Against Government Plans to Overhaul Judicial System

Israelis protest against the government and its proposed judicial reforms to reduce powers of the Supreme Court in a main square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 14, 2023. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)

Tens of thousands of protesters in Israel held protests in at least three major cities on Jan. 14 against the governments judicial shakeup plans.

Israeli media reported that about 80,000 people attended a demonstration in Tel Aviv, with smaller protests in Jerusalem and Haifa. While no major unrest was reported, Israeli media said small crowds scuffled with police as they tried to block a Tel Aviv highway.

Police increased their presence ahead of the march. Israeli media quoted police as saying that officers had been instructed to be very sensitive and allow the protest to proceed peacefully. But they also vowed a tough response to any vandalism or violent behavior.

The plans include a list of changes to the appointment, authority, and operation of the nations Supreme Court. They were first announced on Jan. 4 by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who, along with other critics of the high court, says unelected judges have too much power.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose conservative new government holds a solid parliamentary majority, has described the judicial plans as a restoration of the balance of the three branches of government. On Jan. 13, he signaled flexibility on the reform plan, saying it would be implemented with careful consideration while hearing all of the positions.

Opponents say the proposed changes would reduce judiciary independence, threaten Israeli democracy, and be conducive to corruption. The Supreme Courts chief justice, Israels attorney general, and Israeli opposition leaders have said they oppose the plan.

President Isaac Herzog had appealed to polarized politicians to lower the temperatures of the debates.

People protest against the governments plans to overhaul the countrys legal system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 14, 2023. (Oded Balilty/AP Photo)

Retired Lt. Gen. Benjamin Gantz, who was deputy prime minister of Israel from 2021 to 2022 and is now a member of the opposition and head of the Blue and White party, joined the protest.

Im together with you in the square, he wrote on Twitter, per an English translation. We will fight in all legal ways to prevent the coup detat.

Politicians who are allied with Netanyahu also spoke out.

Bezalel Smotrich, finance minister and a minister in the Ministry of Defense as well as the head of the Religious Zionist Party, cheered on supporters of the current government.

In the year of the previous left-wing government, we demonstrated again and again, he posted on Twitter on Jan. 14. The disconnected media never gave us a weeks coverage, [we] did not break into live broadcasts, barely mentioned the existence of the demonstrations after they were over, and with deliberate underestimation. Despite this, we overthrew the government and won the elections. The people are with us! And by virtue of it, we will carry out the reform of the judicial system.

Amichai Chikli, minister of Diaspora Affairs, minister for Social Equality, and a lawmaker with the conservative Likud party, wrote on Twitter: The cries of the left do not arise from concern for democracy but from concern for the fate of the legal aristocracy that has ruled here de facto for the past decades.

Miki Zohar, a senior lawmaker in Netanyahus conservative Likud party, wrote on Twitter: Tens of thousands of people were at tonights demonstrations. In the election held here two and a half months ago, millions turned out. We promised the people change, we promised governance, we promised reformsand we will make good on that.

Netanyahu, Israels longest-serving prime minister, is now in his sixth term, following a brief hiatus when he lost the election in 2021. Hes on trial for corruption since being indicted in 2019; Netanyahu has said the justice system is biased against him. He has denied any criminal wrongdoing and has accused the media and law enforcement officials of having plotted to oust him.

Proposed Judicial Reforms

Levins proposed bill would adjust the number of people on the panel for appointing judges to the Supreme Court (the Judicial Appointments Committee) to 11 members from nine.

The panel members would be able to approve appointments to the bench by a bare majority of 65 votes; currently, the threshold is a majority of 72one designed to encourage compromise. Meanwhile, the threshold to remove someone from the bench would change to 92 from 72.

The bill also would adjust the makeup of the Judicial Appointments Committee. Currently, the panel comprises three Supreme Court justices, two Cabinet ministers, two lawmakers, and two lawyers.

The number of lawmakers on the panel would, under the bill, be increased to three from two, with two of them from the coalition. The number of participating Cabinet ministers would also increase to three. The two lawyers would be replaced by two public figures chosen by the justice minister. This means that, in total, seven of the members will either belong to the coalition or have been appointed directly by the coalition.

Levins overhaul also includes a provision that enables a person to be appointed to the roles of Supreme Court chief justice and deputy chief justiceeven if they hadnt served as a Supreme Court judge. Currently, the most senior justice receives the role of chief justice. In addition, the chief justice would be limited to a seven-year term under the new bill.

Among other provisions, the bill also stipulates that a majority of 12 out of 15 Supreme Court justices would be required to veto laws passed by Parliament, which may reenact a canceled law.

The justices would be barred from hearing any appeals against the Basic Laws of Israelthe nations quasi-constitution passed by Parliament. Also, it would remove reasonableness as a standard of review for the Supreme Court to cancel a government decision.

Polls have diverged on public views of the shakeup. Channel 13 TV last week found that 53 percent of Israelis were opposed to changing the court appointments structure while 35 percent were in support. But Channel 14 TV on Jan. 12 found that 61 percent were in favor and 35 percent were opposed.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nepali rescuers on Monday retrieved 16 bodies from the mangled wreckage of a passenger plane strewn across a mountainside that crashed in the Himalayas with 22 people on board.

Air traffic control lost contact with the Twin Otter aircraft operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air shortly after taking off from Pokhara in western Nepal on Sunday morning headed for Jomsom, a popular trekking destination.

Helicopters operated by the military and private firms braved poor weather to scour the remote mountainous area all day Sunday, aided by teams on foot, but called off the fruitless search when night fell.

After resuming on Monday, the army shared on social media a photo of aircraft parts and other debris littering a sheer mountainside, including a wing with the registration number 9N-AET clearly visible.

"So far, 16 bodies have been recovered and teams are searching for the remaining six. Chances of survival are low but our efforts continue to find them," Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Deo Chandra Lal Karn told AFP.

There were about 60 people working at the crash site, including army, police, mountain guides and locals, most of whom trekked for miles on foot to get there.

The authority said that the plane "met an accident" at 14,500 feet (4,420 metres) in the Sanosware area of Thasang municipality in Mustang district.

"Analysing the pictures we received, it seems that the flight did not catch fire. Everything is scattered in the site. The flight seems to have collided with a big rock on the hill," said Pokhara Airport spokesman Dev Raj Subedi.

Families

Four Indians were onboard, as well as two Germans, with the remainder Nepalis including a computer engineer, his wife and their two daughters who had just returned from the United States.

The four Indians were a divorced couple and their daughter and son, aged 15 and 22, going on a family holiday, Indian police official Uttam Sonawane told AFP.

"There was a court order for (the father) to spend time with the family for 10 days every year, so they were taking a trip," Sonawane said.

Pradeep Gauchan, a local official, said that the wreckage was difficult to reach and that poor weather was hampering the operation.

"One team has been dropped close to the area by a helicopter but it is cloudy right now so flights have not been possible," Gauchan told AFP earlier in the day.

"Helicopters are on standby waiting for the clouds to clear," he said.

According to the Aviation Safety Network website, the aircraft was made by Canada's de Havilland and made its first flight more than 40 years ago in 1979.

Past crashes

Tara Air is a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines, a privately owned domestic carrier that services many remote destinations across Nepal.

It suffered its last fatal accident in 2016 on the same route when a plane with 23 on board crashed into a mountainside in Myagdi district.

Nepal's air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.

But it has long been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.

The European Union has banned all Nepali airlines from its airspace over safety concerns.

The Himalayan country also has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.

The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating treacherous flying conditions.

In March 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crash-landed near Kathmandu's notoriously difficult international airport, killing 51 people and seriously injuring 20.

That accident was Nepal's deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu airport.

Just two months earlier a Thai Airways aircraft had crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.

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Top Democrat Rebuffs Bidens Potential F-16 Sale to Turkey

The chairman of the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee vowed Friday to hold back the Biden administrations plan to sell fighter jets to Turkey, unless Ankara improves its human rights record and ceases threatening other NATO allies.

As I have repeatedly made clear, I strongly oppose the Biden administrations proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Turkey, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said in a statement. It has been over a year since NATO member Turkey requested in October 2021 to buy 40 U.S.-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. Technical talks between the two sides recently concluded.

The sale of U.S. weapons to NATO ally Turkey became contentious after Ankara acquired Russian-made defense missile systems, triggering U.S. sanctions as well as Turkeys removal from the F-35 fighter jet program.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Friday that the Biden administration is considering the potential F-16 transfer, which is worth $20 billion, and has been in touch with Congress for months on an informal basis to win its approval but with no success. The news was later confirmed by other media.

[Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan] continues to undermine international law, disregard human rights and democratic norms, and engage in alarming and destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies, Menendez, who has long opposed sending warplanes to Ankara, said on Friday.

A ground controller salutes an F-16 fighter jet at Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey on March 7, 2003. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

The Democratic chair pledged to stand against the deal until Erdogan ceases his threats, improves his human rights record at homeincluding by releasing journalists and political oppositionand begins to act like a trusted ally should.

He further welcomed news of the sale of new F-35 fighter aircraft for Greece, referring to Athens as a trusted NATO ally and saying the sale strengthens our two nations abilities to defend shared principles including our collective defense, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Ranking 149th out of 180 countries, according to the Reporters Without Borders world press freedom index for 2022, Turkey passed a highly controversial bill last October that could be used to enforce censorship and quash free speech by putting journalists in jail. A December report by the Committee to Protect Journalists shows Turkey, along with Iran, China, Burma, and Belarus, was found as one of the top jailers during the past year.

Although the State Department said last March that appropriate U.S. defense trade ties with Turkey would serve U.S. interests, Congress is unlikely to approve the sale under review as long as Turkey refuses to proceed with the ratification of Sweden and Finlands NATO membership.

The two countries ended decades of neutrality last May and applied to join NATO in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey objected and accused the countries of harboring militants, including from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, and demanded steps be taken.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, on Nov. 2, 2022. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via Reuters)

At a press conference on Saturday, Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for the Turkish president, and his chief foreign policy advisor, said Washingtons demands relating to the supply of the fighter jets were endless.

If they keep pushing Turkey in other directions with F-16 [and] F-35 sanctions, and then Turkey reacts, they blame Turkey again, then thats not a fair game, Kalin said. It looks like their list of demands is an endless. Theres always something.

A State Department spokesperson declined Reuters request for comment, saying the department does not confirm or comment on proposed arms sales or transfers until the administration has formally requested approval from Congress.

Under U.S. law, Congress can block a sale by passing a resolution of disapproval after a formal notification of a sale, but it is unlikely to do so if President Joe Biden decides to go ahead despite lawmakers objections. While Congress has passed such resolutions in the past, it has never mustered the two-thirds majorities needed in both chambers to overcome a presidential veto.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Ukraine Official Says Zelenskyy Hopes to Visit UN on Invasion Anniversary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, on Jan. 11, 2023. (Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images)

UNITED NATIONSUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of Russias Feb. 24 invasion of his country if the security situation permits, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.

First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova cautioned in an interview Friday with The Associated Press that many factors need to be in place for him to come, citing first and foremost the military situation on the ground and a warning from Ukraines intelligence service that Russia is planning a very serious offensive in February.

Our president would want to come, he has a will or intention to come, she said, but its still a question if there will be a security situation that will allow him to come.

A spokesman for Ukraines Foreign Ministry said in a Facebook statement Saturday that no decision has been made so far on whether such a visit will indeed take place. Zelenskyy makes visits abroad depending on the situation in Ukraine and other factors, Oleg Nikolenko said, promising to keep the public properly informed about the presidents plans for foreign trips.

If Zelenskyy does come to the U.N., it would be only his second trip outside Ukraine since the invasion. He made a surprise visit to Washington on Dec. 21 to meet his most important backers in the war against RussiaPresident Joe Biden and members of Congress whom he thanked for their support and told that against all odds Ukraine still stands.

Ukraines U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said the General Assembly has already scheduled a high-level debate on the war on Feb. 23, which will be followed by a ministerial meeting of the Security Council on Feb. 24.

Dzhaparova said Ukraine would like to see the assembly adopt one of the two resolutions that Zelenskyy wants to see approved on the eve of the anniversary of the invasion.

She said Ukraine is consulting with its partners on the two measures, one that would support the presidents 10-point peace formula that includes the restoration of Ukraines territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian forces and the other that would establish a tribunal to prosecute crimes of aggression, which would enable Russia to be held accountable for its unprovoked invasion.

We have to act step by step, Dzhaparova said. Its still a question what will be the first  I believe that this is something that we will know very soon, in the nearest week or two.

In late December, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told AP the government wanted a peace summit by the end of February at the U.N., with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as mediator, but he didnt anticipate Russia taking part. That would make it difficult to foresee mediation or an end to the war.

Kyslytsya, the Ukrainian ambassador, said he doesnt think Russian President Vladimir Putin would allow anyone to attend a summit because it doesnt go along with his plan that Russian territorial gains are non-negotiable.

Dzhaparova said a summit is still under discussion and stressed that its not a negotiation.

Dzhaparova said the summit would be a platform to discuss things that Ukraine considers important on top of the 10-point peace proposal, which also includes the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the Russian aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Its about shaping the discourse, she explained.

It doesnt mean that by adopting a resolution or holding a summit Ukraine is ready to sign up to a peace agreement or cease-fire, Dzhaparova said. It means that only after a resolution or summit negotiation about peace, or the agreement on peace, might be started.

The former journalist and TV anchor, a Crimean Tatar whose parents left Crimea after Russias 2014 takeover and annexation of the strategic peninsula, said Ukraine needs political, economic and military support.

Politically, Dzhaparova said, Russia has discredited the U.N. Charter, which opposes the use of force against another country, and flouted international law and should be isolated by the international community.

She said its crucial to provide financial support to Ukraine because its economy has suffered much more than Russias, and to provide weapons to fight for peace.

Dzhaparova said the Ukrainian armed forces are highly motivated and are fighting to protect their land and people.
Western Australia Bushfire Contained, But Uncontrolled

A CFA member works on controlled back burns along Putty Road in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 14, 2019. (Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

A bushfire south of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, has been contained but remains uncontrolled.

Some 100 firefighters battled the 6000-hectare blaze on Saturday before it started to slow its spread.

Aerial support was also dispatched to the Donnybrook-Balingup Shire on Saturday.

The fire, believed to have been sparked by lightning, was moving slowly northwest as of Sunday morning after breaching containment lines on Saturday.

An emergency warning remained in place for the fire area, with residents told to flee.

Meanwhile, in South Australia, firefighters have managed to contain a bushfire in the Adelaide Hills, just east of the state capital.

Residents in Montacute had been earlier told to leave or take shelter on Saturday.

But by that night the fire was contained with firefighters remaining on scene to monitor hotspots.

Firefighters had been been battling the blaze over steep, inaccessible terrain in the Adelaide Hills with 15 tankers and eight aircraft involved in extinguishing it.
Xi Lying Flat and Losing Out? No Way!Even Purged Opponents Rally Around Him as the West Gets It Wrong Again

Chinese leader Xi Jinping speaks at the podium during the meeting between members of the standing committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th CCP Central Committee and Chinese and foreign journalists in Beijing on Oct. 23, 2022. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Commentary

While protests of various kinds spread in China as Xi Jinpings Lockdown Policy went bust, the West is again misreading him and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in a big way, but this time alongside many of Xis fiercest online critics too.

With his virus policy about-face done with zero preparation for medical and other consequences, many people wonder if Xi is suddenly reduced to lying flat. Might he have lost the motivation to fight or otherwise be at a loss to know what to do when his notorious lockdown policy crumbled? Or is he simply trying to spite his domestic critics by doing nothing and letting the virus run wild?

In the CCP scheme of things, no state action, or non-action, is without a deep strategic reason. So, behind the hands-off attitude towards the virus, there must be a cold, rational CCP strategy. And Xi, with his Red Guard background and constant emphasis on carrying out struggles, is not one to lie flat. So, what is happening?

The question is just about answered by various Chinese officials alreadyXis new strategy is to get the country to full herd immunity as quickly as possible, within a month. So, some top provincial and major city officials are now gleefully claiming that the rate of infection among their population is 80 percent or more, even though a short while back, they all were boldly claiming zero case numbers under the Xi lockdown, which the WHO just said was hogwash. By achieving herd immunity nationwide that way and then pushing the economy into a restart, Xi and his CCP can claim a different victory as he goes into the National Peoples Congress (NPC) this spring.

Under this new strategy, the Chinese governments apparently stupid refusal of foreign offers of free mRNA vaccines makes good senseand that is not done to save face. Effective vaccines now would be counterproductive to Xis new strategy. Why? And wouldnt the economy weaken, as so many people die? The communist governments answer would be no, and it may well be right in a dark sense. Chinas economy may strengthen as a result of the many deaths, which are practically all concentrated among the chronically sick and the very old, with just a minuscule percentage of exceptions. From the Partys point of view, it is a golden double opportunity to solve a good part of Chinas aging problem and save on the countrys overall medical bill. Paxlovid? Never mind. Pfizer said China wouldnt pay the price that poor countries like El Salvador are paying. Why would China want to pay any price to hold onto baggage and a burden? (Note: China has always been importing limited quantities of mRNA vaccines and Paxlovid for use in Hong Kong and Macao and for its top Party and government officials with distribution via its Special Supply System)

And if a by-product of pursuing this new strategy is to re-infect the rest of the world, and put a heavy medical and financial burden on those countries in the West which cannot just let their vulnerable people die off like falling leaves, then why not? Accordingly, Xi is promptly opening Chinas borders for its nationals to travel outside. So even while plane loads of majority-infected Chinese passengers have landed in the West, his diplomats are harshly criticizing and putting pressure on those countries which quickly implement border controls to screen out COVID-19 carriers from China.

Connecting all the dots, one sees a clear outline: Far from giving up on the COVID issue, Xi is forcefully pivoting to a No-Vaccine-No-Medicine policy that serves him, his Party, and the communist state very well. While at the same time throwing a viral equivalent of a dozen nuclear bombs at the West.

Of course, one may ask: Now that there are popular revolts against him and his leadership, wouldnt the opposing factions in the Party exploit the opportunity to attack Xi, so that he loses power or at least suffers a weakening of authority within the Party? The correct answer is the opposite of what most of Xis critics would think if they did not take into serious consideration the anti-people nature of the entire CCP.

Last year, with a number of policy blundershis support of a globally unpopular Putin, his stringent lockdown policy in Shanghai and elsewhere, which damaged the economy, etcmay indeed have hurt his leadership and potentially weakened his bid for a third Presidential term. But unlike the West, where popular resentment can bring down a government, China is different. The White Paper Revolts and similar acts of popular disobedience, which immediately preceded Xis lockdown policy U-turn, are lending strength to Xi in fulfilling his power dreams, now helped by his political opponents. How so?

Xis political opponents in the Partythe Communist Youth League faction and the remnants of the Jiang Zemin factionare still ubiquitous except in the highest ranks since the purge at the recent 19th Congress. They have always been in every way as corrupt and cynical as Xi, if only because they represent the crony capitalists and have dominant control in the private sector. And they are as eager to protect CCP rule at all costs as Xi and his faction. Now the recent revolts are genuine people revolts, even though they are weak and far from being revolutions as imagined in the West, and do not pose an imminent danger to CCP rule. Yet if not nibbed in the bud, those minor acts of disobedience could erode CCP authority and power, speeding up its long-term decline. No faction of the CCP would let that happen, no matter whether they are in power or not. The Party must not be even allowed to look like it has bowed to peoples pressure. This is an immutable, congenital, all-faction CCP consensus.

So, there will be a compromiseXi will be on track to get his third Presidential term this spring, but the quid pro quo would be for him to cut the opposition some slack, such as stopping any further clamp-down on the biggest companies, which is already being celebrated by a group of famous Chinese corporate chiefs last week.

The same evil compromise between opposing factions happened in the spring of 1989 when most of those who initially opposed the bloody crackdown turned around to support Deng; some others were given early retirement but no punishment if they kept quiet. The one who appeared to be on the side of the peopleZhao Ziyang, got life confinement at home. Seen as a hero in the West, he never uttered in public one single word to denounce the massacre. Thats because his loyalty was first and foremost to the Partynot any different from the murderous Deng. A ruling faction of the CCP can be defeated and be deposed, but only by its intra-party opponents in an opaque power struggleand cannot, never, ever, be forced out, or appear to have been forced out, by the people.

And so, paradoxically, the White Paper Revolts and other revolutions occurring in the last month or two have strengthened, not weakened, Xis bid for the third Presidential term, as his intra-Party opponents have come around to cut a deal with him and support him in unity against popular dissent. This is in the nature and tradition of the CCP. Ignoring this will lead to gross underestimation of CCP survivability and overestimation of the power of dissent, mistakes that are repeated time and again in the West.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Cryptocurrency is an exciting innovation supported by blockchain technology. Generally, Nigerians are very adventurous, and some people believe it provides a hedge against devaluation. Unfortunately, cryptocurrencies are unregulated. And this is a major problem. Due to the lack of regulation, many people would lose the bulk of their investments in the coming years.

In my opinion, putting money in cryptocurrency now is not investing; its more of gambling. So, many things can go wrong. The crypto exchanges basically act like banks, fund managers and trading exchanges, all in one without any regulatory oversight. There will be many problems in the future. I believe enthusiasm would deepen massively. But I also believe when regulation catches up and regulators become actively involved, the abuses would reduce and the attractiveness would increase.

Tech has transformed the payment landscape, but the investment scene seems to be lagging. How can tech boost the investment landscape?

Regulators find it a bit difficult to keep up with Tech. Tech is a double edge sword. It makes investing easier, but it also makes fraud easier. Most of the rules and regulations become obsolete as tech changes. It is very important for industry players to carry the regulators along. Fortunately, the Securities and Exchange Commission has done a great job so far in trying to keep up to date. For instance, the entire system of listing and trading of shares has been made completely obsolete with tech. However, the system needs to move slowly to protect all investors.

Your firm recently launched an app. Can you walk us through what you intend to achieve with it?

The SFS Fund Mobile App was a response to tech and how it can make things easier. In 2019, the firm rolled out a digitalisation agenda with the aim of bringing investment closer to our clients. So, we launched the web app and it was well received by both existing and new clients. With the new clients, we saw a gap that needed to be bridged with the Gen-Zs, who are very interested in becoming wealthy but may not be exposed to easy and legit products like SFS Fund. Seeing that they are a mobile-first generation, it was very crucial that the firm launched the SFS Fund Mobile App. With this, we can provide a financial product that is youth-inclusive and cuts across the needs of the different generations. Our hope is that the mobile app becomes the go-to app for investing. We remain committed to including relevant updates by feeling the pulse of our investors in addition to our experience as investment experts. SFS Fund is here to make investing easy and this is more than just a tagline for us. It is embedded in our mission statement as an organisation.

The CBN has set a 95 per cent financial inclusion target for 2024. Do you think this is attainable?

95 per cent of financial inclusion is attainable using tech. The CBN is moving in the right direction with registering telcos and mobile money agents. Without financial inclusion, investing would be restricted to only the rich or those within the financial system.
A pressure group, Niger Delta Youth Coalition (NDYC) has called for upward review of N500 billion budgeted for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to N5 trillion.

National Coordinator of NDYC, Prince Emmanuel Ogba who made the call Saturday in Port Harcourt said N500b is grossly inadequate for the the development of the region.

According to Ogba, " there are thousands of abandoned projects scattered across the region.

" The budget of N500b cannot even address the needs of one of the nine NDDC states much more for the entire region.

" So much has been abandoned, underdevelopment has so accumulated because NDDC can't be said to have done anything in recent years ".

He appealed to stakeholders in NDDC to support the administration of the new management to succeed in the interest of the region .

Prince Ogba who described the terrian of the Niger Delta region as complex, and expensive to develop, insisted that unless adequate funds are given to the new management, it would be difficult for it to make the needed impact.
Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, has imposed a 24 hour curfew on Lambata Town in Gurara local government area of the state from 6:00pm to 6:00am.

The restriction of movement begins from Sunday 15th January 2023 till further notice.

The curfew was declared following violent clashes that led to the killing of the Village Head of Lambata, Mohammed Abdulsafur.

A statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane on behalf of the Governor explained that in view of the unfortunate incident, the State Governor has directed that curfew be imposed in Lambata Town.

Matane added that the imposition of the curfew in Lambata was to assist the security agencies to stabilize the situation in the area, save lives and enable the restoration of law and order.

He stated, Government has condemned in strong terms the violence and act of lawlessness that has occurred in Lambata Town.

The statement further stated that the residents of the area should cooperate with the security agents in the urgent task of restoring peace in Lambata while urging security agencies to ensure the enforcement of the curfew.
The Labour Party has taken a swipe at the Anambra State Government for the demolition of the campaign billboard of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi.

On Saturday, the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency, dismantled Peter Obis massive billboard located at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Temporary Site Flyover.

The state government also pulled down the billboard of the partys candidate for the Anambra Central Senatorial District, Chief Victor Umeh.

It would be recalled that in August 2022, the Anambra State government placed a public announcement directing presidential candidates to pay N10 million, senatorial candidates to pay N7 million, House of Representatives candidates to pay N5 million and state House of Assembly candidates to pay N1 million as campaign fees before mounting any billboard or poster.

Speaking on the latest development on Sunday, the Managing Director of ANSAA, Mr Tony Ujubuonu, said contrary to insinuations, the pulling down of the billboards has no political reasons, but that the affected candidates did not comply with the laid down procedures.

He said the action has nothing to do with governor Soludo, explaining that the exercise was carried out after several efforts, phone calls and entreaties to the affected candidates for them to pay for the advert, which proved abortive.

He said, In August 2022, ANSAA sent out a letter to all the political parties in Anambra to obtain political campaign permits which would enable them to enjoy campaigns around the state and access to rent available government outdoor media assets and public spaces.

Also in October, the Agency sent out another letter to the candidates reminding them of the need to obtain the permit. Before commencing enforcement in November 2022, ANSAA ran a one-week sensitisation paid adverts in the media in case someone missed the earlier formally communicated information.

Many of the political parties and their candidates responded including a good chunk of candidates of the ruling party in the state.

But sadly, no payment was made by the Labour party candidates both at the national and state House of Assembly levels. Several phone calls and entreaties were made to them through their media managers but they ignored these.

They have had several campaigns in the state without permits and have their campaign materials everywhere without permits. Its only fair that all politicians should be treated equally.

Equally, any political party candidate affected knows that either they are yet to pay or are yet to complete their payments of the political campaign permit.

We hope this is not a case of entitlement mentality or a brazen decision to disobey the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency. Once again, ANSAA will not allow itself to be drawn into any partisan politics but will continue to serve Ndi Anambra to the best of her ability.

Meanwhile, reacting to the demolition, Chief Victor Umeh described the development as undemocratic and unconscionable, while threatening legal action against the state government if the billboards were not restored any time soon.

He said the state government had no power in any extant law to regulate electoral processes, stressing that it was the sole responsibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission to do so.

He added that he had paid about N4 million to his advertising agencies for the billboards which had also paid to the ANSAA the required fees for outdoor adverts.

He said, There is nothing like campaign fees under the electoral law. No state government has a right to impose any fee on any candidate before he could campaign. There is no such law in Nigeria and no such law either in Anambra State passed by the state House of Assembly.

If the governor makes an executive order of humongous fees of N10m, N7m, etc before one could campaign in the state, thats against democracy. You cant prevent somebody from campaigning with arbitrary fees.

Its INEC that sets rules for campaigns, not state governments. The state government doesnt conduct elections. You cant tax a candidate of a political party to pay a state government before he can campaign.

No other state does that except Soludos state. Who did Soludo pay campaign fees to in 2021 when he contested for governorship?

We are considering legal action. I have told the advertising agent to write to the state government to restore the billboard because it was a contract signed with them and I paid them fully and they paid ANSAA. Why should Peter Obi pay N10 million to Soludo before he could campaign in Anambra when Umeh is paying N7 million?

There should be nothing on the way of any candidate to campaign to look for votes under the Electoral Law. What Soludo is doing is illegal. No government has a right to tax any candidate to pay in any money before he can campaign. What he is saying is that if you cant pay N10m or N7m you cant campaign after being nominated by your party to contest the election for them.

Its illegal to tax any candidate by the state government before the candidate begins to campaign. Matters about campaigns are regulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Government has no hand in regulating political parties campaigns.

No government has a right to place a tax on any candidate for campaigning. A campaign is an open and free thing to solicit votes.

Government cannot say that before you campaign for an office you have been properly documented by INEC you have to pay fees.

Another chieftain of the Labour Party, who preferred anonymity, accused Governor Soludo of ordering the dismantling of all LP billboards mounted at strategic places across the state and replacing them with those of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, the governors party.

He said, Soludo said that he does not want Labour Party advert at such strategic places and ordered the Anambra Signage Agency to refund the money it received for the advert.

He ordered the removal of all OBIdient billboards across the state. Its a direct instruction from him in an APGA meeting Those around asked him not to do that, but he insisted that must be done.
The leader of former communist rebels became Nepal's new prime minister Sunday with the support from his ex-opponent and other smaller political parties.

The announcement was made by the office of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari after the Maoist communist party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal met her to stake his claim for the prime minister following last month's elections in a major twist in politics in the Himalayan nation.

Dahal has support of more than half the members of the newly elected House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament.

He is likely to take the oath of office on Monday and prove his majority in the 275-member house later in the week.

It is Dahal's third time in power since his Maoist group quit an armed revolt and joined mainstream politics in 2006.

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China links COVID to 60,000 recent deaths

BEIJING: Chinese health authorities on Saturday (Jan 14) reported almost 60,000 COVID-related deaths in just over a month, in the first major update released by the government since the loosening of its virus restrictions restrictions in early December.

COVID-19CoronavirusChinesedeathSafetyhealth

By Bangkok Post

Sunday 15 January 2023, 08:00AM

Jiao Yahui, director general of the Bureau of Medical Administration of the National Health Commission, attends a press conference in Beijing on March 18, 2022. Photo: Xu Xiang / China SCIO

The country recorded 59,938 Covid-related deaths between Dec 8, 2022 and Jan 12 this year, Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission, told a news conference, reports Bangkok Post, citing Bloomberg, AFP and Reuters among its sources.

The figure refers only to deaths recorded at medical facilities, with the total toll likely to be higher.

It includes 5,503 deaths caused by respiratory failure directly due to the virus, and 54,435 deaths caused by underlying diseases combined with COVID, Jiao said.

The number of people in hospital with severe COVID cases is also starting to decline, authorities said. They gave a figure of 105,000 as of Jan 12, compared with 128,000 on Jan 5, without elaborating on what constituted a severe case. Tens of millions of people are now believed to have become infected, though the vast majority of cases are mild and authorities say they have not detected any new variants so far.

China has been accused of underreporting its number of virus deaths since abandoning its zero-COVID policy in early December.

While international health experts have predicted at least 1 million COVID-related deaths in China this year, the country had previously reported just over 5,000 since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world.

Health officials insisted as recently as Wednesday (Jan 10) that it was not necessary to dwell on the exact number.

Beijing had previously revised its methodology for categorising COVID fatalities, saying it would count only those who die specifically of respiratory failure caused by the virus. But this had been criticised by the World Health Organization, which said the new definition was too narrow.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said the organisation was continuing to ask China for more rapid, regular, reliable data on hospitalisation and deaths, as well as  viral sequencing.

On Saturday (Jan 14) health officials said the average age of those who died was 80.3 years old, with over 90% of fatalities above 65 years old. Most suffered from underlying conditions, they said. Millions of people over 60 years of age in China are still unvaccinated.

In a related report, a study estimates that nearly all of Beijings 22 million population will have been infected with the coronavirus by the end of this month. About 92% of the people in Chinas capital will have contracted Covid by the end of January, while 76% had already been infected by Dec 22, according to the study, which was published on Friday (Jan 13) in the journal Nature Medicine.

The reproductive rate of the virus has increased to 3.44 since authorities scrapped restrictions, meaning one person with the virus can infect 3.44 others, it found.
Navy sorry after helicopter blows down tents, hurting kids on Children Day

CHANTHABURI: The navy apologised for an incident that injured eight people  mostly children  when a helicopter flew above marquee tents, causing them to collapse onto a crowd in Chanthaburi province on Saturday (Jan 14).

militarySafety

By Bangkok Post

Sunday 15 January 2023, 01:35PM

Giant tents collapse as a helicopter flies above a National Childrens Day event venue in Tha Chang municipality in Muang district, Chanthaburi, on Saturday morning (Jan 14). Photo: Bangkok Post

The incident happened during a National Childrens Day event in the Tha Chang municipality in Muang district on Saturday morning. A navy helicopter flew directly above three giant tents, sending powerful downdrafts that collapsed the structures, reports Bangkok Post.

Eight people were injured, including five children. Two injured adults and five children were treated and discharged from hospital shortly afterwards. A 58-year-old woman suffered a cut in her head and a broken neck, and was admitted to Phrapokklao Hospital in Chanthaburi.

RAdm Therdkiat Jitkaew, deputy commander of the Chanthaburi and Trat Border Defence Command, apologised for the injuries.

Navy spokesman Adm Pokkrong Monthatpalin said navy commander-inchief Adm Choengchai Chomchoengpaet was sorry about the incident and ordered the Chanthaburi and Trat Border Defence Command to offer financial aid and medical care to the injured people.

Earlier the Tha Chang municipal office asked the navys Chanthaburi and Trat Border Defence Command to produce a helicopter show above the event venue.

On Jan 14, 2017, a Jas 39 Gripen fighter jet crashed during an air show for the Childrens Day in Hat Yai, Songkhla province. Shortly after the crash, an airport fire engine overturned while rushing to put out the fire.

The "Royal Thai Air Force" Facebook urged the public not to share the video clips and photos of the crash out of respect for the victims family and affected parties. There were no fatalities except for the pilot of the jet.
Phuket Opinion: Taking the strain

PHUKET: Here we are entering the far side of the peak period of the first tourism high season to help aid the islands economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the island is already showing signs of struggling to cope with the tourists weve got.

opinionenvironmentnatural-resourcespollutiontourism

By The Phuket News

Sunday 15 January 2023, 10:00AM

Black wastewater has already been confirmed flowing out of a pipe emptying onto Surin Beach. The return of the unsightly effluent marks a return to pre-COVID days, nearly as testament to the reports of the number of visitors on the island. However, the black wastewater  never recognised by officials as a health risk  also plainly evidences the inability of our infrastructure to cope with the rising number of tourists we already have.

With 300,000 Chinese visitors expected to visit Thailand in the first three months of this year  and many of those coming to Phuket, with direct flights from China to Phuket starting this Wednesday (Jan 18)  the load on the existing infrastructure will only increase.

Add to that Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announcing last week that Thailand expects to welcome between 7-10 million Chinese visitors this year, way above the original earlier projection of 5mn, under the Great Resumption tourism policy, and Phuket will be right back enjoying the natural phenomena of algae blooms in the west coast bays again soon.

Meanwhile, Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew met with Sarun Charoensuwan, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok last week to discuss efforts to promote Phukets bid to host the World Specialised Expo 2027-28, already branded as Phuket Expo 2028.

The meeting was part of Thailands campaign to solicit support in the international community in its bid to host the expo, as each country gets one vote to determine which one of the five candidates will win the right to host the expo. (The other four candidates are the United States, Serbia, Spain and Argentina.)

Unless the expo bid is to rely on those members of the international community living in a vacuum and being fully unaware of any developments in Thailand unless Thai officials tell them, it is going to be a hard sell.

Worse, keep in mind that the proposed dates for Phuket to host the expo are from March 20 to June 17, 2028  with two months of the prime algae bloom season to be enjoyed before the annual southwest monsoon rains arrive in May. Of course many visitors come to Phuket to enjoy the local culture, but they will most unlikely want to be swimming in it.

On paper, the solution to Phukets wastewater problem is simple: harsher penalties for fouling waterways, the development of wastewater systems actually designed to cope with the load they will encounter and so on. Yet so far it is been a long, ongoing battle for officials to give this dire postcard the proper attention.

There is still time before the expo bid goes to vote in June this year, and years before the expo is to be held, but this cannot be one aspect of Phukets development left ignored while trying to win the right to host a major international event based on sustainability and future. They need to start now.

Of course we all want Phuket to win the bid to host Expo 2028, we just want Phuket to be capable and worthy of hosting it.
SEAN BERGEL, Wheeler, Baseball, Junior; Bergel struck out eight and allowed only five hits as Wheeler defeated Griswold in its season opener. Bergel walked just one batter and allowed two earned runs.

CAMI BROWN, Stonington, Softball, Junior; Brown finished 11 for 16 in four games for the Bears. Brown doubled four times, tripled twice and drove in nine runs.

CASEY MACERA, Westerly, Girls Lacrosse, Freshman, Macera scored five goals in a Division III win against Rocky Hill. Westerly ended a 15-game losing streak with the victory.

ADAM CARPENTER, Chariho, Baseball, Junior; Carpenter pitched a two-hitter in his varsity debut as the Chargers beat East Providence. Carpenter carried a no-hitter into the sixth. He struck out 10 and did not walk a batter.

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Peter Doocy of Fox News asked President Biden how he could keep classified materials [in his garage] next to your Corvette. What were you thinking?  a reference to his classic 1967 Stingray which his son, Hunter, had rebuilt for him as a Christmas present.

By the way, my Corvettes in locked garage, okay? Its not like its sitting out in the street, Biden shot back. He confirmed the documents were kept in a locked garage, saying, Yes  as well as my Corvette.

Biden then horribly struggled his way through a prepared writtem statement.

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:

Republicans are already demanding a special counsel review the matter at the Justice Department to determine the next course of action. On Thursday, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) wrote top intelligence officials asking if they were conducting a national security review to determine if there was a risk to national security.

A special counsel is already reviewing former President Donald Trumps possession of highly classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago residence. FBI agents searched the residence this summer under a grand jury subpoena after a months-long process seeking to obtain government material.

Biden has blasted Trumps handling of materials in the past, and stated that he takes care when bringing classified documents home as president that he gets briefed in a secured room and returns classified materials to a military aide.

He told CBS 60 Minutes after the Mar-a-Lago raid: How that could possibly happen? How one  anyone could be that irresponsible?

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Egypt is ready to host a global centre for the supply and storage of grain in cooperation with the international community in a way that helps face the ongoing food crisis worldwide, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry has confirmed.

Related Egypt urges effective G20 role to face global economic conditions

Shoukry made the remarks in a recorded speech on Friday during the Voice of Global South Summit held under the Indian Group of 20 (G20) presidency.

The two-day virtual summit kicked off on Thursday with the participation of 120 countries, including non-G20 countries, to provide a platform for countries of the Global South to express their concerns regarding food and energy security amid the current geopolitical situation.

The Global South includes developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania.

In September, Egypt stated at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York its readiness to establish a global grain handling centre given its unique geographical location, stressing that one out of five citizens in Africa suffer from hunger.

In his speech today, Shoukry stressed Egypts support for the goals of the G20 agricultural working group to draw a roadmap for food security and climate-smart agriculture.

Shoukry called for the G20 to take the initiative to require development partners to provide the required support for states of the Global South so that they can recover from the consecutive global challenges in the near future and address their development needs in the long term.

The top Egyptian diplomat stressed the necessity of adopting a comprehensive approach to deal with the global challenges and reach effective and joint solutions.

He highlighted in this regard the challenges facing the countries of the Global South as a result of the global crises, including coronavirus, supply chain crises, food security and climate change.

Shoukry also stressed that access to energy and energy transformation for all countries cannot be achieved unless sufficient funding is secured and technology is transferred to developing countries.

The Egyptian FM called for the G20 to provide the necessary momentum to reformulate the international economic system so that it responds effectively and in a timely manner to the challenges facing the countries of the Global South.

He stressed Egypt's commitment to constructive engagement in the discussions and initiatives that will be put forward within the framework of the G20 in order to reach consensus on the ongoing complex challenges.

Egypt, which participates as a guest country in the G20 meetings this year, has pressed for an effective and a constructive role by the G20 in light of the very complicated global economic conditions.

Ragi El-Etreby, the representative of the Egyptian president to the G20, said Cairo intends to closely cooperate with the Indian presidency of the Group concerning files of mutual priority, a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs read on Sunday.

These files include enhancing global food security and supporting international financing institutions to better face successive crises, he added.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel to investigate the presence of documents with classified markings found at President Joe Bidens home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at an office in Washington.

The announcement followed Bidens acknowledgement Thursday morning that a document with classified markings from his time as vice president was found in his personal library, along with other documents found in his garage. Garland said Bidens lawyers informed the Justice Department Thursday morning of the discovery of a classified document at Bidens home, after FBI agents first retrieved other documents from his garage in December. It was disclosed on Monday that sensitive documents were found at the office of his former institute in Washington.

Robert Hur, the former Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Maryland, will lead the investigation, taking over from the top Justice Department prosecutor in Chicago, John Lausch, who was earlier assigned by the department to investigate the matter. Hur is to begin his work soon.

The appointment of yet another special counsel to investigate the handling of classified documents is a remarkable turn of events, legally and politically, for a Justice Department that has spent months looking into the retention by Donald Trump of more than 300 documents with classification markings found at the former presidents Florida estate.

Though the situations are factually and legally different, the discovery of classified documents at two separate locations tied to Biden  as well as the appointment of a new special counsel  would almost certainly complicate any prosecution that the department might bring against Trump.

(AP)




The New York Times licked its chops on Wednesday, gleefully relating how five individuals who run companies that primarily serve the Orthodox Jewish community were indicted for daycare fraud. But instead of just reporting the allegations, the self-congratulatory tone of the article reflected the Times apparent conviction that the indictments vindicate the papers recent onslaught of vilifications of the Orthodox Jewish community.

What the articles references to those earlier pieces in fact indicate is something else entirely: the Times desire to, at every turn, portray the Orthodox community as unsavory or worse.

Agudath Israel knows nothing about the indicted individuals. It goes without saying that if the allegations are true, fraud is always and unequivocally wrong.

The larger problem here is that the Times chooses to weaponize the indictments of these individuals to justify its many allegations made about the larger Orthodox Jewish community.

Extrapolating the act of an individual to smear his entire ethnic or religious group would be greeted  and properly so  with howls of protest in any other context. It is equally howl-worthy when applied to Orthodox Jews. Indeed, the Times correctly decries racial profiling in other contexts, but glibly purveys it when it comes to Orthodox Jews.

In another article that same day, a New York Times headline read, Was Yeshiva University Entitled to $230 Million in Public Funds? The obviously negative implication of the headline, and the inclusion of the tallying of funds therein, were clearly meant to inflame rather than report.

The message from the Times is consistent. Orthodox Jewish students  Hasidic or Modern Orthodox  dont deserve public funds or assistance like everyone else, either because they are all corrupt, or because they have the audacity to practice their religion. They should be treated as pariahs.

Agudath Israel views the publication of such sentiments by one of the most powerful newspapers in the world as deeply dangerous. With each passing day, each passing article, and each passing assault on an Orthodox Jew, our KnowUs initiative is, unfortunately, needed more than ever.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Alou Diallo says he was drinking tea with his family one morning last month when groups of white soldiers invaded his village in central Mali, setting fire to houses and gunning down people suspected of being Islamic extremists. He scrambled to safety in the bush, but his son was shot and wounded while fleeing, then was finished off as he lay on the ground.

I watched my 16-year-old son die, Diallo told The Associated Press in Malis capital, Bamako, where he lives in a makeshift camp for displaced people. As he recounted that awful Saturday in his village of Bamguel, the 47-year-old former cattle breeder made no attempt to hide the anger toward the troops, which he believed to be Russian mercenaries, who turned his world upside down.

I really want peace to return and things to go back to normal, he said. Here in Bamako, I live a life I didnt choose.

Its been more than a year since hundreds of fighters from the Wagner Group, a shadowy Russian military contractor, began working alongside Malis armed forces to try to stem a decade-long insurgency by Islamic extremists in the West African country, Western officials say.

But since the mercenaries arrived, diplomats, analysts and human rights groups say indiscriminate violence against civilians has grown, the extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have only gotten stronger, and theres concern the Russian presence will further destabilize the already-troubled region.

More than 2,000 civilians have been killed since December 2021, compared with about 500 in the previous 12 months, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a nongovernmental organization. At least a third of those deaths recorded last year were from attacks involving the Wagner Group, according to the data compiled by ACLED.

They are killing civilians, and by their very presence, giving Malian security forces a green light to act on their worst inclinations, said Michael Shurkin, senior fellow at Atlantic Council and director of global programs at the consultancy group 14 North Strategies.

Military contractors from Wagner, which was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a millionaire businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, have been bolstering Moscows forces during its invasion of Ukraine. But experts say they also operate in a handful of African countries.

Ever since Malis military seized power in two coups starting in 2020, a junta led by Col. Assimi Goita has had tense relations with the international community.

France sent troops to Mali in 2013 to help its former colony drive Islamic militants from northern areas of the country but withdrew them in August as relations frayed and anti-French sentiment grew in the population. The West says Mali is increasingly looking to Moscow for security, although the junta says it has only invited in military trainers.

Alassane Maiga, head of communications for the junta, insisted that Wagner was not operating in the country. Asked about the attacks on civilians, Maiga said Malis government protects its citizens and their property.

The armys protection and security missions are carried out with respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, he said.

The Wagner Group did not respond to requests for comment. At a U.N. Security Council debate on Tuesday, Russias deputy ambassador Anna Evstigneeva rejected attempts from abroad to besmirch Russian assistance to Mali, where Moscow has a bilateral agreement to assist the transitional government. She did not mention the Wagner Group.

Up to 1,000 mercenaries have been deployed and the Wagner Group is being paid nearly $11 million a month to provide security and training, according to a report by the U.S. Military Academys Combating Terrorism Center, which studies extremist violence.

The report said Wagners forces are struggling to make significant gains, with jihadi violence increasing. During the rainy season between June and September when fighting usually subsides, there were over 90 attacks against civilians and the military by an al-Qaida linked extremist group, compared with six in the same period a year earlier, it said, and an August assault on a barracks by an Islamic State-linked group killed at least 42 Malian soldiers.

In the bloodiest attack, Human Rights Watch said Malis army and foreign troops suspected to be Russian rounded up and killed an estimated 300 men in the town of Moura in March. Some were believed to be Islamic extremists but most were civilians. The investigation cited 27 people, including witnesses, traders, community leaders, diplomats and security analysts.

Malis Defense Ministry reported a similar incident at the time but said it had killed 203 terrorists and arrested 51 others.

There are broad reports of human rights abuses across the region where they are working, U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said of the Wagner mercenaries. And we worry that these forces are not interested in the safety and security of the people of Mali but, instead, are interested in enriching themselves and strip-mining the country and are making the terrorism situation worse.

Samuel Ramani, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank, said Russia is not very credible at counterterrorism in Africa or more broadly.

What weve seen repeatedly is that Russia and the Wagner Group forces are much better at strengthening the hold of authoritarian regimes in power than actually combating rebels and terrorist groups, Ramani said, citing their limited knowledge of the terrain, strained relationships with low-ranking officers and a rigid command and control structure.

Many Malians accuse the military and the white soldiers working with them of arbitrary arrests of civilians herding cattle, farming or going to market. Most of them are ethnic Fulani who are increasingly targeted by security forces suspecting them of supporting the Islamic militants.

Rights groups say these alleged abuses aid the extremists, who capitalize on public grievances for use as a recruiting tool.

A 29-year-old cattle herder named Hamidou said he was arrested at his home in Douentza village in central Mali with two other people in November and accused of being an Islamic militant. He was locked in a tiny room where he was bound, beaten and interrogated by white soldiers.

We were severely beaten daily. We didnt think wed survive, said Hamidou, who asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisal, adding that most of those detained were ethnic Fulani, like him. From the day Wagner came to Mali until today, arbitrary arrests and killings of Fulani civilians have been increasing tremendously.

The AP was unable to verify all of his account independently but a human rights researcher who also asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal said he saw the scars on Hamidous back and forehead after his release.

Thousands of United Nations peacekeeping troops have been in Mali for nearly a decade to protect civilians from violence, but Malis government has constrained their ability to operate, and countries such as Benin, Germany, Sweden, Ivory Coast and the United Kingdom have announced troop withdrawals, according to the International Crisis Group.

Nuland, the U.S. diplomat, said the Wagner Group has encouraged the junta to deny the peacekeepers access to areas where it has a mandate to investigate abuses. Security is becoming more difficult as Wagner forces and others take on a larger role in the country and squeeze out U.N. peacekeepers, she said.

While many locals say they detest Wagner, they fear nothing will change until there is a new government following elections scheduled for February 2024.

It is up to the Malians to decide what steps to follow for the return of peace in Mali, said Seydou Diawara, head of a political opposition group. Force and pressure by the international community on the military can only worsen the security and humanitarian situation.

(AP)




U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine, amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks.

Five people were killed and 39 wounded in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of an apartment building, regional Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko said. Photos showed a large gap in the nine-story building.

Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv region and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the Odesa region on the Black Sea and in northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv, the capital, was also targeted.

Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, the British leaders Downing Street office said in a statement.

It didnt say when the tanks would be delivered or how many. British media have reported that four British Army Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be sent to Eastern Europe immediately, with eight more to follow shortly after, without citing sources.

Zelenskyy tweeted his thanks to Sunak on Saturday for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners.

Ukraine has for months sought to be supplied with heavier tanks, including the U.S. Abrams and the German Leopard 2 tanks, but Western leaders have been treading carefully.

The Czech Republic and Poland have provided Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukrainian forces. Poland has also expressed readiness to provide a company of Leopard tanks, but President Andrzej Duda stressed during his recent visit to the Ukrainian city of Lviv that the move would be possible only as an element in a larger international coalition of tank aid to Kyiv.

Earlier this month, France said it would send AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles to Ukraine, designated light tanks in French. The U.S. and Germany announced the same week that they would send Bradley fighting vehicles and Marder armored personnel carriers, respectively, for the first time.

Sunaks announcement came as Russian forces fired missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday in the first major barrage in days.

In Dnipro, rescuers were using a crane to try to evacuate people trapped in the apartment buildings upper stories, some of whom were signaling with the flashlights on their mobile phones, the deputy head of Ukraines presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Telegram. He also said there were likely people under the rubble.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said two Russian missiles hit an infrastructure object again on Saturday afternoon, following a similar attack in the morning, In the city of Kharkiv, the subway suspended operations amid the attacks, according to its Telegram channel.

Another infrastructure facility was hit in the western Lviv region, according to Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi.

Air defense systems were activated in other regions of Ukraine, as well, and as another round of air raid sirens sounded across the country in the afternoon, regional officials urged local residents to seek shelter.

Vitali Kim, governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, hinted in a Telegram post that some missiles have been intercepted over his province.

Military top commander Valeri Zaluzhny said that Russia overall fired 33 cruise missiles on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down.

Earlier in the day, explosions also rocked the capital, Kyiv. The blasts occurred before air sirens sounded, which is unusual. Its likely the explosions came ahead of the warning sirens because the attack was by ballistic missiles, which are faster than cruise missiles or drones.

According to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles flying from the north.

The ballistics are not easy for us to detect and shoot down, he told local media. The warning about the missile threat was late because of the lack of radar data and information from other sources.

An infrastructure target was hit in the morning missile attack, according to Ukrainian officials.

Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district, a residential area on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Klitschko also said that fragments of a missile fell on a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district on the right bank, and a fire briefly broke out in a building there. No casualties have been reported so far.

This was the first attack on the Ukrainian capital since Jan. 1.

On Saturday morning, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city. The strikes with S-300 missiles targeted energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the (outlying) region, governor Syniehubov said. No casualties have been reported, but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible, the official said.

In the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine where fighting is most intense, three people were killed in Russian artillery attacks on Saturday, mayor Vitalii Barabash said. One person died in a rocket attack in Kryvyi Rih, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Reznichenko said.

The attacks follow conflicting reports on the fate of the fiercely contested salt mining town of Soledar, in Ukraines embattled east. Russia claims that its forces have captured the town, a development that would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after a series of humiliating setbacks on the battlefield.

Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Malyar said Saturday that the fiece battles for Soledar are continuing.

Moscow has painted the battle for the town and the nearby city of Bakhmut as key to capturing the eastern region of the Donbas, which comprises of partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and as a way to grind down the best Ukrainian forces and prevent them from launching counterattacks elsewhere.

But that cuts both ways, as Ukraine says its fierce defense of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces. Western officials and analysts say the two towns importance is more symbolic than strategic.

(AP)




Iran said Saturday it executed a former high-ranking defense ministry official and dual Iranian-British national, despite international warnings not to carry out the death sentence. The execution further escalated tensions with the West amid the nationwide anti-government protests shaking the Islamic Republic.

The hanging of Ali Reza Akbari, a close ally of top security official Ali Shamkhani, suggests an ongoing power struggle within Irans theocracy as it tries to contain the demonstrations over the September death of Mahsa Amini. It also harkened back to the mass purges of the military that immediately followed Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Akbaris hanging drew immediate anger from London, which along with the U.S. and others has sanctioned Iran over the protests and its supplying Russia with the bomb-carrying drones now targeting Ukraine.

This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly summoned Irans charge daffaires in the United Kingdom and separately warned: This will not stand unchallenged.

The United Kingdom sanctioned Irans prosecutor-general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, on Saturday night with immediate effect over Akbaris execution.

Iran similarly summoned the British ambassador after the execution.

Irans Mizan news agency, associated with the countrys judiciary, announced Akbaris hanging without saying when it happened. However, there were rumors he had been executed days earlier.

Iran has alleged, without providing evidence, that Akbari served as a source for Britains Secret Intelligence Service, known popularly as MI6. A lengthy statement issued by Irans judiciary claimed Akbari received large sums of money, his British citizenship and other help in London for providing information to the intelligence service.

However, Iran long has accused those who travel abroad or have Western ties of spying, often using them as bargaining chips in negotiations.

Akbari, who ran a private think tank, is believed to have been arrested in 2019, but details of his case only emerged in recent weeks. Those accused of espionage and other crimes related to national security are usually tried behind closed doors, where rights groups say they do not choose their own lawyers and are not allowed to see evidence against them.

Iranian state television aired a highly edited video of Akbari discussing the allegations, footage that resembled other claimed confessions that activists have described as coerced confessions.

The BBC Farsi-language service aired an audio message from Akbari on Wednesday, in which he described being tortured.

By using physiological and psychological methods, they broke my will, drove me to madness and forced me to do whatever they wanted, Akbari said in the audio. By the force of gun and death threats they made me confess to false and corrupt claims.

Iran has not commented on the torture claims. However, the United Nations human rights chief has warned Iran against the weaponization of the death penalty as a means to put down the protests.

On Friday, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel also criticized Akbaris pending execution.

The charges against Ali Reza Akbari and his sentencing to execution were politically motivated. His execution would be unconscionable, he said. We are greatly disturbed by the reports that Mr. Akbari was drugged, tortured while in custody, interrogated for thousands of hours, and forced to make false confessions.

He added: More broadly, Irans practices of arbitrary and unjust detentions, forced confessions and politically motivated executions are completely unacceptable and must end.

Robert Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, said he was horrified by Akbaris execution.

The Islamic Republics unjust detentions, forced confessions, sham trials and politically motivated executions must end, he wrote online.

French President Emmanuel Macron also decried what he called a heinous and barbaric act.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Twitter that the execution is a further inhuman act by the Iranian regime.

Iran is one of the worlds top executioners. However, it wasnt immediately clear when the last time of a former or current high-ranking defense official had been executed. In 1984, Iran executed its navy chief Adm. Baharam Afzali along with nine other military people on a charge of spying for the Soviet Union.

Irans government for months has been trying to allege  without offering evidence  that foreign countries have fomented the unrest gripping the Islamic Republic since the death of 22-year-old Amini in September after her detention by the morality police. Protesters say they are angry over the collapse of the economy, heavy-handed policing and the entrenched power of the countrys Islamic clergy.

For several years, Iran has been locked in a shadow war with the United States and Israel, marked by covert attacks on its disputed nuclear program. The killing of Irans top nuclear scientist in 2020, which Iran blamed on Israel, indicated foreign intelligence services had made major inroads. Iran mentioned that scientist in discussing Akbaris case, though its unclear what current information, if any, he would have had on him.

Akbari had previously led the implementation of a 1988 cease-fire between Iran and Iraq following their devastating eight-year war, working closely with U.N. observers. He served as a deputy defense minister under Shamkhani during reformist President Mohammad Khatamis administration, likely further making his credentials suspicious to hard-liners within Irans theocracy.

Today, Shamkhani is the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, the countrys top security body which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei oversees. Akbaris audio message aired by the BBC Persian included him saying he was accused of obtaining top-secret information from Shamkhani in exchange for a bottle of perfume and a shirt. However, it appears Shamkhani remains in his role.

The anti-government protests now shaking Iran are one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.

At least 520 protesters have been killed and 19,400 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the unrest. Iranian authorities have not provided official figures on deaths or arrests.

Iran has executed four people after convicting them of charges linked to the protests in similarly criticized trials, including attacks on security forces.

(AP)




Zakiya Sankara-Jabars cellphone buzzed relentlessly as a deadly storm system that spawned tornadoes throughout the U.S. South laid waste to relatives homes and churches across a part of Alabama known as the Black Belt.

Text messages and calls from loved ones, many of them hysterical, provided her with devastating updates of Thursdays storms, which tore through her native Dallas County, including the history-steeped streets of Selma.

Family in the city synonymous with the civil rights movement saw their homes damaged, but they remained structurally sound. For those in Beloit, a nearby unincorporated town where Sankara-Jabar spent the first 20 years of her life, the damage was almost unfathomable.

I have family who lost everything, she said Friday. My great-aunts house was leveled. I saw pictures and its like the house was never even there.

Sankara-Jabars family has called this part of Alabama home for generations. Taking its name from the rich, dark soil, the Black Belt is a region all too familiar with hardship, both economic and social. Many of the civil rights movements most important struggles took place in the area, including Bloody Sunday, when nearly 58 years ago state troopers and deputized klansmen viciously attacked Black people marching nonviolently for voting rights across Selmas Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Nearly every year since the march, Selma and Dallas County have welcomed back hundreds to thousands of movement foot soldiers, tourists, politicians and activists who ceremonially cross the Pettus Bridge to commemorate the sacrifices of those who bled for democracy. But when the annual celebration is over, the Black Belt continues on as a working class region struggling to deal with gun violence and drug addiction, much like many U.S. communities, but with far fewer resources.

Dallas County, which includes Selma, is home to about 37,600 people, roughly 71% of them Black and 27% white. The countys median household income is $35,000 and nearly one out of every three residents lives in poverty.

Losing everything for somebody who was already working class and already poor financially is devastating. said Sankara-Jabar, a racial justice activist who now lives just outside of Washington, D.C.

Thursdays storm inflicted heavy damage on Selma, cutting a wide path through the downtown area, where brick buildings collapsed, oak trees were uprooted, cars were tossed onto their sides and power lines were left dangling. While Selma officials said no fatalities had been reported there, several people were seriously injured.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, a native of Selma, said it was painful to see what the tornado had done to her beloved hometown.

Coming across that Edmund Pettus Bridge and seeing just nothing  lights off  and as we were driving down Broad Street to see street after street after street being devastated, it was frankly heartbreaking for me and heart wrenching for me, Sewell said Friday.

At the same time, she said, Selma is resilient.

After all, we survived and thrived through civil rights and voting rights, she said.

The city is famed for its historic sites: Pettus Bridge, where the Selma-to-Montgomery march is commemorated; Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference worked with local activists during the Selma movement; and the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, founded in 1991 and opened near the bridge.

We ask that people keep Selma in their hearts right now, because it is the communities of color that have suffered the most in this particular storm, said Felecia Pettway, a member of the voting rights museums board of directors. We are really concerned about what happens next.

Pettway is also a development director for Legal Services Alabama, an organization that provides free civil legal advocacy for low-income residents. The organizations Selma office was damaged in the tornado.

A few blocks away from Brown Chapel AME Church, the starting point of the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery, homeowners boarded up blown out windows and carried out salvageable belongings from homes with their roofs blown off.

Rachel Bonner, 77, was at home when the tornado struck, ripping the roof and sides away from her home.

Like many people over age 60 in this city, her life is intertwined with the regions history. She graduated from a historic school for Black students that stayed open as a public school until the 1970s.

I marched in Selma and Wilcox County during the movement, Bonner said.

Pearlie Miller, who was at work during the storm, made her way home to check on her sisters. Her home was destroyed, but she is thankful her family is safe.

God has been good to us. Weve been blessed. That is how we are looking at it, she said. Our entire family is safe. Our neighbors are safe and thats all that matters.

It is not hyperbole to consider Selmas downtown district hallowed ground. Its the place from which the late Amelia Boynton Robinson, a Selma voting rights strategist and civil rights movement matriarch, convinced King to get involved in the movement, hoping he would help nationalize the voting rights struggle. Its where the late Georgia congressman and voting rights icon John Lewis was beaten nearly to death by state troopers as he crossed the Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965.

Its also where the first Black president and the first Black vice president have offered tributes to a civil rights movement that helped their ascensions to high office go from pipe dream to reality.

When the expected ten of thousands gather there this coming March for the annual Selma Bridge Cross Jubilee, the downtown will resemble a huge street festival. There will be music blaring and vendors selling food, T-shirts and other memorabilia.

But when the national political figures leave and the news media cameras disappear, Selmas high crime levels, pothole-covered streets, abandoned homes and vacant businesses will remain. The city famous for the voting rights struggle will still have to address its sagging voter turnout.

Adia Winfrey, executive director of Transform Alabama, a nonprofit that promotes civic engagement and voter participation, said the needs of the entire Black Belt in Alabama, not just Selma, are manifold and include water, sewage and educational infrastructure; childcare, parental support and activities for young people.

There are great people doing great work, but their capacity is limited, said Winfrey, who is also board secretary for the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee.

How do we leverage the excitement about jubilee and interest in the history of Selma, to bring the resources to Selma?

(AP)




A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday authorized adding former President Jair Bolsonaro in its investigation into who incited the Jan. 8 riot in the nations capital, as part of a broader crackdown to hold responsible parties to account.

According to the text of his ruling, Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted the request from the prosecutor-generals office, which cited a video that Bolsonaro posted on Facebook two days after the riot. The video claimed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wasnt voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazils electoral authority.

Prosecutors in the recently formed group to combat anti-democratic acts argued earlier Friday that although Bolsonaro posted the video after the riot, its content was sufficient to justify investigating his conduct beforehand. Bolsonaro deleted it the morning after he first posted it.

Legal analysts consulted by The Associated Press said investigating Bolsonaro was overdue and justified.

Bolsonaros positioning, in general, is being investigated as an incitement method. The fact that the video was published after the attacks doesnt mean he wasnt involved previously in inciting the acts, said Georges Abboud, a constitutional law professor at Sao Paulos Pontifical Catholic University.

Otherwise, Bolsonaro has refrained from commenting on the election since his Oct. 30 defeat. He repeatedly stoked doubt about the reliability of the electronic voting system in the run-up to the vote, filed a request afterward to annul millions of ballots cast using the machines and never conceded.

He has taken up residence in an Orlando suburb since leaving Brazil in late December and skipping the Jan. 1 swearing-in of his leftist successor, and some Democratic lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to cancel his visa.

Following the justices decision late Friday, Bolsonaros lawyer Frederick Wassef said in a statement that the former president vehemently repudiates the acts of vandalism and destruction from Jan. 8, but blamed supposed infiltrators of the protest  something his far-right backers have also claimed.

The statement also said Bolsonaro never had any relationship or participation with these spontaneous social movements.

Brazilian authorities are investigating who enabled Bolsonaros radical supporters to storm the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace in an attempt to overturn results of the October election. Targets include those who summoned rioters to the capital or paid to transport them, and local security personnel who may have stood aside to let the mayhem occur.

Much of the attention thus far has focused on Anderson Torres, Bolsonaros former justice minister, who became the federal districts security chief on Jan. 2, and was in the U.S. on the day of the riot.

De Moraes has opened an investigation into Torres actions, which he characterized as neglect and collusion. In his decision, which was made public Friday, de Moraes said Torres fired subordinates and left the country before the riot, an indication that he was deliberately laying the groundwork for the unrest.

The court also issued an arrest warrant for the former security chief, who returned to Brazil early Saturday and was taken into custody, the Federal Police said in a statement. Torres has denied wrongdoing.

Justice Minister Flavio Dino pointed to a document that Brazilian federal police found upon searching Torres home: a draft decree that would have seized control of Brazils electoral authority and potentially overturned the election. The origin and authenticity of the unsigned document are unclear, and it remains unknown if Bolsonaro or his subordinates took any steps to implement the measure that would have been unconstitutional, according to analysts and the Brazilian academy of electoral and political law.

But the document will figure in the police investigation, because it even more fully reveals the existence of a chain of people responsible for the criminal events, Dino said, adding that Torres will need to inform police who drafted it.

By failing to initiate a probe against the documents author or report its existence, Torres at the very least could be charged with dereliction of duty, said Mario Sergio Lima, a political analyst at Medley Advisors.

Torres said on Twitter that the document was probably found in a pile along with others intended for shredding, and that it was leaked out of context to feed false narratives aimed at discrediting him.

Dino told reporters Friday morning that no connection has yet been established between the capital riot and Bolsonaro.

The federal districts former governor and former military police chief are also targets of the Supreme Court investigation made public Friday. Both were removed from their positions after the riot.

Also on Friday night, the popular social media accounts of several prominent right-wing figures were suspended in Brazil in response to a court order, which journalist Glenn Greenwald obtained and detailed on a live social media broadcast.

The order, also issued by Justice de Moraes, was directed at six social media platforms and established a two-hour deadline to block the accounts or face fines. The accounts belong to a digital influencer, a YouTuber recently elected federal lawmaker, a podcast host in the mold of Joe Rogan, and an evangelical pastor and senator-elect, among others.

(AP)




Key dates related to the discovery of classified documents tied to President Joe Biden, based on statements from the White House, the president and Attorney General Merrick Garland:

 Jan. 20, 2017: Bidens two terms as vice president to President Barack Obama end.

 Mid-2017-2019: Biden periodically uses an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington.

 Jan. 20, 2021: Biden is sworn in as president.

 Nov. 2, 2022: Bidens personal attorneys come across Obama-Biden administration documents in a locked closet while packing files as they prepare to close out Bidens office in the Penn Biden Center. They notify the National Archives.

 Nov. 3, 2022: The National Archives takes possession of the documents.

 Nov. 4, 2022: The National Archives informs the Justice Department about the documents.

 Nov. 8, 2022: Midterm elections.

 November-December 2022: Bidens lawyers search the presidents homes in Wilmington, Delaware, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to see if there are other documents from his vice presidency.

 Nov. 9, 2022: The FBI begins an assessment of whether classified information has been mishandled.

 Nov. 14, 2022: Garland assigns U.S. attorney John Lausch to look into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the matter.

 Dec. 20, 2022: Bidens personal counsel informs Lausch that a second batch of classified documents has been discovered in the garage at Bidens Wilmington home. The FBI goes to Bidens home in Wilmington and secures the documents.

 Jan. 5, 2023: Lausch advises Garland he believes that appointing a special counsel is warranted.

 Jan. 9, 2023: CBS News, followed by other news organizations, reveals the discovery of the documents at the Penn Biden Center. The White House acknowledges that a small number of Obama-Biden administration records, including some with classified markings, were found at the center. It makes no mention of the documents found in Wilmington.

 Jan. 10: 2023: Biden for the first time addresses the document issue. During a press conference in Mexico City, he says he was surprised to learn that there were any documents in the Penn Biden Center and doesnt know whats in them. He does not mention the documents found in Wilmington.

 Jan. 11, 2023: Bidens lawyers complete their search of Bidens residences, find one additional classified document in the presidents personal library in Wilmington. NBC News and other news organizations reveal a second batch of documents has been found at a location other than the Penn Biden Center.

 Jan. 12: 2023: Bidens lawyer informs Lausch that an additional classified document has been found. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, reveals publicly for the first time that documents were found in Bidens Wilmington garage and one document was found in an adjacent room. Garland announces that he has appointed Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in the Trump administration, to serve as special counsel.

 Jan. 14: 2023: The White House reveals that Bidens lawyers found more classified documents at his home than previously known. Sauber said in a statement that a total of six pages of classified documents were found during a search of Bidens private library. Sauber said Bidens personal lawyers, who did not have security clearances, stopped their search after finding the first page on Wednesday evening. Sauber found the remaining material Thursday as he was facilitating their retrieval by the Justice Department.

(AP)




Moldovan authorities said Saturday that the remains of a rocket originating from Russias air attacks on Ukraine was found by border officials in a northern village near the countrys border with war-torn Ukraine.

Moldovas Interior Ministry said in a statement that the rocket debris was discovered in the village of Larga, in Briceni county, and that a bomb squad was deployed to the area, which was cordoned off.

The ministry didnt specify when the rocket was fired or who fired it. Photographs of the debris posted on the ministrys Facebook page show what appears to be a jumble of electrical wires and some of the rockets casing in the middle of a field.

Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita reacted on Saturday to the incident by condemning Russias latest attacks on Ukraine, and expressed her indignation for the disrespect of the sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova after its airspace was overrun again today.

There is no political, historical and even more, moral justification for killing civilians and attacking the infrastructure that ensures the survival of a population, she said.

It is the third such incident to have raised alarm in Moldova, which isnt a member of the European Union or NATO. In late October, a Russian missile landed in the border town of Naslavcea, and last month missile debris was found in an orchard in another town close to the border with Ukraine.

Moldovas Interior Ministry added in its statement that it has bolstered border patrols in response to the conflict in neighboring Ukraine.

(AP)




A plane crash has killed at least 68 people, according to Nepals Civil Aviation Authority. A regional passenger plane with 72 aboard crashed into a gorge while landing at a newly opened airport in the resort town of Pokhara Sunday, in the countrys deadliest airplane accident in three decades.

Scores of rescue workers and onlookers crowded near a steep gorge Sunday afternoon, as rescuers combed the wreckage on the edge of the cliff and in the ravine below.

Local resident Bishnu Tiwari, who rushed to the crash site to help search search for bodies, said the rescue efforts were hampered because of thick smoke and a raging fire that engulfed the aircraft.

The flames were so hot that we couldnt go near the wreckage. I heard a man crying for help, but because of the flames and smoke we couldnt help him, Tiwari said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident.

A witness said he saw the aircraft spinning violently in the air after it began to attempt a landing, watching from the terrace of his house. Gaurav Gurung said the plane fell nose-first towards its left and then crashed into the gorge.

At the crash site near the Seti River, about 1.6 kilometers (nearly a mile) away from Pokhara International Airport, rescuers sprayed fire hoses and heaved ropes down to another smoldering part of the wreck below. Some bodies, burned beyond recognition, were carried by firefighters to hospitals, where grief-stricken relatives had assembled. At Kathmandu airport, where the flight began, family members appeared distraught as they were escorted in and at times exchange heated words with officials as they waited for information.

The plane caught fire after the crash. There was smoke everywhere, Gurung said.

The aviation authority said the aircraft last made contact with the airport from near Seti Gorge at 10:50 a.m. before crashing.

The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepals Yeti Airlines, was flying from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, a 27-minute flight. It was carrying 68 passengers including 15 foreign nationals, as well as four crew members, Nepals Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France. No survivors have been found yet. The search continued Sunday evening.

Tek Bahadur K. C., a senior administrative officer in the Kaski district, said he expected rescue workers to find more bodies at the bottom of the gorge.

Images and videos shared on Twitter showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers, Nepali soldiers, and crowds of people gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft to find survivors. The aircrafts fuselage was split into multiple parts that were scattered down the gorge.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to the airport after the crash, set up a panel to investigate the accident.

The incident was tragic. The full force of the Nepali army, police has been deployed for rescue, he said.

South Koreas Foreign Ministry said in a statement that its still trying to confirm the fate of two South Korean passengers and has sent staff to the scene. The Russian Ambassador to Nepal, Alexei Novikov, confirmed the death of four Russian citizens who were on board the plane.

The type of plane involved, the ATR 72, has been used by several airlines around the world for short regional flights. Introduced in the late 1980s by a French and Italian partnership, the aircraft model has been involved in several deadly accidents over the years. In 2018, an ATR 72 operated by Irans Aseman Airlines crashed in a foggy, mountainous region, killing all 65 aboard.

In Taiwan two earlier accidents involving ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600 aircrafts happened just months apart.

In July 2014, a TransAsia ATR 72-500 flight crashed while trying to land on the scenic Penghu archipelago between Taiwan and China, killing 48 people onboard. An ATR 72-600 operated by the same Taiwanese airline crashed shortly after takeoff in Taipei in February 2015 after one of its engines failed and the second was shut down, apparently by mistake.

The 2015 crash, captured in dramatic footage that showed the plane striking a taxi as it hurtled out of control, killed 43, and prompted authorities to ground all Taiwanese-registered ATR 72s for some time. TransAsia ceased all flights in 2016 and later went out of business.

ATR identified the plane involved in Sundays crash as an ATR 72-500 in a tweet. According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, the aircraft was 15 years old and equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data. It was previously flown by Indias Kingfisher Airlines and Thailands Nok Air before Yeti took it over in 2019, according to records on Airfleets.net.

Yeti Airlines has a fleet of six ATR72-500 planes, company spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said.

Pokhara, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas. The citys new international airport began operations only two weeks ago. It was built with Chinese construction and financial support. The Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, said in a tweet he was very shocked to learn of the accident.

At this difficult time, our thoughts are with Nepali people. I would like to express my deep condolences to the victims, and sincere sympathies to the bereaved families, he wrote.

Sundays crash is Nepals deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it plowed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.

Nepal, home to eight of the worlds 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has a history of air crashes. According to the Flight Safety Foundations Aviation Safety database, there have been 42 fatal plane crashes in Nepal since 1946.

Last year, 22 people died when a plane crashed on a mountainside in Nepal. In 2016, a Tara Air Twin Otter flying from Pokhara to Kathmandu crashed after takeoff, killing all 23 people aboard.

In 2012, an Agni Air plane flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed, killing 15 people. Six people survived. In 2014, a Nepal Airlines plane flying from Pokhara to Jumla crashed, killing all 18 on board.

In 1992, all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it plowed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.

The European Union has banned airlines from Nepal from flying into the 27-nation bloc since 2013, citing weak safety standards. In 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization cited improvements in Nepals aviation sector, but the EU continues to demand administrative reforms.

(AP)
Egypt will send an official invitation to business tycoon Elon Musk to visit Egypt following his Tweet in which he expressed admiration for the Ancient Egyptian civilization, an Egyptian tourism official announced on Saturday.

Speaking before the Tourism committee at the Egyptian House of Representatives, Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board (ETPB) chairman Amr El-Qady said that an official invitation will be extended to Musk on Sunday to visit Egypt and its landmarks at the time of his choice.

The head of the Tourism Committee at the Parliament stated that she was following up on the matter with El-Qady as she considers the invitation to Musk to be an important opportunity to promote Egyptian tourism.

On 12 January, the former richest man in the world expressed his admiration for the Ancient Egyptian civilization in a reply to a tweet by the @weirdterrifying Twitter account featuring a video showing a staircase inside the 2500 years-old ancient Egyptian Dendra temple in Upper Egypt.

The tweet already went viral, generating 16.7 million views and over 100 thousand likes.

Musk, who currently owns Twitter social media network, replied by saying that Ancient Egypt was on fire using emojis to express his admiration.

Ancient Egypt was   Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 12, 2023

Musks reply tweet went viral in Egypt, grabbing the attention of officials, celebs and citizens who mostly responded by calling on him to visit the country.

Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat was the first official to comment on his tweet quoting him and telling him to come and visit Egypt, especially the New Grand Egyptian Museum.

.@elonmusk you bet! Come join us unravel more untold stories about #AncientEgypt at the Grand Egyptian Museum #GEM with the full & never-before-seen collection of king Tutankhamun...Its an unparalleled experience & #Egypt welcomes you . https://t.co/sFYLs2CMrE  Rania A. Al Mashat (@RaniaAlMashat) January 13, 2023

This is the second time Al-Mashat calls the founder of Space X to visit Egypt.

In August 2020, Musk tweeted that "aliens built the pyramids obv (obviously)," before adding in another tweet that the great Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II was an alien.

Al-Mashat replied to Musk's tweet indirectly rebuffing his claims and inviting him to visit the Great Pyramids to check out the tombs of pyramid builders.

Renowned Egyptologists Zahi Hawas rebutted Musks claims about aliens and ancient Egyptian civilization.

Musk is a South African-born American entrepreneur and businessman who founded X.com in 1999 (which later became PayPal), SpaceX in 2002 and Tesla Motors in 2003. He became a multimillionaire in his late 20s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers.

Musk made headlines in May 2012, when SpaceX launched a rocket to send the first commercial vehicle to the International Space Station.

Not a stranger to controversies, Musk acquired the popular social media network Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion.

Two days ago, the famous billionaire made it to the Guinness book of records as he officially broke the world record for the largest loss of personal fortune in history.

Musk lost between $180 billion and $200 billion since November 2021, largely due to the poor performance of Tesla stocks in recent years, according to Guinness. His fortune went from about $320 billion to $147 billion.

Nevertheless, he still maintains his position as one of the richest men in the world. He is currently the second richest person in the world after French Bernard Arnault, the CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH.

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Former President Donald Trump is planning to hold the first public campaign event of his 2024 White House bid in the early-voting state of South Carolina.

Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Associated Press on Thursday that Trump will visit South Carolina later this month. No other details were immediately announced.

Since announcing his latest presidential run in November, Trump has limited his public campaign appearances to events at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida before an invited crowd or in a virtual setting.

The South Carolina visit, first reported by Politico, comes as Trumps campaign has faced criticism, even among some longtime allies, for its low profile since the announcement.

Trump remained popular in South Carolina throughout his term in office after his decisive 2016 primary victory in the state helped cement his status atop a wide field of rivals. Heading into the 2024 campaign, its unclear how broad his support is in the state, although he has at least one high-level backer among the South Carolinas GOP leadership.

The night that Trump announced his 2024 bid, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster  who, as lieutenant governor in 2016 was the first statewide-elected official in the country to endorse Trump  said he would again support the former president.

A spokesman for McMasters campaign didnt immediately return a message Thursday regarding whether the governor would attend Trumps event or was part of the planning for it. The governors spokesman said he would wait for an official announcement from the Trump campaign to comment.

Trumps visit to South Carolina comes as two of the states top Republicans mull 2024 bids of their own.

Nikki Haley, a former governor and onetime U.N. ambassador, said she would take the holiday season to consider a White House campaign, though she told the AP in 2021 that she wouldnt seek the presidency if Trump were already in the race.

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, recently reelected to what he has said will be his final Senate term, has been making visits in other early-voting states and launched a political action committee that could become a presidential campaign vehicle.

(AP)




Wisconsin and North Carolina have joined at least 22 other states in banning the popular social media app TikTok on state-owned devices, including Mississippi, Indiana, Louisiana and South Dakota.

Congress also recently banned TikTok from most U.S. government-issued devices over bipartisan concerns about security.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. It has been targeted by critics who say the Chinese government could access user data, such as browsing history and location. U.S. armed forces also have prohibited the app on military devices.

TikTok is consumed by two-thirds of American teens and has become the second-most popular domain in the world. But theres long been bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or try to push pro-China narratives or misinformation.

Heres a look at the action in Wisconsin and North Carolina and the broader debate over TikTok:

WHY DID WISCONSIN AND NORTH CAROLINA BAN TIKTOK?

Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers cited concerns about privacy, safety and security, after consulting with the FBI and emergency management officials about the app. Evers order applies to most state agencies, with some exceptions like criminal investigators who may be using the app to track certain people.

The University of Wisconsin System, which employs 40,000 faculty and staff, is also exempt. But a UW System spokesperson said despite the exemption, the university was conducting a review and moving toward placing restrictions on the app being used on devices in order to protect against serious cybersecurity risks.

Both Evers and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper also prohibited the use of WeChat, a Chinese instant messaging app, on state devices.

Its important for us to protect state information technology from foreign countries that have actively participated in cyberattacks against the United States, Cooper said. Protecting North Carolina from cyber threats is vital to ensuring the safety, security, privacy, and success of our state and its people.

___

WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS ABOUT TIKTOK?

Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that TikTok user data could be shared by owner ByteDance Ltd. with Chinas authoritarian government. U.S. officials also worry that the Chinese government might use TikTok to push pro-China narratives or misinformation.

Fears were stoked by news reports last year that a China-based team improperly accessed data of U.S. TikTok users, including two journalists, as part of a covert surveillance program to ferret out the source of leaks to the press.

There are also concerns that the company is sending masses of user data to China, in breach of stringent European privacy rules.

Additionally, theres been concern about TikToks content and whether it harms teenagers mental health.

___

WHO HAS PUSHED FOR RESTRICTIONS?

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump and his administration sought to ban dealings with TikToks owner, force it to sell off its U.S. assets and remove it from app stores. Courts blocked Trumps efforts to ban TikTok, and President Joe Biden rescinded Trumps orders after taking office but ordered an in-depth study of the issue. A planned sale of TikToks U.S. assets was shelved.

In Congress, concern about the app has been bipartisan. Congress last month banned TikTok from most U.S. government-issued devices over bipartisan concerns about security.

The Senate in December approved a version of the TikTok ban authored by conservative Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a vocal critic of big tech companies.

But Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, of Illinois has co-sponsored legislation to prohibit TikTok from operating in the U.S. altogether, and the measure approved by Congress in December had the support of Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

___

WHAT DOES TIKTOK SAY?

Were disappointed that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact policies that will do nothing to advance cybersecurity in their states and are based on unfounded falsehoods about TikTok, Jamal Brown, a spokesperson for TikTok, said in an emailed statement.

TikTok is developing security and data privacy plans as part of an ongoing national security review by President Joe Bidens administration.

(AP)




Japanese prosecutors are expected to formally charge the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder on Friday, his lawyer said.

Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested immediately after allegedly shooting Abe with a handmade gun as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July outside a train station in Nara in western Japan. Later that month, Yamagami was sent to an Osaka detention center and given a five-month mental evaluation, which ended Tuesday.

Yamagami is now back in police custody in Nara after reportedly being deemed fit to stand trial.

One of his lawyers, Masaaki Furukawa, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he expects prosecutors to charge Yamagami with murder and gun control law violations.

Given the complexity of the case, it will take months before his trial begins, he said.

Furukawa said he and two other lawyers took turns visiting Yamagami at the detention center every 10-12 days, in between his examination by psychiatric experts. His visitors were limited to his lawyers and sister, he said.

Furukawa said Yamagami was in good health at the detention center. He said he could not disclose the details of their conversations before seeing what evidence prosecutors submit to the court in their indictment.

Police say Yamagami told them that he killed Abe, one of Japans most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abes apparent links to a religious group that he hated. In his statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother had made massive donations to the Unification Church which bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

Its an extremely serious case, but someone has to defend him, Furukawa said. Naturally, he will have to take criminal responsibility for the serious consequences he caused by allegedly firing his gun to take away the life of a politician, and we are tasked with doing our best to reduce his punishment.

Yamagamis father, an executive of a company founded by the suspects grandfather, killed himself when Yamagami was 4 years old. After his mother joined the church, she began making large donations that bankrupted the family and shattered Yamagamis hope of going to college. His brother later committed suicide. After a three-year stint in the navy, Yamagami was most recently a factory worker.

Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, especially those who also suffered as children of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which is known for pressuring adherents into making big donations and is considered a cult in Japan.

Thousands of people have signed a petition requesting leniency for Yamagami, and others have sent care packages to his relatives or the detention center.

The investigation into the case has led to revelations of years of cozy ties between Abes governing Liberal Democratic Party and the church since Abes grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan in the 1960s over shared interests in conservative and anti-communist causes.

Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishidas popularity has plunged over his handling of the church controversy and for insisting on holding a rare, controversial state funeral for Abe.

In a September 2021 video message, Abe praised the Unification Churchs work for peace on the Korean Peninsula and its focus on traditional family values.

(AP)




A top U.S. intelligence official on Thursday urged Congress to renew sweeping powers granted to American spy agencies to surveil and examine communications, saying they were critical to stopping terrorism, cyberattacks and other threats.

The remarks by Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency, opened whats expected to be a contentious debate over provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that expire at years end. The bipartisan consensus in favor of expanded surveillance powers in the years after Sept. 11 has given way to increased skepticism, especially among some Republicans who believe spy agencies used those powers to undermine former President Donald Trump.

The new GOP majority in the U.S. House has already formed a panel on the weaponization of the federal government. And progressive Democrats have pushed for more curbs on warrantless surveillance.

The NSA and other spy agencies use authorities under FISAs Section 702 to collect huge swaths of foreign communications, which also results in the incidental collection of emails and calls from Americans. The law prohibits spy agencies from targeting Americans and requires the FBI to seek a court order to access a U.S. citizens communications.

Section 702 was first added to FISA in 2008 and renewed for six years in 2018, when Trump originally tweeted opposition to the program but then reversed himself.

Nakasone argued the law plays an outsize role in protecting the nation and generates some of the U.S. governments most valuable intelligence on our most challenging targets.

He gave several broad examples of that work, including the discovery of attempts to steal sensitive U.S. technology, stopping the transfer of weapons components, preventing cyberattacks, and understanding the strategic intentions of China and Russia.

We have saved lives because of 702, Nakasone told a virtual meeting of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

The general said he could not publicly share more details about the impact of that surveillance, acknowledging that also limited his ability to make his case. Civil liberties advocates have long criticized the secrecy of intelligence court proceedings and the power agencies have to collect years of incidental data on Americans.

Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Congress had created an effective national security exception to the U.S. Constitution.

The American people and indeed people all around the world have lost the ability to have a private conversation over digital networks, she told the board. Section 702, Cohn said, was a mass monitoring infrastructure that subjects peoples communications to NSA review.

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee and other national security hawks are expected to push GOP colleagues to support a renewal this year accompanied by still-unspecified changes.

Weve got to have a discussion within our own caucus, but I feel good about the groundwork weve laid, said Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican who will lead the Houses new select committee on China, in an interview this week. Theres serious and legitimate concern. And so part of the process of getting renewal is to put in place reform that gives people confidence that there wont be abuses in the future.

In December 2019, the Justice Departments inspector general found the FBI had withheld key information from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as it applied for warrants to monitor the communication of Carter Page, a Trump campaign aide. But the inspector general did make clear the extent to which agents relied during that process on uncorroborated allegations compiled by a former British spy.

The chief judge of that court would issue an unusual rebuke to the FBI, saying it had made unsupported representations as it submitted the eavesdropping applications and had failed to provide other information that would have weakened the governments case for surveillance.

Responding to the scrutiny, the FBI announced a series of changes designed to ensure that its applications to the court, which approves warrants to eavesdrop on American soil on people suspected of being agents of a foreign power, are more accurate.

Congress in 2020 let expire three provisions of the Patriot Act that the FBI and Justice Department had said were essential for national security, including one that permits investigators to surveil subjects without establishing that theyre acting on behalf of an international terrorism organization. A bill renewing those authorities passed the Senate, but Democrats pulled legislation from the House floor after Trump and House Republicans turned against the measure and ensured its defeat.

(AP)




The U.S. has now collected 510 reports of unidentified flying objects, many of which are flying in sensitive military airspace. While theres no evidence of extraterrestrials, they still pose a threat, the government said in a declassified report summary released Thursday.

Last year the Pentagon opened an office, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, solely focused on receiving and analyzing all of those reports of unidentified phenomena, many of which have been reported by military pilots. It works with the intelligence agencies to further assess those incidents.

The events continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airspace, highlighting possible concerns for safety of flight or adversary collection activity, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in its 2022 report.

The classified version of the report addresses how many of those objects were found near locations where nuclear power plants operate or nuclear weapons are stored.

The 510 objects include 144 objects previously reported and 366 new reports. In both the old and new cases, after analysis, the majority have been determined to exhibit unremarkable characteristics, and could be characterized as unmanned aircraft systems, or balloon-like objects, the report said.

But the office is also tasked with reporting any movements or reports of objects that may indicate that a potential adversary has a new technology or capability.

The Pentagons anomaly office is also to include any unidentified objects moving underwater, in the air, or in space, or something that moves between those domains, which could pose a new threat.

ODNI said in its report that efforts to destigmatize reporting and emphasize that the objects may pose a threat likely contributed to the additional reports.

(AP)




Steve Bannons lawyers want out of his border-wall fraud case, telling a judge Thursday that he is unwilling to speak with them directly and that they have irreconcilable differences about how to proceed.

Bannon, a conservative rabble-rouser and longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, has until a Feb. 28 hearing to find new counsel, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said. His current lawyers, David Schoen and John Mitchell, must stay on the case until then, the judge said.

We just have a different view about strategy in the case and recognized that our differences about the approach to the case are irreconcilable, Schoen said. His approach could well be the right one, but he deserves a lawyer in sync with his view of the case. It is nothing personal. It is his case, and he should have it handled in the manner he wants.

Bannon, 69, has pleaded not guilty to duping donors who gave money to build a wall on the southern U.S. border. The case, brought by New York prosecutors in November, is a state-level version of a federal case cut short in 2021 by a presidential pardon.

Bannon is charged with money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges related to the We Build the Wall campaign. No trial date has been set, and Merchan questioned whether the lawyer dispute was a delay tactic. The case is effectively on hold while Bannon hires new lawyers and those lawyers get up to speed.

Manhattan prosecutors working in conjunction with the state attorney generals office allege that although Bannon promised all donations would go to constructing the wall, he was involved in transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars to third-party entities and used them to funnel payments to two other people involved in the scheme.

In another case, Bannon was convicted in July of contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He was sentenced in October to four months in jail, but remains free while he appeals.

(AP)




The Biden administration on Thursday launched an online appointment system for migrants seeking exemptions from pandemic-era limits on asylum  the U.S. governments latest major step in eight days to overhaul border enforcement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection began allowing migrants to make appointments up to two weeks out using its website and through CBPOne, a mobile app that the agency has used in limited ways since 2020. CBPOne is poised to replace an opaque, bewildering patchwork of exemptions to a public health order known as Title 42 under which the government has denied migrants U.S. and international rights to claim asylum since March 2020.

Until now, CBP has arranged exemptions through advocates, churches, attorneys and migrant shelters, without publicly identifying them or saying how many slots were available. The advocates have chosen who gets in, with CBP having final say.

Under the new system, migrants apply directly to the agency and a government official will determine who gets in. Their appointments will be at one of eight crossings  at Brownsville, El Paso, Hidalgo and Laredo in Texas; Nogales, Arizona; and Calexico and San Diego in California.

Exemptions for Title 42 are meant to go to the most vulnerable migrants.

Thursdays rollout is separate from measures announced last week to expel migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to Mexico under Title 42 and  at the same time  allow up to 30,000 migrants from those four countries to be admitted to the United States every month under humanitarian parole for two years if they apply online, pay their airfare and provide a financial sponsor.

While the administration previously signaled that it would introduce CBPOne for people seeking asylum at land border crossings with Mexico, the speed of change caught advocates off-guard.

Utter and complete confusion, said Priscilla Orta, an attorney at Lawyers For Good Governments Project Corazon in Texas Rio Grande Valley.

U.S. officials told advocates Friday they expected the app to be ready in a month, Orta said. Then on Monday, advocates were informed the rollout had been moved up to this week.

Under Title 42, the U.S. has expelled migrants 2.5 million times since March 2020 on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. To qualify for an exemption under CBPOne, migrants must have a physical or mental illness, disability, pregnancy, lack housing, face a threat of harm, or must be under 21 years old or over 70.

The governments app is currently available only in English and Spanish and requires access to a smartphone, email and reliable internet.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat and Haitian American, expressed concern that the app wasnt available in Haitis primary languages, Creole and French.

The Homeland Security Department didnt immediately respond to specific questions about the rollout but said the app will be available to migrants in central and northern Mexico. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that it allows people to seek protection in a safe, orderly, and humane manner and to strengthen the security of our borders.

Its the administrations latest attempt to address extraordinarily high numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, many of whom are fleeing inequality and violence at home. U.S. authorities stopped migrants 2.38 million times in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up 37% from 1.73 million times during an unusually busy 2021.

Savitri Arvey, a senior policy adviser at the Womens Refugee Commission, said she struggled to explain all the recent policy changes to migrants during a visit to Monterrey, Mexico.

It was just impossible in (migrant) shelters, she said Thursday. Theres this option for you, Venezuelans but not for you, Central Americans, she said.

Some advocates welcomed the new system for seeking exemptions, saying it the old one was rife with favoritism and prone to corruption. CBP began working with advocacy groups to select people who are exempt from Title 42 during President Joe Bidens first year in office.

Albert Rivera, director of the Agape Mision Mundial shelter in Tijuana, said he previously didnt have the connections to help migrants get exemptions, but on Thursday a Mexican woman at his shelter was able to sign up for an online appointment.

We feel excited, said Rivera said. Everything was a monopoly.

Last month, The Associated Press reported that Calvary Church in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista was getting 40 exemptions a day and doling them out to people who paid $1,800 each or $3,500 for a married couple. Asylum is supposed to be free and intended for those most in need. About a week after the AP story ran, the church-linked group that facilitated exemptions, Most V USA, said CBP decided to stop working with it.

CBP has been giving 180 exemptions a day in San Diego, Enrique Lucero, director of migrant affairs for Tijuana, Mexico, said this week. El Paso, Texas, was said to be getting 70 exemptions a day.

(AP)




The appointment of a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department probes into the discovery of classified documents at the home and former office of President Joe Biden has focused renewed attention on the role such prosecutors have played in modern American history.

On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in Maryland, to oversee the departments investigation into how several batches of documents marked as classified ended up at Bidens Delaware home and at the offices of the presidents Washington think tank.

Two months ago, Garland appointed former Justice Department public corruption prosecutor Jack Smith to lead investigations into the retention of classified documents at former President Donald Trumps Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election.

A look at the origins of the special counsel, the positions powers and what to expect as Hur pursues his work:

WHAT EXACTLY IS A SPECIAL COUNSEL?

A special counsel is an attorney appointed to investigate, and possibly prosecute, a case in which the Justice Department perceives itself as having a conflict or where its deemed to be in the public interest to have someone outside the government come in and take responsibility for a matter.

According to the Code of Federal Regulations, a special counsel must have a reputation for integrity and impartial decisionmaking, as well as an informed understanding of the criminal law and Department of Justice policies.

Though theyre not subject to the day-to-day supervision of the Justice Department, special counsels must still comply with department regulations, policies and procedures. They also technically report to the attorney general  the one government official who can fire them.

The attorney general is entitled to seek explanations from a special counsel about any requested investigative or prosecutorial step, but under the regulations is also expected to give great weight to the special counsels views. In the event the attorney general rejects a move the special counsel wants to make, the Justice Department is to notify Congress at the end of the investigation.

WHAT POWERS DO THEY HAVE?

Special counsels are provided with a budget and can request a staff of attorneys, both inside and outside the department, if they need extra help.

In addition to the ability to bring indictments, special counsels are vested with bread-and-butter law enforcement tools such as the power to issue subpoenas and search warrants. Robert Mueller, a former FBI director who as special counsel in the Trump administration led the investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, issued more than 2,800 subpoenas and executed nearly 500 search-and-seizure warrants.

HOW DO INDEPENDENT COUNSELS DIFFER FROM SPECIAL COUNSELS?

The position of special counsel differs in key ways from the work of independent counsels, who used to operate outside the supervision of the Justice Department and who led significant investigations in the post-Watergate era into administrations of both political parties.

One such independent counsel was Lawrence E. Walsh, who during the Iran-Contra Affair in President Ronald Reagans second term was appointed to probe secret arms sales to Iran and the diversion of funds to rebel forces fighting the Nicaraguan government.

A decade later, independent counsel Ken Starr investigated fraudulent real estate deals involving a longtime associate of President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton, delved into the removal of documents from the office of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster after his suicide and assembled evidence of Clintons sexual encounters with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. As a result, Clinton was impeached by the U.S. House but survived a Senate trial.

But because of concerns over the cost and sprawling nature of such probes, Congress in 1999 permitted the provision governing independent counsels to expire.

The Justice Department then created new special counsel regulations, designing a position with intentionally less autonomy for circumstances in which the department feels it has a conflict of interest or wants to avoid becoming excessively entangled in politically sticky matters  like the current Trump-related probes.

Mueller was appointed in 2017 to investigate Russian election interference, a two-year probe that yielded criminal charges against 34 people, including several Trump associates, and three business entities. Mueller did not allege a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. Though Mueller reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, he also did not exonerate him.

Weeks before then-Attorney General William Barr left office, he gave John Durham, then the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut, the title of special counsel to ensure that he could continue investigating the origins of the Russia probe under new Democratic Justice Department leadership.

WHO IS SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT HUR?

Hur served as the U.S. attorney in Maryland in the Trump administration and was a close ally of former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a key figure in the Mueller investigation. He also worked as an adviser to FBI Director Christopher Wray in the Justice Department.

According to his biography at the University of Maryland, where he serves as a regent, Hur graduated from Harvard and then Stanford Law School, where he was executive editor of the law review.

Hur clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, as well as for Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

After working at the Justice Department, according to his bio, Hur went into private practice with Washington firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he co-chairs a crisis management practice group and works on white-collar defense, investigations and national security.

Hur becomes the third special counsel currently in use by the Justice Department. In addition to Smith, Durham also remains at work investigating the origins of the FBIs Trump-Russia probe.

(AP)




Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney for Maryland nominated by then-President Donald Trump, will serve as special counsel to investigate the presence of documents with classified markings found at President Joe Bidens home in Delaware and at an office in Washington.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Hurs appointment Thursday, shortly after Biden acknowledged that a document with classified markings from his time as vice president was found in his personal library, along with other documents found in his garage. Hur is set to begin his work on the investigation soon.

I am confident that Mr. Hur will carry out his responsibility in an even-handed and urgent manner, and in accordance with the highest traditions of this department, Garland said.

Hurs appointment comes as the political ramifications surrounding the investigation intensify. The Justice Department has spent months looking into Trumps retention of more than 300 documents with classification markings found at his Florida estate. That discovery sparked outcry from Biden and other top Democrats, while the developments around Biden have drawn sharp criticism from Republicans.

Hur said Thursday that he wont be swayed by politics.

I will conduct the assigned investigation with fair, impartial, and dispassionate judgment, he said in a statement. I intend to follow the facts swiftly and thoroughly, without fear or favor, and will honor the trust placed in me to perform this service.

Hur is a graduate of Harvard as well as Stanford Law School, and he studied philosophy at Kings College in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and also for Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Andrew DeVooght, who worked with Hur when they were both law clerks for Rehnquist, called him an incredibly good person and said that, although it sounds trite, the public is lucky that someone like Hur is willing to serve in such an important position.

Youd be hard pressed to find a better combination of brilliance, work ethic and integrity, DeVooght said.

Hur served as U.S. attorney in Maryland from 2018 to 2021, winning unanimous Senate approval after Trump nominated him. His predecessor in the post was Rod Rosenstein, who held the position for more than a decade before becoming the Justice Departments No. 2 during the Trump administration.

Hur is taking the job from the top Justice Department prosecutor in Chicago, John Lausch, who was earlier assigned by the department to investigate the matter and who recommended to Garland last week that a special counsel be appointed.

Prior to becoming U.S. attorney, Hur was principal associate attorney general under Rosenstein at the Justice Department. Hur is also a former partner at the Washington law firm King & Spalding, where FBI Director Christopher Wray was once also a partner.

Stephen McBrady, co-chair of the law firm Crowell & Moring LLPs Government Contracts Group and a longtime friend, called Hur one of the smartest people in Washington.

As U.S. attorney, Hur supervised nearly 90 assistant U.S. attorneys and 72 support personnel. His office led the fraud case against former Democratic Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh. She was sentenced in 2020 to three years in prison for arranging fraudulent sales of her Healthy Holly books to schools, libraries and a medical system to enrich herself, promote her political career and fund her mayoral run.

The victims are all of us, the taxpayers and the people of Baltimore, who expect and deserve integrity from their public officials, Hur said when announcing an 11-count indictment against Pugh in 2019.

Hur served on Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogans special council on gangs and violent criminal networks for three years until 2021 and chaired the governors Asian-American Hate Crimes Work Group in 2021.

A member of the University of Maryland Systems Board of Regents, Hur is also a partner in the Washington office of the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm and co-chairs its crisis management practice group.

Even going back to his time as a law clerk to Rehnquist, from 2002 to 2003, Hur has dealt with high-profile cases. The year he clerked, the high court struck down a Texas statute criminalizing gay sex, a decision Rehnquist dissented from. In another case the court wrestled with a Virginia law banning cross burning.

The court also decided two important cases on affirmative action, ultimately allowing schools to continue considering race in higher education admissions. This year, the court is considering overturning the decision that allowed that, Grutter v. Bollinger. Rehnquist dissented in that 5-4 case.

(AP)




Russia claimed Friday that its forces captured a fiercely contested salt mining town, in what would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after a series of setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said the fight for Soledar continued.

There have repeatedly been conflicting reports over who controls the town, the site of a monthslong bloody battle in the grinding fight for Ukraines eastern regions. The Associated Press could not independently confirm either sides claim.

Soledar is located in Ukraines Donetsk province, one of four that Moscow illegally annexed in September. From the outset, Moscow identified Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk province as priorities, and in September declared them part of Russia along with two other regions.

The liberation of the town of Soledar was completed in the evening of Jan. 12, Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministrys spokesman, said, adding that the development was important for the continuation of offensive operations in the Donetsk region.

Taking control of the town would allow Russian forces to cut supply lines for the Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut and then block and encircle the Ukrainian units there, Konashenkov said.

But Serhii Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army in the east, denied the Russian Defense Ministrys claim in remarks carried by RBK Ukraine news outlet, saying that fighting is ongoing in the city.

The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank in Washington, observed that the fall of Soledar wouldnt mark an operationally significant development and is unlikely to presage an imminent Russian encirclement of Bakhmut.

The institute said that Russian information operations have overexaggerated the importance of Soledar, a small settlement, arguing as well that the long and difficult battle has contributed to the exhaustion of Russian forces.

Just hours before Russias claim, Ukraine reported that there had been a heavy night of fighting but did not acknowledge loss of the town.

In a Telegram post early Friday, Ukraines deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said that Moscow had sent almost all (its) main forces to secure a victory in the east. She said that Ukrainian fighters are bravely trying to hold the defense.

This is a difficult stage of the war, but we will win. There is no doubt, Maliar added.

(AP)
Photo: Contributed

The United Way British Columbia has been chosen by the federal government to help hand out $1.6 million in funds in BCs Southern Interior.

The United Way BC is working with communities in B.C.s Interior, Lower Mainland and Central & Northern Vancouver Island until Feb. 21 to determine which organizations will qualify for the funding.

The Community Services Recovery Fund is a $400 million investment from the feds to support charities and non-profits across the country as they focus on how to adapt their organizations for pandemic recovery.

We are proud to be chosen as a national funder of this innovative fund, which will help community-serving non-profit organizations adapt and modernize as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic," said United Way BC president Michael McKnight.

"Charitable organizations have provided considerable help, relief, and resources to the communities they serve during the pandemic, and this fund will ensure that work can continue."

United Way BC is responsible for setting up the application process, reaching out to diverse communities across the province, assessing applications and distributing the funding.

United Way BC is hosting a series of online information sessions for more information click here.
Egypt's parliament  the House of Representatives  gave the thumbs up on Sunday to government-drafted amendments to a 1971 law regulating the performance of police officers and personnel  also known as the Police Authority Law.

"The amendments come to unify disciplinary measures to achieve equality among police officers and personnel and secure stability among police institutions and authorities," said the Head of the House's Defence and National Security Committee, Ahmed Al-Awadi, adding that "the amendments will also help reinforce the values of discipline and seniority among police officers and personnel."

According to Al-Awadi, "since its foundation in 1805, the Ministry of Interior and police officers have been playing a great role in maintaining stability and security in Egypt, and so it is important to do everything possible to support them and improve their performance."

"The amendments to the 1971 law also come to achieve legal and legislative stability among police officers and put them on equal footing before the law," said Al-Awadi.

Under the amendments, the general director of the interior ministry's disciplinary department will replace police chiefs in having the exclusive right to take disciplinary action against "undisciplined" police officers and personnel.

"This will help achieve equality among police officers and unify disciplinary measures taken against them," said a parliamentary report.

The amendments will also give the Higher Council for Policemen the right to send "undisciplined" police officers and personnel to early retirement, transfer them to a civilian job or end their service if they fail to attend the interior ministry's periodic training courses aimed at rehabilitating police officers and personnel.

"If a police officer fails to attend at least 50 per cent of the training courses, he/she will be considered unfit to retain his job," said the report, adding that "if the interior ministry's medical care department also finds that a police officer is physically unfit, it will recommend that this officer goes into retirement."

Article Four of the amended law also stipulates that the decisions taken by the Higher Council for Policemen must gain the approval of the absolute majority of its members. "The Council will not be obliged to give reasons for its decisions related to the performance of police officers for security considerations," said the report.

Many MPs argued that while the amendments aim to achieve equality and discipline, it is also essential that the government does its best to raise the salaries of police officers and personnel.

"We all know that policemen do their job in tough conditions and among hazardous risks, so it is important to raise salaries all the time as a reward for their efforts," said MP Mostafa Bakri, stressing that "policemen played a major role in standing up to terrorist attacks which have targeted Egypt in recent years."

The house's approval of the amendments to the Police Authority Law comes just ten days ahead of Egypts 71st Police Day.

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Even as 7,000 nurses return to work at two of New Yorks busiest hospitals after a three-day strike, colleagues around the country say its just a matter of time before frontline workers at other hospitals begin walking the picket line.

Problems are mounting at hospitals across the nation as they try to deal with widespread staffing shortages, overworked nurses beaten down by the pandemic and a busted pipeline of new nurses.

Thats led to nurses juggling dangerously high caseloads, said Michelle Collins, dean at the college of nursing and health at Loyola University New Orleans.

Theres no place thats immune from whats happening with the nursing shortage, Collins said. Its everywhere.

Union leaders say the tentative contract agreement ending the strike by nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center, each privately owned, nonprofit hospitals that hold over 1,000 beds in New York City, will relieve chronic short staffing and boost pay by 19% over three years.

The walkout, which ended Thursday, was just the latest dispute between nurses and their employers.

Last year, six unions representing a total of 32,000 nurses launched strikes outside of hospital systems around the country, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Those strikes represented about a quarter of all the major strikes in the U.S. last year, an increase from the year before.

Describing hospital environments where nurses are unable to take breaks because they are assigned too many patients  some of whom are pleading for care from frontline workers  the president of the American Nurses Association, Dr. Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, said some nurses may think their only option is to strike.

Nurses dont feel like their voices have been heard with this exact topic, she told The Associated Press Wednesday. Nurses are now feeling like they need to strike. That could continue.

In California, nurse unions at two hospitals are likely to strike this year when their contract expires, said former nurse Peter Sidhu, who now works for the state union. Sidhu, who fields objections from nurses across the state who say their caseloads are unsafe, has received 7,000 such complaints in Los Angeles County hospitals since December. He said objections have at least doubled since before the pandemic began.

What Ive seen is that in areas where weve traditionally had good staffing, even they are getting bombarded with patients and a lack of resources, Sidhu said.

Nurse shortages were plaguing some hospitals years before COVID-19 hit, and signs of a crisis loomed, with a large swath of the workforce nearing retirement age.

A policy brief from the Department of Health and Human Services last year found that over half of nurses were over the age of 50, a much higher percentage compared with the overall U.S. labor workforce, where only a quarter of people are 55 or older.

Aspiring nurses are lining up to replace those retirees but even that silver lining has hit a snag, with widespread faculty shortages at nursing colleges. In 2021, nearly 92,000 qualified nursing school applicants were denied entry into a program, largely because of a shortage of educators, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

The American Nurses Association asked Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to declare the nursing shortage a national crisis in late 2021.

Nurses have remained steadfast on the front lines since the beginning of the pandemic, while overcoming challenges, risks to their personal health and safety such as limited personal protective equipment and the physical, emotional and mental health burden of the COVID-19 virus, the associations president at the time wrote in a letter to the secretary.

Becerra hasnt declared a crisis but has met with association and other health care leaders to discuss the shortage.

This has been an ongoing issue for a while, Mensik Kennedy said Wednesday. We really need to work collaboratively with Congress and our health care system to address these issues. Nurses cant solve these issues by ourselves.

The federal agency has pumped more money into its National Health Service Corps program, which covers student tuition for health workers who serve in high-need communities. Since 2019, the program has nearly doubled the number of nurses and nurse faculty it sponsors.

The number of nurses working in the profession is starting to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, said Dave Auerbach, the director of research at the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission.

But hospitals, especially, are still struggling to lure those nurses back to working in their wards, he noted.

That sounds like more of an issue of the attractiveness of the working conditions of the jobs, Auerbach said. Some of it is outside of the control of the hospitals in those jobs.

Sidhu left his job as an ICU nurse last year when a third COVID surge struck, after being among the first to volunteer for the COVID unit when the pandemic hit.

Hes noticed a cultural shift in the profession. Fewer nurses want to work 12-hour shifts, multiple days a week. Many are taking jobs at clinics, where weekend or overnight shifts arent required. Others have moved to jobs in telehealth, working from the comfort of their home.

Some are simply burnt out from working in a hospital.

Prior to the pandemic, I knew every once and a while, Im going to have a bad night, Sidhu said. Now, every time you walk into the facility, youre not just worried about what patients youre going to have  now you have four (patients) and you know youre not going to have resources.

Still, strong interest in the profession led Loyola University New Orleans to start an accelerated program this year aimed at second-career students who already have a bachelors degree.

April Hamilton, a 55-year-old food writer, cooking teacher and mother from Baton Rouge, La., will walk into her first class when that new nursing program starts Tuesday.

Shes read the headlines about staffing shortages and stressful working conditions in hospitals. Shes also seen the tough work nurses do firsthand: four years ago, she was in the hospital around-the-clock when her daughter spent 40 days in the intensive care unit, recovering from a fall that resulted in an amputated hand and 20 surgeries.

Witnessing my daughters miracle fuels me, Hamilton said. Im ready. I want to be part of the solution.

(AP)




Talks between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia are continuing and could eventually restore diplomatic relations that were severed years ago, Irans foreign minister said Friday.

Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut Friday that he met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud during a conference in Jordan last month that was attended by Middle Eastern and European officials. The meeting between Amirabdollahian and Prince Faisal was the highest-level encounter between the two countries since they cut relations seven years ago.

Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is majority Shiite, have been at odds since Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution, but relations worsened after the 2016 execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Riyadh. The incident set off protests in both countries. In Tehran, demonstrators set fire to the Saudi Embassy. Diplomatic relations soured after that.

Direct talks were launched in April 2021, brokered by Iraq, in a bid to improve relations. The mere existence of a dialogue was seen as important, even if the only notable result so far has been Iran reopening the countrys representative office to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

There was an agreement in our points of view to continue with the Saudi-Iran dialogue in what would eventually normalize relations between the two countries, Amirabdollahian said about his meeting with his Saudi counterpart in Jordan in December.

We welcome the restoration of normal relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Amirabdollahian said. The hope, he added, is that eventually we reach (an agreement on) reopening diplomatic missions and embassies in Riyadh and Tehran.

Amirabdollahian also praised contacts between Syrian and Turkish officials saying that such talks will have positive effects on the interests of those two countries.

The defense ministers of Turkey and Syria held talks in Moscow in late December, marking the first ministerial level meeting between Damascus and Ankara since relations broke down with the start of the Syrian civil war more than 11 years ago.

Turkey and Syria have been on opposing sides of the Syrian conflict, with Turkey backing rebels trying to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad. Damascus, for its part, has denounced Turkeys hold over stretches of territory in northern Syria which were seized in a series of military incursions since 2016 to drive away Kurdish militant groups.

In his first comments on the Turkish-Syrian dialogue, Assad said in a statement released by his office Friday following a meeting with Russian presidential envoy in Syria Alexander Lavrentyev, that the Russia-backed talks should aim to end occupation and the support of terrorism.

Assad was referring to Turkeys backing to insurgent groups since the conflict began in March 2011 and has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

(AP)




Former President Donald Trump slammed Jack Smith, the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents, calling him a terrorist and insisting for the umpteenth time that he had done nothing wrong.

Speaking to conservative commentator Mark Levin, Trump reacted to news that President Joe Biden was found to have kept classified information with him after he left the vice presidency in 2017, with classified documents found in three locations so far.

Biden took them and as vice president, he doesnt have the rights to do this, said Trump. Its a very serious problem, but its not a problem for me. Im allowed to do that.

But this prosecutor should resign, Trump said of the special counsel investigating him.

Hes a terrorist. He is a Trump-hater. He best friends are [Mueller prosecutor Andrew] Weissmann and all of these characters. Lisa Monaco at the Justice Department, one of the top officials. This is a disgraceful situation. He should resign. His wife hates Trump probably even beyond him. And his wife and his wife has a sister who openly hates like, a level that you cant even believe.

I did nothing wrong, Trump added. What they did is not good. What they did is bad.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Arab terrorists opened fire from a passing vehicle at IDF soldiers who were carrying out a counterterrorism operation near the village of Jaba, south of Jenin overnight Friday.

The soldiers returned fire and two Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed in the ensuing gun battle.

BChasdei Hashem, there were no injuries to IDF soldiers.

The soldiers found an M-16 rifle in the vehicle.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Aryeh Erlich, the editor of the Hebrew Mishpacha magazine, published a video on Thursday evening of him helping Aharon Barak, the former president of the Supreme Court, to don tefillin.

Erlich held a stormy interview this week with Barak that ended with the intriguing twist of him asking Barak if he would agree to lay tefillin.

The video caused a furor on social media. Barak, a bastion of the liberal left, significantly increased the power of the Supreme Court during his term as president, including interpreting Israels Basic Laws as its constitution and advancing a judicial activist approach to an extent not seen in any other country, allowing the court to interfere in an unprecedented manner in pivotal matters such as security and religion.

The new government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is planning to carry out a series of judicial reforms that will partially reverse Baraks advancements, spurring the left to make outrageous claims that Netanyahu is crushing democracy and Israeli citizens should take to the streets and publicly uprise against the government. Barak gave a series of interviews last week in the Israeli media speaking out against the planned reforms.

As would be expected, Erlich and Barak did not see eye to eye on the matter during the interview. Erlich wrote: There was no point of agreement in the stormy conversation I had with Prof. Aharon Barak at his home this week. But then came the surprising twist. Look at the photo.

             '   .

    .

 : pic.twitter.com/0tzxHTkQj2    A. Erlich (@AryeErlich) January 12, 2023

Just before parting, we suggested to Prof. Barak an unusual offer, Erlich said. We thought it would be a symbolic end to three decades of ideological conflict. We brought tefillin with us, we said. As a Jew born in Kovno, would you perhaps agree to put them on?

Surprisingly, Barak happily agreed. After my Bar-Mitzvah, which was celebrated according to halacha in Ohel Rivka in Jerusalem, I put on tefillin and I was very religious, Barak responded. I wore a kipah. Yes, I had a religious phase.

Barak stretched out his left arm, said the bracha lhaniach tefillin with us and we wrapped the straps around his arm. Afterward, we said the bracha of al mitzvas tefillin with him and put the tefillin shel rosh on him. And when he said the passuk Shema Yisrael with us, his voice choked. His eyes were moist and you could hear the emotion in his voice.'

According to a Chareidim10 report, Rav Betzalel Katz, ztl, the Rav of the Lithuanian city of Rokiskis, one of the most chashuve Chabad Rabbanim in pre-World War Lithuania, is Baraks great-great-grandfather.

Barak, who was an only child, was five years old when the Nazis entered Kovno in 1941. After surviving two years in the ghetto, he and his mother escaped to a farm of a righteous Gentile, who hid them until Kovno was liberated by the Russian Army. They eventually reunited with Baraks father, who also survived the war. The family made its way to Israel in 1947.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December, offering hard numbers for an unprecedented surge that was apparent in overcrowded hospitals and packed crematoriums, even as the government released little data about the status of the pandemic for weeks.

Those numbers may still underestimate the toll, though the government said the emergency peak of its latest surge appears to have passed.

The toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19 since Dec. 8, the National Health Commission announced. It said those deaths related to COVID occurred in hospitals, which means anyone who died at home would not be included in the numbers.

The report would more than double Chinas official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 death toll, a narrow definition that excludes many deaths that would be attributed to COVID-19 in much of the world.

China stopped reporting data on COVID-19 deaths and infections after abruptly lifting anti-virus controls in early December despite a surge in infections that began in October and has filled hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients. Hospitals in Beijing across the country have been overwhelmed with patients, and funeral homes and crematoriums have struggled to handle the dead.

The World Health Organization and other governments appealed for information after reports by city and provincial governments suggested as many as hundreds of millions of people in China might have contracted the virus.

Infection numbers now appear to be falling based on a decline in the number of patients visiting fever clinics, said a National Health Commission official, Jiao Yahui.

The daily number of people going to those clinics peaked at 2.9 million on Dec. 23 and had fallen by 83% to to 477,000 on Thursday, according to Jiao.

These data show the national emergency peak has passed, Jiao said at a news conference.

Whether China truly has passed a COVID-19 peak is hard to assess, said Dr. Dale Bratzler, chief COVID officer at the University of Oklahoma and head of quality control at the universitys hospital.

Thats difficult to know, Bratzler said. China quarantined people indoors, there are many people unvaccinated, the people are vulnerable.

Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease physician and professor of public health at the Yale School of Public Health, said the number of COVID-19 deaths China is reporting may be a significant underestimation because of how they define them.

Theyre using a very narrow case definition for (COVID) deaths, Ko said. They have to have respiratory failure  in order to be counted as a case you have to be at a place where they can say you fulfilled all the requirements, and thats at a hospital.

Hospitals in China, Ko said, are located mostly in large cities where COVID outbreaks have been reported, not in isolated rural areas.

This is the Lunar New Year, people are traveling, going to the countryside where the population is vulnerable, Ko said. Were really worried about whats going to happen in China as this outbreak moves to the countryside.

For nearly three years, China had kept its infection rate and deaths far lower than those of the United States and some other countries at the height of the pandemic with a zero-COVID strategy that aimed to isolate every case. That shut down access to some cities, kept millions of people at home and sparked angry protests.

Those rules were suddenly eased in early December after some of the largest shows of public dissent against the ruling Communist Party in more than 30 years. That set off new problems in a country that relies on domestically developed vaccines that are less reliable than others used globally, and where older people  those more susceptible to dying from the virus  are less likely to be vaccinated than the general population.

The Health Commission said the average age of people who died since Dec. 8 is 80.3 years, and 90.1% are aged 65 and above. It said more than 90% of people who died had cancer, heart or lung diseases or kidney problems.

The number of elderly patients dying from illness is relatively large, which suggests that we should pay more attention to elderly patients and try our best to save their lives, said Jiao.

The United States, South Korea, Japan and several other countries have imposed virus testing and other controls on people arriving from China. Beijing retaliated on Wednesday by suspending issuance of new visas to travelers from South Korea and Japan.

This month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said agency officials met with Chinese officials to underline the importance of sharing more details about COVID-19 issues, including hospitalization rates and genetic sequences.

(AP)




With its sales slowing and its stock price tumbling, Tesla Inc. slashed prices dramatically Friday on several versions of its electric vehicles, making some of its models eligible for a new federal tax credit that could help spur buyer interest.

The company dropped prices nearly 20% in the United States on some versions of the Model Y SUV, its top seller. That cut will make more versions of the Model Y eligible for a $7,500 electric-vehicle tax credit, which will be available through March. Tesla also reduced the base price of the Model 3, its least expensive model, by about 6%.

Far from pleasing investors, the sharp price cuts sent Tesla shares down nearly 2% in late-afternoon trading Friday. Since the start of last year, the stock has plummeted more than 65%. Many investors fear that Teslas sales slowdown will persist and have grown concerned about the erratic behavior of CEO Elon Musk and the distractions caused by his $44 billion purchase of Twitter.

I think the real driver for all of this is falling demand for Teslas, said Guidehouse Research e-Mobility analyst Sam Abuelsamid.

Based on the current short delivery times for Tesla vehicles that once were months long, Teslas once-sizable order backlog may have been depleted, said Scott Case, CEO of Recurrent, who analyzes the new and used EV markets.

Customers either were awaiting this years federal tax credits, Case said, or switched to competitors.

We think its now more of a competition thing, he said.

Unlike many of its rivals, though, Tesla can still make money on EVs for one crucial reason, Case said: The company enjoys high profit margins, thanks to manufacturing and battery efficiencies.

Competitors generally lack Teslas economies of scale and other efficiencies and may struggle to match the price cuts. If so, Tesla could manage to keep vehicle sales at sufficient levels.

They can afford to make this cut and not be lighting money on fire, Case said.

Messages were left Friday seeking a comment from Tesla.

Tesla still faces the threat of intensifying competition from other automakers in the United States and globally for years to come. Last year in the United States, total EV sales soared nearly 65% from 2021. Automakers sold 47 electric vehicle models; only four were Teslas. S&P Global Mobility expects the number of EV models to surge to 159 by 2025.

And as overall EV sales are rising, Teslas U.S. market share is falling. From 2018 through 2020, Tesla represented about 80% of the EV market. By 2021, that figure had sunk to 71%, and its continued to decline, according to registration data gathered by S&P.

Still, Teslas U.S. sales rose 40% last year, and S&P expects them to continue to rise as overall electric vehicle sales steadily increase.

Even with U.S. tax credits, EVs remain pricey compared with gas-powered vehicles, largely because of the high cost of batteries. In addition, higher loan rates and more expensive raw materials are keeping costs high for buyers and could limit EV sales, for Tesla as well as its competitors.

Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said those factors are reducing demand for all vehicles, not just Teslas.

Musks provocative behavior on Twitter may also be a factor in lower demand. Since taking over the social media platform in October, Musk has loosened restrictions on hate speech and other questionable conduct.

He has repeatedly engaged with figures on the right and far-right and has frequently attacked what he describes as the woke mind virus a pejorative umbrella term for liberal views that Musk asserts are threatening civilization.

Musks views are sharply at odds with those of many environmentally conscious Tesla customers who lean Democratic. Survey data from Morning Consult Brand Intelligence shows that in the past year, the number of Americans who view Tesla favorably has dropped. In January of 2022, nearly 43% had a favorable opinion of Tesla, with nearly 15% negative. By this month, those with favorable opinions had dropped to 37%, while the negative views rose to 24%.

Case said he has heard longtime Tesla buyers say during the past six months that they arent sure about being seen in a Tesla anymore and that theyd now consider buying an EV from a competitor.

With Teslas price cuts Friday, its Model Y Performance model, formerly priced at nearly $70,000, now starts at just under $57,000. The starting price of the Model 3, Teslas lowest-priced vehicle, was cut to just under $44,000 from $47,000.

The companys decision to drop the base price of the Model 3, which had already been eligible for the federal tax credit, was a clear sign that demand had weakened, Abuelsamid noted.

Tesla has added two huge factories in Austin, Texas, and Berlin that are running at only a fraction of their output capacities, which is undoubtedly costing them dearly, Abuelsamid said.

(AP)




Following the large left-wing protest in Tel Aviv on Motzei Shabbos, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at Sundays Cabinet meeting that the government does not intend to be swayed by inflammatory slogans and will complete the legislation for its planned judicial reforms.

Two months ago, there was a huge demonstration in Israel, the mother of all demonstrations, Netanyahu said. Millions of people took to the streets to vote in the elections. One of the issues they voted for was the reform of the judicial system. In recent days, various sources claim that the public didnt know our intentions at the time. Heres a quote that I said during the pre-election period: Well make the necessary corrections to the judicial system. We intend to fix the system  save it and not destroy it.'

We said it countless times, Netanyahu asserted. Millions of citizens who voted for us were aware of our intention to carry out the reforms. More than that  they demanded it from us. There are also many who didnt vote for us who agreed to it. This call [for judicial reform] has come over the years from across the political spectrum. Calls in this spirit have been said by right-wing and left-wing governments and no one said then that it was the end of democracy.

We want to restore the balance to the government authorities. There should be a wide-ranging discussion in the Knessets Constitution Committee. We wont be swayed by inflammatory slogans about the destruction of the State and civil war.

When we were in the opposition, we didnt call for a civil war. We expect the leaders of the opposition to act in a similar spirit. Well complete the legislation of the reform in a way that will repair and return the publics trust, Netanyahu concluded.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern city of Dnipro rose to 23 Sunday, the local government reported as rescue workers scrambled to pull survivors from the rubble.

Emergency crews worked through the frigid night at the multi-story residential building, the site of the worst casualties from a barrage of Russian strikes Saturday on Ukrainian cities. The attacks, which also targeted the capital, Kyiv, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, ended a two-week lull in Moscows widespread strikes on Ukraines power infrastructure and urban centers.

Russia fired 33 cruise missiles on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down, according to Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.

In Dnipro, workers used a crane as they tried to rescue people trapped on upper floors of the apartment tower where about 1,700 were living. Some residents signaled for help with lights on their mobile phones.

The Dnipro city government reported Sunday afternoon that at least 72 people were wounded and 43 people were reported missing. It said 39 people were rescued so far.

Ivan Garnuk was in his apartment when the building was hit and said he felt lucky to have survived. He described his shock that the Russians would strike a residential building with no strategic value.

There are no military facilities here. There is nothing here, he said. There is no air defense, there are no military bases here. It just hit civilians, innocent people.

Dnipro residents joined rescue workers at the scene to help clear the rubble. Others brought food and warm clothes for those who had lost their homes.

This is clearly terrorism and all this is simply not human, one local, Artem Myzychenko, said as he cleared rubble.

Claiming responsibility for the missile strikes across Ukraine, Russias Defense Ministry said Sunday that it achieved its goal.

All designated targets have been hit. The goal of the attack has been achieved, a ministry statement posted on Telegram said. It said missiles were fired on the military command and control system of Ukraine and related energy facilities, and did not mention the attack on the Dnipro residential building.

On Sunday, Russian forces attacked a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, regional Gov. Yaroslav Yanushevych said in a Telegram post. According to preliminary information, two people were wounded.

Russias renewed air attacks came as fierce fighting raged in Ukraines eastern Donetsk province, where the Russian military has claimed it has control of the small salt-mining town of Soledar but Ukraine asserts that its troops are still fighting.

If the Russian forces win full control of Soledar it would allow them to inch closer to the bigger city of Bakhmut. The battle for Bakhmut has raged for months, causing substantial casualties on both sides.

With the grinding war nearing the 11-month mark, Britain announced it will deliver tanks to Ukraine, the first donation of such heavy-duty weaponry. Although the pledge of 14 Challenger 2 tanks appears modest, Ukrainian officials anticipate it will trigger donations of more tanks from other Western partners.

Sending Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine is the start of a gear change in the U.K.s support, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks office said in a statement late Saturday. A squadron of 14 tanks will go into the country in the coming weeks after the prime minister told President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy that the U.K. would provide additional support to aid Ukraines land war. Around 30 AS90s, which are large, self-propelled guns, operated by five gunners, are expected to follow.

Sunak is hoping other Western allies follow suit as part of a coordinated international effort to boost support for Ukraine in the lead-up to the 1-year anniversary of the invasion next month, according to officials.

The U.K. defense secretary plans to travel to Estonia and Germany this week to work with NATO allies, and the foreign secretary is scheduled to visit the U.S. and Canada to discuss closer coordination.

(AP)




Outraged residents in Rockland County are demanding increased scrutiny of New Yorks new bail reform laws, pointing to a local serial burglar as evidence that lawmakers must revisit the ill-advised reforms and empower police, prosecutors, and judges to halt criminal activities.

Residents who spoke with YWN say that a single burglar is responsible for thefts and property damage in several hundred incidents over the past year alone, with police and prosecutors hands tied, making them unable to do anything about it.

The suspect, who targets Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods exclusively on Shabbos and Yom Tov  when residents are not active  breaking into vehicles, including by smashing windows in, and making off with tens of thousands of dollars worth of valuables.

The burglar has been arrested numerous times by Ramapo and Spring Valley police, but is let out each time, with judges unable to keep him behind bars due to New York States bail reform laws, despite his lengthy rap sheet.

YWN reached out to Chaverim of Rockland, with the organization confirming that it is well aware of the suspect, that its Shabbos patrol members have caught the suspect in the act on numerous occasions, and that police are doing all they can  which is essentially nothing at this point, thanks to the ill-advised bail reform laws, a Chaverim coordinator told YWN.

Residents in Rockland County are fed up and hinted that they have plans in store for the serial burglar.

I have numerous friends and neighbors whose vehicles have been stolen from, and many of them have additional costs to cover too, because he smashed their windows, one Rockland County resident told YWN.

There is real talk of residents taking care of this burglar by themselves, he continued. If the police cant help us, prosecutors cant help us, and lawmakers refuse to help us, theres only one group of people who can help us: us.

I have never before condoned or thought that vigilante justice is the right way to go about things. Thats why we have law enforcement and judges, another resident said. But circumstances like what were dealing with is exactly why the concept of vigilante justice exists.

If the cops cant do it, we can, he said. Our neighborhoods deserve to be safe. End of story.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN climate change high level champion for Egypt, said on Monday that the outcomes of 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) are paving the way to make the next COP, set to be held this November in the UAE, a success in pushing climate action and achieving climate targets.

Mohieldin, who is also the UN special envoy on financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, stated that Egypt and the UAE will work together to enhance international climate action by building on what had been achieved at the previous COPs.

Mohieldin's remarks came during his participation in the Global Energy Forum held by Atlantic Council in Abu Dhabi, with the participation of Egypts Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Francesco La Camera and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Sustainable Energy Damilola Ogunbiyi.

The Atlantic Councils Global Energy Forum is part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) the UAE is hosting 14-19 January. The ADSW is convening heads of state, policymakers, industry leaders, investors, youth and entrepreneurs, for impactful dialogues on the transition to a net-zero future.

Mohieldin explained that COP27 succeeded in keeping the goals of decarbonisation on the top of the agenda, in addition to achieving notable progress in the adaptation file by launching the Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda.

"The establishment of Loss and Damage Fund is the most important result of COP27, which represents a success for the diplomacy of Egypt presidency of the conference and all climate action negotiations parties," Mohieldin said, adding that the UN secretary general praised this achievement as a great diplomatic success.

Mohieldin highlighted the importance of finance for climate action, explaining that mobilising finance and investments and directing them to the right climate action could be achieved through focusing on local, regional and international aspects.

Locally, thus means financing efficient climate projects, he said, referring to Egypts National Initiative for Smart Green Projects that has created an investments map across the countrys governorates through a national contest for the best green and smart projects.

Regionally, Mohieldin pointed to the five regional roundtables initiative held by Egypts presidency of COP27, UN regional economic commissions and high level champions (HLCs), saying that the initiative resulted in a number of very special and various projects that reflect the regional priorities and represent promising opportunities of investment and financing.

"Internationally, it is not enough anymore to talk about the $100 billion pledged by developed countries in the Copenhagen conference. According to a study conducted by high-level experts under the leadership of Vera Songwe and Nicholas Stern, climate action requires $1 trillion annually until 2025 and then $2.4 trillion until 2030," Mohieldin said.

Financing climate action requires activating debt reduction mechanisms and debt swaps for co-investing in nature and climate, activating carbon markets and the adoption of soft criteria by the development banks and finance institutions, he said.

Mohieldin noted that there is a big interest in investing in renewables, stressing that this interest should be met with a role of international financing entities and development banks to help governments in reducing energy project risks and  therefore  encouraging private sector participation.

The climate champion affirmed the necessity of unifying climate action efforts, saying that the high cost of climate action is lower than the cost of treating damages of climate change.

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In her first novel, Victoria, Karoline Kamel shares a journey of becoming and facing all of ones own demons  or at least many of them.

With a cover that resembles the box of a famous Cairo cupcake chain, Karoline Kamel offers a complex text that is nothing like the predictable simplicity of a cupcake.

Kamel offers an intimate account which is not necessarily autobiographic but is certainly revealing of the big and small questions that Kamel shares with other women who like herself made a brave, adventurous and not always safe journey on their way from their teenage years from a city in the Nile Delta to spend their twenties in Cairo where they are faced by issues of class, religion and femininity-and-feminism.

In so doing, Kamel is always, consciously and unconsciously, pulling down the many stereotypes that would be typically associate with a young Coptic woman who was brought up in the Delta of Egypt.

Victoria was put out in the last quarter of 2022 by Al-Karma books.

Ahram Online: You have been a journalist, researcher, film-maker and at times even a photographer. How did you decide to write your first novel?





Karoline Kamel: Well, the novel has been coming alongside of so much that has been happening [in my life]. I started writing in 2017 and I finished the last draft in 2021.

I have always known that I wanted to be a writer. This was the only thing that made me put up with studying mass media  between the years 2003 and 2007  because I thought that this is the beginning of the stairway that I would climb up to write novels, especially that I got lucky with a short story that I wrote for a literature contest during my university years.

I remember a day when I used up an EGP10 telephone card from my hometown in Mahala to get through to Sameh Samy who was organising a writing workshop.

So, it has always been in the works really.

AO: The novel Victoria tells the story of a Coptic woman who was born and brought up in the Delta in a relatively close Coptic community and who came to Cairo to study art, living in a dormitory for nuns and going through the ordeals of becoming. Is Victoria telling the story of Karoline? Is your first novel a sort of a literary autobiography?

KK: I am not so sure that this is the case. The novel has so many details that I would relate to but certainly it is much broader text with so much woven together. I guess it is more accurate to say that it was a personal project rather than to say it was an autobiography because it could be story of so many young Christian, middle class women who come to Cairo from the Delta  and I am specifically talking about the Delta not Upper Egypt because there is so much that has been already written about the journey of those coming from Upper Egypt or other parts from the country compared to what has been written about the stories of those coming from the Delta.

I guess in a sense I was sort of inspired by Al-Rehla (The Journey), a book by Fekri Al-Kholi (a leading figure of the labour movement in Egypt) who wrote about the same city that I come from, Al-Mahla Al-Kobra, in a way that I related to in terms of the details he shared about the city which I actually found to be quite endearing.

I must say that one of the things that I was consciously sharing in the novel is this shock over the predominant assumption in Cairo that all those coming from the Delta are essentially coming from villages  as if there were no cities in the Delta.

I was also consciously sharing this story of those [so-called] Egyptian expats in Cairo and again my shock over the predominant assumption in the capital that all those who come to the city want to leave their entire lives behind and just live in Cairo which is an entirely false assumption because, despite the centrality of Cairo, which we in the Delta call Masr (Egypt) to the mockery of many Caireens, we have full and very well layered lives that we happen to cherish profoundly.

AO: So you are saying that this is essentially about a novel that defies stereotyping?

KK: A good part of it, yes. I mean it was not all a conscious attempt to do this but inevitably, yes. For example, there is also this assumption that Coptic girls living in dorms run by Coptic nuns  who are actually very different from Catholic nuns  are unavoidably square and introverts. Unlike Victoria, I myself did not live in a dorm when I came to Cairo but I have been to these dorms and I know that girls who live there, coming from a conservative Coptic background as they are, are just like all other girls who wish to be pretty, fall in love, have adventures even if they have to live under the surveillance of these very strict nuns who are fully committed to the idea that unlike boys girls should be firmly protected because they are not allowed to make mistakes because the mistakes of the girls are not forgiven.

AO: In the novel you show your frustration with this collective Coptic mentality on the status of women. You often do it indirectly, as for example when Youssef, for an engagement gift, offers Victoria a neckless with the pendent replicating the sweating and tormented face of Jesus on the cross.

KK: Yes, there is certainly that with this scene when the gift of love is depicting pain and suffering  even though the drops of sweat are replicated in pieces of diamonds, but still. I mean, once married, a Coptic woman is not expected to complain and if she does she is always asked to put up with her cross.

I am here talking about the middle class and I think while in the case of Victoria we are talking about a Coptic woman, in fact that this the predominant take in society, religion aside. This is why I think it is important to look at Victoria [the novel] more as a story of a young woman from the middle class who is having a journey of becoming in the capital on her own and then to add that this woman is a Copt  not the other way round.

AO: The strong presence of death seems to be part of the journey  all through; it starts with the death of the mother after a severe illness that allows for mother and daughter to reconcile an oppressed sense of estrangement, especially on the side of the girl, but it does not stop there.

KK: Yes, I guess this is a very unconscious part of the writing but I am not at all surprised that it came up in the novel because this question about death has actually haunted me since I was a child because as a child brought up in quite a typical Coptic setting in a city of the Delta, I was very early on introduced to images of martyrs who had to suffer and die to come close to Jesus Christ. On the walls of our house, we had these pictures just as we did in the church. The issue of death in a sense is very central to Christianity and yes, it is very present in many parts of the novel.

AO: There is also a strong presence of a largely atypical conservative but open-minded father who is befriending his daughter and who is pushing her to be herself and not to just give in to a prominent suitor. Unlike her awkwardness with Youssef, even when she most thinks she loves him, Victoria is almost perfectly at ease with her father.

KK: Well, this father of Victoria is partially my father and partially the father I wanted my father to be. I mean, as Victoria goes through the journey of acknowledging and embracing her own femininity, she is also finding her way around rejecting chauvinism and patriarchal dominance. This she does in the face of what is expected of any middle class girl, especially one who is born and brought up as a Copt. A supportive and actually inspiring father was essential there; he is the natural take against male chauvinism and patriarchal claims.

AO: While trying to break so many givens, Victoria  in fact, by virtue of the very name  is putting the reader straight into the life of a girl who is certainly Christian and who is certainly born in the last decade of the 20th century when Egypts Copts, especially in the middle class, started giving their kids foreign names to prepare them for the eventual journey of immigration to North America, Europe or Australia.

KK: Very true. This is why Victorias close friend, who comes from a more economically advantaged setting, does not carry this type of name. She is just Heba  a name that could easily be shared with any Muslim girl  because her life is not immediately haunted with this wish for distinction first, and/or immigration second.

But actually, the title has a very simple story. When I started writing I created a file under a temporary name, and I just gave it the name Victoria. I knew that the story was about a young womans consequential journey to know the world outside her immediate habitat and to actually know herself. I was not immediately sure that this was going to be the title to the novel. Even when I decided to have the title for the novel as a womans name, I played with several alternatives, including the obvious Mariam, Mary and even including Karoline, but I just settled for Victoria.

AO: Did the title inspire the cover, which everyone says looks like the box of a famous Cairo cupcake store, or did the cover inspire the title?

KK: Well, the idea behind the cover was to play with the theme of what a woman wants and what she thinks she wants; so there is this young woman who came to live in Cairo and who would want so much to be like other colleagues who could afford to get coffee and cupcake but she simply cannot afford even a cup of coffee. But in reality having the socio-economic upgrade is only a very superficial want of what this woman wants because she wants to be herself and to do the things she wants to do. So, the idea was that the readers would think that it is a sort of a sweet novel but when they get to the text they would realise that it offers much more.

AO: You are working on your next novel?

KK: Oh, yes. Hopefully will get my final draft done sometime this year. It is a novel about three women who were respectively born in the 1940s, 1960s and 1970s and who faced with questions of existence, life and death in different ways and forms. I am still hanging on with the womens issues; I have not got it all out yet.

Victoria  Excerpt From the window, I saw Egypt to be very big  much bigger than when I saw it with uncle George and my dad; actually, too big for me to survive on my own. The driver called on the girl who wanted to get off by the Fine Arts Faculty; I did not notice he was talking to me until an older man poked me to draw my attention to the drivers call. I got up very fast and I immediately got off the bus. I felt alright. I felt that I can breathe. But I kept making sure that my blouse was long enough to cover my hips properly. Again and again, I kept pulling the blouse down; again and again I kept looking right and left to make sure that nobody is coming too close. I looked at the stores around, hoping to find one where there is a woman assistant to ask about the specific place of the faculty, as I am supposed to do. I found none. So, I just kept on walking and hoping to find other students with backpacks like myself so I can follow their trail. I walked on the side streets, hoping to find the students, but instead I found lots of foreigners with fair skin and coloured yes  with women wearing short skirts or short dresses, sleeveless tops  with some throwing shawls on their shoulders. I thought to myself , how come they are not worried to be harassed by someone who would pinch them on the ass and I immediately reached out for my blouse to make sure that it is still hiding my hips. I instantly loved the streets of Zamalek. It was my first time to see such villas in the intense surrounding of trees and to see stores that look nothing like the stores on the streets of my city or even like the stores on the streets of Shubra. I noticed a nice brown bag in one of the window shops; I had a close look only to realise that all the big fortune that my dad had given me prior to coming to Cairo does not amount to half the price of this bag; I just walked on. Then I saw this pastries store which seemed too unreal for my eyes; it really looked like it came out of an animated film. I looked at the pastries. I was not familiar with any of them. I had missed breakfast and I was very hungry. It was however out of the question for me to buy one of those pastries simply because the price of a single piece amounts to my bus tickets budget for ten days. I regrated that I did not get some breakfast before leaving the dorm. We were never poor but right after the death of my mother, my dad started to panic about spending money and he became so focused on economizing. I asked uncle George who told me that my dad was so scared that any of us would get sick and we would not have enough money for our pharmacy bills or that we would have to count on public hospitals and therefore die before we are admitted in for treatment or even that he would get sick and die to leave me with no sufficient financial security. I was not sure how long I kept strolling on so distracted. Then, I remembered the instructions of the nun at the dorm that pressed on me to avoid falling prey to the temptations that Masr offers because they would pollute my ideas. I had to regain focus and find strength to stop a lady to ask her about the road to the faculty. She gave me directions. I knew I was not very far.

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This week Catholics in Missouri & Kansas are gearing up for a national push against abortion by way of the 50th Annual "March For Life" in the nation's capital on January 21st.



Meanwhile . . .

Our blog community of skeptics is encouraged to consider political reality . . . Here's an undeniable fact:



The biggest single defeat to Kansas Republicans and conservatives across the nation came by way of believing Catholic political B.S. about abortion rights and the voting public.

Anybody who reads this blog regularly knows that we have consistently opposed the barbaric practice of vacuum aspiration abortion and believe it is one of the greatest atrocities of the modern era.

Nevertheless, there is no denying election trends and even in the deepest red state, voters are CLEARLY telling their leaders that bodily autonomy for women is, in fact, a conservative value.

Meanwhile . . . Clerics and the faithful continue their political crusade even as religious affiliation begins to fade overall in the United States.

With respect, here's a more inspirational view . . .



Our theme this year for IGNITE is Celebrating Lifes Heroes. Part of it is that were going to be celebrating the overturning of Roe that happened in 2022. We have all the life heroes and prayer warriors since 1973 who have been standing for life during all of these years. So, were recognizing those people and their tireless effort for the past 50 years, Niesen said, adding that Rose is among those internationally known voices advocating for the sanctity of life.

Again . . .

The Catholic political push against abortion is there prerogative . . . HOWEVER, it opens up "people of faith" to far more relevant and pressing questions about their culpability in ongoing sex abuse allegations involving clerics and parochial schools.



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

IGNITE rally will light up Topeka with pro-life message The annual IGNITE for Life rally is to be held at the Topeka Performing Arts Center on Jan. 24. The event will feature speaker Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action; a Mass with the bishops of Kansas; and a march and rally on the south steps of the Kansas Capitol.

KBI report shows bishops failed victims, and also the Kansas City Catholic faithful | Opinion OPINION AND COMMENTARY As a Catholic in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, I read the Kansas Bureau of Investigation report that was released Jan. 6 showing the results of the investigation of sexual abuse cases in the Catholic dioceses of Kansas. (Jan.

Fourth lawsuit filed over former St. Thomas Aquinas choir director OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - A fourth lawsuit is filed against St. Thomas Aquinas and its former choir director, Joseph Heidesch. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday afternoon, claims the Catholic high school failed to protect students against Heidesch. The former teacher pleaded guilty last month to more than 25 child sex crimes.

Developing . . .
Right now angel Lily inspires our peek at pop culture, community news and top headlines.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Baller Brahs Around The World

Chiefs Kingdom map returns for 2023 playoff run KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Back for a fourth-straight season, the KSHB 41 Chiefs Kingdom map gives fans a chance to show the international breadth of the kingdom. With hundreds of submissions from all seven continents, the map is a fun and interactive way to see Chiefs fans from across the world.

Cowtown Considers Icon

Two Kansas City activists reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy Musician Danny Cox faced discrimination while touring in Missouri in the 1960s, while public servant Al Brooks marched across the city during the 1968 riots. They've seen firsthand the long arc of the Civil Rights Movement, and how the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is still ongoing in Kansas City.

Show-Me Street Pharma Queen

The 2003 true crime of Missouri's 'Acid Lady' CLARENCE Mo. - Larissa Foreman, later known as Larissa Schuster, was born in Clarence, Missouri and grew up on a farm. She attended the University of Missouri and studied biochemistry, while working at a nursing home. Her future husband, Timothy Schuster, who also grew up on a farm, was also attending nursing school.

Kansas Cleanup Cont'd

KDHE says waterways in northern Kansas showing improvement after Keystone oil spill KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Waterways in Washington County, Kansas, that were impacted last month when more than half a million gallons of oil leaked from a ruptured section of the Keystone Pipeline in northern Kansas are recovering.

Local Winter Respite

Walk the winter prairie: connect to nature at Jerry Smith Park It's winter, and some warm-blooded creatures are deep in hibernation. For the rest of us, cold-weather outdoor activities provide many physical, mental and emotional benefits. A hike at Kansas City's Jerry Smith Park showcases winter's natural beauty and calm. The 360-acre park, located at 139th and Prospect, has a 1.5-mile loop trail through remnant prairie and restored native grassland.

Angel Offers Inspiration

Lily Aldridge in Bathing Suit Says "Heart's Full" - Celebwell Lily Aldridge is celebrating her birthday in her bathing suit! The supermodel shows off her amazing figure in a swimsuit.

In Defense Of Prez

Psaki calls Trump's handling of docs 'horrifying,' still defends Biden Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki took a swipe at former President Donald Trump while downplaying the political fallout for President Biden in the wake of classified material found in his possession.

Progressive Crisis Of Conscience

Document discovery differences divide House GOP and Democrats Apart from Bacon, however, reactions to the revelations of sensitive documents discovered in private, Biden-associated places this week depended mostly on party affiliation. Both sides cried of unfair standards. "My concern is how there's such a discrepancy in how President Trump was treated," Rep.

Freedom Of Worship

In Courts Across America, Religious Liberty Is On The Docket In 2023 Last year, major religious liberty cases were decided regarding school prayer and public funding of religious schools, and 2023 could see a similar pattern with several cases coming up that could set important precedents for religious freedom. Battles over religious rights in schools, the medical field and the workplace are likely hot spots of debate for the upcoming year, according to lawyers.

Vlad Warpath Worsens

Russian missile strike on apartment building in Dnipro kills 29 people, Ukraine officials say | CNN The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment block in Dnipro rose to 29, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday, after missiles and explosions were heard across the country. At least 73 people were injured in Saturday's attack, with 30 of them still in the hospital, Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said in a post on his official Telegram page.

COVID Comeback Feared

'People aren't taking this seriously': experts say US Covid surge is big risk n the fourth year of the pandemic, Covid-19 is once again spreading across America and being driven by the recent holidays, fewer precautions and the continuing evolution of Omicron subvariants of the virus.

Funny Money Ramps Up

Bitcoin soars past $20,000. Here's what's behind the recent rally Crypto investors have been starved for good news for months and late on Friday they finally got some: Bitcoin unexpectedly soared past the $20,000 mark for the first time since the calamitous implosion of the FTX exchange last November. The surprise rally was holding up as of mid-day Sunday with Bitcoin trading around $20,600 after briefly eclipsing $21,000 on Saturday.

Sobering Thoughts

Lee's Summit brewery embraces Dry January with addition of zero-proof cocktails LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - The phrase "Dry January" is a popular one right now. It's a challenge where participants give up alcohol for the entire first month of the year. For some it's part of the New Year's fitness craze, but for breweries, it's not the best for business.

Katie's Forecast

For Tonight . . .

Rain possible Sunday evening, but it will still be warm KMBC 9. LET'S GET ANOTHER CHECK OF THE FORECAST. WE DON'T HAVE ANY CHIEFS TO WATCH TODAY, SO ENJOY. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE GLUED TO THE TV TODAY. KATIE: SOME PRETTY IMPORTANT MATCHUPS THOUGH, SO IF YOU ARE INSIDE, YOU MISSED THE WIND, BUT IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE, YOU ENJOY WARMER TEMPERATURES.

Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
Our blog community isn't for youngsters but we realize that parents might need a break from the bevy of hype and propaganda inundating MSM channels.



And so . . . We picked out a few relevant news items this week on the topic of student life and the hope/struggle that the future is about something greater than teaching people to become reliable consumers.



Check-it . . .



Graduate wages lonely battle against anti-religious, erotic book for 9th-graders in her Kansas City-area school district Ninth graders in a Kansas City-area school district have been subjected to a book with bawdy anti-religious and erotic passages, its school board was told by a disgusted and disappointed graduate this week.

Olathe School Board gets update on its new security system KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Olathe Public Schools Board got an update at its Thursday night meeting on the school district's new security system rolled out at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. The security system, which features wearable badges for all district employees, came in response to a shooting in March 2022 at Olathe East High School.

3-year-old KC boy makes remarkable recovery after brain injury KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Nearly one year after a three-year-old boy almost died while having a seizure for more than 30 minutes, his parents say he's making a remarkable recovery. Wesley Garrett is now finding comfort in a favorite hobby. Playing pool. For more than six days, Wesley was in a coma at Children's Mercy Hospital.

KCPD partners with Shadow Buddies to help bring comfort to children in distress A new partnership between a local non-profit and the Kansas City Police Department is hoping to bring comfort to children.For 28 years, Marty Postlethwait has been the woman behind Shadow Buddies. She's the executive director of the foundation. "It's just all about giving back and being able to help families in the community," Postlethwait said.

Teen coursework: Students take a shot at business with backyard paintball venture High school students in south Kansas City are mixing recreation with education by applying entrepreneurial concepts from the classroom to start their own paintball venture. Located on the campus of The Daniel Academy, Project:Paintball began as an idea in an entrepreneurship and marketing class during the 2021-22 school year.

Developing . . .
Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said the latest death in a monthslong spiral of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

The circumstances behind the death were not immediately clear. Israeli media reported the man was carrying a knife and attempted to stab the soldiers who were standing guard near a Jewish settlement.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man as Ahmad Kahla, 45, who was shot at the western entrance of the town near the village of Silwad, east of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Tensions have been surging for months in the occupied territory, where the Israeli military has been staging nightly arrest raids since last spring. The raids were prompted by a wave of Palestinian attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people, while another 10 Israelis were killed in a second string of attacks later last year.

Israeli forces shot the man after they verbally clashes with him and forced him out of his vehicle before shooting him point-blank. According to witnesses who told the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

With the killing of Kahla, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces has risen to 13 since the beginning of 2023, including three children.

Nearly 224 Palestinians were killed by Israeli occupation forces in 2022, including more than 150 fatalities in the West Bank, making 2022 the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank in 18 years. according to Palestinian Health Ministrys statistics.

Israel says most of the dead were militants. But Palestinian stone-throwers, youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in confrontations also have been killed.

The Palestinians see the raids as the further entrenchment of Israel's open-ended, 55-year occupation of lands they seek for their future independent state. While Israel claims that the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories the Palestinians want for their hoped-for state. Israel has since settled 500,000 people in about 130 settlements across the West Bank, which the Palestinians and much of the international community view as an obstacle to peace.

**This story was edited by Ahram Online

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The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have weapons capable of shooting down the type of missiles, one of which hit an apartment block in Dnipro, destroying an entire section.

"On January 14, 2023, five Kh-22 cruise missiles were fired from five Tu-22m3 Russian long-range bombers at the territory of Ukraine. Missiles were launched from Kursk region and the Sea of Azov waters. One of Kh-22 missiles, launched from Kursk region around 15:30, hit an apartment block in the city of Dnipro," Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Ministry of Defense.

It is noted that the approximate place of the launch of the missile, the altitude and the speed of its flight were detected by radar means.

"There is no doubt that it was a Kh-22 missile," Oleshchuk stressed.

He emphasized that the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have weapons capable of shooting down this type of missile.

According to the commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, more than 210 missiles of this type have been fired at the territory of Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's military aggression. None of them were shot down by air defense systems.

The weight of a Kh-22 warhead is about 950 kg. The maximum range is up to 600 km. When used from long distances, the deviation from the target can be hundreds of meters.

"Only anti-aircraft missile systems that may be provided to Ukraine by Western partners in the future (such as Patriot PAC-3 or SAMP-T) are capable of intercepting these air targets," Oleshchuk explained.

ol
A total of 454 children have been killed and over 894 injured in Ukraine since the Russian invasion started.

The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to the data from juvenile prosecutors, as of January 15, 2023, a total of 454 children were killed and over 894 received injuries of various severity levels.

These data are not final, as they are being investigated within the areas of hostilities, temporarily occupied and liberated areas, the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office noted.

Currently, most casualties were recorded in the Donetsk region (429), Kharkiv region (269), Kyiv region (117), Kherson region (83), Mykolaiv region (82), Zaporizhzhia region (81), Chernihiv region (68), Luhansk region (66) and Dnipropetrovsk region (55).

On January 14, 2023, a 9-storey apartment block was struck by a Russian missile in the city of Dnipro. A 15-year-old girl was reported killed, and 14 more children injured. Rescue works continue.

As a result of Russias daily air and artillery strikes, a total of 3,126 educational institutions were damaged across Ukraine, and 337 of them were destroyed completely.

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Russian troops shelled a residential area in Kherson on Sunday, January 15, wounding two civilians.

Yaroslav Yanushevych, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said this in a post on the Telegram messaging app, Ukrinform reports.

"The Russian occupiers have just launched another strike on a residential area in Kherson. According to initial information, two people were wounded," he said.

According to Yanushevych, rescue services are working at the scene.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called Russia's missile attacks on residential buildings in Dnipro despicable and abhorrent and said that Canada strongly condemns them and will continue to provide Ukraine with support to defend itself against Russian aggression.

Trudeau said this on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

"Russia's attacks on residential buildings in Dnipro, Ukraine are despicable, abhorrent, and completely unacceptable. Canada condemns this violence unequivocally  we stand with the people of Ukraine, and we'll continue to make sure they have the support they need," Trudeau wrote.

On January 14, an enemy missile hit a nine-story residential building in Dnipro, destroying two sections from the 9th to 2nd floor. Some 72 apartments were destroyed and more than 230 were damaged.

At least 21 people, including a child, were killed and 73 others, including 14 children, were injured in the attack. Thirty-eight people were rescued, including six children.

A three-day mourning for the victims was declared in Dnipro.
Eleven Russian warships are remaining combat ready in the Black Sea, including five missile carriers equipped with Kalibr-type cruise missiles. Information about the total volley is yet to be checked.

The relevant statement was made by the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

In the Sea of Azov, the enemy continues to control maritime communications, keeping two warships on combat duty.

In the Mediterranean Sea, there are nine Russian warships, including five Kalibr-type missile carriers with a total volley of 72 missiles.

Over the past day, in the interests of the Russian Federation, passage through the Kerch-Yenikale Canal has been carried out as follows: 16 vessels have sailed into the Sea of Azov, including four vessels from the Bosphorus Strait; 17 vessels have sailed into the Black Sea, and five of them have gone towards the Bosphorus Strait.

According to the Ukrainian Naval Forces, Russia continues to violate the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS 1974), turning off automatic identification systems (AIS) on civilian vessels in the Sea of Azov.

A reminder that, according to the data from the Southern Defense Forces, on January 14, 2023, Russia fired about half of 36 Kalibr-type missiles prepared to be launched from the Black Sea.

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Sixteen Russian warships are now in the Black Sea, including six missile carriers.

The relevant statement was made by the South Operational Command on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The enemy has expanded their naval group in the Black Sea to 16 warships. Six missile carriers are among them, including one submarine. The total volley of Kalibr-type missiles carried by them may reach 44. But, considering the number of missiles fired yesterday, now they have about 30, the report states.

A reminder that, according to the data from the Southern Defense Forces, on January 14, 2023, Russia fired about half of 36 Kalibr-type missiles prepared to be launched from the Black Sea.

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Russian troops have shelled a building in Kherson where representatives of the Red Cross international organization work.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"Kherson. The occupiers shelled the city. Enemy shells hit the premises where representatives of the Red Cross work. The shelling caused a serious fire. Rescuers are working," Tymoshenko said.

Currently, there is no information about casualties. Tymoshenko said the enemy knew what they target.

"The enemy knew where to strike. During the shelling of the same building in mid-December, a volunteer and member of the Red Cross rapid response unit, Viktoria Yaryshko, was killed," Tymoshenko said.

Yaroslav Yanushevych, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, in turn, wrote on Telegram that a children's rehabilitation center, private and apartment buildings had been struck and seven people had been injured.

"Kherson is again under massive attack by the Rashists - the enemy is attacking civilian and critical infrastructure. As of this hour, seven people are known to have been injured in Russia's shelling of Kherson, and one of them is in serious condition. All the victims were taken to medical facilities, where doctors are providing them with the necessary assistance," the report reads.

According to Yanushevych, the enemy struck the rehabilitation center for children with disabilities. Windows and doors were broken in the building, and the wall was damaged. Russian shells also fell near the building of a student dormitory. Russian troops also shelled private and apartment buildings.

"They also attacked a critical infrastructure facility. The building of the enterprise and the surrounding area were destroyed," he said.

On January 15, Russian troops also shelled a hospital in Kherson.

Photo credit: Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Telegram
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his government plans to charge ahead with an overhaul of the country's judicial system, despite fierce criticism from top legal officials and protests against the changes that drew tens of thousands of people.

Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, has made the legal changes the centerpiece of his new government's agenda and the surging opposition to them is presenting an early challenge for the Israeli leader.

The overhaul would weaken the power of the Supreme Court, granting legislators the ability to pass laws the court has struck down with a simple majority, as well as give the government greater power over the appointment of judges and limit the independence of government legal advisers.

The proposed changes have sparked an outcry from the Supreme Court's top justice, who in rare criticism called the overhaul an ``unbridled attack on the justice system.'' The country's attorney general has also spoken out against the plan, as have many of her predecessors.

Despite the opposition, Netanyahu told a meeting of his Cabinet that voters cast their ballots in the November elections in support of his campaign promise to overhaul the justice system.

``We will complete legislating the reforms in a way that will correct what needs correcting, will totally protect individual rights, and will restore the public's faith in the justice system that so much requires this reform,'' Netanyahu said.

There have been calls in the past to reform Israel's justice system, which was given greater clout in the 1990s and has been seen since by critics as being too interventionist in the process of lawmaking.

But the sweeping changes sought by Netanyahu's justice minister have raised an alarm among opponents who see them as a death knell to Israel's system of checks and balances and in turn, its democratic fundamentals.

Netanyahu and his allies see the changes as a way to ease the process of governance and recalibrate what they say is an imbalance between the country's executive and judicial branches.

The proposed changes tabled weeks after the government was sworn in, have exposed how deeply polarized Israeli society is, torn between preserving the country's liberal and democratic ideals or shifting away from them.

They have also shown how quickly the country's government, it's most right-wing ever, is intent on advancing its policies, many of which have sparked criticism, including from unexpected quarters.

Netanyahu heads a government of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties who at times in the past have seen their agendas thwarted by Supreme Court decisions or unfavorable counsel by government legal advisers.

That prompted them to make sure the legal changes were a top priority during negotiations to form the government. Netanyahu, eager to return to power under the shadow of his corruption trial, appeared to be generous to his partners in the talks.

Israel's ceremonial President Isaac Herzog has stepped it to try to bridge the divide over the judicial changes and has been holding meetings to try to reach some consensus on the way forward. In a statement, Herzog said he was working to avert ``a historic constitutional crisis'' that could emerge over the legal changes. Hundreds protested outside his residence in Jerusalem on Saturday.

Netanyahu has claimed the overhaul will be carried out cautiously and with parliamentary oversight. But critics say such a profound change to the system requires a more delicate and thoughtful approach.

Critics also say the changes could help Netanyahu evade conviction in his corruption trial, or make the trial disappear altogether. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing.

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Russia has made the battle for Donbas fundamental for itself. Ukrainian defenders make it fundamental for the destruction of the combat potential of the terrorist state.

The battle for Soledar, for Bakhmut, for the whole Donetsk region, for the Luhansk region continues without any respite, without any stop. I am grateful to each of our fighters, each of our soldiers, sergeants, officers who understand how important it is to destroy the invaders in this direction. Russia has made the battle for the cities of our Donbas fundamental for itself. Our heroes make this battle fundamental for the destruction of the combat potential of the terrorist state, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in his latest address.

The Head of State stressed that every day of Ukrainian resilience in Donbas and every success in our defense there are vital achievements for the protection of entire Ukraine.

During the day, the enemy launched 234 strikes in the area of Soledar and Bakhmut, losing 119 soldiers killed and 108 wounded in the course of clashes with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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Japan, which has already allocated over $1.6 billion in aid to Ukraine, may become one of the leaders in forming an international fund for the reconstruction of our country.

"This year, Japan chairs the Group of Seven, and we expect it to become a leader in forming the reconstruction fund for Ukraine, which has already been created by the World Bank, and in which, I think, Japan will play a key role," Ukraines Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky said in an interview with the Voice of America Ukrainian Service, Ukrinform reports.

According to him, the largest Japanese companies created special working groups and divisions that study the issue of reconstruction of Ukraine.

"And Japan means high-speed trains, bridges, overpasses, infrastructure, state-of-the-art automobile production, and metallurgy. I believe that Japan will play a key role in such large-scale projects," the Ambassador emphasized.

Read also: Kishida assures Zelensky of support for Ukraine

He also noted that Japan joined all the sanctions imposed by G7 and EU countries right from the start of the full-scale Russian aggression. In total, as of today, Japan's aid to Ukraine reached $1.6 billion. However, according to the Ambassador, this is only the official part and it is much larger in fact.

As reported, Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida recently visited Washington, where he met with U.S. President Joe Biden. The leaders discussed, in particular, strengthening bilateral cooperation, countering Russian aggression, and containing China.

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On January 16, at 12:00, a press conference will be held on the topic: "Under the sign of deportation: how Russia steals children and illegally relocates citizens of Ukraine."

Organizers: Media Center Ukraine  Ukrinform.

Speakers: Alyona Lunyova - Advocacy Director of the Center for Human Rights ZMINA; Kateryna Rashevska - lawyer of the Regional Center for Human Rights; Tetyana Katrychenko - coordinator of the Media Initiative for Human Rights; Alina Pavlyuk - lawyer and analyst of the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group; Yuliya Usenko - Head of the Department for Protection of Children's Interests and Combating Violence of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Short. The participants of the event will present the analytical report "Deportation of Ukrainian citizens from the territory of active hostilities or from the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus", which was prepared by the expert group of the Coalition "Ukraine. It's five in the morning."

Questions for discussion:

Why is the transfer of Ukrainians from the war zone to the territory of the Russian Federation not evacuation, but deportation?

What awaits those who have not passed the "filter"?

How Russia kidnaps children, deprives them of Ukrainian citizenship, gives them up for "adoption": why does this fall under the definition of genocide?

Why forcibly deported Ukrainians in some cases cannot return or leave for European countries?

What can be the actions of international partners to contribute to the protection of rights and the return of deported persons?

The format of the event is offline (Hall 1).

Journalists will be able to ask questions offline (Hall 1) and in the chat of the YouTube broadcast.

Journalists are requested to arrive half an hour before the event.

Accreditation of media representatives will be carried out before the event at the agency.

The event will be broadcast on Ukrinform's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/UkrinformTV

Address of Ukrinform: Kyiv, str. Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, 8/16.

The use of any materials from the official Ukrinform YouTube channel is possible only under the condition of observing the copyright established by the channel. When showing the clip during the live broadcast, it is necessary to refer to the author - Ukrinform - show its name on the screen and say it out loud.

Video:
Together with Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk, Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia Edvards Smiltens visited the Chernihiv regions de-occupied settlements.

In particular, the parties came to such settlements as Kipti, Ivanivka and Yahidne, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

They had to stay in a bomb shelter during the air raid alert, and also examined a basement in Yahidne, where Russians used to keep local residents during occupation.

The delegation could see the civilian houses destroyed, where renovation works had already started.

According to Smiltens, providing assistance to the Chernihiv region is a separate item in the new collation agreement signed in the Parliament of Latvia.

On behalf of the Parliament of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, Kondratiuk thanked Smiltens for Latvias comprehensive aid.

Kondratiuk also expressed hope for further cooperation between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia in two areas.

Firstly, the establishment of a special international tribunal to punish all those responsible for Russias crime of aggression: political and military leadership, government officials, members of parliament  everyone. Secondly, the implementation of legal mechanisms that should be applied to seize the frozen Russian assets and use them to pay compensation for the damage caused to Ukraine. The confiscated Russian funds must reach each Ukrainian, each family that had been affected by Russian aggression and terrorist attacks, Kondratiuk stressed.

She mentioned that Estonia had already launched this process, and the Ukrainian side believes Latvia will also join these efforts.

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A delegation from the Republic of Latvia, headed by Speaker of the Saeima Edvards Smiltens, is paying a visit to the Lviv region.

The relevant statement was made by Lviv Regional Military Administration Head Maksym Kozytskyi on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Kozytskyi thanked Latvia for invaluable political, financial, humanitarian and military aid provided to Ukraine from the first days of the Russian invasion. In particular, Latvian partners provided more than EUR 300 million in military support.

Additionally, Kozytskyi expressed gratitude to Latvian friends for the power generators, food products, drugs, medical equipment and other humanitarian assistance delivered to the Lviv region.

As part of the meeting, the parties discussed the opportunities for deepening cooperation between Latvia and the Lviv region in terms of investment, agriculture and culture.

The parties also touched on raising Latvian investments in the construction of housing facilities for the internally displaced persons, as well as the renovation and repair of health facilities. The Lviv region receives evacuation trains from the areas of hostilities on a daily basis, and the number of local residents has increased respectively.

Photo: Maksym Kozytskyi, Telegram

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Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya has compared Russias representative to the UN Vasily Nevenzya with a butcher, whose hands are stained with the blood of the civilians killed in the Russia-provoked war.

The relevant statement was made by Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya on Twitter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Kyslytsya posted a photograph of the aftermath of Russias recent missile strike on the city of Dnipro, and the portraits of the heads of delegations of the UN Security Council member states, where Nebenzyas portrait is covered with bloodstains.

Hows it to be next to a butcher in the Chamber? Do you feel warm & sticky blood when you shake his hand? Next time you shake his hand think about civilians killed by russian missiles in Dnipro! Think about it when the butchers speak of russian church that blessed russian army, Kyslytsya wrote.

A reminder that, on January 14, 2023, a 9-storey apartment block was struck by a Russian missile in the city of Dnipro. According to the preliminary data, 27 civilians were reported killed and 73 injured. Rescue works continue.

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A bomb killed at least 10 people and wounded 39 others after ripping through a church in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, an attack blamed on suspected Islamists.

Details of the attack are hazy, but Congolese military spokesman Antony Mualushayi said the "terrorist act" happened in a Pentecostal church in North Kivu province's Kasindi, a town on the border with Uganda.

A Kenyan was arrested following the bomb blast, he added, although the perpetrator of the attack in the turbulent region remains unclear.

The explosion killed at least 10 people and wounded 39, Mualushayi said, revising up an initial death toll of five. Both tolls were provisional, he said.

Joel Kitausa, a local civil-society figure, also put the death toll at 10, and said 58 people had been wounded.

But the spokesman for Uganda's military operation in the DRC, Bilal Katamba, said on Sunday evening that 16 people had been killed in the blast, and 20 wounded.

"The attackers used an IED to carry out the attack and we suspect ADF is behind the attack," he added.

AFP was unable to independently confirm the death toll.

The DRC's communications ministry said on social media that the attack was apparently carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which the Islamic State group claims as its affiliate in central Africa.

The ADF is one of the deadliest of the more than 120 armed groups in eastern DRC, many of them the legacy of regional wars that flared at the turn of the century.

It has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in Uganda. ADF operatives have also planted bombs in towns in North Kivu in the past.

'More Visible And More Lethal'

In 2021, the United States labelled the ADF a "foreign terrorist organisation" with links to the Islamic State group. The militia is active mainly in North Kivu and neighbouring Ituri province.

The same year, a joint Congolese-Ugandan military operation began targeting the ADF inside the DRC.

But the attacks have continued.

A report by independent experts for the UN Security Council, released in December, said the ADF had "continued its geographic expansion" despite the Congolese-Ugandan military operation, killing at least 370 civilians since April 2022.

It also warned that the ADF was changing tactics: opting for "more visible and more lethal" bomb attacks in urban areas, said the report.

In April last year, for example, a woman detonated a suicide vest in a bar in North Kivu's capital Goma, according to the independent UN experts. Six people died in the attack and 16 more were wounded.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi placed North Kivu and Ituri under a so-called state of siege in 2021 in a bid to stem the violence, with military officials replacing civilian administrators.

The measure has also largely failed to stop attacks against civilians.

The DRC's presidency condemned Sunday's attack, as did the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the impoverished nation of over 90 million people.

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The World Health Organization has appealed to China to keep releasing information about its wave of COVID-19 infections after the government announced nearly 60,000 deaths since early December following weeks of complaints it was failing to tell the world what was happening.

The announcement Saturday was the first official death toll since the ruling Communist Party abruptly dropped anti-virus restrictions in December despite a surge in infections that flooded hospitals.

That left the WHO and other governments appealing for information, while the United States, South Korea and others imposed controls on visitors from China.

The government said 5,503 people died of respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and there were 54,435 fatalities from cancer, heart disease and other ailments combined with COVID-19 between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12.

The announcement allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation, said a WHO statement. It said the WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, talked by phone with Health Minister Ma Xiaowei.

WHO requested that this type of detailed information continued to be shared with us and the public, the agency said.

The National Health Commission said only deaths in hospitals were counted, which means anyone who died at home wouldnt be included. It gave no indication when or whether it might release updated numbers.

A health official said the national emergency peak has passed based on an 83% decline in the daily number of people going to fever clinics from a Dec. 23 high.

The report would more than double Chinas official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019.

China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official toll, which excludes many fatalities that might be attributed to the virus in other countries.

Meanwhile, high-speed train service resumed Sunday between Chinas mainland and Hong Kong under restrictions that allow 5,000 passengers from each side to make the trip daily and require a negative virus test within the previous 48 hours.

The two sides are reopening travel links that were suspended under Beijings zero-COVID strategy, which aimed to keep the virus out of China. Hong Kong imposed different but similarly severe restrictions that blocked most international travel.

Candice Zhong, a resident of the neighboring mainland city of Shenzhen who arrived in Hong Kong, said she planned to visit the citys two major theme parks.

I want to come to Hong Kong to see what its like now, Zhong said at the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway terminal. I will go to Disneyland and Ocean Park.

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CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2023) Moldova chose not to join the European Union's sanctions against Russia and Belarus due to a possible suspension of gas supplies that the country heavily relies on, Moldovan Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Daniel Voda said on Sunday.

"Moldova has not joined the sanctions against Russia and Belarus because of the risks of suspension of Russian gas supplies and the possible consequences of this move, which could have a negative impact on the economy in general," Voda told the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty broadcaster (designated as a foreign media agent in Russia).

He added that Chisinau regarded the EU's decision to introduce sanctions against Moscow in light of the special military operation in Ukraine with understanding.

"Moldova complies with the declarations and restrictive measures of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy by 60-80%," Voda said.

Earlier in the week, Moldovan media reported, citing a European Commission report due to be released soon, that Moldova has not aligned itself with the sanctions against Russia and lags behind other EU candidate countries in applying EU policies.

On June 23, 2022, the European Commission recommended granting an EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. In October, the latter held the first meeting of the EU integration commission, which discussed the need for reforms in various areas and called for the creation of 35 working groups to make local legislation correspond to European standards.

Moldova's membership in the CIS, which consists of nine member states, including Russia and Belarus, has become a topic of discussions since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. In May, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that the country should stay within the CIS as long as it meets its national interests.
ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2023) Turkey has turned down an offer from an unnamed global energy giant to jointly develop and operate a massive gas field in the Black Sea, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported on Sunday, citing sources.

In 2020, Turkey discovered a large Black Sea gas field, later named Sakarya, whose reserves were estimated at 540 billion cubic meters. Turkey also discovered a new gas reserve off its Black Sea coast late last year. Together with the revised deposits at the Sakarya field, the country's offshore gas reserves stand at 710 billion cubic meters, an equivalent of $1 trillion on global market.

According to the newspaper, several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, have already reached out to Turkey to propose their cooperation.

This time, however, one of the world's energy giants, which "dominates the global energy sector," knocked on Ankara's door with an offer to give half of the market value of the current discovery to Turkey in cash. In return, the energy behemoth sought to carry out all exploration, extraction and sale of natural gas found in the Black Sea together with Turkey, according to the report.

Energy management officials told the Sabah newspaper that the offer was rejected, with Turkey signaling that it was capable of extracting and selling natural gas independently.
By Rachael Bayliss-Chan, KYODO NEWS - Jan 15, 2023 - 17:49 | World, All

NUKU'ALOFA - Tonga on Sunday marked one year since three people died in a devastating volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami that caused widespread destruction, with the Pacific nation steadily progressing in rebuilding damaged homes and infrastructure.

The eruption of the undersea Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano in January last year was one of the largest recorded in the modern era, sending tsunami across the Pacific Ocean and causing extensive damage to homes, infrastructure and disruption to water supplies and communication networks in Tonga.

Recovery efforts have progressed smoothly, though initially hampered by the coronavirus brought into the country in the process of foreign aid delivery. All volcanic ash and debris have been cleared from villages and roads on the main island of Tongatapu, and life has returned to normal for much of the population.

Speaking Friday at a commemoration exhibition hosted by the government, Tonga's acting prime minister Samiu Vaipulu paid tribute to the massive response from donor countries, international partners and the Tongan diaspora, according to a statement posted on the Facebook page of the prime minister's press team.

"The unprecedented volcanic eruption was met with unprecedented levels of assistance," the statement said. "This assistance is still required for the medium- to long-term recovery phase and continues to be provided by local, regional and international partners."

Recovery work is ongoing with the repair of damaged underwater communication cables and the relocation of hard-hit communities.

In December, some weeks before the anniversary, residents from the low-lying outer islands of 'Atata and Mango were permanently relocated to new settlements on the main island Tongatapu and the third-largest island, 'Eua, respectively.

Villages on 'Atata and Mango islands close to the volcano were almost completely destroyed in the disaster and have remained uninhabited since.

Dorothy Folau, 46, from 'Atata island, spoke to Kyodo News earlier this month shortly after moving into one of 22 homes built at the newly opened village of 'Atata Si'i, or 'Atata junior, on Tongatapu.

Though the one bedroom house provided by the government is not large enough for her family, Folau said they are just happy to finally have a base. While she loves 'Atata island, Folau said she wanted to relocate as the island would continue to be threatened by future disasters and sea-level rises.

However, for residents of Kanokupolu, a village on the west coast of Tongatapu that was severely damaged in the disaster, delays in a relocation project are causing frustration and sadness as families continue to live in makeshift shelters, tents or damaged homes.

Siosi'ana Lealiki, 71, lives with her family of five in a single small room, the only part of her house that remained standing after the tsunami. Her son and daughter-in-law sleep in a bed on the back of a pickup truck parked alongside, sheltered from the elements by a tarpaulin.

According to Lealiki, conflict over land allotment in the new settlement in another part of Tongatapu has delayed the relocation project, with construction yet to begin.

Without a relocation date in sight, Lealiki said her family cannot deal with waiting much longer, as they live in fear that another disaster might hit.

Some 84 percent of Tonga's population was affected by the disaster, which caused an estimated $90.4 million in damage, according to the government.

International aid played a significant role in the recovery process, with missions from Japan, the United States and Australia among others assisting.

Related coverage:

6 months on from eruption, tsunami, Tongans look to future
Pokhara, Nepal, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jan, 2023 ) :At least 67 people were confirmed dead Sunday when a plane with 72 onboard crashed in Nepal, police said, in the Himalayan country's deadliest aviation disaster in three decades.

"Thirty-one (bodies) have been taken to hospitals," police official AK Chhetri told AFP, adding that 36 other bodies were still in the 300-metre (600-foot) gorge the aircraft plunged into.

This was partially confirmed by the army, with a spokesman saying 29 bodies had been retrieved and that there were 33 more at the site in Pokhara in central Nepal.

"The aircraft crashed into a gorge so it is difficult to bring the bodies Search and rescue is ongoing. No survivors have been found yet," army spokesman Krishna Prasad Bhandari told AFP.

One local official said that some survivors had been taken to hospital -- but this was not confirmed by either the airline Yeti Airlines or others.

Yeti spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula told AFP that among those on board -- 68 passengers and four crew -- were 15 foreigners including five Indians, four Russians and two Koreans. The rest were Nepalis.

The flight from Kathmandu slammed into the gorge and smashed to pieces between Pokhara's domestic and brand new international airport on Sunday shortly before 11:00 am (0515 GMT).

After the crash, rescue workers were hosing down parts of the wreckage of the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop while smoke drifted out of a ravine as hundreds of people watched.

The area was strewn with what appeared to be parts of the aircraft, including seats.

Footage shared on social media, which appeared to be shot just after the crash, showed raging flames on the ground and black smoke billowing into the sky from debris strewn across the crash site.

AFP was unable to immediately verify the footage.

Another unverified clip shared online showed a plane flying at a low altitude over a residential area banking sharply to the left, followed by a loud explosion.

Pokhara's international airport, which opened on January 1 is meant to gradually replace the old one, established in 1958.

The city is a gateway to religious pilgrims and international trekkers.

- Poor record - Nepal's air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.

But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.

The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.

The Himalayan country also has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.

Aircraft operators have said Nepal lacks infrastructure for accurate weather forecasts, especially in remote areas with challenging mountainous terrain where deadly crashes have taken place in the past.

The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating treacherous flying conditions.

In May 2022, all 22 people on board a plane operated by Nepali carrier Tara Air -- 16 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans -- died when it crashed.

Air traffic control lost contact with the twin-propeller Twin Otter shortly after it took off from Pokhara and headed for Jomsom, a popular trekking destination.

Its wreckage was found a day later, strewn across a mountainside at around 14,500 feet (4,400 metres) above sea level.

After that crash authorities tightened regulations, including that planes would only be cleared to fly only if there was favourable weather forecast throughout the route.

In March 2018, a US-Bangla Airlines plane crash-landed near Kathmandu's notoriously difficult international airport, killing 51 people.

That accident was Nepal's deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu.

Just two months earlier, a Thai Airways aircraft had crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.
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Salinas, United States, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jan, 2023 ) :US President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in California, as the latest in a succession of storm systems blew into the state, bringing heavy flooding to already waterlogged regions and threatening snowfalls of up to six feet (two meters).

The latest system was expected to bring "heavy lower-elevation rain, significant mountain snow, and strong winds," with "another surge of Pacific moisture" expected Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

It predicted "disastrous flooding" across the lower Salinas River valley, a key agricultural region south of San Francisco Bay.

Late on Saturday, Biden "declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides," the White House said in a statement.

The declaration makes federal funding available for relief to affected people, including temporary housing and repairs.

At least 19 people are known to have died from storm-related causes in the last three weeks.

Among them were drivers found in submerged cars, people struck by falling trees, and a husband and wife killed in a rockfall.

Rising waters and unsuitable conditions resulted in a halt in the search for five-year-old Kyle Doan, who has swept away in floodwaters as his mother tried to pull him to safety from their car, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's office said Saturday.

An AFP journalist saw the Salinas River overflowing its banks in many spots, at times covering farm fields for hundreds of yards, even as the rain continued under leaden skies.

In Spreckels, a community a few hundred yards from the river, most residents had opted not to evacuate despite warnings from authorities.

"It looks like we might have missed kind of the worst of it," said Robert Zagajeski, out walking his dog under a light rain.

A few miles away, 30-year-old farm worker Erick Diaz watched the flooded fields from his home near the river. Despite evacuation orders, he too had remained.

"I have nowhere to go and for the moment everything is fine," he said.

But Governor Gavin Newsom warned Californians that they were not in the clear yet: "We're not done," he said Saturday after visiting impacted residents.

Urging them to remain vigilant, he said Californians should continue to exercise "common sense over the course of the next 24 to 48 hours.

" Nearly 26 million Californians remained under a flood watch Saturday evening, according to the NWS, with tens of thousands under evacuation orders and advisories.

The storms of recent weeks were originally welcomed -- coming after years of drought -- but by now have brought "disastrous" flooding, officials have said.

Around 0800 GMT Sunday, there were more than 16,000 homes without power in California, according to poweroutage.us.

"This place was hit hard by the drought over the past years," 58-year-old farm worker Manuel Paris told AFP near Salinas. "We're not used to this much rain anymore." The NWS said another two to three inches of rain (5.0 to 7.5 centimeters) could cause new flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Sierra Nevada seeing three to six feet of snow, and heavy winds buffeting central and coastal California at up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour.

- Dangerous travel - The most populous US state has been pummeled by near-record downpours over three weeks -- an average of nine inches of rain has fallen -- with the Salinas Valley among the hardest hit.

On Friday, forecasters warned that the Monterey Peninsula could be cut off and the whole city of Salinas -- home to 160,000 people -- could be hit by flooding.

But on Saturday, an AFP journalist said the city itself had so far been largely spared.

Between storms, workers have rushed to clear some of the mess, shoveling mud from roads even in the heart of Los Angeles and using heavy machinery to remove fallen trees or clear rockslides.

An AFP journalist saw tractors in fields near Salinas fighting to pump floodwaters back into the river. Newly falling rain was not helping the effort.

And forecasters say the unsettled weather in the US West -- associated with what is called an atmospheric river pattern -- is not done.

Over the mountains, heavy snow was making travel dangerous or impossible on a three-day holiday weekend honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Officials urged people to stay home due to a heightened risk of avalanches.

Authorities in the Lake Tahoe resort area posted pictures showing dozens of vehicles lined up on a road, stalled by a fierce blizzard.

Winter storms are not unusual in California. But global warming is making them wetter and wilder.

At the same time, the western United States has been growing more arid for years.
Ouagadougou, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jan, 2023 ) :Suspected jihadists have abducted roughly 50 women in insurgency-wracked northern Burkina Faso, local officials and residents told AFP.

Roughly 40 were seized about a dozen kilometres (miles) southeast of Arbinda on Thursday and about 20 others were abducted on Friday to the north of the town, with some escaping in the meantime, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

"The women got together to go and gather leaves and wild fruits in the bush because there is nothing left to eat," said one of the residents, adding that they had left with their carts on Thursday.

"On Thursday evening, when they didn't come back, we thought that their carts had had a problem. But three survivors came back to tell us what happened," said another resident.

According to him, the next day, eight kilometres (five miles) north of Arbinda, about 20 women who were not informed of the first abduction, were in turn taken.

"In both groups, some women managed to escape and returned to the village on foot," the resident added. "We believe that the kidnappers took them to their bases." According to local officials who confirmed the abductions, the army and its civilian auxiliaries have carried out unsuccessful sweeps of the area.

The commune of Arbinda is located in the Sahel region of northern Burkina Faso, an area under blockade by jihadist groups and with limited food supplies.

One of the world's poorest countries, Burkina has been struggling with a jihadist offensive since 2015.

Thousands of civilians and members of the security forces have died and around two million people have been displaced.

Disgruntled army officers have carried out two coups this year in a show of anger at failures to roll back the insurgency.
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Kyiv, Ukraine, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Jan, 2023 ) :Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday condemned Russian people's "cowardly silence" as the toll for the missile strike on a tower block in the eastern city of Dnipro reached 30.

Zelensky noted in his evening address that Ukraine had received many messages of sympathy from around the world in the wake of Saturday's attack.

Switching to Russian, he said he wanted to address those Russians "who even now could not utter a few words of condemnation of this terror...

"Your cowardly silence, your attempt to 'wait out' what is happening, will only end with the fact that one day these same terrorists will come for you," said Zelensky .

The Ukrainian leader said that the victims of the missile strike included a 15-year-old girl and that two children had reportedly been left orphans.

Rescuers were still searching the rubble for 30 missing people, he added.

Fighting is continuing in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces have claimed the capture of Soledar, despite denials from Ukraine.
PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jan, 2023 ) :Speakers at a webinar on "Geneva road map for a climate resilient Pakistan" said that it is unlikely to mature all the $10 billion commitments for post-flood recovery, rehabilitation and have to go for institutional and governance reforms to combat the challenges of climate change in the long-run.

A country-wide efficient adaptation plan shall be worked out on a bottom-up approach alongside religiously implementation of conservation strategies, they added.

According to a press release issued here on Sunday, Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) organized the webinar with climate change expert Ali Tauqeer Sheikh as the keynote speaker.

Other guest speakers included Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed, Lahore Garrison University assistant professor International Relations Dr. Zainab Ahmed, Economist at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Dr. Khalid Mahmood, and climate advocacy specialist Zahra Khalid Haque.

Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director and a well-known climate advocacy expert, Munir Ahmed introduced the subject of the webinar.

He said the UN and Pakistan co-hosted the 'International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan' on January 9 at Geneva to present a $31.2 billion "Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework (4RF)", which lays out a multisectoral strategy for rehabilitation and reconstruction in a climate-resilient and inclusive manner.

The other key objective was to secure international support and forge long-term partnerships for building Pakistan's climate resilience and adaptation.

Munir Ahmed said it was the first ever UN donor conference at Geneva to raise funds for any country. Pakistan needs to act wisely to safeguard its climate vulnerable communities with a stronger local governance system.

The inclusive bottom-up approach, and multi-stakeholder monitoring for transparency will support sustainable recovery and rehabilitation.

Ali Tauqeer Sheikh said resilient development is not possible without institutional reforms. The urgency is staring us in the face with a current price tag of eight per cent GDP loss and projected GDP shrinking 20pc by 2050.

In fact, resilience, reforms and economic development have become intrinsically linked, he stressed.

The proposition is relatively straightforward: higher degree of preparedness can help us avoid public and private losses from climate-induced disasters.

Resources saved can be invested in climate-smart development.

He said the first order of business is to build political consensus that reforms for climate security are essential and cannot be postponed any longer.

Not all international pledges will be delivered this month or during this fiscal year, even if many are recounted, recycled and repurposed existing commitments.

Dr. Zainab Ahmed said the most devastating floods of 2022 is an environmental issue but implications are geographic, economic, political, security and social.

The resultant crisis multiplies the already existing water, food, energy and economic problems which connects with social problems translating into political crises.

Pakistan's vulnerability to Climate Change was long ago recognized by the international community and $40 billion was estimated for environment mitigation and adaptation measures.

Pakistan has shown huge resilience always but it requires a lot more support. It's a global war which Pakistan should not be fighting alone, she remarked.

But certainly this doesn't absolve us of our responsibility. The first step is to start aggressive awareness among people about environment mitigation and adaptation measures. And the second step should be to start community level work to save and restore the environment, Dr. Zainab suggested.

Zahra Khalid Haque said the Geneva conference offered Pakistan a rare opportunity to leap towards climate-compatible development.

The Geneva Roadmap relates to meeting the immediate challenges of recovery and reconstruction, requiring minimum funding of 16.3 billion Dollars over a period of three years.

Pakistan would meet half the funding from its own resources but will count on the continued assistance of its bilateral and multilateral partners to bridge the gap.

Dr Khalid Mahmood said Pakistan is at a difficult time in terms of economic management. With increasing geo-political uncertainty resulting in falling economic growth around the world our economy was also feeling the pressure of contraction.

While being prone to climate change and recurring natural disasters our economic woes have further exacerbated with a devastating flood, she viewed.
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JEDDAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jan, 2023 ) :The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has signed agreements with the delegations of more than 25 countries on the arrangements for the Hajj season 1444 AH.

The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the Hajj and Umrah Services Conference and Exhibition (Hajj Expo 2023) here.

The Ministry announced earlier that the number of pilgrims this year, 1444 AH, will return to what it was before the corona pandemic without any age restrictions.

The agreements come within the developmental measures offered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to improve the experience of pilgrims during Hajj, Umrah and visitation.

These include the quotas allocated to each country and the organizational instructions that enhance the safety and comfort of the pilgrims from the moment of preparation for the journey of a lifetime until leaving the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

As the Kingdom prepares for the 1444 AH Hajj season, it is intensifying its efforts to provide distinguished services to pilgrims, and enrich their experience at all levels of logistics, security, technology as well as culture and knowledge through the Program of Pilgrims and the integrated efforts of all government sectors, private sectors, entrepreneurs and partners from around the world.

It is noteworthy that Hajj Expo 2023, which was held from 9-12 January 2023, was the largest gathering. The event, related to Hajj and Umrah, brought together more than 57 countries and more than 70 speakers and experts. Over 200 companies, specialized in the Hajj and Umrah sector, participated, and more than 60,000 visitors attended the exhibition.
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BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2023) German defense company Rheinmetall has 22 Leopard 2 tanks and 88 Leopard 1 tanks, but it would take about a year to prepare them for shipment to Ukraine, CEO Armin Papperger said on Sunday.

"We still have 22 Leopard 2 units that we could put into operation and deliver to Ukraine. As for the Leopard 1, we have about 88 of them. But we cannot repair these tanks without a contract, because the costs amount to several hundred million Euros. Rheinmetall cannot offer preliminary financing to this," Papperger told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Leopard tanks need about one year to be prepared to be shipped and put into operation, the businessman said.

"The vehicles are not only repainted but also rebuilt for usage during wartime.

They are completely disassembled and then reassembled. This means that even if a decision is made tomorrow that we can send our Leopard tanks to Kiev, the delivery will take place no sooner than the beginning of next year," Rheinmetall's chief said.

Earlier in the month, media reported that France and Poland were pushing Germany to equip Kiev with its powerful Leopard 2 tanks.

On January 9, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that Germany did not intend to supply Ukraine with its Leopard tanks. Later in the day, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany remains true to its original position and will not take unilateral actions on supplies of arms, including Leopard 2 battle tanks, to Ukraine, without the approval of its NATO allies.
BUDAPEST (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2023) Nearly two thirds of Hungarians oppose the decision of the European Union to freeze about $6.8 billion in EU funds for Hungary and believe that the bloc is using double standards, a survey conducted by Hungarian pollster Szazadveg shows.

On December 12, EU countries reached a deal with Hungary to lower the amount of EU funds to Hungary, which had been frozen over concerns that the money may aid graft in the country, from 7.5 billion Euros to 6.3 billion euros. According to Politico, the decision was made so that Budapest lifts its veto on an EU aid package for Kiev.

An opinion poll, conducted by Szazadveg this month, revealed that 74% of Hungarians oppose the bloc's freezing of funds for Hungary and 64% believe that the European Union is using double standards with respect to Hungary and other member states.

By freezing the funds, the bloc is attempting to "punish" Hungary, 60% of the survey's 1,000 participants said. Meanwhile, 36% of Hungarians believe that the European Union is trying to reach a compromise with Budapest.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2023) Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences to President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari in connection with the crash of a passenger plane near the city of Pokhara, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, a twin-engine turboprop ATR 72 passenger plane of Yeti Airlines crashed between the old and new Pokhara airports in central Nepal, while being en route from the Nepali capital of Kathmandu to Pokhara. According to a representative of the airline, there were 68 passengers and four crew members on board.

The causes of the incident are being investigated. According to the Indian tv channel news 18, all passengers and crew members of the plane were killed.

"Dear Madam President, please accept my deepest condolences in connection with the tragic crash of a passenger plane near the city of Pokhara. I ask you to convey the words of sincere sympathy and support to the relatives and friends of those who died in this terrible plane crash," Putin's telegram said.
BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2023) Serbian President Aleskandar Vucic has thanked Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko for Moscow's support for Belgrade in the international arena on the issue of Kosovo, the Serbian president's office said on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the Serbian leader received the Russian diplomat in Belgrade.

"Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko reaffirmed that Russia remains committed to support Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty and stressed the importance of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. President Vucic, in this regard, once again thanked Russia for its support for Serbia in international forums," the statement read.

Vucic also informed the Russian ambassador about intensified international diplomatic activity in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and reiterated Belgrade's commitment to peace and stability in the region.

In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia, which has still not recognized its independence along with dozens of other UN member states. In 2013, Serbia and Kosovo signed an EU-mediated agreement to normalize relations, but the dialogue soon came to a standstill. Tensions have been simmering on the border since mid-2022, escalating several times into road blockages in Northern Kosovo and belligerent rhetoric on both sides.
KYODO NEWS - Jan 15, 2023 - 11:38 | All, Japan, World

From robots to artificial intelligence and blockchain-based marketing, technological innovation is increasingly being harnessed in Japan to improve farming methods and create a more sustainable industry.

Among those embracing the digital trend is Metagri-Labo, a community launched in March 2022 that aims to merge agriculture and blockchain technology to increase farming revenues while revitalizing regional areas.

The group is working to make decentralized finance, an umbrella term for peer-to-peer financial interactions using smart contracts, a reality in the agricultural industry by 2024 with the launch of its first non-fungible token project in partnership with farmers in April 2022.

Related coverage:

Japan start-up seeks to expand abroad with exoskeleton business

FOCUS: Japan food industry eyes rice flour as wheat prices surge

FEATURE: Japan's farmers struggle with mass generation of stink bugs

The collaborative project with Shimada watermelon farm in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, issued 20 limited edition "MetagriLabo Suica Collection" NFTs, with actual watermelons and other benefits delivered to those who purchased them.

The expanding community has since issued similar agricultural NFTs for tomato, grape and rice farmers, with the sale of a collection of citrus-themed NFTs to support the revitalization of Nakajima, an island off the coast of Ehime Prefecture, one of its latest projects.

Going from cyber space to outer space, Tenchijin Inc., a startup of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency founded in 2019, has been utilizing AI and data collected from satellites to assess land for optimal rice production.

Known as Compass, the system analyzes big data to identify ideal conditions and cultivation methods for growing higher-quality rice in a global environment altered by climate change.

The technology, which uses machine learning, takes "into account everything from environmental to socioeconomic factors to the characteristics of purposed land use," Tenchijin CEO Yasuhito Sakuraba said in a press release.

Back on Earth, Nagano Prefecture-based startup Emi Lab is developing a mobile cube-shaped pesticide spraying robot on a made-to-order basis, with each unit priced at around 2 million yen ($15,600).

The four-wheeled vehicles, which are designed to do some heavy lifting for aging farmers, are more effective at reaching the underside of leaves than airborne drones and can also be operated remotely.

After a route is set, the robot tracks its location using GPS and moves at walking pace. Powered by a rechargeable battery, it can carry up to 100 liters of chemical solution.

"We want to make (the robots) a success story so that farmers will be eager to use them," said 43-year-old Emi Lab founder Katsuto Arai.
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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2023) The state of emergency has been introduced in Peru's several regions for 30 days starting Sunday amid mass anti-government protests in the country, according to a decree of the Peruvian government.

"To declare the state of emergency in the regions of Puno, Cusco, Lima, the constitutional province Callao, the province of Andahuaylas in the department of Apurimac, in the provinces of Tambopata and Tahuamanu in the department of Madre de Dios as well as in the district of Torata," the decree published in newspaper El Peruano read.

According to the decree, the police will be responsible for public order supported by the country's military.

On December 7, 2022, Peru's parliament impeached former President Pedro Castillo. He was arrested on charges of a coup attempt and crimes against the state as he tried to dissolve the parliament and rule by decree before the impeachment vote. Then-Prime Minister Dina Boluarte was appointed the country's new leader.

The events have sparked a wave of protests across the country. Demonstrators have been denouncing the post-impeachment government and calling for an immediate presidential election and the dissolution of the country's parliament.

At least 48 people have died since the start of the protests, media reported.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2023) The United Kingdom will provide Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 tanks in the coming weeks, the prime minister's office informs.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call on Saturday that London would send 12 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.

"Sending Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine is the start of a gear change in the UK's support. A squadron of 14 tanks will go into the country in the coming weeks after the Prime Minister told President Zelenskyy that the UK would provide additional support to aid Ukraine's land war. Around 30 AS90s, which are large, self-propelled guns, operated by five gunners, are expected to follow," the UK government said in a statement later on Saturday.

According to the release, more details on UK support for Kiev will be revealed on Monday.

"The UK will begin training the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the tanks and guns in the coming days, as part of wider UK efforts which have seen thousands of Ukrainian troops trained in the UK over the last six months," the statement specified.

In December, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, said that Western countries had supplied more than 350 tanks, 700 artillery systems, 100 multiple launch rocket systems, 30 helicopters, at least 5,000 drones, and 1,000 armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine since the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Total foreign financial assistance to Ukraine amounted to almost $100 billion, Gerasimov said.
BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2023) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that the West will boost its heavy hardware supplies to Ukraine in the near future.

"We are in a crucial phase of the war," Stoltenberg said in a Sunday interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper. "It is therefore important that we provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to win," he added.

Stoltenberg argued that military support for Ukraine is the fastest way to peace and praised the decisions of the US and Germany to equip Ukrainian troops with armored personnel carriers, as well as the readiness of France to supply light battle tanks to Ukraine.

The NATO Secretary General said that, at the upcoming meeting of allies at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany on January 20, further decisions would have to be made regarding Western arms supplies to Kiev.

"The recent commitments for heavy hardware are important - and I expect more in the near future," Stoltenberg told Handelsblatt.

Earlier on Sunday, Armin Papperger, the CEO of German defense company Rheinmetall, said that his company has 22 Leopard 2 tanks and 88 Leopard 1 tanks, but it would take about a year to prepare them for shipment to Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Stoltenberg said that NATO member countries and their allies should provide more advanced military equipment to Ukraine faster, following reports of Russia gaining control over the city of Soledar in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.
The head of the Pope's charitable outreach, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, reports a new wave of solidarity with 300,000 euros raised making it possible to buy more thermal shirts and generators to be sent to areas needing it most in Ukraine. The network of goodwill continues in reaching out to those suffering.

By Alessandro De Carolis

The solidarity hub is the parish space of Rome's Santa Sofia church for Greek Catholics in Rome. Since Saturday morning, some twenty men, as well as seminarians and other Ukrainian volunteers primarily have begun packing the aid truck using all space available. The large truck from Slovakia left on Saturday heading for the Zaporizhzhia area, one of the epicenters of the war in Ukraine, hit for months by Russian bombardments.

Two-day journey



Cardinal Konrad Krajewski shared news of this latest initiative. Also, in the days leading up to Christmas, he got behind the wheel of a van once again to bring some forty electric generators and a large number of the thermal shirts procured through a collection by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity via a solidarity platform. And the offering of donations has continued with the more than 300,000 euros collected, allowing for more purchases and shipments of generators and thermal shirts for Ukraine. In two days, all the new equipment will be delivered and made available to the large numbers of people trying to survive inhumane living conditions, a situation made worse by the polar temperatures there now.

Ukrainian volunteers load the aid truck heading to Ukraine

Solidarity among compatriots



Cardinal Krajewski told Vatican News that, "it's a network of goodness with people helping their compatriots, wanting to help those who are suffering." On 19 December the Cardinal visited Lviv arriving in a large van, "the biggest I could drive," he said.

After distributing humanitarian aid to various parts of the capital Kyiv, he stopped to to celebrate Christmas, bringing with him the closeness and blessing of Pope Francis. It marked a wartime Christmas of frigid cold and gloom due to electricity rationing, mitigated by the glow running generators. "I would say the mission is accomplished," Cardinal Krajewski affirmed upon his return a week later to the Vatican. In reality, it is an ongoing mission that continues to be renewed.
Astronomers have detected in the stellar halo that represents the Milky Way's outer limits a group of stars more distant from Earth than any known within our own galaxy - almost halfway to a neighboring galaxy.

The researchers said these 208 stars inhabit the most remote reaches of the Milky Way's halo, a spherical stellar cloud dominated by the mysterious invisible substance called dark matter that makes itself known only through its gravitational influence. The furthest of them is 1.08 million light years from Earth. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km (5.9 trillion miles).

These stars, spotted using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea mountain, are part of a category of stars called RR Lyrae that are relatively low mass and typically have low abundances of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. The most distant one appears to have a mass about 70% that of our sun. No other Milky Way stars have been confidently measured farther away than these.

The stars that populate the outskirts of the galactic halo can be viewed as stellar orphans, probably originating in smaller galaxies that later collided with the larger Milky Way.

"Our interpretation about the origin of these distant stars is that they are most likely born in the halos of dwarf galaxies and star clusters which were later merged - or more straightforwardly, cannibalized - by the Milky Way," said Yuting Feng, an astronomy doctoral student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who led the study, presented this week at an American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle.

"Their host galaxies have been gravitationally shredded and digested, but these stars are left at that large distance as debris of the merger event," Feng added.

The Milky Way has grown over time through such calamities.

"The larger galaxy grows by eating smaller galaxies - by eating its own kind," said study co-author Raja GuhaThakurta, UC Santa Cruz's chair of astronomy and astrophysics.

Containing an inner and outer layer, the Milky Way's halo is vastly larger than the galaxy's main disk and central bulge that are teeming with stars. The galaxy, with a supermassive black hole at its center about 26,000 light years from Earth, contains perhaps 100 billion400 billion stars including our sun, which resides in one of the four primary spiral arms that make up the Milky Way's disk. The halo contains about 5% of the galaxy's stars.

Dark matter, which dominates the halo, makes up most of the universe's mass and is thought to be responsible for its basic structure, with its gravity influencing visible matter to come together and form stars and galaxies.

The halo's remote outer edge is a poorly understood region of the galaxy. These newly identified stars are almost half the distance to the Milky Way's neighboring Andromeda galaxy.

"We can see that the suburbs of the Andromeda halo and the Milky Way halo are really extended - and are almost 'back-to-back,'" Feng said.

The search for life beyond the Earth focuses on rocky planets akin to Earth orbiting in what is called the "habitable zone" around stars. More than 5,000 planets beyond our solar system, called exoplanets, already have been discovered.

"We don't know for sure, but each of these outer halo stars should be about as likely to have planets orbiting them as the sun and other sun-like stars in the Milky Way," GuhaThakurta said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys call for heavy weapons, primarily tanks, was officially answered late Saturday by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose office said Britain would send 14 tanks along with artillery support to Ukraine.

"As the people of Ukraine approach their second year living under relentless Russian bombardment, the prime minister is dedicated to ensuring Ukraine wins this war," a spokesperson for the prime minister said in a statement.

The Russian embassy said in its own statement that the tanks are unlikely to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine turn the tide on the battlefield, and would instead drag out the war.

Earlier Saturday, Russia launched another massive missile attack on Ukrainian cities.

Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Ladyzhyn, Burshtyn, Lviv region, Khmelnytsky and other cities were targets of terrorists. Civilian objects are everywhere! Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.

At least 14 people were killed and 64 wounded, among them children, in the southeastern city of Dnipro. A Russian missile strike there destroyed a section of a nine-story apartment building, regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. Infrastructure was also damaged in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Odesa regions, as well as in Kharkiv and Kyiv.

Targeting civilians and critical infrastructure across Ukraine has been a consistent tactic by Russia. According to the Geneva Conventions, targeting vital public infrastructure constitutes a war crime.

Zelenskyy said the death toll in Dnipro is expected to increase.

Debris clearance is still ongoing and will continue throughout the night. It's not yet known how many people are under the rubble. Unfortunately, the death toll is growing every hour, he said. My condolences to relatives and friends.

Local authorities reported that Ukraines air defense downed Russian missiles in Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Ukraines top military commander said his forces shot down 21 of the 33 cruise missiles Russia fired.

The strikes caused emergency blackouts in multiple regions, such as the Kharkiv region and the city of Kharkiv in the northeast  Ukraine's second-largest city. In the western Lviv Oblast, the governor, Maksym Kozytskyi, said there might be interruptions in the power and water supply because of missile damage.

Another energy facility was hit in the western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, according to Governor Svitlana Onyschuk. A fire broke out at the site following the attack, Onyschuk said, adding there were no casualties.

Earlier, Odesa authorities said the missiles were launched from air and sea, while Southern Operational Command reported that five Russian missile carriers with a total of 36 Kalibr cruise missiles were detected in the Black Sea.

During the attack, a defiant Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyys chief of staff, said, We will fight back."

In the countrys Donbas, fighting continues to rage around Soledar, with Russia claiming to have captured the town and Hanna Malyar, Ukraines deputy defense minister, saying: fierce battles for Soledar are continuing.

Zelenskyy reiterated his pleas for more weapons from the West.

What is needed for this? Those weapons that are in the warehouses of our partners and that our troops are so waiting for, he said.

No amount of persuasion or just passing the time will stop the terrorists, who are methodically killing our people with missiles, drones bought in Iran, their own artillery, tanks and mortars. The whole world knows what can stop and how it's possible to stop those who sow death, he said.

A few hours after Saturdays missile strikes, Britain promised to send the Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help the country repel Russias invasion.

Sunaks office said the tanks would be sent into the country in the coming weeks along with about 30 self-propelled AS90 guns to follow. Training for Ukrainian troops will begin soon on how to use the guns and the tanks.

The Challenger 2 is Britains main battle tank. It is designed to attack other tanks and has been in service since 1994, according to the army.

Sunak and Zelenskyy spoke by phone Saturday, after which Zelenskyy turned to Twitter to thank the prime minister for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and The Associated Press.
New data from the United States government suggests holiday gatherings didn't spark surges in respiratory diseases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that visits to doctors' offices for flu-like illnesses fell for the sixth straight week. Reports of RSV, a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be serious for infants and the elderly, are also down.

When flu and RSV surged in the fall, causing overloads at pediatric emergency rooms, some doctors feared that winter might bring a "tripledemic" of flu, RSV and COVID-19. And they worried holiday gatherings might be the spark.

But it didn't happen, apparently.

"Right now, everything continues to decline," said the CDC's Lynnette Brammer, who leads the government agency's tracking of flu in the United States.

RSV hospitalizations have been going down since November, and flu hospitalizations are down, too.

'It has slowed down'

Of course, the situation is uneven across the country, and some places have more illnesses than others. But some doctors say patient traffic is easing.

"It has really eased up, considerably," said Dr. Ethan Wiener, a pediatric Emergency Room doctor at the Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone in New York City.

Dr. Jason Newland, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, said "it has slowed down, tremendously,"

Newland said he wasn't surprised that flu and RSV continued to trend down in recent weeks, but added: "The question is what was COVID going to do?"

COVID-19 hospitalizations rose through December, including during the week after Christmas. One set of CDC data appears to show they started trending down after New Year's, although an agency spokesperson noted that another count indicates an uptick as of last week. Because of reporting lags, it may be a few weeks until the CDC can be sure COVID-19 hospitalizations have really started dropping, she said.

Second wave could still come

Newland said there was an increase in COVID-19 traffic at St. Louis Children's Hospital in December. But he noted the situation was nothing like it was a year ago, when the then-new omicron variant was causing the largest national surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began.

"That was the worst," he said.

The fall RSV and flu surge was felt most acutely at health care centers for children. Wiener said the pediatric emergency department traffic at Hassenfeld was 50% above normal levels in October, November and December  "the highest volumes ever" for that time of year, he said.

The RSV and flu surges likely faded because so many members of the vulnerable population were infected "and it just kind of burnt itself out," he said.

It makes sense that respiratory infections could rebound amid holiday travel and gatherings, and it's not exactly clear why that didn't happen, Brammer said.

That said, flu season isn't over. Thirty-six states are still reporting high or very high levels of flu activity, and it's always possible that a second wave of illnesses is still ahead, experts said.
Families of the missing wait outside the rubble of an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, hoping for good news as rescue workers continue to search for survivors of Saturday's Russian missile strike on the nine-story apartment building.

"My mother hasn't been found yet," Roman Zhuravsky told Agence France-Presse. "But the likelihood, given that five floors collapsed above her..."

Natalia Babachenko, the regional governor's adviser, said 30 people are confirmed dead and more than 30 are in the hospital, including 12 in serious condition, according to Reuters. Between 30 to 40 people could still be trapped under the debris, Babachenko said.

"Search and rescue operations and the dismantling of dangerous structural elements continue around the clock. We continue to fight for every life," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Gen. Valerii Zaluzhny, the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said Russia fired 33 cruise missiles Saturday, 21 of which were shot down. The air force command said the missile that hit the apartment building was a Kh-22 launched from Russia's Kursk region, but that Ukraine does not have a system capable of intercepting that type of weapon.

Russia's defense ministry claimed responsibility for missile strikes across Ukraine but did not mention the attack on the Dnipro residential building. Some of the residents in the building said it had no strategic military value.

"All designated targets have been hit," the ministry said on Telegram. "The goal of the attack has been achieved." It said missiles were fired "on the military command and control system of Ukraine and related energy facilities."

Belarus-Russian drills

Ukraine's neighbor to the north, Belarus, is scheduled to begin joint military exercises with Russia Monday, Reuters reports.

Belarus has participated in numerous military exercises with Russia since the conflict began, increasing fears in Ukraine and among its allies that Russia is hoping Belarus will enter the war on its side, despite assurances from Minsk it won't join the fight.

Pavel Muraveyko, first deputy state secretary of Belarusian Security Council, said in a post on the social media platform Telegram that "the exercise is purely defensive in nature."

He said the drills, which are slated to run until February 1, will involve "aerial reconnaissance, deflecting airstrikes, air cover of important objects and communications."

Britain to send tanks to Ukraine

A few hours after Saturdays missile strikes, Britain promised to send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help repel Russia's invasion.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks office said the tanks would be sent in the coming weeks, with about 30 self-propelled AS-90 guns to follow. He said training for Ukrainian troops on how to use the guns and the tanks will begin soon.

The Challenger 2 is Britains main battle tank. It is designed to attack other tanks and has been in service since 1994, according to the army.

Britain's Defense Ministry said Sunday there is a possibility that Russia will extend the age limit for military conscription from 27 to 30 in time for the spring 2023 draft, a move that would enable Russian forces to increase their enrollment by at least 30%.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he supports the move, according to the British ministry, which added, Russian officials are likely sounding out public reactions.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and The Associated Press.
More than 2700 world leaders will seek solutions for multiple global crises when they convene at the World Economic Forums annual meeting in the posh Swiss Alpine village of Davos this week.

This auspicious gathering includes 52 heads of state, leaders in business, finance, and culture as well as humanitarians and members of civil society from 130 countries. More than 5,000 Swiss army soldiers will be on hand to guarantee security and ensure any protests do not get out of hand.

The theme of this years meeting is cooperation in a fragmented world. After emerging from three years of pandemic isolation, delegates once again will be meeting in person. During the week, they will address critical political, economic, and social issues that demand urgent attention.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, says this personal interaction will create the necessary level of trust to bring people together.

One of the root causes of this fragmentation is actually a lack of cooperation. This in turn increases fragmentation in society and leads even more to short-term and self-serving policy making. It is a truly vicious circle, he said.

Schwab says the erosion of trust between the government and business sectors must be stopped. He says cooperation must be reinforced and conditions for a strong and durable recovery created.

Managing director of the forum, Mirak Dusek, says world leaders will be encouraged to work together on such interconnected issues as energy, climate, and nature. He says discussion on the economy and society will take center stage.

On the economy, we are going to be putting a lot of emphasis on infrastructure. Particularly on how we make sure that the investments around infrastructure, particularly clean infrastructure  how do we make sure that this leads to new growth, growth that is more inclusive and makes us more resilient in the futureOf course, we will also be looking at social vulnerability that are stemming from these crises, he said.

Dignitaries attending the meeting include German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and U.N. Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. U.S. President Joe Biden will not be coming to Davos. However, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, will be present.

A high-level delegation from Ukraine is expected to come to Davos. Forum officials say their names are not being disclosed for security reasons. They say several sessions related to the war in Ukraine will be held. They add Russia is not expected to attend.
KYODO NEWS - Jan 15, 2023 - 17:07 | All, Japan

A female inmate awaiting execution in Japan after being convicted of murdering two men in the western prefecture of Tottori in 2009 died Saturday of asphyxiation after choking on food, the Justice Ministry said Sunday.

Miyuki Ueta, 49, was being held at the Hiroshima Detention House. The cause of death was confirmed by an outside doctor who examined her body, the ministry added.

Ueta, a former bar worker, was convicted of drugging a truck driver and drowning him in the sea in April 2009 before drugging and drowning an electronics store owner in a river in October that year. Her death sentence was finalized in 2017.

Following Ueta's death, 105 people remain incarcerated with a finalized death sentence in Japan, according to the ministry. There was one execution in 2022.

In July, Tomohiro Kato, a 39-year-old former office worker, was executed for killing seven and injuring 10 others during a rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district in 2008.

Related coverage:

Prosecutors closer to murder indictment 6 months after ex-PM Abe shooting

Woman given life term over murder of father, brother

Japan death-row inmates seek end to hanging as inhumane execution
Greece says it will press ahead with plans to seal off its land frontiers with neighbor Turkey, tripling the size of a soaring fence already erected in the region. The effort comes as Greece faced a surge in refugee flows in 2022, and as threats of war sound from Turkey, which have aggravated already troubled relations between the two NATO allies.

Its rhetoric like this that has Greece concerned.

Speaking during the weekend Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece of constantly creating border crises with Turkey. Whats more, Erdogan also warned, that Turkey, as he put it can and will plough into Greece one night and take it over.

On the other side of the divide and at a separate event, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was quick to respond.

"Greece does not need anyone telling it how to exercise its own sovereign rights. It will continue to bolster its defenses as it sees fit," he said.

Among the most ambitious plans include a soaring steel seal fence stretching some 160 kilometerssealing Greeces land frontiers with Turkey. A quarter of that project is already in place, but over the weekend Mistotakis went to the border region of Alexandroupolis to oversee a 56-kilometer extension the Greek government says will cost over 100 million dollars.

The first leg of that fence was built to stem the rising tide of illegal migration. And while the fence has helped block some 250,000 illegal migrants from entering Greece from Turkey in 2022 alone, according to police date, authorities here fear more will try to make the crossing as elections near in Turkey.

U.N. data for 2022 show illegal entries to Greece tripled in 2022 compared to the year prior.

Such a forecast, officials say adds to growing tension between NATO allies Greece and Turkey as both sides remain locked in a heated arms race, mainly over U.S. weapons systems.

This week President Biden is set to ask Congress to approve a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. And while the potential sale will not hamper Greeces purchase of U.S. F-35 fighters, Mitsotakis is advising Capitol Hill to show great scrutiny.

"How the U.S. Congress will handle an arms sale to Turkey is its own affair," Mitsotakis told reporters. "But it should not disregard Turkeys provocative behavior, referring to Turkeys recurring threats of war and airspace violations  both serious breaches of NATO alliance rules."

Relations between Ankara and Washington have been frustrated by Turkeys refusal to back Finland and Swedens accession to NATO. But in recent months, those relations have thawed somewhat as Erdogan helped broker an arrangement permitting Ukrainian grain shipments from the Black Sea.

Several U.S. lawmakers, including Robert Menendez who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee remain skeptical. They vow to block the purported F-16 sale this week unless Erdogan takes several steps to show he can uphold Turkeys NATO priorities.

Anything less, officials in Athens say, will only aggravate tensions with Turkey and amplify Greeces needs to further bolster its defenses.
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Sunday unknown assailants shot dead a female former lawmaker alongside her bodyguard in her home in the capital, Kabul.

Mursal Nabizada, 32, had been elected as a member of the national parliament before the Islamist Taliban seized power from the internationally backed Afghan government in August 2021 as all U.S.-led NATO troops withdrew.

A Kabul police spokesman, Khalid Zadran, said that a brother of the slain parliamentarian was also injured in the attack, which took place early Sunday.

Zadran said a serious investigation into the incident was under way to apprehend and bring the killers to justice.

Nabizadas relatives called on the Taliban administration to arrest the killers, saying she had no enemies.

I heard the gunfire and when we went down, they (attackers) had left and my daughter was lying on the ground with blood on the bed alongside my son. The guard was also killed, local TOLO TV channel quoted Nabizadas mother as saying.

Nabizadas assassination marks the first time a politician from the ousted government has been killed since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. She was among the few female politicians and civil society activists who decided against fleeing Afghanistan after the hardline group regained control of the country.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

A true trailblazer - a strong, outspoken woman who stood for what she believed in, even in the face of danger, Mariam Solaimankhil, a former Afghan lawmaker, said on Twitter in response to the killing of her colleague.

Despite being offered the chance to leave Afghanistan, she chose to stay and fight for her people. We have lost a diamond, but her legacy will live on. Rest in peace, she wrote.

The Taliban have announced a general amnesty for all Afghans who were associated with the former U.S.-backed government. They reject as baseless allegations that their security forces have carried out targeted killings of some former Afghan officials who remained in the country.

The Taliban maintain that a special commission is working to encourage individuals who fled the country to return home to live peacefully under Taliban protection.

On Sunday, local media quoted a commission spokesman as saying that more than 470 political and former government figures have returned to Afghanistan from abroad since May 2022.

Western female parliamentarians took to Twitter to denounce Nabizadas killing, accusing the Taliban rulers of being behind her death.

I am sad and angry and want the world to know! She was killed in darkness, but the Taleban build their system of Gender Apartheid in full daylight, tweeted Hannah Neumann, a member of the European Parliament.



Petra Bayr, a member of the Austrian parliament, called for punitive political action against the Taliban authorities.

"If a strong woman is killed by a misogynistic regime like the Taliban it is even more painful if you had the chance to get to know this woman, at least virtually, Petra Bayr wrote on Twitter.

Nabizada was also a member of the parliamentary defense commission and worked for a private non-governmental group.

Afghan women made significant gains across the countrys male-dominated conservative society in the two decades since the United States and its Western allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and ousted the then-Taliban government for harboring the al-Qaida terrorist network.

In the years that followed the U.S.-led military intervention, women became judges, lawmakers, and journalists. Most of them fled Afghanistan after the return of the Taliban to power in 2021.

The men-only Taliban government has excluded women from nearly all aspects of public life. Women are required to cover their faces or wear the Islamic hijab. They have been banned from secondary and higher education, public sector work, nongovernmental organizations, and even from visiting public parks and baths.
The American and Sydney Pen Associations have issued a joint statement calling for the release of Ali Asadollahi, an Iranian poet, and other writers imprisoned in Iran.

Asadollahi has been an inspiring and leading poet of his generation,

the statement said, and his work has been translated into English, Italian and French.

Ali Asadollahi, who is also a literary critic and secretary of the Iranian Writers Association, was arrested Nov. 21 without any charges. He is currently being held in Fashafouyeh Prison and is said to be in solitary confinement and denied access to his attorney.

The Pen statement said, The sole crime of these writers is their literary output and activities. We call on Iranian authorities to immediately reverse these absurd charges against Iranian writers and order their release.

The continuing persecution and prosecution of Iranian writers constitute clear violations of their freedom of speech, and freedom of conscience, as protected by Irans own laws and its legal obligations under international law, the statement said, adding, We call on the international community to hold this criminal regime accountable for its heinous crimes against writers and poets.
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in Russias war on Ukraine. All times EST.

11 p.m.:

10 p.m.: Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians fled their countries last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine for the Indonesian province of Bali. The New York Times reported that on the island paradise some Ukrainians have befriended Russians, who left to avoid being drafted into military service or because they protested the war and feared being arrested. But for some of the Ukrainians, just seeing Russians is a painful reminder of what's happening back home.

9:00 p.m.: Belarus said Sunday it will begin air force drills with Russia on Monday, but the exercises are defensive in nature, Reuters reported.

The move comes as concerns grow that Moscow is pushing Minsk to join the war in Ukraine.

The first deputy state secretary of Belarusian Security Council posted on the Belarusian defense ministry's Telegram app that the exercises, which will last until Feb. 1, will involve training for "aerial reconnaissance, deflecting air strikes, air cover of important objects and communications".

The ongoing buildup of Russian troops in Belarus, combined with a flurry of military activity in the country, is an echo to what was happening there just before Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine when Moscow used the country as a springboard to launch the attack.

7:45 p.m.:

5:27 p.m.: Ukraines energy grid is facing a huge power generation deficit following Russias January 14 mass attack, Serhiy Kovalenko, the CEO of energy supplier Yasno, said Sunday, The Kyiv Independent reports.

There has been significant damage to Ukraines thermal energy generation, he said.

Kovalenko said Ukraines state grid operator has decided to significantly limit energy consumption across Ukraine, including in Kyiv. He did not provide any details.

It is still too early to forecast the period for a repair, he said. All power engineers are working to restore production, but you need to be prepared that power outages can be long-term.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Kyiv and Kharkiv oblasts have been the most impacted by Russias mass attack against Ukraines energy infrastructure on January 14.

Repair crews are doing everything possible to restore electricity generation and supply as soon as possible, and work will continue around the clock, Zelenskyy said.

4:30 p.m.:

3:52 p.m.:

3:11 p.m.: In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the mayhem in Dnipro in eastern Ukraine after a missile slammed into a nine-story apartment building killing over 30 people, including a 15-year-old girl. He said recovery operations are ongoing.

Zelenskyy also announced sanctions against Russians and others who help terror.

Almost 200 - this list is carefully prepared, and behind each name there is a responsible motivation. Those who justify terror. Those who grease the Russian propaganda machine. Those who tried to sell [out] Ukraine somewhere in Moscow. This public will face a full list of personal restrictions. We will do everything to make the sanctions work on the largest possible scale  in Europe, in the world, he said.

The Ukrainian leader said everyone responsible will be held accountable. Both those who kill and those who help to kill, he added.

2:45 p.m.: Vitalii, a 34-year-old long-range anti-aircraft missile commander, was severely wounded in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that has become synonymous with horrific losses in ongoing fighting for both Ukraine and Russia. Quite how deadly isn't known  because neither side is saying. From the stream of wounded soldiers that are coming off frontlines to hospitals like the one where Vitalii lies, it's evident the costs are severe, The Associated Press reported.

Both sides have poured troops and resources to capture or defend Donbas strongholds, fighting over months of grinding, attritional combat to what has largely become a bloody stalemate. Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to score localized success in the Donbas, even if that just means taking control of a town or two pounded into rubble. Ukraine wants to make Russia's advances as costly as possible.

The Donbas towns of Bakhmut and Soledar have been turned into hellscapes as a result. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described them as completely destroyed, strewn with corpses and craters, and with almost no life left.

This is what madness looks like," Zelenskyy said.

Vitalii was wounded on August 25 on another section of the Donbas frontline, in Adviivka, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of Bakhmut. The shell that struck his dugout set off other explosives. The blast tore a crater in Vitalii's skull that is as deep and broad as half a melon. His brain injuries were so severe that doctors doubted he'd show signs of consciousness again.

Now, Vitalii sometimes seems aware of his surroundings. He blinks. He can swallow. But hes largely immobile.

2:15 p.m.: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine could expect more heavy weapons after Kyiv pleaded for more vehicles, artillery and missiles it says are key to defending itself.

"The recent pledges for heavy warfare equipment are important  and I expect more in the near future," Stoltenberg told Germany's Handelsblatt daily, ahead of a meeting this week of a group that coordinates arms supplies to Kyiv, Agence France-Presse reported.

1:05 p.m.: Thirty people are confirmed dead so far as a result of a Russian missile attack on a nine-story apartment building in Dnipro. According to the regional governor's adviser, Natalia Babachenko, 30 to 40 people could still be trapped under debris, Reuters reports.

CNN reporters on the scene describe cranes continuing to work on removing the hundreds of tons of debris.

Smoke is still rising from within the building that was leveled. On either side of it, concrete sheets hang precariously from adjacent blocks.

The missile appears to have struck vertically, as there is little damage in the surrounding area.

The operation appears to be shifting toward recovery as of about 7 p.m. local time (noon ET), some 30 hours after the missile struck.

There are still dozens of emergency service workers at the scene, but the cold temperatures and massive twisted steel and concrete wreckage of the building suggests that hopes of finding anyone else alive are diminishing.

Behind a cordon across the street, dozens of people watch the operation in silence.

Some people are still unaccounted for, according to Ukrainian officials.

12:35 p.m.: Belarus' Security Council said on Sunday that joint air force drills with Russia, due to start next week, were purely defensive in nature and would focus on reconnaissance missions and how to thwart a potential attack, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Minsk also said it was "ready" for any "provocative actions" by Ukraine, as a flurry of military activity in the country has triggered fresh fears in Kyiv and the West that Russia could be preparing to use its ally  which acted as a springboard for Russia's invasion last February  to mount a new ground offensive on Ukraine, Reuters reported.

12:20 p.m.:

12:15 p.m.: Russian forces shelled Kherson hospital, Sunday. The building was damaged, but no casualties were reported, Kherson Oblast Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram.

Ukrainian forces liberated Kherson and the western bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast on November 11 after eight months of Russian occupation.

Since then, the Russian army has been shelling the Ukrainian-held part of Kherson Oblast nearly daily, The Kyiv Independent reported.

11:46 a.m.: Moldovan authorities say specialist teams have carried out controlled detonations of explosives that were discovered in parts of rocket debris found in a village near the country's border with Ukraine.

According to The Associated Press, Moldovas Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement that an on-site investigation turned up about 80 kilograms of explosives in the remains of the rocket discovered Saturday in the Briceni district village of Larga. Photographs posted on the ministrys Facebook page Sunday show what appears to be a large cylindrical object loaded with white powder. The ministry has not said when the rocket was fired or who fired it but said it originated from Russias air attacks on Ukraine.

11:24 a.m.: Russia is transitioning to a wartime economy in preparation for a long war, Ukrainian intelligence posted on Telegram.

[President Vladimir] Putins measures to reorganize the economy and military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation indicate preparations for the transfer of Russia to martial law. They are aimed at strengthening the potential of the Russian Armed Forces and creating conditions for operations that were planned at the very beginning of the war, but not implemented successfully by the Russian occupation forces.

The attempts of the occupying country to attract all military resources to continue the war in Ukraine and the recent appointment of the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov as the new commander of the occupation troops testify not only to the military failures of Russia, but also to the preparation of the Russian Federation for the continuation of a large-scale long-term war, Ukraine's defense intelligence directorate wrote.

According to Euromaidan Press, indications that Russia is moving to a war-time economy appeared on October 25, when President Vladimir Putin moved Russia into a regime of unprecedented restrictions.

The precise figures became clear in November, when the 2023 budget revealed that the aggressor country will allocate a third of all expenditures to finance the army thrown into the war with Ukraine, as well as internal security structures, which will have to ensure the stability of the regime under conditions of mobilization and falling standards of living.

10:57 a.m.: Three people were killed and 15 injured by an ammunition explosion caused by "careless" handling of a grenade in Russia's Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported Sunday.

Reuters reported that Russian state news agencies cited local emergency services for the toll saying the blast occurred in a cultural center turned ammunition storage facility for Russian armed forces.

Belgorod region borders Ukraine and is the location of several Russian military bases and training grounds.

The 112 and Baza Telegram channels, linked to Russia's law enforcement agencies, said the dead and injured were conscripts drafted in Ukraine under a mobilization drive.

They reported that the blast occurred after a senior soldier mishandled a grenade in front of subordinates, accidentally detonating it. TASS said "careless handling of ammunition" caused the explosion.

10:17 a.m.:

9:58 a.m.:

9:27 a.m.: German arms maker Rheinmetall could deliver repaired Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in 2024 at the earliest and would need a confirmed order to begin repairs, its chief executive was quoted as saying by Bild newspaper on Sunday.

Germany announced earlier this month that it would provide Ukraine with 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to help repel Russian forces.

But Kyiv has also requested heavier vehicles such as the Leopards, which would represent a significant step-up in Western support to Ukraine. The German army has only around 350 Leopard 2 tanks today, compared to some 4,000 battle main tanks at the height of the Cold War.

According to Bild, repairing the tanks the German arms maker has in stock  at least 22 Leopard 2 tanks and 88 Leopard 1 tanks  would cost several hundred million euros.

"The vehicles must be completely dismantled and rebuilt," he added.

Germany has become one of Ukraine's top military supporters in response to Russia's invasion after last year, overcoming a taboo that is rooted in its bloody 20th century history on sending weapons to conflict zones.

Still, critics say German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his ruling SPD are too slow to act, waiting for allies inititiave instead of assuming Germany's responsibility as the Western power closest to Ukraine.

Germany's defense industry is banned by law from producing tanks for stock-keeping. Even if production were ramped up, experts say it could take at least two years for new tanks to be ready for use.

8:43 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of Russias February 24 invasion of his country if the security situation permits, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.

First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova cautioned in an interview with The Associated Press that many factors need to be in place for him to come, citing first and foremost the military situation on the ground and a warning from Ukraines intelligence service that Russia is planning a very serious offensive in February.

Our president would want to come, he has a will or intention to come, she said, but its still a question if there will be a security situation that will allow him to come, she said.

8:18 a.m.: The chances are "minimal" of pulling more survivors from the wreckage of an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro that was hit by a Russian missile strike on Saturday, the city's mayor told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.

"As of 11:00, 21 people are dead, but 40 are missing," said Borys Filatov.

"May God help us find several of them. I think the number of dead will be in the dozens."

The Dnipro City Council reported after Filatov made his comments that the death toll had risen to 23, while 43 people had been reported missing.

The building was hit during massive Russian strikes on Ukraine on Saturday, the latest of missile attacks in recent months on critical infrastructure that have plunged the country into darkness and killed civilians.

As Filatov spoke, rescue workers were digging through smashed concrete and twisted metal from a portion of the building. He said 72 apartments had been destroyed.

Filatov said he believed the missile, which he described as an "absolutely inaccurate" X-22, was likely aimed at a power station nearby.

7:45 a.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the military operation in Ukraine had gained positive momentum and that he hoped his soldiers would deliver more wins after Russia claimed control of the eastern Ukrainian salt-mining town of Soledar, Reuters reported.

Russia claimed Friday that it has captured Soledar. "The dynamic is positive," Putin told Rossiya 1 state television when asked about the taking of Soledar. "Everything is developing within the framework of the plan of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff."

"And I hope that our fighters will please us even more with the results of their combat," Putin said.

Ukraine claimed Saturday that its forces were still fighting to retain control of Soledar. The Washington-based Institute for the study of War said it was highly unlikely that Ukrainian forces still held positions within Soledar itself.

Reuters could not immediately verify the situation in Soledar.

Putin casts the war in Ukraine as an existential battle with an aggressive and arrogant West and has said that Russia will use all available means to protect itself and its people against any aggressor.

The United States and its allies have condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an imperial land grab, while Ukraine has vowed to fight until the last Russian soldier is ejected from its territory.

5:14 a.m.: The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, said in its latest Ukraine assessment that Russian forces continued limited counterattacks along the Svatove-Kreminna line. Russian forces also continued offensive operations around Soledar, as well as in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka areas.

Ukrainian forces are highly unlikely to still hold positions within the settlement of Soledar itself, the assessment said.

Russian forces continued defensive operations and reinforced frontlines positions on the east bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.

4:26 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia's February 24 invasion of his country if the security situation permits, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.

First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova cautioned in an interview Friday with The Associated Press that many factors need to be in place for him to come, citing first and foremost the military situation on the ground and a warning from Ukraine's intelligence service that Russia is planning "a very serious offensive in February."

"Our president would want to come, he has a will or intention to come," she said, "but it's still a question if there will be a security situation that will allow him to come."

3:10 a.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. defense ministry said Russia may raise the upper end of its age range for military conscription from 27 to 30. The change would kick in in time for the spring draft. The move could help Russia meet its goal of boosting its forces by 30%.

2:16 a.m.: European countries will eventually resume higher imports of Russian gas, Qatar's energy minister and gas company CEO predicted Saturday, Agence France-Presse reported.

Russian gas exports to Europe plunged after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, but Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, head of QatarEnergy, said the situation could change in the future.

"We're all blessed to have to be able to forget and to forgive. And I think things get mended with time ... they learn from that situation and probably have a much bigger diversity," he told the Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi. "But Russian gas is going back, in my view, to Europe."

Gas exports by Russian energy giant Gazprom to the European Union and Switzerland fell by 55%, the company said this month.

Europe was previously Gazprom's main export market, but supplies were drastically reduced because of sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February.

1:17 a.m.: Retired U.S. General Ben Hodges commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe from 2014 and 2017. He is currently the Pershing chair in strategic studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, Hodges discussed the Russian military operation's lack of coherence and how new fighting vehicles and tanks from abroad could change the course of the war.

12:02 a.m.: Germany on Saturday inaugurated its second liquefied natural gas terminal, part of a drive by Europe's biggest economy to put reliance on Russian energy sources firmly behind it, The Associated Press reported.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz took part in the ceremony in Lubmin on the Baltic Sea coast, which came less than a month after he inaugurated Germany's first LNG terminal at Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea. Several more are expected to go online in the coming months, including another in Lubmin.

The terminals are part of an effort to prevent an energy crunch that also includes temporarily reactivating old oil- and coal-fired power stations and extending the life of Germany's last three nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be switched off at the end of 2022, until mid-April.

Days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Scholz announced that his government had decided to build the first LNG terminals.

Some information in this report came from Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press and Reuters.
Tens of thousands of people marched through central Madrid on Sunday to demand an end to the cutbacks and privatization affecting the region's crisis-hit public health care services.

Banging drums and chanting slogans, the protesters packed the main boulevard running past the city's El Prado museum as part of a so-called Marea Blanca, or 'white tide' demonstration that drew 30,000 people, according to a regional government spokesman.

Primary care services in the Madrid area have been under huge pressure for years due to a lack of resources and staff, forcing more people to turn to hospital emergency departments which are now overwhelmed with patients in a situation with echoes across Spain.

This week, the SEMES emergency service workers association said Madrid's A&E departments had seen a "10 to 20 percent" increase in patients while the ADSP, which also represents health professionals in Madrid, said 300 people were waiting in corridors for a bed.

At the march, dozens of people held up a huge banner reading: "No to cuts and privatization and yes to health care and public services." Others held up placards demanding the resignation of the region's right-wing leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso and saying "Healthcare cuts are a criminal act."

"The situation in Madrid is unsustainable due to the intentional neglect and privatization policies implemented by Ayuso and her government, the results of which can be clearly seen in the current state of emergency departments," the ADSP this week, urging people to join the march.

"We cannot continue with an insufficient number of hospital beds, which is worsening every year with the reduction of beds in public centers and the diversion of public money to private centers."

The demonstration comes amid a wave of strikes over public health care shortages across Spain, with strike action planned or threatened in at least eight of its 17 regions.

In Madrid, primary care doctors and pediatricians resumed an indefinite strike on Thursday that began on November 21 but was suspended a month later for the Christmas break.

The Amyts doctors' union said it was resuming the strike after talks with the regional health care ministry failed.
Militants shot and killed three police officers on the outskirts of the Pakistani city of Peshawar, authorities said, the latest violence in the restive northwestern region bordering Afghanistan.

Senior superintendent of operations Kashif Aftab Abbasi said the three officers died as they chased militants who had earlier attacked a police station with hand grenades, sniper guns and automatic weapons in Sarband, near Peshawar.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group  also known as TTP  Saturday claimed responsibility for the police station attack a day earlier and for killing the officers.

The TTP has waged an insurgency in Pakistan over the past 15 years, fighting for stricter enforcement of Islamic laws in the country, the release of their members who are in government custody, and a reduction of Pakistani military presence in the countrys former tribal regions.

They also claimed responsibility for an attack Friday at a police checkpoint in Punjabs Taunsa district that killed two officers.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said the central government was deeply concerned about deteriorating law and order in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Peshawar is located.

He criticized local authorities for failing to learn from previous assaults, including a militant takeover and hostage situation at a counter-terror department in the Bannu district.

Terrorists are attacking police stations, policemen and officers are being targeted, said Khan. It seems that the provincial government has not learned any lesson even from Bannu CTD headquarters, he said, referring to the counter-terror department seized by militants.

He said the local chief minister's priority was politics not peace and, with even local police not safe from attacks, he asked what would happen to the safety of ordinary people.

The TTP has stepped up attacks on security forces after unilaterally ending a cease-fire with the Pakistani government in November.

The group is separate but allied with the Afghan Taliban.
With nearly all the votes counted in the first round of the Czech Republics presidential election, retired army General Petr Pavel eked out a narrow victory over billionaire populist and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis.

Pavel won 35.39% of the votes Saturday versus 35% for Babis in the eight-candidate field. The two will face off against each other in another round of voting in two weeks.

Economics professor Danuse Nerudova finished third with 13.9% of the vote. No other candidate received more than 7%.

Political analysts had predicted a close contest between the 68-year-Babis and the 61-year-old Pavel.

Babis was the leading opposition candidate, and Czech political analyst and writer Jiri Pehe described him as an oligarch populist who, he said, flirts with the political orientation of Hungarian President Viktor Orban.

Orban, an admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, comes under frequent criticism from the European Union, which has accused him of stifling democratic institutions.

Pavel, a former chair of NATOs military committee, received the endorsement of the government. He and Nerudova, were seen as the most pro-Western, pro-democratic candidates.

Nerudova would have been the first woman to hold the office of president.

Political analyst Pehe, who leads New York University's academic center in Prague, told VOA the war in Ukraine is likely to play a significant role in the elections, as it has raised security and foreign policy concerns to a higher level than they otherwise would be in the election.

That was likely to favor Pavel, Pehe said, because of his extensive military and international experience. The political analyst said Pavel has been an enthusiastic supporter of Ukraine as the country defends itself from Russian attacks, while Babis has been more ambiguous.

Pehe said polls indicated the economy was a major issue for Czech voters, which could help Babis, as he has stressed domestic issues over aid to Ukraine. But Pehe added that the voters want to see the Czech Republic maintain strong ties with the West and NATO, likely helped Pavel.

Recent Gallup polling shared with VOA shows that approval of EU leadership has risen to 49% in the country, the highest level recorded in 13 years. Approval of Russian leadership, meanwhile, is at a 13-year low of 5%.

Corruption is also a major concern of Czech voters, according to the 2022 Gallup polling. It showed that 74% of the public believe that corruption is widespread in the government, a belief that has been fairly consistent since 2006.

On the positive side, 65% of respondents told Gallup they are confident in the honesty of elections.

The winner of the election will take over from current President Milos Zeman, who is completing his second term. Pehe said Zeman became a divisive figure  who was quite pro-Russia and China  when he attempted to over-step his presidential powers as designated by the nations constitution.

In the Czech government, the president is elected by the popular vote and appoints the prime minister, but the job is otherwise a largely ceremonial post.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Myroslava Gongadze reported from Warsaw.
A new weather system with rain, snow and strong winds moved into storm-lashed California on Saturday, the latest in a parade of atmospheric rivers that have wreaked havoc across the state in recent weeks.

While next week should bring some respite, the first of two systems expected to hit California over the weekend pushed onshore Saturday, unleashing more heavy rain, the National Weather Service said.

Atmospheric rivers rarely seen in such frequent succession have pounded the Golden State since Dec. 26, killing at least 19 people and bringing floods, power outages, mudslides, evacuations and road closures.

More than 24,000 utility customers were without power as of Saturday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.

The storms have dropped half the average annual rainfall on the agricultural Central Valley and as much as 4.5 meters of snow in the mountains.

Flood advisories were in effect across the state on Saturday, and thousands of residents were under evacuation orders and warnings.

A neighborhood in the Santa Cruz County community of Felton in central California flooded for the second time in a week and the third time since the turn of the year.

Residents banded together, helping one another with shovels and squeegees to clean out garages and driveways.

"To go through it a third time, it's just defeating, said Caitlin Clancy, 36, as she shoveled mud on her driveway.

Sacramento County issued an evacuation order for Wilton and other areas that had suffered severe flooding during a New Year's Eve storm.

A levee breach in the Bear Creek area of Merced in the San Joaquin Valley flooded homes and stranded animals, according to local media, as officials worked to prevent high waters from overflowing.

At least seven waterways were officially flooded, the California Department of Water Resources said Friday.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said at a news conference Saturday, "These weather events have taken more lives in the last two years than wildfires. That's how deadly they are."

U.S. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for California on Saturday.

Biden ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides, the White House said in a statement.

The president's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties, it said.

In the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, heavy snow and strong winds brought whiteout conditions in some areas that prompted road closures.

Snowfall in the Sierras had topped half a meter as of Saturday morning, with about 3 meters already on the ground and a few more expected, according to the University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab.

The California storms have mitigated but not solved the region's drought.

The U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday revised its assessment to lift virtually all the state out of extreme drought or exceptional drought, the two worst categories, though much of it is still considered to be suffering moderate or severe drought.
Afghanistans Taliban rulers on Saturday rebuffed a renewed call by the United Nations to reverse rules blocking womens access to work and education, insisting they are regulating all matters in line with Islamic law or Shariah.

Considering the responsibility it has towards the people and religion, the Islamic Emirate cannot allow acts against Shariah in the country, chief Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said.

His statement came in response to Fridays private meeting by the 15-nation U.N. Security Council where participants discussed and expressed grave concern regarding the restrictions the Taliban have imposed on women since seizing power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

Mujahid noted in his response that the Taliban administration understands the concern expressed by the Security Council.

Countries and international organizations should understand the religious demands of our nation and not link humanitarian issues/aid to politics. Based on our religious principles and values, we are ready to cooperate in any field, he said.

The Islamist Taliban have excluded women from almost all areas of public life, banning them from secondary and university education, visiting parks, gyms and bath facilities, and ordering most female government employees to stay at home.

Last, month the hardline rulers forbade Afghan women from working for NGOs, saying they were not wearing the Islamic headscarf or respecting other Shariah directives. The move drew a strong backlash from the world and warnings that it could worsen an already bad humanitarian crisis in the crisis-hit country.

Before Friday's closed-door meeting, nearly a dozen Security Council members, including the United States, Britain, France Japan, Malta, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, issued a joint statement underscoring the need to include women across all aspects of Afghan society.

We urge the Taliban to immediately reverse all oppressive measures against women and girls, Japanese Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane, the current president of the Security Council, delivered the statement on behalf of the 11 council members.

Without their participation in aid delivery in Afghanistan and their essential expertise, NGOs will be unable to reach those most in need, in particular women and girls, to provide lifesaving materials and services," he said.

The statement called on the Taliban to respect the rights of women and girls, and their full, equal and meaningful participation and inclusion across all aspects of society in Afghanistan, from political and economic, to education and public space.

The ban on female aid workers has forced many NGOs to suspend their lifesaving programs in Afghanistan, but the U.N. said its agencies would continue their operations in a country where 97% of Afghans live in poverty, two-thirds of the population need aid to survive, and 20 million people face acute hunger.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday after the councils private discussions that the Talibans grave violations of fundamental rights had also contradicted assurances given to the global community following their takeover of Afghanistan about the role women would play in the country under their fundamentalist rule.
In a fresh blow to Portugal's government, tens of thousands of Portuguese teachers and school staff poured into the streets of the capital Lisbon to demand higher wages and better working conditions in one of the biggest protests of recent years.

During the peaceful demonstration, organized by the Union of All Education Professionals (STOP), protesters held banners and shouted slogans as they urged Education Minister Joao Costa to step down.

Teachers on the lowest pay scale make around 1,100 euros ($1,191.08) per month and even teachers in the top band typically earn less than 2,000 euros monthly. Protesters say current wages are too low, particularly given the cost-of-living crisis.

"Teachers deserve a fair salary because we've worked all our lives... we've never been corrupt and we've never stolen like the bad example that is unfortunately coming from politicians," 62-year-old history teacher Maria Duarte said.

The Socialists, led by Prime Minister Antonio Costa, won an outright parliamentary majority in an election a year ago but the government has had a bumpy ride since then, with 13 ministers and secretaries of state leaving their roles, some over allegations of past misconduct or questionable practices.

"It would be good for the leaders who are watching this demonstration to think very carefully about what they are going to do next because we want this to have consequences; we want serious measures to be taken," said math teacher Aitor Matos.

The 47-year-old said teachers were "constantly losing income" and were often placed in schools far from home.

Protesters, some wearing black to mourn the state of the education sector, said the government has done little to improve their situation.

"We have to be respected," said special needs teacher Lucinda Lopes, 52. "They must give us what is rightfully ours and they can't take away the little we have."

Teachers across the country have been on strike since early December, leaving many students unable to attend lessons. The education minister said Friday he might force some teachers back to work.
It was the week before Christmas and creatures were stirring in Johns Live Poultry, a storefront butcher shop at 5955 W. Fullerton Ave.

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Chickens were loudly clucking, some alternately pecking at a feeding tray attached to their cage. In the tier below, quail were napping. An employee handing customers orders out a pass-through window was singing: La Blanca Navidad llega. Y nos alegra el corazon.

A drum beat  Whack! Whack!  punctuated the Spanish version of White Christmas. Workers were slaughtering fowl and removing their feathers in the back room.

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The front door was open and a musty smell perfumed the sidewalk. It prompted some passersby to keep on going. But it also attracted a steady stream of customers.

Live-poultry stores draw immigrants for whom a barnyard odor means farm-fresh meat. Their Americanized offspring buy supermarket chickens, each encased in a plastic sarcophagus. This makes room for more recent arrivals to the country at stores like Johns. Ethnic succession is the hallmark of the live-chicken story.

It is the American dream, said Ray Ziyad, who has owned the store for 28 years. Born in Jordan, he was a child when he came to Chicago, scarcely imagining he would one day own his own business. Al Gordon, from whom he bought the store, which dates to 1942, recounted its history to an Associated Press reporter in 1988.

Ray Ziyad, owner of John's Live Poultry on Fullerton Avenue in Chicago, holds a hen at his shop on April 8, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

When this one opened, Id say there were 14 or 15 other live-poultry stores like it within a 5-mile radius, Gordon said. The Northwest Side community gave him a customer base of Italians, Greeks and Poles.

Ziyad reports that his clientele is largely Spanish-speaking and that his is the neighborhoods only live-poultry store. Citywide, there may be fewer than a dozen, according to an online search.

Live-chicken stores have for decades provoked strong reactions, pro and con.

In 1949, the City Council debated an ordinance that would have put 250 live-poultry stores out of business for being too close to residences, schools, churches and other institutions. Mayor (Martin) Kennelly said he visited a number of the establishments affected, and found conditions in 60 percent of them deplorable, the Tribune reported.

In 2020, Meghan Boyles, a 22-year-old DePaul graduate, complained to a WGN reporter about the sights and sounds emanating from Ciales Poultry Store at 2141 W. Armitage Ave. in Bucktown.

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I can hear the birds screaming and crying, its miserable, Boyles said. Even though the stores owner is her landlord, she insists she had no idea before she moved in that poultry was being killed steps from her apartment.

Its unclear how that class conflict was resolved.

But in 1980, Ruth Gumer took the other side of the argument. Not wanting to buy supermarket chickens raised in cramped quarters, she wrote to the Tribunes Action Line asking for the names of live-poultry stores. Ciales was among those the editor recommended, and it remains in business today.

Meyer Miller holds examples of kosher chickens at Jacob Miller & Sons kosher butcher shop on Devon Avenue in Chicago on May 17, 1990. (Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune)

Paleontologists report that the chickens were among the early domesticated animals that humans ate. It has had 6,000 to 12,000 years to tug on humanitys heart strings, which is attested to by the variety of customs involving the bird.

Chinese folklore credits chickens with the ability to differentiate between truth and falsehood. In 1908, an attorney in a Chicago murder trial made a request for witnesses to be sworn in before a rooster, the Tribune reported.

The prosecutions witnesses being Chinese, the defense wanted each to kill a rooster in the courtroom and write in its blood a pledge that he will tell the truth or suffer the fate he has just inflicted on another living creature.

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In 1930, the Tribune reported that a man named Peter Theros bought a chicken from a Romani couple (described at the time as Gypsies) and, as instructed, hung it over a candle, which the couple purported to be a prescription for making Theros rich. Two days later, he told the sellers the chicken was still alive and that he was still working in steel mill.

Better bring us $800 more, the couple replied. Ultimately, he had brought them his entire savings.

The couple at some point disappeared, he told police. Theyre still out, the Tribune noted. So is Theros.

By Jewish tradition, a rooster is annually freighted with a mans sins. A hen bears a womans. On the eve of Yom Kippur, the pious swing the birds over their heads, three times, while saying: This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my atonement. This rooster (hen) will go to its death, while I will enter and proceed to a good long life and to peace.

When Devon Avenue was the rialto of the Orthodox Jewish community, a flatbed truck loaded with poultry cages would appear just before the Day of Atonement. Customers would not so much buy as rent a bird. After performing the kapparot ritual, theyd hand it back to the vendor to be slaughtered and given to a poor person.

A customer walks on May 17, 1990, out of Jacob Miller & Sons, 2727 W. Devon Ave., Chicago, which offers chickens slaughtered and dressed according to Jewish kosher law. (Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune)

When Chicago was, as Carl Sandburg wrote, hog butcher to the world, it had a community of schochetim, who slaughtered animals according to ritual and serviced the kosher trade. But that community moved on to Postville, Iowa, noted Rabbi Leonard Matanky of Congregation KNS, who has served on the Chicago Rabbinical Councils kosher-regulations committee. That move leaves Chicago without ritual slaughterers.

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So who could properly dispatch the kapparot birds? Judaisms prescription for slaughtering animals is minutely detailed, as was noted in a lawsuit brought by then-Illinois Attorney General Neil Hartigan against Shelat Kosher Foods, in 1987.

Its owner also had a nonkosher chicken operation. That output sold chickens for less than Shelats, because of the greater cost involved in kosher processing. For instance, kosher chickens have to be brined to draw out the blood that Orthodox Jews are forbidden to consume, even a drop, leaving the birds saltier than those that dont go through the kosher process.

Vintage Chicago Tribune Weekly The Vintage Tribune newsletter is a deep dive into the Chicago Tribune's archives featuring photos and stories about the people, places and events that shape the city's past, present and future. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

Shelats management cut costs by putting a kosher label on its nonkosher chickens. It admitted to the sleightof-hand trick and went out of business when confronted with irrefutable evidence, as The Associated Press reported:

The allegations in the lawsuit are based on laboratory analyses of the poultry that found salt levels similar to non-kosher food.

Matanky recalled that his mother would take him with her to Odes Poultry Market at 4741 N. Kedzie Ave. The owner, a schochet, gave him a peek of the back room where the slaughtering was done.

But it and all the former Jewish live-chicken stores are gone. Without a ritual slaughterer, a schochet, they were unable to offer kosher poultry.

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At Johns Live Poultry, it was clear what Ziyad meant when he described his American dream, one that enabled a penniless immigrant to become an entrepreneur. He ran a store that welcomed recent arrivals with the taste and smell of their homeland.

And as the birds and the feathers flew, it recalled a gentile attorney general who put out the word that if you call your chickens kosher, they better taste salty.

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.
The Philadelphia Orchestra will enhance its ties with China through more in-person events to contribute to the development of U.S.-China cultural exchanges, the orchestra's chief said.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
The officially recognized baptism site of Jesus drew thousands to Jordan on Friday as COVID restrictions drop and the country is boosting religious tourism. The Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was at the eastern bank of the Jordan River for the pilgrimage mass and said it "could be a place of unity" as tensions grow in the Middle East.

Jordanian scouts played bagpipes as thousands of festive pilgrims and visitors descended on the site where John the Baptist is believed to have baptized Jesus. The New Testament of the Bible says the event took place on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, or in Arabic as Al-Mughtas. Three Catholic popes: Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis have all visited and prayed at this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rustom Mkhjian, the director-general of Jordans Baptism Site Commission, explained to VOA the areas importance.

"The Baptism Site of Jesus Christ is a world heritage site that belongs to mankind. We, Jordanians, are the custodians. Without the care and custodianship of the Hashemite family lead by His Majesty [King Abdullah II] we would never have been achieved of whats been achieved by now through the recent history of the rediscovery of this site. Everybody on earth deserves to visit the site and walk in the trails of John and Jesus," he said.

Through the centuries, the area has been commemorated as the site of Jesus baptism by John the Baptist.

But over the years, Roman and Byzantine churches, a monastery, hermit caves and baptismal pools were destroyed by earthquakes and the rivers flooding and the location became uncertain.

Starting 25 years ago, after the area between Jordan and Israel was cleared of landmines from Arab-Israeli conflicts, archeological discoveries reaffirmed the traditional site.

Jordan now wants to develop an adjacent area to provide more services to visitors, enabling them to have a longer stay, but it needs funding.

The Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Archbishop, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, says the baptismal site could be inspirational in the search for peace in the Middle East and other places where divisions have taken hold.

"Unfortunately, were seeing in all the Middle East a lot of tensions, divisions, borders, barriers, while we think that our future is to be united in our diversities. We hope that this place could become a small example that peace, if we want, is possible here," he said.

Jordanian banker Basel Ishtara, visiting the site, told VOA that Jordanians would love for everyone around the world to join us in this special place of prayer.
Thousands of people demonstrated in the rain Saturday to protest the clearance and demolition of a village in western Germany to make way for the expansion of a coal mine. There were standoffs with police as some protesters tried to reach the edge of the mine and the village itself.

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg joined the demonstrators as they protested the clearance of Luetzerath, walking through the nearby village of Keyenberg and past muddy fields. Protesters chanted Every village stays and You are not alone.

Organizers said about 35,000 people took part, while the police put the figure at 15,000. On the sidelines of the protest, police said people broke through barriers and some got into the Garzweiler coal mine.

Some who tried to get to the edge of the mine were pushed back. And German news agency dpa reported that police used water cannons and batons just outside Luetzerath, which is now fenced off, against hundreds of people who got that far. The situation calmed after dark.

Some protesters complained about the size of the police response and what they say was undue force by police this week. Police, meanwhile, said some demonstrators had thrown fireworks at officers and damaged patrol cars.

'What everyone does matters'

Thunberg said the fate of Luetzerath and the expansion of the mine matters far beyond Germany.

In the global fight against climate change, what everyone does matters, she told The Associated Press shortly before the protest. And if one of the largest polluters, like Germany, and one of the biggest historical emitters of CO2 is doing something like this, then of course it affects more or less everyone  especially those most bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.

As the demonstration took place, the clearance of Luetzerath was well advanced.

The operation to evict climate activists holed up in the village kicked off Wednesday. In the first three days of the operation, police said about 470 people left the site, 320 of them voluntarily.

They said Friday afternoon there were no longer any activists in the remaining buildings or on their roofs. They said Saturday they still had to tackle 15 structures such as tree houses  and were trying to get into a tunnel that two people were believed to be holed up, dpa reported. Work to demolish buildings was already underway.

Cause celebre

Luetzerath has become a cause celebre for critics of Germany's climate efforts.

Environmentalists say bulldozing the village to expand the Garzweiler mine would result in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. The government and utility company RWE argue the coal is needed to ensure Germanys energy security.

The regional and national governments, both of which include the environmentalist Green party, reached a deal with RWE last year allowing it to destroy the abandoned village in return for ending coal use by 2030, rather than 2038.

Some speakers at Saturday's demonstration assailed the Greens, whose leaders argue that the deal fulfills many of the environmentalists' demands and saved five other villages from demolition.

It's very weird to see the German government, including the Green party, make deals and compromise with companies like RWE, with fossil fuel companies, when they should rather be held accountable for all the damage and destruction they have caused, Thunberg said. My message to the German government is that they should stop what's happening here immediately, stop the destruction, and ensure climate justice for everyone.
The Australian cardinal who decried the papacy of Pope Francis as a "catastrophe" was given a funeral Saturday and hailed by some fellow churchmen at St. Peter's Basilica, with the pontiff imparting a final blessing for the once high-ranking Vatican prelate.

Cardinal George Pell, 81, died on Tuesday, shortly after undergoing hip surgery in a Rome hospital. As the Vatican's finance minister for three years, Pell had been a key player in the early years of Francis' papacy, whose goals included reforming the Holy See's finances, which had a long history of scandals and poor management.

Pell later returned to his native Australia to be tried on child sex abuse charges over allegations that he molested two choirboys while he was archbishop of Melbourne. He served more than a year in solitary confinement in prison before an earlier court conviction was overturned in 2020.

Pell steadfastly proclaimed his innocence.

As is customary for funerals of cardinals, a final blessing delivered in Latin in the form of a prayer for mercy and eternal rest was recited by Francis, who, in a wheelchair, passed by Pell's plain wooden coffin.

The funeral Mass itself was celebrated by an Italian cardinal, Giovanni Battista Re, in his role as Dean of the College of Cardinals.

Re praised Pell as a "man of God and man of the Church,'' who was distinguished for "a deep faith and great solidity of doctrine, which he always defended without wavering and with courage."

"As he noted many times, he was pained by the weakening of faith in the Western world and the moral crisis of the family, Re said in his homily.

Re noted how nine days earlier, Pell, "apparently in good health," had concelebrated, in St. Peter's Square, the funeral Mass for Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who died after nearly a decade in retirement on December 31.

Right after Pell's death, it was revealed that the Australian churchman had authored the memo that had been circulating for many months in church circles. In the memo, Pell had lamented the current papacy as a "disaster" and a "catastrophe."

Separately, the day after Pell died, a conservative magazine published what it said was an article by the cardinal decrying as a "toxic nightmare" Francis' determination to sound out Catholic laity on such issues as church teaching on sexuality and the role of women. Those issues will likely spark sharp debate later this year in a meeting of bishops from around the world summoned by Francis to the Vatican.

The day after Pell died, Francis in a condolence telegram paid tribute to the cardinal, saying that while the prelate led the economy office, "he laid the bases with determination and wisdom" for reforms of the Holy See's finance system, which had been taken to task for years by international financial watchdog bodies.

In the homily, Cardinal Re lamented that Pell's final years had been "marked by an unjust and painful conviction."

"It was an experience of great suffering sustained with faith in the judgment of God," Re said.

The cardinal cited the diaries Pell wrote while in prison "with the aim of making known how much faith and prayer help in the difficult moments of life and (how they can) also be a support to who must unjustly suffer."

Among the concelebrants at the altar on Saturday was another high-profile Vatican prelate who in recent days had blasted Francis' leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. German Archbishop Georg Gaenswein  like Pell a staunch advocate of the church hierarchy's more conservative faction and a longtime aide of Pope Benedict XVI  bitterly complained about how he was treated by Francis after Benedict retired in 2013 and Francis was elected as pontiff.

Gaenswein unleashed a torrent of criticism of Francis in interviews hours after Benedict's death and in a book published days later.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the eve of the anniversary of Russias Feb. 24 invasion of his country if the security situation permits, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.

First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova cautioned in an interview Friday with The Associated Press that many factors need to be in place for him to come, citing first and foremost the military situation on the ground and a warning from Ukraines intelligence service that Russia is planning a very serious offensive in February.

Our president would want to come, he has a will or intention to come, she said, but its still a question if there will be a security situation that will allow him to come.

A spokesperson for Ukraines Foreign Ministry said in a Facebook statement Saturday that no decision has been made so far on whether such a visit will indeed take place. Zelenskyy makes visits abroad depending on the situation in Ukraine and other factors, Oleg Nikolenko said, promising to keep the public properly informed about the presidents plans for foreign trips.

If Zelenskyy does come to the U.N., it would be only his second trip outside Ukraine since the invasion. He made a surprise visit to Washington on Dec. 21 to meet his most important backers in the war against Russia  President Joe Biden and members of Congress whom he thanked for their support and told that against all odds Ukraine still stands.

Ukraines U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said the General Assembly has already scheduled a high-level debate on the war for Feb. 23, which will be followed by a ministerial meeting of the Security Council on Feb. 24.

Dzhaparova said Ukraine would like to see the assembly adopt one of the two resolutions that Zelenskyy wants to see approved on the eve of the anniversary of the invasion.

She said Ukraine is consulting with its partners on the two measures, one that would support the presidents 10-point peace formula that includes the restoration of Ukraines territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian forces and the other that would establish a tribunal to prosecute crimes of aggression, which would enable Russia to be held accountable for its unprovoked invasion.

We have to act step by step, Dzhaparova said. Its still a question what will be the first.  I believe that this is something that we will know very soon, in the nearest week or two.

In late December, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told AP the government wanted a peace summit by the end of February at the U.N., with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as mediator, but he didnt anticipate Russia taking part. That would make it difficult to foresee mediation or an end to the devastating war.

Kyslytsya, the Ukrainian ambassador, said he doesn't think Russian President Vladimir Putin would allow anyone to attend a summit because it doesn't go along with his plan that Russian territorial gains are nonnegotiable.

Dzhaparova said a summit is still under discussion and stressed that its not a negotiation.

Dzhaparova said the summit would be a platform to discuss things that Ukraine considers important on top of the 10-point peace proposal, which also includes the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the Russian aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Its about shaping the discourse, she explained.

It doesn't mean that by adopting a resolution or holding a summit Ukraine is ready to sign up to a peace agreement or cease-fire, Dzhaparova said. It means that only after a resolution or summit negotiation about peace, or the agreement on peace, might be started."

The former journalist and TV anchor, a Crimean Tatar whose parents left Crimea after Russias 2014 takeover and annexation of the strategic peninsula, said Ukraine needs political, economic and military support.

Politically, Dzhaparova said, Russia has discredited the U.N. Charter, which opposes the use of force against another country, and flouted international law and should be isolated by the international community.

She said its crucial to provide financial support to Ukraine because its economy has suffered much more than Russias, and to provide weapons to fight for peace.

Dzhaparova said the Ukrainian armed forces are highly motivated and are fighting to protect their land and people, but the Russian army doesnt understand what theyre fighting for.

We are doing our best to win, but then at the end of the day, its still a question of what will be the end, she said.

If Ukraine were to lose, Dzhaparova said, Putin wont be satisfied and Im sure that Russia would attack other countries in the nearest future.

This is not about Ukraine solely, its about a common goal to avoid further aggression," she stressed. If the war is not contained in Ukraine, the war will become bigger.
Zimbabwes ruling Zanu PF party has launched what it calls a civic education program in which police are being re-oriented towards supporting and voting for the ruling party ahead of the 2023 harmonized elections.

According The Standard, President Emmerson Mnangagwas party has engaged in a massive ideology-orientation scheme and voter mobilization campaign, among the rank and file of the police.

The newspaper reports that Zanu PF is educating police about the principles of the former liberation movement.

Some police sources told The Standard that similar programs were conducted by the ruling party when the late former President Robert Mugabe was still in power.

Police are expected to attend eight hour sessions Monday at all district headquarters in Zimbabwe. The first training was done in Harare and Bulawayo last week.

The Standard quoted a senior police officer, who requested not to be named in fear of being victimized, as saying, We have received a radio (police internal communication) this morning (Friday) that every police officer should attend what they call the civic education training

The training has been done in Harare and Bulawayo, with ruling party officials facilitating them. According to the internal communication, the police officers will divide themselves into two groups at each station in every district so that one group attends the training while the other conducts the policing work. The radio emphasised that everyone should attend."

Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told The Standard that police were undergoing the training but professed ignorance of Zanu PFs involvement.

Senior Zanu PF officials were unavailable for comment as they were not responding to calls on their mobile phones.
The death toll from a Russian missile strike on a nine-story apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro rose to 25 on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported, even as rescue workers attempted to pull more survivors from the wreckage.

Workers used a crane to try to reach people trapped on the top floors of the 1,700-resident building, some of whom signaled for help with lights on their cell phones.

"Search and rescue operations and the dismantling of dangerous structural elements continue. Around the clock. We continue to fight for every life," the Ukrainian leader said.

Zelenskyy said 73 people were wounded in the attack Saturday and 39 had been rescued as of Sunday afternoon.

SEE ALSO:

Gen. Valerii Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said Russia fired 33 cruise missiles on Saturday, 21 of which were shot down. The air force command said the missile that hit the apartment building was a Kh-22 launched from Russia's Kursk region but that Ukraine does not have a system capable of intercepting that type of weapon.

Russias defense ministry claimed responsibility for missile strikes across Ukraine but did not mention the attack on the Dnipro residential building. Some of the residents in the building said it had no strategic military value.

"All designated targets have been hit, the ministry said on Telegram. The goal of the attack has been achieved." It said missiles were fired "on the military command and control system of Ukraine and related energy facilities.

Infrastructure was also damaged in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Odesa regions, as well as in Kharkiv and Kyiv by the wave of Russian missiles.

Local authorities reported that Ukraines air defense downed Russian missiles in Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, and Ivano-Frankivsk.

The strikes caused emergency blackouts in multiple regions, such as the Kharkiv area and the city of Kharkiv in the northeast  Ukraine's second-largest city. In the western Lviv Oblast, the governor, Maksym Kozytskyi, said there might be interruptions in the power and water supply because of missile damage.

Another energy facility was hit in the western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, according to Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk.

A few hours after Saturdays missile strikes, Britain promised to send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help repel Russias invasion.

SEE ALSO:

Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks office said the tanks would be sent in the coming weeks, with about 30 self-propelled AS-90 guns to follow. He said training for Ukrainian troops on how to use the guns and the tanks will begin soon.

The Challenger 2 is Britains main battle tank. It is designed to attack other tanks and has been in service since 1994, according to the army.

Britains defense ministry said Sunday there is a possibility that Russia will extend the age limit for military conscription from 27 to 30 in time for the Spring 2023 draft, a move that would enable Russian forces to increase their enrollment by at least 30%.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he supports the move, according to the British ministry, which added, Russian officials are likely sounding out public reactions.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and The Associated Press.
Kate Bartlett

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA  After three years of closed borders under its strict zero-COVID policy, China reopened its doors to allow international travelers in  and Chinese with cabin fever out  a move with economic implications around the world, including in Africa.

On the continent, which counts China as its largest trade partner, African importers who sell cheap Chinese-made goods said they were itching to return to China to stock up while many African countries are also hoping to attract Chinese tourists.

While fears about the spread of COVID-19 caused some countries in Asia, Europe and North America to implement negative testing requirements for Chinese travelers, drawing the ire of Beijing, countries like Kenya and South Africa said they would not be implementing any travel restrictions for travelers from China.

African businesses eye Chinas reopening

Markets and stocks around the world shot up with Chinas reopening, and African businesses are also hoping to cash in on the worlds second largest economy.

SEE ALSO:

We are open to going there now and we are looking forward to do that to make sure that we get our businesses back on track, Samuel Karanja, the CEO of the Importers and Small Traders Association of Kenya, told VOA, adding that the pandemic years have been a roller coaster for traders.

For the past three years, it has been a very difficult moment for those traders because they lost touch with their suppliers. Ideally, the traders could go to China, meet their suppliers or manufacturers, go with samples of the goods that they need to be produced for them, some of them could wait for even weeks to be able to see that the production is completed, and the goods are loaded in containers and theyre coming back to Kenya, he said.

Karanja said that was how business was done before the pandemic where Kenyan small and medium enterprise owners would travel to Chinese cities including Guangzhou, where they bulk purchased everything from electronics and motorbike spare parts to kitchenware and school stationery. After China implemented its zero-COVID policy however, the Kenyan businesses had to make purchases remotely, often with the help of unscrupulous middlemen who ripped them off.

Denis Juru, president of the International Cross-Border Traders Association in South Africa, echoed this, telling VOA that Chinas reopening has lots of advantages for his organizations members.

The opening of Chinese borders will boost the African economy as Chinese products are cheap. African traders new to the business will be able to go and make their choices physically. New companies in China will take this opportunity to convince traders from Africa by reducing prices, he said.

SEE ALSO:

He noted that traveling to China is expensive but said while staying in-country and shopping online is easier and more economical some companies in China sell the wrong products online. Therefore, the process of exchange inconveniences African businesses.

Optimism with caution

As for large corporations that do business with China, Christo van der Rheede, CEO of Agri SA, South Africas biggest agricultural organization, was more circumspect about the pros and cons of Chinas reopening.

It remains to be seen how this is going to impact on South Africa. Remember, South Africas a big exporter of particular commodities, for example coal, iron ore, as well as other agricultural commodities to China. Hopefully this will increase the demand for South African commodities, he said.

He also noted South Africa needs to weigh the economic benefits with caution around the spread of COVID-19.

I think economically wise, weve seen how the clampdown, the zero(-COVID) policy, has impacted on the logistics, especially import and export logistics, and how that has driven up the cost of shipping throughout the world, he said. So hopefully well be able to manage it in a way that will boost our economy and our exports to China, but at the same time we need to manage any outbreak in South Africa very carefully.

Attracting Chinese visitors

So, what about travel from the other direction: Chinese coming to the continent either for business, to work on Belt and Road infrastructure projects or for tourism?

As soon as the country opened, Beijing was quick to send new Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on his first official visit to the continent on a five-country tour.

In a speech on his first stop in Ethiopia, Qin reassured Africa that China plans to strengthen trade ties and accelerate in-person exchanges.

First, let us intensify our in-person interactions and connectivity of ideas. The pandemic will be over, and we can see [the] light of hope ahead.  We will expand exchange and cooperation with Africa in various fields and at all levels, including between the governments, legislatures, political parties, militaries and localities, Qin said. African political leaders, AU Commission officials at various levels and Africans in the political, business and academic circles are most welcome to visit in due course.

We will encourage Chinese companies and people to come to Africa for investment and tourism. We will provide more facilitation to restore two-way personnel exchanges at a faster pace, he added.

In terms of Chinese visitors to South Africa, however, Rosemary Anderson, national chairperson of the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa, told VOA the current system leaves much to be desired.

The Chinese traveler to South Africa has to present themselves in person at an embassy or visa office in China and wait up to months for a visa to be supplied, she said, noting South Africa only attracted about 93,000 visitors before the pandemic in 2019, out of some 155 million Chinese who traveled abroad.

However, she noted that it was encouraging that Air China has recently started a direct flight between Beijing and Johannesburg.

Anderson said South Africa should do more to attract Chinese travelers, including public and private sector marketing initiatives aimed specifically at the Chinese market, ensuring destination and product information is available on Chinese search engines, and marketing on Chinese social media channels like Weibo and WeChat.

As China reopens to the world, showing that you are Chinese friendly by, for example, offering payment platforms like WeChat Pay and Alipay, keeping in mind Chinese holiday dates, learning a few key phrases in Mandarin and training tourist guides to speak Mandarin, would all be useful, she said.
SHANGHAI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's index of export container transport declined in the week ending on Jan. 13, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.

The average China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) went down 4.3 percent to 1,201.55 from the previous week, according to the exchange.

The sub-index for the Korea service led the decrease with a week-on-week drop of 10.1 percent.

Bucking the trend, the sub-reading for the Australia/New Zealand service rose 1 percent from a week earlier.

The CCFI tracks spot and contractual freight rates from Chinese container ports for 12 shipping routes across the globe, based on data from 22 international carriers.

The index was set at 1,000 on Jan. 1, 1998. 
Father of the Italian language is also founder of Italian right-wing thinking, claims Sangiuliano.

Italy's culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano caused a stir on Saturday by claiming that the mediaeval poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri was the founder of Italian right-wing thinking.

Sangiuliano singled out Dante for his "vision of human and interpersonal relationships and also for his profoundly right-wing political construction", adding: ""The right has culture, a great culture, it just needs to affirm it".

The minister made his comments during a event in Milan organised by Fratelli d'Italia, the far-right party of Italy's premier Giorgia Meloni, ahead of regional elections in Lombardia.

Reaction

Intellectuals and politicians on the left queued up to scorn the remarks by Sangiuliano, who made headlines recently by claiming that the use of foreign words instead of Italian ones was "radical chic snobbery" and suggesting that the average American family coming to Italy could afford to pay higher entry fees to certain cultural sites such as Pompeii.

Gennaro #Sangiuliano: "Il fondatore del pensiero di destra in Italia e stato Dante Alighieri"@ultimora_pol pic.twitter.com/KmNKDY58y0  Ultimora.net - POLITICS (@ultimora_pol) January 14, 2023

The philosopher and academic Massimo Cacciari blasted the minister's comments about Dante as "ridiculous" while Irene Manzi, culture representative of the centre-left Partito Democratico party, described Sangiuliano's analysis as "laughable and caricatured."

"If Minister Sangiuliano has to go and bother Dante to find a cultural reference to the right, the culture minister has some problems with history and Meloni has some problems with the choice of ministers", said Raffaella Paita, president of the centrist Azione-Italia Viva group in the senate.

"We advise the minister to leave Dante alone" - said Green Europe leader Angelo Bonelli - "because the cultural references of the right today are Trump and Bolsonaro."

Dante Alighieri

Born in Florence in 1265, Dante wrote his verses in the vernacular, opting for Tuscan dialect in an era when poetry was generally composed in Latin, meaning it was only read by the most educated readers.

He is best known for The Divine Comedy, a long narrative poem representing a 14th-century vision of the afterlife, describing a journey through the three realms of the dead: hell, purgatory and heaven.

Dante is celebrated each year in Italy on 25 March with Dantedi, a national day dedicated to the poet who died more than 700 years ago in exile in Ravenna.
Martina Scialdone was shot on Rome street.

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri has called for a debate on gun control after a woman was shot dead outside a restaurant by her former partner on Friday night.

The woman, 34-year-old lawyer Martina Scialdone, was reportedly shot by Costantino Bonaiuti, 61, following a heated argument on Viale Amelia near the Tuscolana train station.

The row began inside the restaurant, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, and continued outside where Scialdone was reportedly shot at close range.

Bonaiuti, an engineer of Ethiopian origin, fled the scene in his car before being tracked down and arrested by police, according to Italian news reports.

Corriere della Sera reports that Bonaiuti frequented the same Tor di Quinto shooting range as Claudio Campiti, the man accused of killing four women during a condominium meeting in the Fidene suburb of Rome a month ago.

Il brutale assassinio di #MartinaScialdone ci sconvolge tutti. #Roma si stringe al dolore dei familiari, degli amici, dei colleghi di questa giovane brillante avvocata. Dobbiamo a lei tutto il nostro impegno affinche simili tragedie non accadano mai piu. https://t.co/q8IA6Wjk4r pic.twitter.com/qyyFaMca7r  Roberto Gualtieri (@gualtierieurope) January 15, 2023

"The brutal murder of Martina Scialdone killed mercilessly by her ex-partner shocks us all", wrote Gualtieri on Facebook.

The mayor offered condolences to the family, friends and colleagues "of this brilliant young lawyer, who in her professional work dealt with family law, and also with gender violence. That same criminal violence of which she was the innocent victim, and which is a dramatic and worrying phenomenon that must be opposed with all strength, at all levels, everywhere."

Gualtieri called for "a reflection on the need to limit the possession of weapons, reducing the number in circulation, to increase the safety of everyone", adding: "We owe Martina all our commitment, personally, so that such atrocious tragedies never happen again."
Silicon Valley is Americas innovation capital, but lenient remote work policies and a spate of layoffs have fueled an exodus of workers and cleared the way for rising investment in other tech hubs, especially Austin and Miami.
BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sales of Chinese-brand passenger vehicles jumped 22.8 percent in 2022 amid domestic automobile manufacturers' bid to upgrade products, industry data showed.

Last year, about 11.77 million domestic-brand passenger vehicles were sold, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The market share of these cars reached 49.9 percent, up 5.4 percentage points year on year.

Aiming at opportunities in the fields of new-energy vehicles and intelligent networks, Chinese automakers have promoted electrification and intelligent upgrading of vehicles and optimized the structure of products in recent years to attract more consumers, said the association.

The international development of Chinese auto companies has also constantly enhanced the influence of domestic brands, it added. 
The Arnault patriarch Bernard, born into an affluent family with a solid construction business, has painstakingly constructed an empire and a dynasty more glamorous and far, far richer than anything conjured up by Murdoch, Musk or the fictitious Roy. His house, an 18th-century neoclassical 12-bedroom pile, not far from the Arc de Triomphe in the 8th arrondissement, has, for Paris, almost unimaginably large grounds. Rupert Murdochs personal fortune of $US17.3 billion is almost pathetically weedy compared with Bernards personal $US203 billion stash.

And yet there are echoes... Logan Roy, the thuggish patriarch of Succession, enjoys nothing more than pitting his deeply disturbed offspring against one another. Arnault, meanwhile, has all five of his children from two marriages working in the various tentacles of his empire.

Delphine Arnault, from his first marriage to Anne Dewavrin, is poised and elegant with creamy hair. She has her fathers arrestingly light eyes as well as his height. Shes just under 183 centimetres tall and her first marriage to Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, heir to an Italian wine fortune, in 2005 was a major event. The bride wore a dress designed by John Galliano, who worked for her father at Dior, and Karl Lagerfeld, who worked for Arnault at Fendi, took the photos.

Succession character Shiv Roy (Australian actor Sarah Snook) from the HBO television series. Credit: HBO

Like Shiv Roy in Succession, she is also smart. These days her partner is Xavier Niel, a French tech billionaire with whom she has two children. Shes fluent in English, having studied in the US and at the London School of Economics, and she graduated to McKinseys before working for her father at Louis Vuitton and Dior. Perhaps in an unconscious compliment to her father, Delphine tends to wear monochromatic, pared-back tailoring (usually from Dior) and sits beside him in the front row at shows with the same impassive inscrutability. Not surly or snarling, but not what youd call approachable.
Before Bianca Censori became an overnight celebrity following reports of her marriage to rapper Kanye West, she was an impressive young designer making waves in Melbournes architecture community.

Joe Toscano, Censoris former boss at Melbournes DP_Toscano Architects, said he was astounded when Censori told him in 2020 that she was off to work for Wests Yeezy brand.

Bianca Censori at a Balenciaga fashion show at the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. Credit: Christopher Peterson/SplashNews

But he said he was sure she had the talent to take on such a high-profile role.

It was surprising because she was still so young in the profession ... It was only the fact that it had happened so quickly and so soon, not because I didnt think that she had the skills to do it, Toscano said.
It is sometimes said the past is another country. The attitudes, mores and dress conventions accepted in former times seem awkward, offensive or ugly in what we assume is a more enlightened present day.

In the past, housebound women wore corsets, men thought only they could do science, and dragons ruled uncharted waters. People made comedy about Hitler as damaged generations used humour to process World War II trauma and stamp on the evil dictator. Through the inverted telescope of time, all these things become immensely far away and unfamiliar.

That was then, this is now: Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, still unvaccinated, trains on Friday for the 2023 Australian Open. This time last year Australia expelled him. Credit: Chris Hopkins

But it is not just the distant past we struggle to remember and understand. Our ragged attention spans are poorly equipped to grapple with very recent history.

Think about this: it is only a year since tennis player Novak Djokovic was expelled from Australia for arriving unvaccinated. Not a decade, though COVID years surely deserve a special measure, but a year. Just 52 weeks since our world was so very different.
Aggressive and violent incidents involving federal politicians have skyrocketed, with the Australian Federal Police last year receiving more than 500 reports of threats to the safety of MPs, the prime minister and the governor-general.

The incidents last year included a spate of online threats, letters delivered to electorate offices, verbal altercations and destruction of property.

Liberal senator James Paterson says the number of threats against MPs last year were disturbingly high. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The brutal murder of British MP Sir David Amess in 2021 led the AFP to conduct an internal review of the safety of Australian politicians.

Federal police have experienced an increase in reports of direct threats to MPs since about 2017 but the numbers have tripled in the past three years. Many MPs put the rise in threats down to a surge in far-right extremism and conspiracy movements.
Singapore/Kathmandu: An Australian man was on board a domestic flight that crashed in Nepal on Sunday, killing at least 68 people in the mountainous countrys worst air disaster in three decades.

Nepals civil aviation authority said 72 people  including two pilots and two crew - were on the twin-engine Yeti Airlines ATR-72 aircraft when it plummeted into the banks of a river and burst into flames, near the popular tourist city of Pokhara.

They included 15 foreign nationals, among them an Australian man, five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans and others from Ireland, France and Argentina.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said on Sunday night it was urgently seeking to confirm the welfare of the Australian passenger on the flight, which had been making the 27-minute journey from the capital Kathmandu.
Sculptor Hadi Hamza works in his studio in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 10, 2023. TO GO WITH "Feature: Iraqi sculptor uses artworks to encourage people to rebuild life" (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi sculptor seeks to inspire his countrymen to rebuild their lives through his creative and emotional artworks.

Working in his studio in a calm rural area at the northern edge of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Hadi Hamza, 68, a retired professor of sculpture, was busy finishing one of his artworks with two apprentices.

This photo taken on Jan. 12, 2023 shows one of Hadi Hamza's statues representing Gilgamesh, a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology, at the Ashur University in Baghdad, Iraq. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Some of Hamza's artworks deal with themes of ancient Mesopotamia and carry the pearls of wisdom that reached us through time.

"When I work on historical artwork such as the Winged Bull, an Assyrian protective deity, and Gilgamesh, a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology, I stand dazzled and proud because I belong to this history," Hamza said.

"Now in 2023, we are still talking about Gilgamesh and his epic, in which he started reconstructing his city and doing good deeds after returning to Uruk," he said.

The message carried in the epic could encourage the Iraqis to rebuild lives after the destruction of their homeland due to the U.S. invasion in 2003, Hamza said.

"The artist is the eye of society who captures the events and employs them in his work," Hamza said.

This photo taken on Jan. 10, 2023 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad shows a miniature statue, made by Hadi Hamza, representing an Iraqi woman carrying a rifle, who was killed while fighting with the extremist Islamic State militants. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Another Hamza's artwork is an Iraqi woman carrying a rifle, who was killed while fighting with the extremist Islamic State militants.

The statue tells us that rebuilding the country and making it a better place requires rejecting and confronting extremist ideologies that threaten the unity of Iraqis, said Hamza.

Sculptor Hadi Hamza and his apprentices make some sculptural works in Hamza's studio in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

One of Hamza's two aides, Mustafa Ali, 25, told Xinhua that his future artworks would focus on creating optimism and enthusiasm to inspire the people.

"Optimism and enthusiasm are important components for any success. They can inspire people to seriously and diligently engage in rebuilding our country for a better life," Mustafa said. 
Teacher Rufai Mohamed Hussein poses for a group photo with his students at Imam Malik Primary and Secondary in Adado town, Galmudug state of Somalia, Dec. 30, 2022. (Photo by Adbi/Xinhua)

Rufai Mohamed Hussein's day starts at dawn every day and his goal is to ensure every child in Somalia attains literacy in a country whose education system has experienced conflict-linked paralysis.

MOGADISHU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Rufai Mohamed Hussein's day starts at dawn every day and his goal is to ensure every child in Somalia attains literacy in a country whose education system has experienced conflict-linked paralysis.

Orphaned at the height of the Somalia civil war, Hussein is now married with four children. He defied the path taken by his peers, who either fled the country for safer havens across the border or undertook precarious trips across the Red Sea to the Gulf in search of greener pasture.

"I was born into a life dictated by civil strife. At a tender age, I was exposed to bloody scenes. I did not grow up in a life enjoyed by many children born in peaceful countries," he told Xinhua during a recent interview. "I am happy my country is now slowly recovering from conflicts that have denied its citizens a dignified life."

Hussein stressed that he found the courage to remain in his motherland and offer whatever he could for his community instead of looking for comfort in a foreign land as a refugee. "If everyone flees our country to other countries in Europe or neighboring African countries for refuge what will become of Somalia? Somali people are doing marvelous things as refugees in the countries they fled to, which tells us that we are a resilient community," Hussein said.

Currently, a holder of a bachelor's degree in education from SIMAD University, one of the universities rated best in Africa according to Webometrics Ranking of the World Universities, Hussein started as an untrained teacher at a local private school.

Teacher Rufai Mohamed Hussein works at Imam Malik Primary and Secondary in Adado town, Galmudug state of Somalia, Dec. 30, 2022. (Photo by Adbi/Xinhua)

Aged 23 and thanks to a scholarship from Iftin Education and Development, an educational charity in partnership with SIMAD University Adado (a regional campus designed by SIMAD), Hussein completed a four-year education program and is now employed as a teacher at a local school.

"My sacrifice to serve my community without expecting any reward paid off after I got an opportunity to pursue my dream career at SIMAD University through a scholarship offered by a local charity organization," Hussein said.

During his four-year course in teaching, Hussein learned how to develop low-cost and locally available resources, integrate ICT into teaching and access mentorship and support systems, which has become useful in the teaching profession. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in education from SIMAD University in July 2019 and was employed as a teacher at Imam Malik Primary and Secondary, Adado town, Galmudug state of Somalia. He is now the deputy principal at the school.

Mohamud Mohamed Jama, the program officer at Iftin Education and Development, said the program to address the shortage of tutors in Adado town, which started in 2007, has so far managed to train more than 200 teachers in the Galmudug region. The charity which mobilizes funds locally and in the diaspora aims to ensure Somali children do not miss out on quality education due to a lack of trained teachers.

"Currently the organization is sponsoring about 3,000 students, 70 percent of them are men and 30 percent are female to ensure they pursue education at SIMAD University. Most of them are doing sciences and mathematics courses," said Jama. 
NWS Weather Alert NOTE: This information is provided by the National Weather Service. Forecast may differ from local information provided by our own 69News Meteorologists

...ELEVATED RISK OF WILDFIRE SPREAD THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING... A combination of low relative humidity, westerly breezes, and dry fine fuels will lead to an elevated risk for fire spread with any potential fire starts Thursday afternoon and evening across eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the eastern shores of Maryland. Minimum relative humidity values this afternoon will range from 22 to 26 percent across the region. Winds will be somewhat lighter and not as gusty as the past couple of days. However, this afternoon into early evening west winds will still be sustained 8 to 12 mph, and a brief gust to 20 mph cannot be ruled out. Fine fuels in the form of dry or dead vegetation will be quite dry as well, and conducive to fire starts and fairly quick fire spread. This is particularly true in areas that have not received hardly any rainfall in the last 10 days, across much of Pennsylvania to northern and central New Jersey. Residents are urged to exercise caution if handling any potential ignition source, including machinery, cigarettes, and matches. Be sure to properly discard all smoking materials. Any dry grasses, dead leaves, and other tree litter that ignite will have the potential to spread fire quickly. For more information about wildfire danger, burn restrictions, and wildfire prevention and eduction, please visit your state's forestry or environmental protection website.
EASTON, Pa. - As the war continues in Ukraine, people inside the country have only 3 out of 24 hours of sporadic heat and electricity.

The Ukrainian National Women's League of America is working to help those in desperate need inside the Ukraine, and are asking for your help.

Checks can be made to the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, Unit 91 , and sent to Cornerstone Estate c/o Bobbie Leiby, 4052 Freemansburg Ave, Easton, Pa. 18045.

New warm blankets can be dropped off at the porch there.

Mark donations with your name and address so that you are sent a thank you note.
LA PAZ, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta has denounced a tweet written by a U.S. government official on the situation in the Santa Cruz department, saying the remarks constitute an interference in the internal affairs of his country.

"Comments of this type are not appropriate in international relations. Relations between states are carried out based on the principle of mutual respect and non-interference. It can be understood from that perspective that this tweet can be interpreted as interference," Mayta told a press conference in La Paz on Friday.

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols recently expressed his "concern" over the arrest of Santa Cruz's governor and opposition leader, Luis Fernando Camacho, in late December.

According to the state-run Bolivian Information Agency, Mayta said the matter will be raised with the charge d'affaires of the U.S. diplomatic delegation in La Paz.

In 2008, Bolivia expelled the U.S. ambassador over allegations that he was inciting the political opposition, a move the United States reciprocated.

Camacho was apprehended on Dec. 28 and later transferred to La Paz, where he has been placed in detention after being accused of terrorism over his participation in the "coup d'etat" that led to the resignation of Evo Morales as president. 
TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran will take delivery of a number of Su-35 fighter jets from Russia in the early days of the next Iranian year, which will start on March 21, an Iranian lawmaker told semi-official Tasnim news agency.

In an exclusive interview published on Sunday, Shahriar Heydari, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, revealed that Iran had previously ordered the fighter jets.

He noted that Iran has also ordered a number of defense and missile systems as well as helicopters, most of which will be soon delivered by Russia.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in December 2022 that cooperation between Tehran and Moscow in different areas, particularly the defense sector, is not against any third country.

Ukraine and some Western countries have recently accused Iran of exporting suicide drones to Russia for use in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Iran has admitted to supplying Russia with a small number of drones in the months before the Ukraine conflict, but has denied supplying Moscow with unmanned aerial vehicles for use against Kiev. 
One hundred thousand Israelis braved the rain on Saturday to rally in Tel Avivs Habima Square to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus plans to change the countrys legal system and weaken the Supreme Court. With thousands more rallying in Jerusalem, Haifa and the northern town of Rosh Pina, the demonstrations were by far the largest anti-government protests in recent years.

Israelis protest against the government's plans to overhaul the country's legal system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 14, 2023. [AP Photo/Oded Balilty]

While many protesters carried Israeli flags, others held homemade placards warning against Fascism, Coup detat, Criminal Government, The End of Democracy, attacks on democratic and social rights, and corruption. Demonstrators voiced their opposition to Netanyahus return to power. One poster read, We will die before giving up on democracy.

Others carried Palestinian flags in defiance of the new minister of national security and Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvirs call for the police to crack down on people carrying Palestinian flags in public spaces. His order came after a few protesters waved Palestinian flags at last Saturdays anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv, prompting furious criticism from Netanyahu and his far-right allies.

Saturdays demonstrations were far larger than last weeks protest, testifying to the increasing concerns and anger on the part of Israelis, Jewish and Palestinian, over the political programme of Netanyahus far-right coalition government, which includes Likud, three fascistic and racist partiesReligious Zionism, Jewish Power and Noamand two right-wing religious parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism.

Their agenda is Jewish supremacy and apartheid rule, the annexation of large swathes of the West Bank, the expansion of illegal settlements, Jewish prayer at al-Aqsa Mosque and the rollback of anti-discrimination measures. This can be accomplished only through sweeping changes to Israels legal system and stepped-up police and military repression against political dissent, be it from Palestinians in the territories occupied illegally since the 1967 Arab Israeli war, or from workers, Jewish and Palestinian, in Israel.

Under the new governments signature legislation announced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the High Courts ability to strike down laws or sections of a law will be severely limited and a simple majority in Israels single-chamber parliament will be able to override any such rulings. The High Court would be stripped of its power to use reasonableness as a criterion for determining whether or not government decisions are lawful. The government would take control over the appointment of judges, while ministers would be free to appoint their own legal advisors, whose advice would not be legally binding.

A second phase of the legislation is being drafted and is expected to split the role of the attorney general in twoone for the governments legal adviser and the other for the state prosecutor. This would allow Netanyahu to replace Attorney General Baharav-Miara with a prosecutor of his choosing, who would either revise or revoke the corruption charges against him.

Currently in court facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases, bound up with his efforts to control the media, Netanyahu claims to be the victim of a witch-hunt by a hostile media, police and left-wing prosecutors. He poured fuel on the fire by offering two cabinet post to Aryeh Deri, leader of the Shas religious party, who served a jail sentence in 1999 for taking bribes and was convicted last year of tax fraud. Deris appointment is now being challenged in the High Court, using the criterion of the reasonableness of appointing a twice-convicted criminal.

In the two weeks since the swearing in of the most right-wing government in Israels history, with a majority of just four in the 120-seat Knesset:

* Thirteen Palestinians, including three children, have been killed by Israeli soldiers. This follows a record year of violence by security forces and settlers under the previous government of change headed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, when at least 167 were killed in the West Bank, the highest death toll since 2005.

* Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist party and advocate of annexing the entire West Bank, who is now in charge of settlement construction, seized $40 million held by Israel that belong to the Palestinian Authority.

* National Security Minister and Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvir staged a provocative visit to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalems Old City as part of his campaign to enable Jews to pray at the site.

* Ben-Gvir ordered police to use water cannon against anti-government demonstrators and arrest protesters blocking roads, saying that last weeks Saturday evening demonstration in Tel Aviv caused serious harm to democracy.

* Jewish Power legislator Zvika Fogel accused opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid and former Defence Minister Benny Gantz of treason against the homeland for supporting the demonstration.

On Thursday, the president of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Esther Hayut, said the proposals were designed to deal a mortal blow to the independence of the judiciary and silence it. Justice Minister Levin, speaking on television, accused her of having joined activists in their call to set the streets alight.

Israels former attorney generals and almost all the former state prosecutors published a letter warning that without significant changes, the governments plans could lead to an unprecedented constitutional crisis, with a confrontation between the judiciary and the government.

On Thursday, hundreds of lawyers, former judges and legal professionals staged a one-hour strike outside major courts.

Speaking at Saturdays rally in Tel Aviv were former defense minister Benny Gantz, Labor Party chairwoman Merav Michaeli, the leader of the Arab Ra'am Party, Mansour Abbas, and the head of Hadash-Ta'al, Ayman Odeh, and politicians from Yesh Atid and the other opposition parties. Touted as a government of change, the previous administration instead adopted the policies of the former Netanyahu-led coalition government, paving the way for his return to power.

Netanyahu said he had no intention of backtracking on his plans, insisting that the November election gave him a mandate to comprehensively reform the judicial system. He added, More than that, they demanded it.

President Isaac Herzog has sought to mediate between the government and its opposition critics, holding intense conversations with Levin, Netanyahu and Hayut in a bid to reach a compromise.

As the World Socialist Web Site wrote in its New Year statement pointing to developments in the US and Europe, The breakdown of democracy and the growing political influence of far-right and fascistic movements is a global phenomenon.

Netanyahus plans are a direct assault on Israels very limited checks on the governments power. Israel has no constitution or second legislative chamber. The anti-democratic moves flow inexorably from the acute crisis of the Zionist state. Israel is one of the most socially unequal countries within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) group of rich nations, and the increasingly authoritarian character of the political system is the inevitable outcome of the Zionist project of establishing a Jewish state through the violent dispossession of the indigenous Arab population.

A new upsurge of the working class is beginning, pointing the way forward for the masses of Jewish and Arab workers in the form of a united struggle to overthrow the Zionist state and the various Arab bourgeois regimes and forge the United Socialist States of the Middle East. Sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International must be built in Israel and across the Middle East to provide the political leadership necessary to conduct this struggle.
The legal case against Soldier F, the only member of the British armed forces ever to face charges for the January 30, 1972 massacre of 14 unarmed demonstrators protesting internment without trial in Derry, Northern Ireland, is due to resume in a committal hearing this month in Belfast.

Father Edward Daly, waving a blood-stained white handkerchief as he escorts a mortally-wounded protester to safety during the events of Bloody Sunday (1972) in Derry, Northern Ireland. [Photo: BBC journalist John Bierman]

Nearly 51 years after Bloody Sunday, a district judge will consider whether the evidence against Soldier F of the Parachute Regiment Support Company is sufficient for him to face a Crown Court trial for the murder of two men, James Wray and William McKinney, and the attempted murder of Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon. Michael Quinn and one unknown.

Soldier F was granted anonymity by the court although his name is well enough known, having been identified in both the British and Irish parliaments under parliamentary privilege. The Saville Inquiry report into Bloody Sunday, published in 2010, found that Soldier F had shot three people and possibly another two.

Soldier F is also suspected of being present at the Ballymurphy Massacre six months previously, having been praised for gallantry at the time by his superiors, who included Brigadier Frank Kitson, author of the Low Intensity Operations counter insurgency manual.

The case against Soldier F was only launched in 2019. It was halted in 2021 after Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) questioned the admissibility of statements made to the Royal Military Police in 1972. In March 2022, the Court of Appeal overruled the objections and ordered the PPS to resume proceedings against Soldier F, who in 1972 was a lance corporal.

The delay of more than half a century before a trial, let alone any conviction, testifies to the sustained efforts of the British state and its political appendages to prevent any legal reckoning with the origins and perpetrators of what remains the most infamous mass killings of the Troubles.

Bloody Sunday was not some accidental excess but flowed directly from the British government's brutal colonial policy. Thousands of British troops were deployed to Northern Ireland in 1969 by the then Labour government of Harold Wilson, to prevent the collapse of the British controlled Northern statelet under the impact of a mass civil rights movement demanding equal rights for Catholics, part of a worldwide upsurge of class struggle. In August 1971, the then Conservative government of Edward Heath, supported by Northern Ireland premier Brian Faulkner instigated a policy of mass arrests and internment of suspected Irish republicans. Hundreds were seized, their houses were smashed and families traumatised. Many were tortured for days.

Popular opposition to internment culminated in the January 30, 1972 march, by which time over 22,000 troops were active in Northern Ireland, including the notoriously brutal Parachute Regiment, which was deployed in Derry as it had previously been deployed in Ballymurphy, Belfast. 15,000 marchers participated in a largely peaceful march, billed as a family day and which was intended to conclude with speeches.

The Bogside in 1981, overlooking the area where many of the victims were shot. On the right of the picture is the south side of Rossville Flats, and in the middle distance is Glenfada Park. [Photo by Louise Price / CC BY-SA 2.0

Instead, marchers were subjected to a planned assault by the British Army, authorised and overseen by the Heath government. Heath was prepared to instigate mass arrests and 'even a shooting war', according to the minutes of the Northern Ireland government's Joint Security Committee in Belfast.

An anonymous soldier placed in a witness protection programme told the Saville Inquiry of paratroopers anticipating kills, the day before Bloody Sunday. When they arrived in Derry, one paratrooper leapt out of the armoured vehicle and started firing immediately at some 40 civilians running in an effort to get away. Soldier F is one of 21 members of the Parachute Regiment who fired their weapons that day.

An initial inquiry which reported April 1972 into the killings by a former British Army brigadier, Lord Widgery, was a blatant cover-up. Widgery said there would have been no deaths if there had not been an illegal march, that there was no reason to suppose that the soldiers would have opened fire if they had not been fired upon first and that the shootings reflected differences in the character and temperament of the soldiers concerned. Widgery falsely claimed there was a strong suspicion that some of the victims had been firing weapons or handling bombs in the course of the afternoon.

Recently released state papers underscored that maintaining the cover-up remained the policy of both Labour and Tory governments, even as the British establishment concluded a new inquiry would have to be conceded.

In early 1997, in the midst of the peace process that ultimately brought the Troubles to an end, then Tory Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Sir Patrick Mayhew, told the Irish deputy premier, Dick Spring that the British government would not apologise for Bloody Sunday and that there was not much prospect of Widgery's 1972 findings being overturned. Mayhew hinted that the British government might express profound regret but that any apology would be to accept liability.

A few months later, under Labour's Tony Blair, Mayhew's replacement as Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam was presented with a civil service briefing paper which noted renewed interest in the prospects of securing some kind of change in the Government's position, either unilaterally or through the medium of a new inquiry.

Mowlam was inclined to agree, so long as any inquiry was rigged to ensure that no British soldier or official ended up in jail. Mowlam wrote to Labour's Defence Secretary George Robertson to explain, The overriding limitation would be that no soldier or other Crown servant should be placed in jeopardy of legal action by whatever the reviewer might find or by what might flow from his findings.

Another paper from a Northern Ireland Office civil servant warned that what concerns Ministry of Defence officials most was the possibility of re-opening inquests for the Bloody Sunday victims or any review which might suggest soldiers should be prosecuted. In the event, Blair agreed to a new inquiry as part of a deal to bring Sinn Fein into the power-sharing structures of government in Northern Ireland, set up by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The Saville Inquiry was finally set up in 1998, heard evidence until 2004 and reported in 2010, when then Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron duly made an apology. While his report amassed a huge amount of testimony, Saville's conclusion was consistent with the demands of his political masters. Saville rejected many of Widgery's lies, exonerating the victims. The report concluded, however, that fire by one soldier resulted in others losing their self-control and firing themselves, forgetting or ignoring their instructions and training. The whole affair was, in effect, down to poor training and discipline on behalf of a handful of paratroopers.

The Soldier F case is one of many being subjected to every possible delaying action. Others, potentially much more damaging, include the threat of an inquiry into the 1989 murder of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane by a loyalist gunman acting with state collusion, which amounted, in the words of his widow Geraldine's barrister, to an extra-judicial execution. Last December, the British government was found in the High Court, and despite a 2019 Supreme Court ruling, to still be in breach of its legal obligation to carry out an investigation into the killing.

While continuing to block an investigation into Finucane's murder, the British government is pressing ahead with its Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, which seeks amnesties on all Troubles cases in return for some level of co-operation with a toothless information recovery body. The legislation, intended to prevent any damaging new legal cases, is opposed by the groups who have campaigned for years to expose what happened to their loved ones. It has also been condemned by both the United Nation's (UN) Human Rights Council and the human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe.
TEHRAN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday summoned British Ambassador Simon Shercliff to protest the United Kingdom's (UK's) "unconventional interference" in Iran's internal affairs.

The director general of the Western Europe Department of the Iranian Foreign Ministry delivered to Shercliff Iran's protest against the UK's "acts of sabotage against the Islamic republic of Iran's national security," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The meeting came as former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Alireza Akbari was executed on Saturday on the charge of "espionage for the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)."

Pointing to "tangible information about the trap set for Alireza Akbari by the British side," the Iranian official said the British government "must be held accountable over its unconventional links that led to a breach of the Islamic Republic of Iran's national security."

The director general said that "unjustified and mischievous support for a spy is at odds with claims of seeking relations based on mutual respect."

The Iranian diplomat also stressed that "taking decisive actions" to protect Iran's security does not depend on other government's consent, particularly that of the UK, while warning that continuation of such "illegal and criminal" actions will not be tolerated by Tehran.

The Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary reported on Saturday that Akbari was executed on charges of spying on behalf of the UK, corruption, and acting against the country's internal and external security.

In reaction to Iran's hanging of Akbari, who held dual Iranian-British nationality, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned in a Saturday tweet that the execution will not "stand unchallenged."

In another tweet, Cleverly said the UK had imposed sanctions on Iran's Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri following Akbari's execution. 
LANZHOU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Gansu Province and Indonesia, both crucial locations along the ancient Silk Road trade routes, have deepened their economic and trade cooperation through the apple trade.

Recently, a fruit distribution company in Gansu's Jingning County exported over 67 tonnes of fresh apples to Indonesia.

"Since 2013, we have exported 3,300 tonnes of apples to Indonesia, with a total value of 27 million yuan (about 4 million U.S. dollars)," said He Penghu, the company's deputy general manager, noting that Jingning apples are favored by Indonesian consumers.

He said that the export of fresh apples not only benefits the enterprises involved, but also contributes to the growth of the county's apple industry, benefiting 36,000 apple-growing farming households.

He said the sales share of the Indonesian market is expected to increase further this year, thanks to optimized COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

China is a major producer of apples. One of its apple-producing regions, Gansu has abundant sunshine and a significant variation in temperature between day and night, which is conducive to the growth of apples.

Over 80 percent of farmers in Jingning are engaged in apple planting and related industries. The total 2022 output of apples in the county is estimated to be 986,000 tonnes, an increase of 130,000 tonnes from 2021, and the output value is expected to be 6 billion yuan, according to government statistics.

The customs of Lanzhou, the provincial capital, said that Indonesia is among Gansu's important trading partners. With the construction of the Belt and Road, economic and commercial exchanges between Gansu and Indonesia have become increasingly regular.

According to Lanzhou customs, more than 80 types of commodities were added to the trade between Gansu and Indonesia in the first 10 months of 2022, compared with the same period in 2021.

Agricultural produce from Gansu, including apples and garlic, enriches the food choices of Indonesian consumers. And aquatic and mineral products from Indonesia are also brought to Gansu.

To facilitate the economic and trade cooperation between Gansu and Indonesia, Lanzhou customs has continued to optimize its customs clearance procedures to ensure the smooth import and export of featured products.

Statistics from the customs showed that in the first 10 months of 2022, the total value of Gansu's import and export trade with Indonesia was 2.89 billion yuan, a more than sixfold year-on-year increase. 
A member of the Ulan Muqir troupe dances on the Fuxing bullet train G2457, which travels from Beijing to Hohhot, on Jan. 14, 2023.

The traditional Chinese Xiaonian festival, marking the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Saturday in north China.

Stewards and members of the Ulan Muqir troupe presented gifts to passengers and performed on the train to mark the Xiaonian festival. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)

This photo taken on Jan. 14, 2023 shows paper-cutting decorations on the Fuxing bullet train G2457, which travels from Beijing to Hohhot, at Hohhot East Railway Station in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The traditional Chinese Xiaonian festival, marking the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Saturday in north China.

Stewards and members of the Ulan Muqir troupe presented gifts to passengers and performed on the train to mark the Xiaonian festival. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)

A stewardess interacts with a passenger on the Fuxing bullet train G2457, which travels from Beijing to Hohhot, on Jan. 14, 2023.

The traditional Chinese Xiaonian festival, marking the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Saturday in north China.

Stewards and members of the Ulan Muqir troupe presented gifts to passengers and performed on the train to mark the Xiaonian festival. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)

Stewardesses adjust paper-cutting decorations on the Fuxing bullet train G2457, which travels from Beijing to Hohhot, at Hohhot East Railway Station in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Jan. 14, 2023.

The traditional Chinese Xiaonian festival, marking the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Saturday in north China.

Stewards and members of the Ulan Muqir troupe presented gifts to passengers and performed on the train to mark the Xiaonian festival. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)

A passenger plays a quiz game on the Fuxing bullet train G2457, which travels from Beijing to Hohhot, on Jan. 14, 2023.

The traditional Chinese Xiaonian festival, marking the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Saturday in north China.

Stewards and members of the Ulan Muqir troupe presented gifts to passengers and performed on the train to mark the Xiaonian festival. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)

A stewardess presents couplets to a passenger on the Fuxing bullet train G2457, which travels from Beijing to Hohhot, on Jan. 14, 2023.

The traditional Chinese Xiaonian festival, marking the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Saturday in north China.

Stewards and members of the Ulan Muqir troupe presented gifts to passengers and performed on the train to mark the Xiaonian festival. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)

People buy snacks at an open-air market in Qinghuabian Town of Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 14, 2023. Residents of Qinghuabian Town visited an open-air market on the day of Xiaonian Festival.

Celebrated on the 23rd or 24th day of the last month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Xiaonian marks the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year. (Photo by Zou Jingyi/Xinhua)

A woman buys cloth at an open-air market in Qinghuabian Town of Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 14, 2023. Residents of Qinghuabian Town visited an open-air market on the day of Xiaonian Festival.

Celebrated on the 23rd or 24th day of the last month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Xiaonian marks the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year. (Photo by Zou Jingyi/Xinhua)

People buy candies at an open-air market in Qinghuabian Town of Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 14, 2023. Residents of Qinghuabian Town visited an open-air market on the day of Xiaonian Festival.

Celebrated on the 23rd or 24th day of the last month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Xiaonian marks the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year. (Photo by Zou Jingyi/Xinhua)

A woman buys cloth at an open-air market in Qinghuabian Town of Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 14, 2023. Residents of Qinghuabian Town visited an open-air market on the day of Xiaonian Festival.

Celebrated on the 23rd or 24th day of the last month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Xiaonian marks the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year. (Photo by Zou Jingyi/Xinhua)

People buy condiments at an open-air market in Qinghuabian Town of Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 14, 2023. Residents of Qinghuabian Town visited an open-air market on the day of Xiaonian Festival.

Celebrated on the 23rd or 24th day of the last month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Xiaonian marks the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year. (Photo by Zou Jingyi/Xinhua)

A man buys Spring Festival decorations at an open-air market in Qinghuabian Town of Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 14, 2023. Residents of Qinghuabian Town visited an open-air market on the day of Xiaonian Festival.

Celebrated on the 23rd or 24th day of the last month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Xiaonian marks the start of the countdown to Chinese Lunar New Year. (Photo by Zou Jingyi/Xinhua)
GoFundMe

An attorney working for the Orange County Public Defenders office was killed on Saturday while celebrating his first wedding anniversary with his wife in Mexico, California officials said.

Elliot D. Blair, a 33-year-old assistant public defender, died in Rosarito Beach, a popular resort town close to Mexicos northern border, county Public Defender Martin Schwarz said in a statement given to The Orange County Register.

It was not immediately clear how Blair was killed, but a GoFundMe set up on behalf of his family said he had been the victim of a brutal crime.

Elliot was known as a patient and caring advocate, wrote the pages author, Annie Rodriguez, another staffer in the public defenders office. He was the best of us and was loved by countless members of our office and the Orange County legal community. We are heartbroken.

His wife, identified on the fundraising page as a woman named Kim, was not involved in the incident. She was also a public defender, according to Rodriguez.

There are not enough words to express the level of love he had for Kim, Rodriguez added. Kim was his life... Kims heart is shattered.

Kim and Blairs other loved ones were in the process of negotiating the repatriation of his body to the United States on Sunday.

A Spanish-language report from Rosarito outlet Noticias B.C. attributed Blairs death to a fall from a fourth-floor balcony at Las Rocas Resort and Spa, a local hotel. A police writeup of the incident reportedly detailed how municipal officers were summoned to the scene and found a man, later identified as Blair, unresponsive and face-down around 1 a.m. Saturday.

Blair, who began working in the public defenders office immediately after passing the bar in 2017, was described by Schwarz as a devoted husband, terrific person and a fantastic lawyer who dedicated his life to serving his clients and helping the countys most vulnerable.

Schwarz also said that he was working with local and federal officials to gather more details on the case, with little information on the case having been shared with Blairs family by Mexican authorities so far.

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Experiential hospitality group Habitas, known for its retreats in locations including Tulum, the Moroccan desert, and a wildlife reserve in Namibia, has opened its doors in New Yorks Hudson Valley.

Habitas on Hudson marks the Habitas seventh location and first hotel in the U.S. Its also one of the more easily accessible locations for New York-based travelers looking for a shorter escape from the city.

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We felt this location in particular would make the perfect cultural playground for our New York community, said Oliver Ripley, cofounder and chief executive officer of Habitas. Until 2019, the group ran a clubhouse outpost in New York City. A lot of our community lives, works and travels here. We wanted to create a space where we can easily escape, disconnect and immerse ourselves in great conversations, adventures, surrounded by nature and in close proximity to the city.

Habitas on Hudson is located in Rhinebeck, about a two-hour drive from New York City. (And, since Habitas is positioned for the luxury traveler, around 30 minutes by seaplane.) The new location is a partnership with hotelier Andre Balazs, who bought the property before the pandemic with intention of renovating the historic manor to open a hotel.

Ripley was introduced to Balazs through Habitas board member Dave Barry. We flew out to meet Andre in Shelter Island and spent the day together exchanging ideas, said Ripley. Andre is one of the great hoteliers, there are not many of them. It was exciting to marry together his experience and vision with the Habitas ethos around experiences and human connection and create something new, different and that speaks to a younger generation.

Ripley nods to the Hudson Valleys regions appeal as a Hamptons alternative, particularly as other upscale hospitality properties  including Auberge Resorts and a forthcoming SoHo House location in Rhinebeck  add their footprints to the region. Rooms start at $450 per night, and the hotel will also donate a portion of every guest stay to support local community initiatives.

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Our goal with Habitas on Hudson is to offer a year-round destination to the Hudson Valley region, said Ripley. With guests being able to enjoy unique programming to all four seasons.

The main manor house and two adjacent properties feature 30 guest rooms, along with a farm-to-table restaurant and bar. Community is a central part of the Habitas intention, and many of the experiential activities onsite are geared toward creating connection between guests, whether a family-style meal, cooking class, or relaxing outside by a fire pit. The manor will host weekly live music, as well as wellness rituals like sound bowl meditations. For the outdoor enthusiasts, the grounds also feature a swimmable pond, hiking and biking trails and barrel saunas.

We expect to welcome a mix of guests ranging from friends, families and even solo travelers seeking authentic and communal experiences, Ripley said.

Launch Gallery: Inside Habitas on Hudson: Photos of the Hotel's Design and Property

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Click here to read the full article.
Pictured: Jeremy Renner as Mike of the Paramount+ series MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN. Photo Cr: Marni Grossman/ViacomCBS 2021 MTV Entertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Marni Grossman/ViacomCBS Jeremy Renner in Mayor of Kingstown

The wait is over for the highly-anticipated second season of Mayor of Kingstown.

The first episode of season two premiered on Sunday as the show's main star, Jeremy Renner, continues to recover from a Jan. 1 snowplow accident that left him in "critical but stable condition."

Renner, 51, has portrayed Mike McLusky on the series  which follows a family of power brokers in Kingstown, Michigan, where the only thriving industry is the business of incarceration  since its November 2021 premiere.

RELATED: Jeremy Renner Speaks Out for First Time Since Accident, Shares Photo from Hospital Bed

Pictured: Jeremy Renner as Mike in Mayor of Kingstown streaming on Paramount +. Photo Credit: James Minchin/Paramount + 2021 Paramount+, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

James Minchin/Paramount + Jeremy Renner in Mayor of Kingstown

The premiere episode came about after Renner sustained blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries after being involved in a snowplow accident on his property in Reno, Nevada, and was airlifted to a hospital. He underwent surgery on Jan. 2, and afterward, he remained in the intensive care unit in critical but stable condition at the time.

A rep told PEOPLE on Jan. 3 that Renner was "moving snow from his driveway on Sunday so that his family members could depart his home after spending New Years together. He was also helping clear out the snow of his neighbor's home as everyone up there had been without power for 24 hours and there had been a large snowfall."

"So he was helping everyone in trying to clear out the snow so people could get out," they added.

RELATED: Jeremy Renner Has 'Extensive' Injuries Following New Year's Day Snowplow Accident

In another statement, Renner's rep said, "Jeremy's family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him, Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue, Washoe County Sheriff, Reno City Mayor Hillary Schieve and the Carano and Murdock families. They are also tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans."

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RELATED VIDEO: Mark Ruffalo Asks Fans to Pray for 'Speedy Recovery' of 'Brother' Jeremy Renner

Some of Renner's Mayor of Kingstown costars were quick to offer their support following the news.

"Sending every positive thought to my brother in arms Jeremy Renner and his family  @jeremyrenner," Hugh Dillon, who plays detective Ian Ferguson in the series, wrote on Instagram.

"All hands on deck! Need BIG LOVING HEALING prayers for my brotha from anotha. ," Taylor Handley, who portrays Kyle McLusky, added in his own statement.

RELATED: Mark Ruffalo Asks Fans to Pray for 'Speedy Recovery' of 'Brother' Jeremy Renner

On Jan. 3, Renner broke his silence on the accident, sharing a photo from his hospital bed on Instagram.

"Thank you all for your kind words. . Im too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all," he wrote in the caption.

A source recently told PEOPLE that Renner, who celebrated his 52nd birthday in the hospital Jan. 7, is on the mend following the accident, but he faces "a long road to recovery."

"Jeremy is making positive progress," continued the source, echoing a sentiment from Renner's sister Kym, who also told PEOPLE that the star of The Avengers was "crushing all progress goals."

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.

Besides Mayor of Kingstown, Renner is best known for playing Avengers hero Hawkeye in the popular Marvel movies, as well as roles in 2012's The Bourne Legacy, 2013's American Hustle and 2015's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. He earned Academy Award nominations for his performances in The Hurt Locker (2008) and The Town (2010).
Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel celebrates after winning the 71st Miss Universe competition at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on January 14, 2023. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel won the Miss Universe competition on Saturday.

She is the first Miss USA to win the competition since Olivia Culpo in 2012.

Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel was second, followed by Miss Dominican Republic Andreina Martinez.

Miss USA has been crowned the new Miss Universe.

R'Bonney Gabriel was named the winner of the 71st Miss Universe pageant on Saturday night in New Orleans.

In second place was Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel, followed by Miss Dominican Republic Andreina Martinez.

Gabriel is the first Miss USA to win Miss Universe in 10 years. The last Miss USA to take the crown was Olivia Culpo in 2012.

Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel, Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel, and Miss Dominican Republic Andreina Martinez speak during the 71st Miss Universe Competition at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center on January 14, 2023, in New Orleans. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

During the final question round, Gabriel was asked how she would demonstrate Miss Universe as an empowering and progressive organization.

"I would use it to be a transformational leader," she said. "As a very passionate designer, I've been sewing for 13 years, I use fashion as a force for good. In my industry, I'm cutting down on pollution through recycled materials when I make my clothing. I teach sewing classes to women that have survived from human trafficking and domestic violence."

"And I say that because it is so important to invest in others," she added. "Invest in our community, and use your unique talent to make a difference. We all have something special, and when we plant those seeds to other people in our life, we transform them and we use that as a vehicle for change."

During the competition, Gabriel said she also hoped that Miss Universe would allow women older than 28 to compete in the pageant.

Miss USA, R'Bonney Gabriel walks onstage during the 71st Miss Universe preliminary competition at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center on January 11, 2023, in New Orleans. Josh Brasted/Getty Images

"I am 28 years old, and that is the oldest age to compete," she said during the top-five question round. "And I think that's a beautiful thing."

"My favorite quote is, 'If not now, then when?"' Gabriel added. "Because as a woman, I believe age does not define us. It's not tomorrow. It's not yesterday. But it's now. The time is now that you can go after what you want."

Gabriel during the 2022 Miss USA pageant in Reno, Nevada. Finesse Levine

Gabriel is a model, fashion designer, and sewing instructor from Houston who prioritizes the environment in her work. She launched a sustainable-clothing line after earning a bachelor's degree in fashion design, and she incorporates eco-friendly techniques into her sewing lessons at Magpies & Peacocks, a nonprofit organization where she works.

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She's also the first Filipino American to win Miss USA, and according to her Miss Universe bio, she was later featured in Vogue Philippines.

Gabriel's win as Miss USA made headlines when multiple contestants claimed that the pageant had been rigged in her favor.

"I would never enter any pageant or any competition that I know I would win," Gabriel told E! News on October 6. "I have a lot of integrity. I want to be transparent, and I want everybody to know that there was no unfair advantage and nothing was rigged."

Read the original article on Insider
Bryan Kohberger appears at a hearing in Latah County District Court, in Moscow, Idaho, on January 5, 2023. Ted S. Warren - Pool/Getty Images

The Idaho murders suspect openly wrote about his mental-health struggles in social-media posts.

In 2011, Bryan Kohberger wrote he was suicidal and had an "absence of emotion," the posts show.

He also complained about a little-understood neurological condition called visual snow.

In a series of old forum posts, the Idaho killings suspect said he didn't feel emotion and could do "whatever I want with little remorse."

In the posts, written on the site Tapatalk in 2011, Bryan Kohberger described struggling with his mental health as well as a rare neurological condition called visual snow.

Kohberger posted under an alias, but included several references that match details of his life. The New York Times reported on the posts on Friday, which it said it had verified.

"I always feel as if I am not there, completely depersonalized," he wrote in one post reviewed by Insider. "Mentally I experience fog, lack of comprehension at some times ... depression ... suicide."

"I felt no emotion and along with the depersonalization, I can say and do whatever I want with little remorse," he added. "Everyone hates me pretty much I am an asshole."

In another post, Kohberger wrote about how his depersonalization made him feel like life wasn't real.

"As I hug my family, I look into their faces, I see nothing, it is like I am looking at a video game, but less. I feel less than mentally damaged, it is like I have severe brain damage," he wrote.

Kohberger was arrested earlier this month on first-degree murder charges in the deaths of four University of Idaho students. He was also charged with one count of burglary.

The students  Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves  were all found stabbed to death in their home close to campus nearly two months ago.

Kohberger's senior class photo from the 2013 Pleasant Valley High School yearbook. Laura Italiano/Insider

Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology grad student, has been described as a chatty and charming person who used to be bullied for his weight in high school. After losing the weight, one former friend told The Daily Beast that he became "aggressive."

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Another former friend from high school told The Times that Kohberger had often complained about his visual snow.

"I know it was something that really bugged him," Thomas Arntz told The Times. "He was basically to the point where he was neurotic about it."

People with visual snow syndrome, which was first recognized by doctors in 1995, continuously see tiny, snow-like flecks in their vision. That static-like vision  which remains even with their eyes closed  can be debilitating to some, affecting their capacity to think.

"I feel less than mentally damaged, it is like I have severe brain damage," Kohberger wrote in another forum post. "I might spiral out of control and lose myself in the void, I can't let it all go."

He added: "I remember when I was 15, I would wander alone at 2 a.m., everything was so generic, nowhere felt like home, I saw things that were not there, a different reality. I felt eerie and alone, I died during those nights. I felt like a criminal, but where was my record?"

Kohberger appeared at a pretrial hearing in Idaho on Thursday. His next court appearance is set for June 26.

Correction: January 13, 2022  An earlier version of this story misspelled Kohberger's name as Kohnberger.

Read the original article on Insider
A 56-year-old white woman was arrested after she allegedly confessed to repeatedly stabbing an Asian Indiana University student in the head in a what police said appeared to be an unprovoked, racially-motivated attack that unfolded in front of passengers on a public bus in Bloomington, Indiana.

The suspect, Billy R. Davis, 56, of Bloomington, was taken into custody after a passenger who witnessed the assault followed her on foot when she fled the Bloomington Transit bus and reported her location to police, authorities said.

Davis, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Indianapolis ABC affiliate WRTV, allegedly confessed to stabbing the 18-year-old victim with a folding knife, purportedly telling detectives because it would mean one less person to blow up our country."

PHOTO: This photo provided by Bloomington Police Department shows Billie Davis, who has been charged after an 18-year-old Indiana University student was repeatedly stabbed in the head on a public bus in Bloomington, Ind. on Jan. 11, 2023. (Bloomington Police Department via AP)

Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton condemned the attack, saying in a statement, "We stand with the Asian community and all who feel threatened by this event."

"Following the brutal attack of a member of our community, I want to state categorically that here in the city of Bloomington we deplore any form of racism and discrimination, especially hate based violence. This behavior is not acceptable and will be dealt with accordingly," Hamilton said. "Bloomington is a relatively safe place, but we are not immune to issues with which our entire nation is dealing. This senseless incident is a reminder that we should all look out for each other, be aware of our surroundings and seek to combat racism and prejudice in all its forms wherever and whenever we encounter it."

The attack unfolded aboard the bus around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, the Bloomington Police Department said in a statement.

The victim, whose name was not released, told investigators she was attacked without warning when she stood up to exit the bus on Fourth Street in downtown Bloomington, several blocks from the Indiana University campus.

"She said that as she was standing and waiting for the bus doors to open, another passenger on the bus began to strike her repeatedly in the head, which resulted in immediate pain," police said in a statement.

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MORE: A rise in anti-AAPI crimes led these 3 Asian Americans to fight back

Police officers called to the scene found the victim bleeding from her head and immediately called an ambulance, which took the victim to an area hospital for treatment.

"Once the victims wounds had been cleaned at the hospital, it was determined that the victim had multiple stab wounds to her head," according to the police statement.

The knife attack was captured on the bus' onboard surveillance camera, police said.

MORE: Survivors of hate crimes and bias incidents speak out about their journey to recovery

"The footage showed that the suspect and victim had no interactions prior to the suspect stabbing the victim multiple times in the head as the victim waited for the bus doors to open," the police statement said.

Davis was initially booked at the Monroe County Jail and on a felony battery charge. The charge was later amended to attempted murder after Davis allegedly confessed to investigators, police said.

MORE: San Francisco police arrest man accused of stabbing 2 Asian American women

This week, Bloomington was sadly reminded that anti-Asian hate is real and can have painful impacts on individuals and our community," James Wimbush, vice president of diversity, equity and multicultural affairs at Indiana University, said in a statement. "No one should face harassment or violence due to their background, ethnicity or heritage. Instead, the Bloomington and IU communities are stronger because of the vast diversity of identities and perspectives that make up our campus and community culture."

The Indiana University Asian Culture Center also released a statement, urging students to speak up "and share your feelings of fear and rage."

"We are outraged and heartbroken by this unprovoked act of violence, but we also worry for the well-being of our community," the culture center said in its statement. "We should not be fearing for our lives on public transportation. Taking the bus should not feel dangerous."

Anti-Asian hate crimes have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to a report from the group Stop AAPI Hate. The report showed that 11,467 hate incidents targeting Asians and Pacific Islanders were reported to the organization between March 2020 when the pandemic began and March 2022.

Indiana University student stabbed in alleged racially motivated attack on bus: Police originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Amanda McCloud was working in a Selma, Alabama, day care changing a toddler's diapers when she heard the tornado sirens begin to wail.

"Most of the time, nothing ever happened," she told ABC News about the tornado sirens she's grown used to hearing, but she said it was different last Thursday.

There have been at least nine deaths as a result of a tornado that struck the South last week, according to authorities.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency on Thursday for Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallapoosa counties, tweeting that those counties "were in the path of Mother Nature's wrath."

We have already seen parts of the state rattled by this severe weather system, which is why I have issued a state of emergency for six of our counties that were in the path of Mother Nature's wrath: Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallapoosa. #alpolitics (1/2) pic.twitter.com/DL3wIKRUdB  Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) January 12, 2023

McCloud was working at the Crosspoint Christian Church's child care and preschool in Selma, entrusted with caring for about six children that ranged in age from 7 weeks to 4 months old. Sixty children attended the preschool and nursery, with students as old as 4 years old, she said.

McCloud said she and her coworker tried to move the toddlers to a safer location within the day care once the sirens began, searching for a windowless room to shelter in place. She found all four bathrooms filled with children and staff, so McCloud said she decided to shelter with the children in her supervisor's office.

With the power out, McCloud said she leaned over to protect a 7-week-old infant just as the worst of the storm set in.

PHOTO: After the roof collapsed, highchairs, toys, and learning materials were covered in debris. (Amanda McCloud)

"And then the roof just fell, like tiles and the ceiling tiles, you know, everything on top of us," she said. "So, like it was pouring down rain on the kids."

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McCloud said she began yelling for help as the roof collapsed and exposed the children to the wind and rain.

"I was just like, 'our roof is off, our roof is off.' I was just screaming for help because I was hoping the bathroom people would come help us, you know, get the kids out," she said. "But they were all probably screaming too."

MORE: At least 9 dead after multiple tornadoes, severe winds tear through South

Once the fear subsided, she said she needed to get the children to another place to shelter.

"It was just pouring down rain," she said. "And I was like, 'oh my god, yeah, we gotta get out of here.'"

PHOTO: Selma's tornado ripped the ceiling off the Crosspoint Christian Church's daycare, exposing this hallway to the elements. (Amanda McCloud)

As she tried to move the kids to a safer location, McCloud said she was surprised to find a 4-month-old child unscathed under the rubble.

"She was up under all of the ceiling tiles. And she just had a little [pacifier] in her mouth, not crying or anything," McCloud said.

McCloud said she then tried to move the children to a bathroom, but they made a startling discovery. There was a smell of gas in the crowded bathroom where other children were hiding.

"People were coming just saying, 'we smell gas, we smell gas!'" she said. "And I was like, 'Yeah, me too,' because we gotta get out of the building."

MORE: Georgia boy killed during tornado after tree falls on car

The roughly 60 children and staff of the day care then moved to a neighboring church, where parents picked up their children.

McCloud said other than some minor injuries, the children were unscathed, which she attributed to the attentiveness and maturity of the children.

"My kids really listened really good that day. It wasn't hard moving them. They really did great," she said.

Throughout the incident, McCloud said she worried about her daughter, a 15-year-old at a nearby high school.

"I really wanted to run down there and check on her," she said. "But you know, I couldn't leave my kids."

PHOTO: Amid the debris from the storm, a chalkboard listing the students on 'scribe' duty for the day remains unscratched. (Amanda McCloud)

McCloud has a simple response when asked how she handled the stress of the storm and the pressure of being responsible for other people's children.

"I didn't think about  what to do," she said. "I just did it."

Nursery worker recounts moments when tornado hit Alabama day care originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Photo: Carolyn Kaster (Getty Images)

Updated 1/15/2023 at 8:00 a.m. ET

Tragedy struck the neighborhood of Brookland in Washington, D.C., last weekend. Early on January 7th, 13-year-old Karon Blake was discovered by police with multiple bullet wounds after being shot by a still-unidentified neighbor. Blake later died at the hospital.

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Mayor Muriel Bowser later revealed that the man who shot Blake was a D.C. Government employee, who has since been placed on administrative leave. According to reporting by NBC 4, the shooter has recently retained an attorney.

Mourners for the slain 13-year-old have continued their calls for accountability.

According to the DC Metropolitan Police Department, the shooter heard noises and observed someone that appeared to be tampering with vehicles. The male resident went outside, armed with a registered firearm, to further investigate. There was an interaction between a juvenile male and the male resident. During the interaction, the male resident discharged his firearm, striking the victim.

Police have not arrested the resident who shot Blake, although law enforcement informed the Associated Press that their investigation is still ongoing.

Rumors swirled that Blake had been attempting to steal from cars. But that has not been confirmed. And even if he had been stealing, Blakes family and neighbors pointed out that it doesnt justify shooting a 13-year-old.

I didnt know you could just kill somebody over property damage. Thats just crazy, said Sean Long, Blakes grandfather, at a local town hall meeting, according to the AP.

Roughly 300 residents showed up to the meeting hosted next to the Brookland Middle School, which Blake attended, according to the AP.

At the meeting, DC Assistant Police Chief Morgan Kane told residents that she could not reveal the shooters identity.

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We want the same thing you want, Kane said, according to the AP. We want to find out what happened and whatever chips fall, they fall.

Some locals have made it clear that theyre prepared to take action if the DC Police wont.

A local abolitionist group Harriet Dreams and Ward 5 Mutual Aid, a local mutual aid group, released a statement on Monday, saying they would find the killer themselves.

We have compiled the names and identities of all homeowners on and around the 1000 block of Quincy St NE and are researching the backgrounds of the potential culprits, the groups wrote. If the Bowser Administration does not release the identity of the killer by the end of the business day on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, we will take collective action to keep our community safe.

So far, the group has not released the name of the shooter.

Washington D.C. police have urged people not to try to identify the shooter.

I think its getting really reckless and dangerous with some of the behavior that Im seeing. We normally do not identify people ... in this similar situation unless we have a warrant in hand for that person, or unless theres a person who we are trying to identify and we dont know who that person is. That is not what were dealing with here, said D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee III made a passionate plea, according to NBC4.

Contee also revealed that the shooter was African-American, which he said indicates the crime was not racially motivated.

Council Member Zachary Parker, who represents Brookland, has also spoken out about Blakes death.

Ive heard from Brookland residents about safety concerns and am eager to address those with focus and intentionality as Council member, Parker tweeted. I also have deep concerns about neighbors taking justice into their own hands.

At the moment, there are still no real answers, and the Brookland community is still reeling from his death.

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Two people have been arrested in connection with a missing 4-year-old Oklahoma girl, whom they were reportedly responsible for.

Alysia Adams, 31, was taken into custody late Thursday afternoon on charges of child neglect, according to a press release by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI). Authorities say Adams, along with her husband, was responsible for the well-being of two sisters, one of whom, Athena Brownfield, remains missing.

The husband - identified by ABC Lawton affiliate KSWO-TV as Ivon Adams - was arrested Thursday on a fugitive from justice charge in Phoenix, Arizona, according to reports.

Court records obtained by Oxygen.com show the pair married in 2014, though how and in what capacity the couple was involved in the childrens lives remains unclear.

RELATED: How Amber Hagermans Unsolved Murder Led To The Creation Of The Amber Alert

Authorities learned of Athena Brownfields disappearance on Tuesday at around 2:00 p.m. when a postal worker in Cyril, Oklahoma - about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City - found Athenas 5-year-old sister by herself near the girls West Nebraska Road residence. The employee then notified local authorities, who then contacted state officials, prompting a massive search for Athena.

A police handout of missing girl Athena Brownfield

A police handout of missing girl Athena Brownfield Photo: Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation

The search for Athena continues, OSBI officials wrote Thursday. The OSBI is following every tip that is received, which are coming in from Oklahoma, as well as other states.

Investigators are still ironing out the timeline surrounding Athenas disappearance to pinpoint when, exactly, she vanished.

Trash services have been suspended in Cyril as searches continue, according to both state and town officials. The OSBI also announced analysts have been tasked with reviewing surveillance footage from around the small Caddo County town of about 800 residents.

Crowds of volunteers arrived in Cyril to aid in the search, according to ABC Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO-TV. Infrared helicopters and four-wheelers have also been utilized, with K-9 dogs brought in from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

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Our Emergency Response Team organized grid searches today in Cyril for missing 4-year-old Athena Brownfield. Our Troop W personnel searched bodies of water in and around the town with side scan sonar, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol stated Thursday. We continue to offer any and all resources to our partners at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to bring the little girl home.

A police handout of Alysia Adams

Alysia Adams Photo: Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Fort Sill soldiers are also assisting in the searches, according to ABC News. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs have also provided drones.

OSBI spokesperson Brook Arbeitman says theyve been looking nonstop for Athena and collecting items of interest that could help provide answers.

We are finding things around town that could be helpful in this case, said Arbeitman. We are finding things that we hope might give us clues on where she is. Were still actively looking for her.

Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen

Details about the girls parents remain spotty, though Arbeitman said it was part of the ongoing investigation, according to ABC News. The spokeswoman said whether foul play is suspected was yet to be determined but that the agencys focus is finding the Athena.

Shes a little child, and shes missing, Arbeitman stated. And shes on her own in the elements.

Athenas paternal grandmother, Penny Brownfield, told reporters that neither she nor her son had been in contact with Athena or her sister for about a year and a half, according to CBS Oklahoma City affiliate KWTV-DT. The woman accused the girls mother of running off with the children and claimed she and her son recently heard they were in the care of a distant relative.

She abandoned her kids, the grandmother said of the girls mother. She knew where I was, she knew where he was - the dad, which is my oldest son.

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Oklahoma Highway Patrol issued an Endangered Missing Advisory (EMA) on Wednesday, though an Amber Alert was not activated because Athenas disappearance hadnt met the criteria, according to officials.

Athena stands about 3 feet tall and weighs about 45 pounds with light brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink butterfly sweater and pink pants.

Anyone with information - especially Cyril-area residents with Ring and security cameras - is urged to contact the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-522-8017 or send information to tips@osbi.ok.gov.
Cesar Pino Marcano, 28, a recently arrived migrant from Venezuela, makes his bed at a shelter in an apartment building in Chicagos Pilsen neighborhood on Jan. 12, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Chicago is a sanctuary city, a welcoming place for migrants.

Thats what Cesar Pino Marcano, 28, heard when he arrived at the southern border of the United States seeking asylum  fleeing hunger and chasing a promised dream of a job that could pay enough to ensure the well-being of his family in Venezuela.

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But when he arrived on a bus full of other people on the same path as him, it was only the cold wind of a January night that welcomed them at Union Station downtown. The group of more than 20 got off the bus and parted ways, he said, each without direction but searching for a warm place to stay.

Pino Marcano and three other men he met on his journey north from Venezuela walked to a place where they heard from other asylum-seekers that they could find space. But they were turned away because there were no more beds, Pino Marcano said.

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That night the group slept under a bus shelter, but Pino Marcano found resolve.

After everything that Ive gone through to get here, spending the night in the streets of Chicago was not so harsh, he said.

Like Pino Marcano and his friends, many newly arrived migrants in Chicago now find themselves spending their days in train stations, police districts and churches, waiting for a call back from 311 to get space off the street. Others are staying in warming centers during the day, and are transported to homeless shelters to spend the night before they are told to leave by 5 a.m., some migrants told Tribune.

Kevin Gonzalez, 23, a recently arrived migrant from Venezuela, looks at his cellphone as he rests at Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopezs office space in Chicagos Pilsen neighborhood on Jan. 12, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

As more migrants continue to arrive and those facilities are at capacity, Chicagoans are stepping in to provide temporary housing for some migrants, opening their homes, basements and apartments after realizing the precarious situation that the migrants face without having a constant safe and warm place to stay.

Theres a family of four  including a baby  staying with a good Samaritan who answered the call of Jacobita Cortes, pastor of Adalberto Memorial United Methodist Church, in Humboldt Park. The family had been roaming the streets early this month without jackets or a single dollar for a meal until they found the church.

After calling 311, the family was told to wait until they got a call back. They didnt get a call, so Cortes took it upon herself to find someone to take them in.

In Pilsen, Pino Marcano, his three friends and four other migrants whod arrived in Chicago from Colorado right after Jan. 1 finally found a clean and warm place to sleep after 10 days, thanks to activist Delilah Martinez, manager of the Mural Movement. Before that, the group had been staying at the warming center at Garfield Community Service Center and eating at churches.

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Pero nos decian que siguieramos esperando, estabamos desesperados, said Yunnio Jaure, 41. They kept telling us to wait, but we were frustrated.

Jesus Mejia Ramirez Edad, 33, left, and Yunnio Jaure, 41, right, both recently arrived from Venezuela, talk of their experiences coming to Chicago while at an apartment building in Chicagos Pilsen neighborhood on Jan. 12, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Jaure is one of the asylum-seekers who are staying in an apartment complex that Martinez helped to find.

Since migrants began to arrive in Chicago in August, Martinez has collaborated with other residents and organizations to collect items for the migrants and has helped them to connect to resources. Some 2,000 people have passed through the door of her galley, getting clothes and basic necessities and seeking jobs and health care, she said.

But she never thought it would get to a point where she would feel the need to help to find them a place to live, Martinez said.

A group of recently arrived migrants stand on the balcony of an apartment where they found shelter in Chicagos Pilsen neighborhood on Jan. 12, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

They are practically living in the streets, Martinez said, struggling with her emotions. Through the network of residents, activists and community leaders throughout the city who have stepped in to help the migrants, shes learned there are groups of asylum-seekers spending days in police stations as they wait to be placed in shelters, she said.

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During a community meeting in Woodlawn discussing plans to open a new shelter at a former school, city officials said that current shelters for single adults are at capacity, but that they continue to receive walk-ins daily. There are 11 shelters housing 1,554 migrants, officials said.

Despite the opposition from Woodlawn residents to house migrants at the old Wadsworth Elementary School, about 250 people are expected to be housed there beginning later this month.

Residents gather at Apostolic Church of God in Chicagos Woodlawn neighborhood to discuss the planned sheltering of migrants in the empty Wadsworth Elementary School building on Jan. 12, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Since August, more than 5,000 migrants have arrived in the city on buses chartered by the state of Texas and later by Colorado. But groups of migrants have now been arriving on their own, arriving at community organizations, police stations and aldermanic offices.

A spokesperson for Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city continues to respond to this humanitarian crisis and remains dedicated to supporting the new arrivals.

The goal is to connect migrants to city services, the city said.

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If new arrivals are arriving at Chicago Police Department stations, the City works with community partners to get those individuals transported to a shelter, the spokesperson said in a statement.

But Pino Marcano and other migrants in his group said that several of them called 311 for updates more than once and the only advice they received was to go to the warming center, or other times to a police station, while they waited.

Thats how Pino Marcano and his fellow migrants ended up in Pilsen.

After days in and out of the warming center, at police stations and churches asking for food, the group decided to walk farther and reached the Chicago Police District 12 headquarters.

Officers there spoke Spanish, Jaure said. So he was able to explain the journey they had been through since arriving in Chicago. An officer reached Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, and the group was picked up shortly after that and taken to an apartment.

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It was a blessing, Juare said.

When Sigcho-Lopez learned of the group and their story, he set out to find help from his constituents to house the migrants, they said.

Another five asylum-seekers are living in the basement of his ward office. The group was kicked out of a shelter at Truman College in Uptown on Christmas Day after allegedly violating shelter rules.

Joel Jesus Gomez, 28, left, a recently arrived migrant from Venezuela, watches television as he and Kevin Gonzalez, 23, right, also of Venezuela, find shelter at Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopezs office in Chicagos Pilsen neighborhood on Jan. 12, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Food and drinks for recently arrived migrants are on a table at Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez's office space in Chicagos Pilsen neighborhood Jan. 12, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Though Sigcho-Lopez understood the alleged violations, he said it was inhumane to push the men out knowing that they had nowhere else to go in frigid temperatures.

This is a humanitarian crisis, said Sigcho-Lopez, who has criticized the response from the city and state to the influx of migrants. He is now hopeful that City Hall will work with him to follow a plan he proposed in September to open shelters in vacant buildings in neighborhoods like Pilsen and Little Village.

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Across the city at a church in Old Town, three men sat with Ed Kraal, one of the pastors at Iglesia Cristiana La Vid of Park Community Church. Two of them had just migrated to the United States  one from Quito, Ecuador, and the other from Caracas, Venezuela.

When asked why he decided to come to Chicago, Anderson Mendez, from Ecuador, said: Because I would be welcomed here.

Anderson Mendez, 23, right, and Jose Carrizo, 32, sing during a service at Iglesia Cristiana La Vid of Park Community Church in Chicago on Jan. 12, 2023. Mendez came from Ecuador and Carrizo came from Venezuela. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

But Jose Carrizo, from Venezuela, and Mendez didnt know what their living situation was going to be as of Thursday. They had been staying at a warming center in East Garfield Park, but now they had become nomads in a new city, trying to find some help along the way. Mendezs cousin, who had recently migrated to Chicago as well, pointed them toward the church.

We have hope, Carrizo said in Spanish. We need help to find (permanent) shelter. ... We need a roof over our heads so we can settle.

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Kraal spoke to them in their native language, made them coffee and offered them cookies. His wife, Luisette Kraal, then arrived, four migrants in tow. She had picked them up from one of the refugee centers in the city and had taken them to Panda Express. They love the rice there, Kraal said.

Out of a cramped basement, the couple runs New Neighbors Free Store, a place where migrants from across the city come to get free clothes that have been donated to the church. Theyve dressed more than 680 people since the first buses with migrants came to Chicago in late August.

Luisette Kraal, of Iglesia Cristiana La Vid of Park Community Church, holds a small toy while talking to a woman who migrated from Venezuela while other migrants look for clothing in her New Neighbors Free Store, located in the basement of the Chicago church, on Jan. 12, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Clothing is available for those in need at the New Neighbors Free Store at the Iglesia Cristiana La Vid of Park Community Church in Chicago on Jan. 12, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Two weeks ago, Kraal said, she woke up at 1 a.m. to the sound of her phone ringing. On the other line were five migrant men who had just arrived in Chicago and needed to be picked up from Union Station.

So she went, and picked the men up. They were so exhausted that four of them fell asleep as soon as they got in the car. She dropped them off at a refugee center, hiding in the trees outside so no one would know it was she who had brought the migrants so late, she said with a laugh.

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A migrant recently sent her a photo of the inside of one of the shelters. She held her phone up, showing the picture: a crowded room filled with cots and people. Theyre overwhelmed like we are, she said of the refugee centers.

Kraal is looking to find a bigger place where the couple can expand their free clothing store, and where they can welcome migrants and shelter them from the cold. And so that, little by little, they can start to feel like this city is their home.

Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

When youre stable, Luisette Kraal reminds migrants, pay it forward.

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Tribune reporter Shanzeh Ahmad contributed.

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Beninese President Patrice Talon (R) meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Cotonou, Benin, Jan. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)

Beninese President Patrice Talon on Friday met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Cotonou, the largest city of Benin.

COTONOU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Beninese President Patrice Talon on Friday met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Cotonou, the largest city of Benin.

Talon asked Qin to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying the visit of the new Chinese foreign minister to Benin during his first official African tour, which came shortly after the 50th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Benin, has demonstrated the friendly and close ties between the two countries.

Benin cherishes China's long-term support and assistance, Talon said, adding that Benin, though small in size, stands on the side of truth, equality and justice, and will continue to be a steadfast and reliable friend of China.

China has found the right development path and made achievements that impressed the whole world, achievements that have deeply inspired all the developing countries, the president said.

He said Benin looks forward to learning from China's experience, deepening and expanding practical cooperation with China, and accelerating national development and revitalization.

Qin, for his part, conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Talon, noting that over the past half a century, China and Benin have always respected each other and treated each other as equals.

China appreciates Benin's understanding and support on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns, and stands ready to continue as a sincere partner of Benin with mutual political trust and forge ahead together in development, Qin said.

He said China is looking forward to jointly implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and the outcomes of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), so as to continuously push China-Benin relations to new levels.

Beijing encourages more capable and reputable Chinese companies to invest in Benin, and hopes that Benin will safeguard the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese institutions and personnel, Qin said.

He said that China has always adhered to the leadership of the Communist Party of China in its reforms and development, stayed committed to independence, and never simply copied the models of any other countries.

China is willing to strengthen experience-sharing on state governance with Benin, and support its pursuit of a development path suited to Benin's national realities, Qin said.

He said China will continue to work in solidarity with African countries, including Benin, to achieve common development based on the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation and in line with the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, and a commitment to the greater good and shared interests.

During the visit, Qin also held talks with his Beninese counterpart, Aurelien Agbenonci, and signed documents on cooperation in such fields as people-to-people and cultural exchanges. 
A destroyed building purportedly used to house Russian soldiers in Makiivka on January 10. REUTERS/Pavel Klimov

Ukraine has launched deadly long-range strikes against Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.

Some of those strikes and other attacks have reportedly been enabled by Russian cell phone use.

Those cases illustrate the growing use of cell phones as sensors on the battlefield.

On December 31, the Ukrainian military launched a precision strike against a makeshift Russian barracks in the town of Makiivka in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.

According to Russia's Defense Ministry, the Ukrainians were able to pinpoint the makeshift barracks using cellular data. Russian reservists based there had turned on their cell phones, allowing Ukrainian military intelligence to pick up their location and pass the targeting data up the chain of command, according to the ministry.

Soon thereafter, highly effective fire from US-provided M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems rained down on the target, setting off explosions that Russia says were made more intense by the detonation of ammunition that had also been stored in the barracks building.

Estimates of Russian casualties in the attack range from 89 killed, as reported by Russia, to Ukraine's claim of some 400 killed and 300 more wounded.

Russian lawmakers, military bloggers, and the troops' families have disputed the Kremlin's claim that the reservists' poor discipline got them killed, but that account of the strike and of others like it illustrate a growing battlefield trend: the use of cell phones as sensors to find, track, and attack enemy forces.

Force multipliers

A Ukrainian soldier looks for the SIM card of a smartphone near the remains of a Russian soldier in Kurylivka on January 12. Pierre Crom/Getty Images

Cell phones can prove deadly in a war zone. The signals and data they divulge can reveal troop positions, movements, and other information that could inform the enemy.

Cell phone photos are particularly dangerous, especially when posted online, where their location data can expose where and when they were taken.

Ukrainian military intelligence has been able to use the geolocation data in selfies posted by Russian troops to pinpoint their positions and establish their pattern of life, allowing for precision strikes with long-range rockets, missiles, and artillery.

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In mid-December, for example, Ukrainians reportedly used such photos to find the location of a Wagner Group headquarters and launch a HIMARS attack believed to have killed many of the group's fighters.

Ukraine's ability to strike such targets has been greatly enhanced by HIMARS and M270 multiple launch rocket sytems, both supplied by the US, which have been the bane of Russian forces in Ukraine, taking out troops and weapons, command posts, ammunition dumps, bridges, and other military targets.

Mourners at a January 3 ceremony for Russian troops that Moscow says were killed in a Ukrainian strike in Makiivka on December 31. ARDEN ARKMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Moreover, Ukrainian and Western intelligence services have taken advantage of Russian forces' poor operational security to wage information warfare by publicizing calls Russian troops have made using unsecured networks  including cell phones stolen from Ukrainian civilians  to talk to each other and to their families back in Russia.

In addition, Ukrainians have used their cell phones to report on Russian military movements.

Early in the war, Kyiv repurposed a cell phone app meant to provide government services to allow Ukrainians to upload photos of Russian forces, which could be evaluated using artificial intelligence "and then a human makes a decision" whether to attack those forces, Eric Schmidt, former chairman of Google and Alphabet, said in September, following a visit to Ukraine.

Cell phones have also provided accountability, allowing observers to tally losses and to shed light on misdeeds.

The New York Times was able to identify members of a Russian paratrooper unit that was likely involved in killing civilians in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, because those paratroopers used the cell phones of slain civilians to make calls to Russia.

Oryx, an independent open-source intelligence website, has tracked Russian and Ukrainian losses and compiled lists of destroyed, captured, or abandoned weapons, often using cell phone footage from the battlefield.

Pro-Russian fighters patrol Makiivka in February 2015. DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP via Getty Images

Indeed, "practically every citizen and every phone has become a sensor," British Army Gen. James Hockenhull, commander of the UK's Strategic Command, said in December during a speech on the role of open-source intelligence in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Open-source intelligence gleaned from civilian phones and commercial networks is "a force multiplier" that "offers alternative pathways for information to travel and sometimes goes beyond military communications, which can be subject to jamming or disruption," Hockenhull said.

Using civilian infrastructure in such a way creates "ethical and moral" issues, Hockenhull added, "but in the context of a war of national survival, the Ukrainian public are incredibly committed to playing their part and providing the advantage to their decision makers."

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. He is working toward a master's degree in strategy and cybersecurity at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A screengrab from a video of Ukrainian soldiers conducting a medical evacuation in the eastern town of Soledar @AlexRaptor94/Twitter

A video shows Ukrainian soldiers conducting a medical evacuation in Soledar.

The rescue takes place as Russian shells fall around them.

The soldiers appeared to be using a US-built M113 armored personnel carrier.

A dramatic video appears to show Ukrainian soldiers racing through the bombed-out streets of the eastern town of Soledar amid heavy fighting to rescue the wounded.

The video, which has circulated on social media and been shared by multiple media outlets, appeared to be filmed from a drone.

A medical evacuation vehicle can be seen speeding towards a building in Soledar amid Russian shelling before stopping around the side of a building.

A soldier can be seen getting out of the armored vehicle, displaying a red cross, and cautiously turning the corner of the building to greet a group of troops carrying what appears to be a wounded soldier.

The injured soldier is quickly loaded into the vehicle before it drives off at top speed amid falling shells.

It is not clear when the video was filmed.

A Twitter user who posted the video noted that the Ukrainian soldiers appeared to be using an M113 armored personnel carrier, primarily supplied by the US. The armored vehicle, weighing 12.3 tonnes, can reach a top speed of 40 mph.

The M113, which first saw combat in Vietnam, is old and lightly armored but versatile and easy to operate, making them valuable on the battlefield, according to Forbes.

The salt-mining town of Soledar has been the center of fierce fighting in recent weeks, likely because of its proximity to the city of Bakhmut.

This week, Russian forces and the paramilitary Wagner Group claimed to have seized control of it, prompting some public squabbling between them.

Ukraine has denied Russia's claims of victory, saying that fighting is ongoing.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Changes by the new government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to a federal agency tasked with upholding the sanitary standards of Brazilian agricultural products are drawing criticism from civil servants in the Agriculture Ministry, documents show.

An internal ministry memo seen by Reuters warns that a decree published on Jan. 1 reshuffling staff at the agency could undermine food inspection services and a critical network of six federal laboratories responsible for controlling vaccines, veterinary drugs and phytosanitary pesticides.

The ministry did not comment on the changes, which are part of broader efforts by the new administration to cut government spending.

The changes at the ministry, which affected 84 job positions according to a separate internal document, occur as the world is grappling with outbreaks of bird flu and the Brazilian meat sector is on high alert after cases reported in five South American nations.

In the memo, signed by a group of civil servants opposing the changes, they urge that the reshuffle be reconsidered "in the name of public health."

The union ANFFA, which represents federal auditors who inspect food plants in the world's biggest chicken exporter, denounced the overhaul.

"The federal laboratories network has struggled against drastic budget reduction and critical staff shortages for years," said ANFFA in a statement to Reuters. "Tensions rose after the decree's publication."

Meat lobby ABPA, which represents companies including JBS and BRF, told Reuters it supports maintaining the food safety agency's budget and strengthening inspection services.

"Active and passive oversight by the ministry are crucial for determining (animal) health status," ABPA said, adding this is a requirement from the nations that import Brazilian products.

(Reporting by Ana Mano in Sao Paulo; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
Insider's reporter went to Switzerland for the first time and photographed Zurich and neighboring towns. Joey Hadden/Insider

I recently went to Switzerland for a short, first-time trip during a train journey through Europe.

I explored Zurich and spent two nights in the nearby town of Roggwil.

From the city to the countryside, I was awestruck by picturesque scenes and jaw-dropping landscapes.

I recently took my cameras on a 2-week train trip through four European countries I'd never been to before.

The author uses her cameras in various European cities. Joey Hadden/Insider

After visiting Germany, Austria, and Italy, I ended my trip in Switzerland, where I saw some of the most striking scenes.

The author in Zurich, Switzerland. Joey Hadden/Insider

Read more: I visited 8 countries this year by train, plane, and cruise ship. 5 things surprised me that will change how I travel in 2023.

I had 48 hours in Switzerland, and I split my time between the northern Swiss city of Zurich and a nearby town called Roggwil, where my Airbnb was located.

A map of Switzerland shows where Roggwil and Zurich are located. Joey Hadden/Insider

I traveled to Switzerland from Milan, Italy, by train, and I saw some rich, green countryside landscapes along the way.

Views from the train window somewhere between the Swiss Alps and Zurich. Joey Hadden/Insider

Read more: I've spent more than 100 hours riding the rails in the US and Europe. Here are 8 differences I noticed between train travel in each place.

I spent two peaceful, starry nights in a livable barrel Airbnb in Roggwil, which I thought was a relaxing counterpart to my visit to Zurich.

The author's Airbnb in Roggwil. Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: Airbnb

I loved the rolling hills and tranquil neighborhoods of Roggwil, and I was so glad I got to see a less-explored piece of Switzerland.

A snapshot of a town near the Solothurn Jura mountain range in Switzerland. Joey Hadden/Insider

Read more: I paid $400 to sleep in a barrel in Switzerland and had the best glamping experience of my life

While the city was far more bustling than Roggwil, I thought parts of Zurich were just as charming with its jaw-dropping mountain views.

A snapshot in Zurich. Joey Hadden/Insider

I found stunning, narrow, winding streets with vibrant, colorful buildings that stood out to me.

Streets in Zurich. Joey Hadden/Insider

Some of these streets have been around since the Middle Ages, like Augustinergasse, which is lined with buildings featuring intricately carved and decorated bay windows preserved for centuries, according to City Seeker.

Buildings on Augustinergasse in Zurich. Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: City Seeker

While the colorful streets were busy with shoppers when I visited, I found pockets of peaceful stillness in alleyways made of cobblestone around the city.

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Cobblestone streets in Zurich. Joey Hadden/Insider

From storefronts to parks and trees, I saw greenery in nearly every direction in Zurich.

Greenery around Zurich. Joey Hadden/Insider

Sources: City of Zurich, European Council

The city also contains 28 square miles of lakes, according to Britannica.

A bridge crossing in Zurich. Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: Britannica

And I thought the water dividing parts of the city made for some stunning landscapes.

A bridge in Zurich. Joey Hadden/Insider

My favorite view in Zurich came during my ride on a funicular cable car called a Polybahn to Polyterrasse, a deck in front of Zurich University where I could see the whole city and beyond.

Polyterrasse (L) and the Polybahn funicular cable car (R) in Zurich. Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: Polybahn

The Polybahn was much like a train, except the rails went up and down, giving me elevated views of the buildings around me.

Views from the Polybahn ride. Joey Hadden/Insider

But the view from the top in Polyterrasse was even better, and it left me longing for more time in Switzerland. I can't wait to go back.

A view of Zurich from Polyterrasse. Joey Hadden/Insider

Read more: I only had 48 hours in Vienna but I'm still thinking about these 7 places that impressed me, from fairytale palaces to jaw-dropping sights

Read the original article on Insider
Prince Harrys tell-all memoir Spare is being released this week

In it, the duke continues his wave of allegations against the royal family.

The 416-page book will see Harry telling his story with raw, unflinching honesty, publisher Penguin Random House said in a statement, adding that the book is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief,

Spare, which was leaked in Spain before the official release, covers a wide range of subjects, from his fractious relationship with brother William to the struggles after his mother Dianas death in 1997.

The royal first announced the lucrative multi-book deal with Penguin Random House in July 2021. Now, ahead of the books release, there is speculation about how much money the duke is making from the signing.

While no figure has been officially confirmed, publisher Penguin Random House is rumoured to have paid Harry a $20m (17m) advance for Spare, the BBC reports.

Meanwhile, ET Canada, has reported that Prince Harrys book deal consists of four editions, with a $35m-$40m (28m-33m) price tag.

The Independent has contacted Penguin Random House for comment. The publisher has not yet confirmed how much money Prince Harry has made from the book deal.

Prince Harry is expected to donate proceeds from the book sales to charity, People reports.

The royal announced that a portion of the proceeds would be going to Sentebale, an organisation he founded in 2006 with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help children affected by HIV in Africa.

This is one of several donations I plan to make to charitable organizations, and Im grateful to be able to give back in this way for the children and communities who gravely need it, he said in a statement.

In the UK, the book will cost 28 for a hardback, and 20 for the audio.

The memoir accidentally went on sale in Spain last week, ahead of its official release.

Spare covers a range of personal details about Harrys life and upbringing, revealing the moment he found out his mother, Diana, died, and that William and Kate encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform as fancy dress.

The royal also writes that he killed 25 people during military service in Afghanistan and admits to illegal drug use.
Emergency personnel work at the site where an apartment block was heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine January 15, 2023. REUTERS

At least 23 people were killed in a Russian missile strike on an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

The latest massive Russian wave of attacks on Saturday targeted civilians and energy infrastructure.

The apartments were hit by a Russian Kh-22 missile which is called an "aircraft carrier killer," said Ukraine.

At least 23 people have died after a Russian missile strike destroyed an apartment block in Dnipro, central Ukraine.

The building was hit by a Russian Kh-22 missile, a Soviet-era anti-ship missile, which Ukraine has described as an "aircraft carrier killer."

Confirming the death toll on Telegram, Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipro regional council, said "Burn in hell, Russian murderers."

At least 72 people were wounded and 43 people were reported missing, according to the city government, per The Independent.

"This missile with a 950 kg (2,000-pound) warhead, which is called an 'aircraft carrier killer,' is designed to destroy aircraft carrier groups at sea. It can be equipped with a nuclear element. And such a missile was used to hit a densely populated city. There is no explanation or justification for this terrorist act," said Yuriy Ihnat, Spokesperson for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, per Ukrinform.

The Russian missile that Ukraine can't shoot down

Emergency personnel work at the site where an apartment block was heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine January 15, 2023. REUTERS

The Ukrainian military does not currently have the advanced weaponary needed to shoot down the long-range Kh-22 missiles, with Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to a Newsweek report.

He said: "Since the beginning of Russian military aggression on Ukraine, more than 210 missiles of this type have been launched. None of them are knocked down by air defense equipment."

In his Facebook post, Oleshchuk said that only Western anti-aircraft missile systems, such as Patriot PAC-3s, are capable of taking down the supersonic Kh-22.

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It has been reported that the US has agreed to supply a single Patriot battery to Ukraine. Upto 100 Ukrainian soldiers are due to undergo training on the missile systems at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, starting next week, reported the BBC.

The attack on the apartment block comes in a new surge of Russian violence over the last week, which has targeted civilians and energy infrastructure.

The Russian strikes have hit critical infrastructure across the country, with Ukraine's energy minister warning of "difficult" days ahead with damaged electricity, running water, and heating supplies, per Reuters.

Much of the fighting over the past few days has been focused in Soledar, where Russian troops have claimed they've captured the town.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukrainian rescuers work near a local market in Shevchenkove village, Kharkiv, following a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In the past 10 months since Russias cruel attack on Ukraine, I have consistently expressed my deep concern about the seemingly endless American support to the Ukrainians. The war and our costly involvement portend to be a major issue in American politics in 2024 if we continue to fight this senseless proxy war with Russia.

The U. S. aid to Ukraine through December 2022 totals $68 billion since the beginning of the war in February of last year. In addition, the U.S. Congress on Dec. 23 approved a $45 billion aid package to Ukraine  two days after President Volodymyr Zelenskyys wartime visit to Washington. These statistics do not include the significant expense in bringing hundreds of Ukrainians to America and helping them settle here. The aid packages (amounting to $113 billion) are earmarked for military equipment, humanitarian aid and economic support to the Ukrainian government to recover from lost revenues from drastic disruption, the result of relentless Russian attacks on factories and energy sources.

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Despite sporadic news of Ukraine's successes in the war, the continuation of this terrible war is principally dependent on sustained monetary and military support from the United States.

In retrospect, the U. S. foreign policy in regard to pushing for Ukraines admission to NATO has been a major mistake. In 2008, President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice made the initial strong effort in this context. William Burns, U. S. ambassador to Russia at the time and currently our CIA director, warned Rice of the consequences of Ukraine becoming a NATO member.

Russians would surely consider this step a threat to their security, inevitably leading to hostilities. Burns was representing the widely held views of policymakers and scholars in Moscow  remarkably prescient as recent events have demonstrated.

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Europeans, while being quick to make statements of support, have limited capability or willingness to earmark resources for Ukraine. The U.S. support to date represents about 70% of all aid to Ukraine. As in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, we are once again the suckers in a foreign conflict.

My big dilemma is to come up with concrete suggestions to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to a sensible conclusion. I feel that, absent our resources made available in such abundant quantities, the Russians might stop further destruction of Ukraine.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky presents a Ukrainian military medal (The Cross for Military Merit) to U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Dec. 21, 2022.

They might even decide to give back much of the captured territory rather than attempt to conquer the bulk of the country. In short, the bloody and destructive war would likely end soon after the aid to Ukraine from the U. S. and other sources stops. I am confident that whatever aid that Ukraine currently receives from Europe will stop soon after the discontinuation of American support.

I also believe Putin is counting on a scenario that involves active opposition from American and European public opinion, forcing a precipitous loss of support for Ukraine. This will provide the most welcome relief to European citizens who have suffered enormously from their governments costly stand against Russia.

After the war ends, I am quite sure that Americans and Europeans will provide the very large assistance to Ukraine that would be needed to rebuild the decimated country. The great satisfaction in this process will be that the gratuitous annihilation in lives, property and production of goods will end and Ukraine can then look forward to a slow but steady recovery.

Sadly, much of it would be accomplished by postponing urgent social and infrastructure projects in America. That is often the price we have to pay for intervening in unnecessary and avoidable wars.

Chandra

Suresh Chandra, Ph.D., is professor emeritus and former dean of the College of Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University. He lives in Ponte Vedra.

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: U.S. aid to Ukraine amounts to proxy war with Russia
Hillary Clinton; Joe Biden; Donald Trump; Richard Nixon Matt Rourke/Associated Press; Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press; Julia Nikhinson/Associated Press; Associated Press

The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago in August while investigating Trump's handling of government records.

This week it was revealed the President Joe Biden is also being investigated over documents.

Hillary Clinton and Richard Nixon are among the officials who have also been accused of mishandling records.

Both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden have recently made headlines for investigations into their handling of government documents, but the potential issues being investigated are not new territory for the Justice Department.

It's relatively rare, but not unheard of, for the Department of Justice to investigate and even bring charges against federal officials accused of mishandling government records, including some that are considered classified or top secret.

From former President Richard Nixon to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, here are some examples that include documents, emails, and audio tapes.

President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden speaks at the White House on January 12, 2023. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

On Monday, the White House announced that lawyers for Biden discovered about 10 classified documents at his office in the Penn Biden Center, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC. His counsel said the documents were immediately turned over to the National Archives, though the information was not made public for months.

Since then, the White House said additional documents were found at other locations, including Biden's home in Delaware. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel, Robert K. Hur, to investigate Biden for potential mishandling of classified documents.

Former President Donald Trump

Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after making a video call to the troops stationed worldwide at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach Florida, on December 24, 2019. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

In August, federal agents conducted an unprecedented raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. It was part of a Justice Department investigation into whether Trump broke several laws related to the handling of national security information. One of the potential violations falls under the Espionage Act and concerns the removal of information that pertains to national defense. The others involve concealing or destroying government records.

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The FBI seized 11 sets of classified or top secret documents from Mar-a-Lago, according to court documents. The National Archives has said Trump took more than 700 pages of classified documents. Federal officials also spent over a year requesting Trump return the documents before the raid was conducted. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

In November, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee investigations involving Trump, including that of the Mar-a-Lago documents.

President Richard Nixon

President Richard Nixon waves goodbye from the steps of his helicopter outside the White House, Aug. 9, 1974, after he gave a farewell address to members of the White House staff. AP Photo/Chick Harrity, File

Nixon is in part responsible for the creation of the Presidential Records Act, a law passed in 1978 that mandates the preservation of records created or received by the president and vice president during their time in office. It also established that presidential records belong to the US and are to be maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration at the end of a president's time in office.

The law was part of a series of measures passed to address potential corruption after Watergate, when Nixon sought to destroy millions of pages of documents and hundreds of hours of tape recordings from his time in the White House.

Following Nixon's resignation, Congress passed a law in 1974 that would require him to turn over the documents. Nixon challenged it, but the Supreme Court ultimately ruled it was within the legislative body's rights to request them.

The Presidential Records Act was passed four years later, solidifying presidential records as public, rather than private, documents.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton speaks during a press conference the day after the election on Wednesday November 9, 2016, in New York City. Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Clinton's emails are perhaps the most well-known example of a federal official being accused of mishandling government documents. While serving as President Barack Obama's secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, Clinton used a personal email address and server to conduct official business, rather than a more secure government email server.

After The New York Times first reported in 2015 on her use of a private email and potential violation of federal requirements, it became one of the major stories of the 2016 election cycle, when Clinton was the Democratic nominee for president against Trump.

A State Department inspector general report released in May 2016 found she had violated government policy but that it did not constitute criminal conduct. In July 2016, FBI Director James Comey said their separate investigation found there was "evidence of potential" criminal violations concerning the handling of classified information but that there wasn't sufficient reason to bring charges.

Another State Department investigation that lasted for three years and ended in 2019 found Clinton's use of a private email server put classified information at risk but that there was "no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information." No charges were ever brought against her.

Clinton's email server was found to contain more than 100 emails with classified information, 22 labeled top secret, and over 2,000 that were designated classified at a later date.

Sandy Berger, national security adviser to President Bill Clinton

Sandy Berger, who served as a national security adviser to President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001, pleaded guilty in 2005 to the unauthorized removal and destruction of classified documents from the National Archives.

After leaving his White House post, Berger testified before Congress's 9/11 commission, which was examining the government's response to the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Berger said he made multiple visits to the National Archives to revisit relevant materials.

But a National Archives employee said they saw Berger leaving with documents wrapped around his socks and under his pant leg, prompting a criminal investigation by the Justice Department. Berger was found to have smuggled out highly classified documents, destroying some, and lying about possessing them.

He agreed to plead guilty and was fined $50,000, sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service, and stripped of his security clearance for three years.

Lower-profile federal officials are more commonly charged

In addition to former presidents and top White House officials, lower-profile federal agents are more commonly charged with mishandling government documents.

The FBI and the Justice Department have conducted at least 11 investigations into such crimes since 2005, Voice of America reported.

The outlet compiled a list of notable cases that included former members of the military and Defense Department employees or contractors; NSA and CIA contractors; and former CIA, FBI, and NSA employees. The sentences included thousands of dollars in fines and several years of probation.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Texas brewery has called the influx of threats it has received crazy after it cancelled an event with Kyle Rittenhouse.

The teenager shot and killed two racial justice protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020, but he was later cleared of wrongdoing at trial.

The Southern Star Brewery in Conroe, Texas was targeted after saying on Friday that a rally against censorship with Mr Rittenhouse would no longer be held there. It was initially scheduled to take place later in January.

Its been kind of a s***storm, CEO Dave Fougeron told The Texas Tribune on Saturday. But now Im more certain than ever that I made the right decision.

Mr Fougeron said he first became aware that Mr Rittenhouse would attend the event a few days ago and rejected claims that the event was cancelled after pressure from a woke mob.

Instead, he argued that concerns shared by local regulars pushed him to make the call.

The CEO said hes apolitical and that the brewery works to be a welcoming place for everyone.

Our place is super inclusive, he told The Tribune. We are super pro-veteran, super pro-law enforcement. Were trying to be good people in the community. Were friends with our firefighters, with our police department. We have a lot of gay patrons who come in because its a place of inclusivity. Its crazy that were getting threats from people.

Mr Rittenhouse shared his criticism of the brewery on Twitter on Friday evening.

Its really disappointing to see that places continue to censor me and not allow my voice and many other voices to be heard because they bend to the woke crowd, he wrote.

The brewery said they cancelled the event because it doesnt reflect our own values.

A spokesperson for the event said on Friday that the event would take place somewhere else, according to The Tribune.

The event was scheduled for 26 January and was set to be attended by a TEXIT leader  the group argues that Texas should secede from the US.

Conroe publisher Defiance Press is the organiser of the event, describing itself as active in the fight against censorship through publishing conservative books which have been widely censored from mainstream media.
BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China is ramping up the service capacity of community-level and rural medical institutions to tackle the COVID-19 epidemic control challenges brought by the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, a Chinese health official said.

According to Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission, these medical institutions are taking multiple measures to augment their workforce and stock up on medicines.

Health authorities are assisting the medical institutions in better equipping themselves, Jiao said. She noted that 1.17 million finger pulse oximeters were distributed to village clinics across the country.

Jiao noted that third-grade hospitals in urban areas were directed to establish 24-hour telemedicine service connection with county hospitals. They were also demanded to dispatch personnel to county hospitals to assist them during special periods, including the Spring Festival holiday, she said.

Third-grade hospitals rank at the top of China's three-tier hospital grading system. They have the most hospital beds and provide comprehensive medical services.

A medical transfer mechanism has also been established so that patients with severe symptoms in rural areas can be transferred to urban medical institutions in time, she added.

China's Spring Festival travel rush kicked off on Jan. 7 this year after the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Jan. 22 this year. 
No. 41 is not done.

Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford announced Saturday that he will return for his senior season. The 6-foot-3, 234-pounder shone in his third season with the Longhorns.

Ford led Texas with 119 tackles. He also intercepted four passes and forced three fumbles. He recovered fumbles in the final minutes of UT's close wins over Iowa State and Kansas State.

Ford was beaten out by Kansas State defensive lineman Felix Anudike-Uzomah for the Big 12 defensive player of the year award. He did earn All-American accolades from The Associated Press.

"Next year he'll probably dominate to where he's going to win the defensive player of the year in (all of college football)," former UT defensive lineman Keondre Coburn said last month. "He's a hell of a player. He showed it this year. J-Ford really was our star on this side. He was our ace."

After a 27-20 loss to Washington in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 27, Ford wouldn't say whether he'd enter the NFL draft or stay in school. He promised reporters that "I'll definitely come with an answer here soon."

Returning for my senior season  pic.twitter.com/VuyBkKHGHm  Jaylan Ford (@Jaylanfxrd) January 14, 2023

Two weeks later, that answer was given. In a social media post, Ford thanked his supporters and expressed gratitude for the memories he has created so far at Texas. He then added that there "is still a lot I have yet to accomplish as a player and student."

"With that being said, I will continue to build my legacy and help this team create something special and return for my senior season," he concluded.

While chasing Derrick Johnson's greatness, Texas' Jaylan Ford steps up on defense

Ford will return to a defense that made significant strides in its second season under coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski. Six returners started at least half of UT's games in 2022, and the Longhorns have added former Arkansas safety Jalen Catalon and Wake Forest cornerback Gavin Holmes to the mix.

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Ford isn't the only Longhorn who turned down a chance to go pro. In recent weeks, receiver Jordan Whittington and offensive lineman Christian Jones decided to come back to Texas, too.

With Whittington and Jones back, Texas can claim the return of 10 starters to its offense. But the Longhorns will need to replace 87% of their rushing attack since Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson have entered the draft.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford to return for 2023 football season
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  A senior U.S. envoy expressed strong concern Thursday about the activities of the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group and its alleged attempts to recruit soldiers in Serbia and elsewhere in the world.

U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet said he voiced these concerns during talks in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

We have seen that the Wagner Group is seeking to recruit soldiers from Serbia and elsewhere and thats something we think cannot stand, he told reporters after the meeting.

I dont know if there are concerns (in Serbia), we talked about our concerns and we are looking forward to working with the government here in Belgrade and elsewhere where Wagner is active to put an end to their activities, he added.

Wagner Group, owned by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, reportedly has been active in dozens of mostly African states, working with governments on pro-Russian propaganda and other military and political projects.

The group has boasted about its presence in Serbia, the only European state besides Belarus which has not joined international sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine. The group has reportedly announced the opening of its offices in Belgrade, something that was later denied.

Moscows propaganda portal RT, which recently started its Serbian-language online news site in Serbia, has published Wagners recruitment advert seeking fighters in Ukraine, saying the group offers more than attractive incentives.

Chollet said Wagner Group is in action in terrible ways throughout the world, whether it is in Libya, the Central African Republic or right now in Ukraine.

The group which reportedly includes a large contingent of convicts recruited in Russian prisons has spearheaded the attacks in eastern Ukraine, including the fierce battles in Soledar and Bakhmut.

Prigozhin and his group have been under U.S. sanctions for years and the U.S. has recently taken additional steps to try to control Wagners access to weapons.

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Wagner Group mercenaries have also been accused by Western countries and UN experts of numerous human rights abuses throughout Africa, including in the Central African Republic, Libya and Mali. Earlier this month. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he has designated the Wagner Group as an entity of particular concern for its activities in the Central African Republic.

Chollet also urged Serbia to introduce sanctions against its traditional Slavic ally Russia.

We believe that countries should sign on to the sanctions, and the reason why we believe that is because Russias actions do not only have to be condemned, they have to be punished, he said. Russia every day is prosecuting a brutal, unjustified war against Ukraine. We need to stand together, to ensure that this behavior, its clear that this behavior is unacceptable.

The U.S. envoy this week launched a tour of several Balkan nations in a visit focused on international efforts to help normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia after weeks of heightened tension. The former Serbian province declared independence in 2008, something Serbia and Russia don't recognize.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden took his battle for soul of the nation on Sunday morning to the pulpit of the historic Atlanta church that Martin Luther King Jr. once led.

Biden, at a service on the late civil rights leader's birthday, drew on King's legacy and called on Americans to follow the minister's example in order to "redeem" the country and restore faith in its institutions.

"The battle for the soul of this nation is perennial. It's a constant struggle. It's a constant struggle between hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice, against those who traffic in racism, extremism and insurrection," Biden said. "And at our best, the American promise wins out."

President Joe Biden shakes hands with Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., a senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, during a service honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday in Atlanta.

A year after making a forceful appeal for voting rights, Biden returned to Atlanta to pay tribute to King in a Sunday sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church pulpit.

It was Biden's first trip to Georgia since last January, when he visited Ebenezer and met with King's family ahead of a speech in support of changes to the voting system that Democrats are still trying to pass.

Biden came at the invitation of Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who has been senior pastor of Ebenezer since 2005.

Georgia voters last month gave Warnock a full six-year term after previously electing him to fill a two-year vacancy in the Senate. Biden did not visit Georgia, a battleground state he narrowly won in 2020, during Warnock's most recent campaign.

"Congratulations on your historic victory," Biden told Warnock during a sermon in which he again emphasized the hot-button issue of voting rights.

Voting rights stalled in Congress: Biden agenda faces uphill climb in new Congress as Republicans take over House

Flashback: Biden's message on voting rights:Biden accuses GOP of 'unrelenting assault' on voting. Can he deliver on voting rights legislation?

Biden's sermon was a presidential first, Warnock said. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama came to Ebenezer, but Biden is the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday sermon, the senator said as he opened the service.

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Who other than Martin Luther King Jr. can get the president of the United States and everybody else in one place," Warnock told the congregation.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Biden senior adviser and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms were at the service. King's sister, Christine King Farris, also attended.

"Mr. President, until the pandemic, she was here every Sunday sitting in that seat. Can you imagine how intimidating it is to stand here and preach with Martin Luther King Jr.s sister? Warnock teased, as he introduced Biden. You get to do that this morning.

The president later told her, And by the way sis, every good man, every good brother needs a really strong, strong sister."

People attend a service honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Sunday.

Biden said that speaking to the congregation is "intimidating" and that it was "humbling" to deliver a sermon at the church once led by King, who he described as one of his two great political heroes. He said his home state of Delaware was segregated and a slave state to "our great shame."

Folks, to the King family, I know no matter how many years passed, it doesnt matter how many years pass, those days of remembrance are difficult. They bring everything back as if it happened yesterday. Its hard for you, he said, thanking them. And we love you all.

Biden's push for voting rights, democracy from the pulpit

Biden said he came to the church because he believes that King's legacy can provide direction for the country amid modern day struggles with democracy and raised the prospect of enhanced federal oversight of state voting laws.

Making reference to the bust of King in the Oval Office, Biden said it is situated where he can look at it from his desk.

Its there in that spot on purpose, because he was my inspiration as a kid. He does know where we should go," Biden said.

The direction, Biden said, is forward. And together.

Sundays service ended with Biden and elected officials locking arms and singing, We Shall Overcome, a gospel song closely associated with the civil rights movement.

The White House said Friday the importance of democracy would be a feature of Biden's remarks at Ebenezer.

"You can't come to Atlanta and not acknowledge the role that the civil rights movement and Dr. King played in where we are in the history of our country," Lance Bottoms, the White House senior advisor for public engagement, said at a press briefing. "But we still have to push forward. We still have more work to do."

Biden delivered his speech at Ebenezer, which boasts a congregation of more than 6,000, on the civil rights leader's birthday  a federal holiday that will be observed nationally on Monday.

"It's a historical church. Everyone who has preached from the pulpit or sat in the congregation understands that Ebenezer has meant a life of purpose, a reminder to fight for voting rights, equality and justice for all," said veteran Democratic strategist Donna Brazile.

"I would wish that more Americans had an opportunity to go to Ebenezer, not only to sit and listen to the sermons up by the choir," Brazile said, "but to recommit themselves to the struggle and sacrifice that Dr. King gave his life to make this a better world, to make this a more perfect union."

Biden is also scheduled to appear at the National Action Network breakfast in Washington that Al Sharpton hosts each year on the third Monday in January.

In remarks on King's legacy last year, Biden denounced voter suppression, election subversion and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Speaking from the shared grounds of Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College, Biden pushed lawmakers to pass changes that would make voting easier.

Biden also endorsed changes to the filibuster  the procedural mechanism that keeps legislation from coming to the floor if it lacks the support of at least 60 senators  to pass federal voting laws.

"You should show up and be present at historical moments like that that have real meaning," said Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation of Biden's visit to Ebenezer. "I had to fight for the vote for the King holiday, so I want the president to show up, especially not in an election year."

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., a senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, speaks at the church on Sunday.

Voting rights bills stall in Congress

Senators on both sides of the aisle oppose changing the filibuster, and Biden has been under pressure from progressives to look for additional executive actions his administration can take.

"If there is more that he can do, we welcome those suggestions. But, as I stand here today, it's my understanding that we have done all that we can do from the executive branch. Now we need Congress to act," Lance Bottoms said Friday.

Campbell said that civil rights leaders are reevaluating their strategy with Republicans in control of the House now and the filibuster still in place.

"We have a split Congress now. So how much we can get done, I'm not hopeful in the immediate," said Campbell, who said she planned to attend to Biden's remarks. "We'll be listening intently, but also continue to engage the administration as soon as we can to make sure that we weigh in."

National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial said that civil rights leaders "fought and fought and fought" for voting rights last year and a judgement was made at the time to privately press two Democratic senators who openly opposed eliminating the filibuster, "And it didn't work."

"It's important for Joe Biden to reaffirm his commitment so people don't think that because we couldn't do it, we're going to stop fighting for it," the civil rights leader who is close to the White House said. "So I want to see him fight for voting rights until hell freezes over. And then I want him to fight on the ice."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden delivers sermon at MLK's church, joined by Raphael Warnock
(Getty Images)

Brad Pitt as Neo? Josh Hartnett as Batman? Halle Berry as the lady that drives the bus in Speed? Believe it or not, all of the above would have happened if those actors had said yes. Dive into the history of Hollywood and most incredibly famous characters were nearly played by someone else. Those early and ultimately aborted casting decisions just dont tend to get talked about.

Sometimes, though, actors are very open about the high-profile parts they turned down, and the pangs of regret left behind once those films are actually made.

Imagine a world in which Leonardo DiCaprio was the star of a beloved drama about the porn industry and not Titanic, or Reese Witherspoon didnt play Legally Blondes Elle Woods. Shudder. Here are 13 actors who turned their nose up at iconic movies, only to feel very silly about it later on.

Denzel Washington in Se7en

Asked in 2012 if there were roles he turned down that he should have taken, Washington answered quickly: Se7en and Michael Clayton. The Oscar winner said that Tony Gilroys corporate thriller Michael Clayton was the best material I had read in a long time  I was nervous about a first-time director, and I was wrong. George Clooney ended up playing the role instead.

While Washington didnt offer an explanation as to why he turned down Se7en (it is unclear if he would have played the veteran detective or the cocky rookie, embodied in the end by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, respectively), it may have been for a similar reason: director David Fincher had only directed one film before Se7en, and that was the disastrous Alien 3.

Oddly, Washington ended up starring in a number of Se7en-esque serial killer thrillers made in the aftermath, including 1999s The Bone Collector and 2021s The Little Things.

Leonardo DiCaprio in Boogie Nights

Leonardo DiCaprio as prolific porn star Dirk Diggler? It could have happened. In 2008, DiCaprio confirmed that he turned down the starring role in Paul Thomas Andersons Boogie Nights  which ultimately made Mark Wahlberg a star  in order to do Titanic instead. He had a meeting with Anderson about the role, but got spooked by the filmmakers relative lack of experience at the time. Boogie Nights was Andersons second film after 1996s little-seen Hard Eight.

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Boogie Nights is a movie I loved and I wish I wouldve done, DiCaprio told GQ. Asked whether hed reject Titanic instead if he could go back in time, DiCaprio was stumped. Im not saying I would have. But it would have been a different direction, career wise. I think theyre both great and wish I could have done them both  The truth is, if Id not done Titanic, I wouldnt be able to do the types of movies or have the career I have now, for sure. But it would have been interesting to see if I had gone the other way.

Madonna in The Matrix

Madonna has never been one for regrets, instead admirably sticking by creative decisions even if they get her jeered at, laughed at or criticised. But she did fess up to one movie role she shouldnt have been so quick to dismiss. I turned down the role in The Matrix, she told Jimmy Fallon during a TV appearance this year. Can you believe that? I wanna kill myself. Thats, like, one of the best movies ever made. A teeny-tiny part of me regrets just that one moment in my life.

Madonna didnt confirm which role she turned down in the 1999 film, but presumably it was the female lead Trinity, who was ultimately played by Carrie-Anne Moss. During the same interview, Madonna also confirmed rumours that she turned down the role of Catwoman in Batman Returns, and Nomi Malone in the notorious Showgirls. I saw them both, and I regret that I turned down Catwoman, that was pretty fierce. Showgirls? No.

Brad Pitt in The Matrix

Speaking of The Matrix, Brad Pitt has also expressed regret about turning down the role of Neo. I took the red pill, he joked in 2020, referencing the choice in the film between having total clarity or remaining in blissful ignorance. I come from a place, maybe its my upbringing, [where] if I didnt get it, then it wasnt mine. I really believe [the role] was never mine. It was someone elses.

Keanu Reeves ended up playing Neo, of course, while Pitt suggested during the same interview that The Matrix is just one of the massive movies he said no to. If we were doing a show on the great movies Ive passed on, we would need two nights, he joked.

Will Smith and Brad Pitt both waved goodbye to the role of Neo in The Matrix' (Philippe Desmazes/Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Will Smith in The Matrix

And just to drive home the fact that very few actors seemed to any faith in The Matrix, Will Smith also turned down the starring role. In 2019, Smith confirmed a long-standing rumour that he rejected the Neo part in favour of a far less adored movie.

On his YouTube channel, Smith recalled meeting directors Lana and Lily Wachowski but struggling to understand their ideas for bullet-time, or the slow-motion effect that Neo masters in the movie.

So I made Wild Wild West [instead], Smith confessed, referencing the notorious 1999 flop that he has spent more than 20 years regretting. Im not proud of it.

He did, however, argue that he wouldnt have been as good in the role as Reeves. Keanu was perfect, Laurence Fishburne was perfect, so I probably would have messed The Matrix up. I would have ruined it, so I did yall a favour.

Matt Damon in Avatar

I still cant watch Thelma & Louise it still kills me

Michelle Pfeiffer

While Damon hasnt explicitly said that he regrets turning down James Camerons Avatar, he references the decision enough to suggest it still stings. In 2007, Damon was wooed by Cameron with the promise of not only starring in the film but also pocketing 10 per cent of the films gross. Avatar, which eventually starred Sam Worthington, ended up becoming the highest-grossing film in history. Meaning  drumroll, please  Damon lost out on an estimated $200m (148m).

Ive left more money on the table than any actor, he told GQ in 2019. He added that his biggest regret is that it may have been his only opportunity to work with Cameron. He works so infrequently  I realised in having to say no that I was probably passing on the chance to ever work with him. So that sucked and thats still brutal. But my kids are all eating. Im doing OK.

Christina Applegate in Legally Blonde

Its hard to imagine Legally Blondes Elle Woods as anyone other than Reese Witherspoon, but it was actually Christina Applegate who was first approached to play her. Applegate revealed in 2015 that she turned down the part as she thought it was too similar to the character she played on the long-running sitcom Married with Children.

I got scared of repeating myself, she said. What a stupid move that was, right? [But] Reese deserved that. She did a much better job than I ever could, and so thats her life, thats her path.

In a strange twist of fate, both Witherspoon and Applegate ended up playing sisters to Jennifer Anistons Rachel on Friends.

Michael Keaton in Groundhog Day

Like a Legally Blonde without Reese Witherspoon, its also difficult to imagine Groundhog Day without Bill Murray. But he wasnt the studios first choice for the part of an acerbic weatherman stuck in a time loop. Rather, Michael Keaton was approached.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2014, Keaton admitted that he had read the script in the early Nineties but didnt get it. Of the character, Keaton said: This guy sounds like the kind of wry, sardonic, glib young man Ive played  and it ended up being so great. But you cant do it better than Bill Murray did it.

Josh Hartnett in Batman Begins

Josh Hartnett has been open about turning down a role that would have transformed his life and career. In 2015, he admitted that Christopher Nolan had sought him out to play Batman, but that fear got the better of him. I was so focused on not being pigeonholed and so scared of being considered only one thing as an actor, he told Playboy Magazine.

He realised hed made a mistake when Nolan cast his eventual Batman, Christian Bale, in his Batman Begins follow-up The Prestige. I decided [Batman] wasnt for me. Then he didnt want to put me in The Prestige. They not only hired their Batman for it, they also hired my girlfriend [Scarlett Johansson] at the time. Thats when I realised relationships were formed in the fire of that first Batman film, and I should have been part of the relationship with this guy Nolan, who I felt was incredibly cool and very talented.

Josh Hartnett in 2006, not at the premiere of The Prestige' (David Livingston/Getty Images)

Michelle Pfeiffer in The Silence of the Lambs

In the early Nineties, Michelle Pfeiffer reportedly turned down a long list of massive roles, from Thelma & Louise and Pretty Woman to Basic Instinct and Sleepless in Seattle. While she said in 2017 that she had to turn down Thelma & Louise due to a scheduling conflict (I still cant watch it  it still kills me), shes admitted to regretting turning down The Silence of the Lambs, as it meant she didnt get to work with the late filmmaker Jonathan Demme more than once.

Demme directed Pfeiffer in 1988s Married to the Mob, and always envisioned her for the role of rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling. But Pfeiffer got cold feet. I was trepidatious, she told The New Yorker earlier this year. There was such evil in that film. It was that evil won in the end, that at the end of that film evil ruled out. I was uncomfortable with that ending. I didnt want to put that out into the world.

Jodie Foster ended up winning an Oscar for the role.

Halle Berry in Speed

Sandra Bullock has Halle Berry to thank for inadvertently making her a star. While promoting the 2019 sequel John Wick: Chapter 3  Parabellum, Berry admitted that she could have starred alongside Keanu Reeves decades earlier, as she was nearly cast in the runaway bus thriller Speed.

I was offered Speed before Sandra Bullock, Berry told Entertainment Tonight. I stupidly said no. But in my defence, when I read the script the bus didnt leave the parking lot.

Bullock ended up playing Annie, who is tasked with driving a bus rigged with explosives. Berry said that she came to regret turning down the part. I see the movie and Im like, arrrghhh.

Bruce Willis in Ghost

Willis and Demi Moore were a couple at the time they were both sent the script for the romantic drama Ghost in 1989  but only one of them ended up doing it. While Moore starred alongside Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg in the film, which became the highest-grossing film of 1990, Willis found the whole concept confusing. A dead man attempting to help his grieving girlfriend move on while simultaneously solving his own murder? Pfft.

I just didnt get it, Willis told The New York Times in 1996. I said, Hey, the guys dead. How are you gonna have a romance? Famous last words. Just to punctuate his regrets, the Die Hard star dubbed himself a knucklehead for passing up the role.

Eddie Murphy in Who Framed Roger Rabbit

The number of famous roles Eddie Murphy has played is almost as long as the number he turned down. He thought Ghostbusters sounded like a crock when he was offered it in the early Eighties, rejected Rush Hour in favour of the forgotten comedy Holy Man, and  probably wisely  said no to Driving Miss Daisy.

One film that he had second thoughts about, though, was Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which originally wanted him for the role eventually played by Bob Hoskins. The film  a high-concept detective comedy that fused together live-action and animation  was a bold risk for 1987, and Murphy wasnt convinced by it.

I was like, What?, he said in 2003. Animation and people sounded like bulls*** to me. Now every time I see it, I feel like an idiot.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol arrested a woman in Medina County after police say she crashed her car into a local patrolman's cruiser on a residential street.

The woman is being cited with what police say is her 10th charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence. Her first OVI charge came in 1988. Her latest, prior to the crash Friday night, came in 2017.

The crash occurred at 9:20 p.m. less than a quarter-mile north of Center Road (state Route 303) at the residential intersection of Terrington Drive and Kenton Lane. The woman, a 59-year-old Brunswick resident, was driving a 2015 Mercedes-Benz north on Terrington Drive when state troopers say she struck a stopped Brunswick Hills Township police cruiser in the rear.

The officer and the woman were not injured.

Police say the woman was found to be impaired at the scene and arrested.

The crash remains under investigation.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Driver charged with 10th OVI hits police cruiser in Medina County
For anyone, taking a deep dive into your family roots can turn up a lot of surprises, not all of them welcome. Finding Your Roots on PBS had that in mind when they contacted Joe Manganiello to see if he wanted to opt out of his episodesomething it rarely does.

Manganiello's lineage is full of more dramatic twists and turns than the final season of True Blood, but he went through with his episode and he and host Henry Louis Gates even presented a special screening of it in Los Angeles, a first for the series. Watch his reaction to "meeting" one of his unknown ancestors in the exclusive clip above.

"If I have a short list of all-time greatest hits, Joe Manganiello's paternal ancestry is on that list," Gates told Rolling Stone.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 16: Joe Manganiello attends Metallica Presents:

Kevin Winter/Getty

Well, let's start with the maternal side. Manganiello's great-grandmother Terviz "Rose" Darakjian was basically a superhero, surviving the Armenian genocide after her husband and seven of her eight children were murdered in front of her in 1915.

"It's virtually impossible that I exist," Manganiello told Rolling Stone.

Rose escaped with the eighth child, an infant, strapped to her back, swam across a river to escape death marches, only for her baby to drown by the time she got to the other side. She lived in a cave before she was picked up by German officers and taken to a camp, where she was impregnated by one of the officers.

Manganiello had known that his great-grandmother was a survivor of the Armenian genocide and his great-grandfather was a German officer, but he had never been able to find out his identity. Until Finding Your Roots. That officer's name was Karl Wilhelm Beutinger, and he already had a wife and three kids back in Germany, one of whomhis eldest son, Manganiello's great unclegrew up to be a Nazi SS officer during World War II.

"You have to take the good with the bad," Manganiello said. "And there's some of that with history. I think there's a tendency to say, 'I'm so proud that my ancestors were on the right side of history,' but that's not you  that's somebody else."

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And now the paternal side. After Manganiello took a DNA test, he found out that he's both 100 percent that bitch and 7 percent Sub-Saharan African.

"Sub-Saharan African means that basically you're descended from slavery, as it pertains to the United States, and I didn't know that's what it meant until I was on the show," Manganiello said.

The actor's fifth great-grandfather was Plato Turner, a man born in Africa and brought to the United States and enslaved as a child. He later became a free man and joined the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, fighting against the British. There's a monument dedicated to him in Plymouth, Mass.

"It's so rare to think that you'd have freed slaves fighting for the Colonies," Manganiello said. "You fight for the freedom and the promise that all men are created equal, and then a hundred years later there's the Civil War? To think of how backwards this whole thing went."

Manganiello's great-grandparents were an interracial couple, William Henry Cuter, a Black man, and Nellie Alton, a white woman, who wed in 1887 in Rhode Island  interracial marriage wouldn't be legal across the country for another 80 years. As a result of this union, Nellie's parents, Manganiello's great-great grandparents, disowned her.

"I'm descended from survivors," Manganiello said, noting that though the revelations of his family history are shocking, he feels like Finding Your Roots handed him a pair of glasses after all these years. "All of a sudden I can see myself clearly for the first time."

Joe Manganiello's episode of Finding Your Roots airs Feb. 9 on PBS.

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Innovative Dental is located near Highway 65 and Evans Road.

In a video posted Nov. 3 to his Innovative Dental YouTube channel, Springfield dentist Grant Olson said he generally likes to keep things positive but felt the need to speak out against what he believes is a dangerous trend in the industry  snap-on veneers.

Other dentists jumped into the comments to say they agreed, but not everyone was pleased.

Earlier this month, Olson and his practice hit with a federal lawsuit filed by a Texas-based cosmetic dental company claiming defamation and slander as a result of the video.

Snap-on veneers are cosmetic devices that are made from resin or plastic and can be placed on top of a person's natural teeth to cover up stains, chips or other issues. They don't involve a trip to the dentist office and are billed as a cheaper option for clients who can't afford pricey dental procedures.

In his video, titled "The Ugly Truth About 'Veneers,'" Olson said these snap-on veneers are unregulated and can cause significant damage to people's teeth, bones and gums  thus costing people more money in the long run.

Youre really getting taken advantage of with that and youre going to have more problems," Olson said in the video. "And the cost isnt worth it.

More:Answer Man: Reader sees lighted sign at night and wonders what's being built along Hwy 65

Billy Watson, owner of Brighter Image Lab in Fort Worth, Texas, fired back Monday with a federal lawsuit claiming Olson made "objectively false and deceptively misleading" statements in the video that could hurt Watson's business.

If the court does not intervene, Watson claims, the video (which had about 7,300 views as of Thursday) will cause "irreparable harm" to the reputation of Brighter Image Lab, which creates and sells custom-designed snap-on veneers to customers throughout the country. Watson is seeking an injunction on the video in addition to monetary damages.

The lawsuit lists more than 30 statements made by Olson during the 12-minute video that Watson believes to be false or misleading, including that snap-on veneers aren't really veneers, they won't save customers money in the long run and that they cost only $5 to make.

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Among Watson's claims in the lawsuit is that the dental industry is threatened by his company, which allows consumers to bypass a visit to a traditional dentist. He claims Olson's video was made "in response to this competitive threat."

In the video, Olson said he felt compelled to speak out against snap-on veneers after he was recently visited by a patient who purchased snap-on veneers and is suffering from tooth decay that requires significant dental intervention.

"You're spending $800 to cost yourself thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars," Olson warned in the video.

Olson displayed photos of his recent patient's smile and said the patient had purchased his snap-on veneers from "a company out of Texas. I won't name the names, but you know who you are."

A representative from Innovative Dental declined to discuss specifics of the situation on Wednesday, citing the pending litigation.

Brighter Image has an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau which says the company has a pattern of disputes regarding product and service issues. The company does, however, have 4.7 stars out of a possible 5 across more than a thousand Google reviews.

At the end of Olson's video, he endorsed a name-brand product called Snap-On Smile, which is different from the snap-on veneers in that it involves going through a dentist.

"The licensed dentist has to at least remove the decay from the teeth, we can't just cover up a mess underneath and then go 'Yeah, you're good to go. Catch you later,'" Olson said. "So there's ethics involved. We have to remove infection, make sure that everything is safe. You're not going to find teeth getting worse as long as you take them off and clean the teeth underneath."

Olson said he does not use Snap-On Smile at his practice but knows other dentists who do and said it can be an effective short-term solution to improve the look of one's smile.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Texas snap-on veneer company sues Innovative Dental over YouTube video
NFaly Dante is known for his dunks and rebounding prowess in the paint. But actually posterizing someone hasnt been in the Dante highlight film.

Until now.

Dante stepped in front of a pass on the Oregon press and instead of passing it, the big 7-foot center decided to take a few dribbles and go right to the hoop. Unfortunately for Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa, he happened to be in Dantes way and there wouldnt be any going around the defender.

Dante went through him and slammed it in Kriisas face to send the Matthew Knight Arena faithful into a frenzy. Just to add insult to injury, Kriisa was called for the blocking foul.

The play also sent social media into a frenzy.

The Highlight

Hang it in the Louvre

Young Shaq?

nfaly dante > shaq who is it say  j (@JaRomney) January 14, 2023

The lone shining moment

At least Oregon basketball will have this highlight from this year. pic.twitter.com/FUbUw5m6aA  Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 14, 2023

Green Light takes notice

Story continues

Holy shit pic.twitter.com/FW4W1kRxlS  Green Light with Chris Long (@greenlight) January 14, 2023

The fact that it was on Kerr Kriisa is perfect

NFaly Dante just absolutely baptized Kerr Kriisa my WORD pic.twitter.com/fjXRrN1FJe  Brian Rauf (@brauf33) January 14, 2023

Sports Center gets in on it

N'Faly Dante or Jordan Bell?

This is the best dunk by an Oregon player since Jordan Bell was in town, no? pic.twitter.com/j7KXnDiPf9  Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) January 14, 2023

A lot of dunking going on

Pray for the rims at Matthew Knight Arena today. Taking a beating so far.  Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) January 14, 2023

Push Notification Treatment

NFaly Dante gets the push notification treatment. pic.twitter.com/Xv3qsrD97m  Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) January 14, 2023

Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire
Guests attend a ceremony to mark the resumption of operation of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station in south China's Hong Kong, Jan. 15, 2023.

After nearly three years of service suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link resumed operation Sunday, with an average of 38.5 pairs of high-speed trains on a daily basis running from stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at the initial stage. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

HONG KONG/GUANGZHOU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- It was a little past dawn Sunday when the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station welcomed its first batch of travelers, who couldn't hide their excitement behind the masks as they were about to catch the very first high-speed train in nearly three years to the Chinese mainland.

"My son can't wait to get a taste of the special dishes of our hometown," said a traveler surnamed Fu, who hasn't been back to northeastern China for two years. Soon she and her son would get onboard the first train in the morning to Shenzhen, where she would then transfer to her hometown for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

After nearly three years of service suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link resumed operation Sunday, with an average of 38.5 pairs of high-speed trains on a daily basis running from stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at the initial stage.

Liao Jun, a student from Jiangxi Province who studies in Hong Kong, was excited to catch the first train back to the mainland.

"Today will be a day to remember. The resumption of high-speed rail services is of great significance to the overall connectivity between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the mainland," he said.

The first train left for Shenzhen at 7:03 a.m. local time. In only 18 minutes, the train arrived at Shenzhenbei station, where a southbound high-speed train was ready to take passengers to Hong Kong.

The windows of the train were decorated with Chinese paper-cuts that read "happy new year" and wishes for the upcoming Year of the Rabbit, which falls on Jan. 22.

At the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, inbound passengers were greeted with gift bags that read "Hello, Hong Kong." The arrival hall was decorated with potted flowers that signal good fortune for a new year.

"I printed out the ticket today as a souvenir," said a businessman surnamed Bu, who just took the train from Shenzhen to Hong Kong to visit his clients.

"It would be of great help to be able to talk to my clients face to face," he said.

By 10:00 a.m. Sunday morning, nine northbound bullet trains and seven southbound bullet trains had taken around 1,400 passengers to their destinations. Tickets were sold out for most of the trains. 

Passengers are greeted with gift bags at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station in south China's Hong Kong, Jan. 15, 2023.

After nearly three years of service suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link resumed operation Sunday, with an average of 38.5 pairs of high-speed trains on a daily basis running from stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at the initial stage. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

Passengers get their tickets checked at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station in south China's Hong Kong, Jan. 15, 2023.

After nearly three years of service suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link resumed operation Sunday, with an average of 38.5 pairs of high-speed trains on a daily basis running from stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at the initial stage. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

Passengers are greeted with gift bags at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station in south China's Hong Kong, Jan. 15, 2023.

After nearly three years of service suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link resumed operation Sunday, with an average of 38.5 pairs of high-speed trains on a daily basis running from stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at the initial stage. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

Passengers pose for photos aboard the train G5607 bound for Hong Kong at the Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 15, 2023.

After nearly three years of service suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link resumed operation Sunday, with an average of 38.5 pairs of high-speed trains on a daily basis running from stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at the initial stage. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Crew members of the train G5607 bound for Hong Kong welcome passengers at the Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 15, 2023.

After nearly three years of service suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link resumed operation Sunday, with an average of 38.5 pairs of high-speed trains on a daily basis running from stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at the initial stage. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Passengers get their tickets checked at the Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 15, 2023.

After nearly three years of service suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link resumed operation Sunday, with an average of 38.5 pairs of high-speed trains on a daily basis running from stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at the initial stage. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

The train G5607 bound for Hong Kong is pictured at the Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 15, 2023.

After nearly three years of service suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link resumed operation Sunday, with an average of 38.5 pairs of high-speed trains on a daily basis running from stations in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station at the initial stage. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)
The following is a transcript of an interview with Democratic Rep. Daniel Goldman of New York that aired on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, on "Face the Nation."

MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Congressman Dan Goldman, former US attorney in New York, who served as the lead counsel for the Democrats in the first impeachment trial of former President Trump, so you may recognize him. Good morning to you, Congressman.

REP. DAN GOLDMAN (D-NY): Good morning, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, let's start with the appointment of the Special Counsel. I know you were asked last week, and you said you did not think one was necessary. Given what we now know, and the developments, do you still think it was a mistake to appoint Hur as a special counsel?

REP. GOLDMAN: I don't think it was a mistake. I don't think any of us really have a good understanding of what information the Attorney General had when he decided to appoint Mr. Hur as the Special Counsel. But I do think it goes to a really important fact that is being missed here, which is that this administration is doing things by the book, there is a divide and a separation between the Department of Justice and the White House that certainly did not exist in the last administration. And President Biden and his team have reached out to the archives, they've reached out to the Department of Justice, they have done everything they can to cooperate. And that's in direct contrast to what former President Trump has done, where he has obstructed justice at every turn.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right, doing things by the book now, but obviously, in the handling of classified material, not by the book, because the regulations are pretty clear there. Can you explain to me, for the search that we just laid out that was happening at the president's home for- the current president - his Wilmington home on Thursday? Why would he send lawyers who don't have a security clearance to search for classified material?

Story continues

REP. GOLDMAN: I'm not sure, and we don't know the circumstances of that. But certainly, the documents leave the Vice President's office and have to be stored somewhere. I do hope we will find out more information about it. But as you see from the White House, a statement from the personal attorney, Bob Bauer statement, they are doing everything by the book, they take this classified information, being where it should not be. And we all acknowledge it should not be there, they take it very seriously. And they are abiding by the laws, they have reached out and been as cooperative as possible. And that's part of the reason why they can't speak is that they would be potentially interfering with an ongoing investigation, which once again, this administration takes very seriously.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So can you explain on Thursday, why a White House attorney, someone who's paid by US taxpayers was the one with the security clearance who got in the car and drove down to Delaware to then pick up where those lawyers who didn't have security clearance left off, and then found the five classified documents? Why is it appropriate for a White House lawyer to be involved in this personal matter?

REP. GOLDMAN: Well, because it involves classified information which belongs to the government. And this White House lawyer, Mr. Sauber has security clearance. So the personal attorneys once they found a classified document 

MARGARET BRENNAN: Does that seem appropriate to you?

REP. GOLDMAN: to have to put it down stop. And then the White House Counsel, yes, of course, that's appropriate. When you have matters of national security, you need to make sure that those who have clearance to review them are reviewing them. And once again, we're focusing on a lot of the nitty gritty details here. The bigger picture is broad cooperation from the president who clearly takes this very seriously. And that- that should be really underscored here. As well as the importance of an independence of the Department of Justice.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You had an op-ed last year, about the 45th President and the issues with classified material, and you laid out four factors you said prosecutors need to look at: intend to distribute, clear knowledge of importance, volume of the material, and whether or not investigators had been lied to, is that the set of criteria you also think President Biden needs to be judged on?

REP. GOLDMAN: It absolutely is. And I think if you go through those criteria, and each one, they do not apply, we don't have any indication that President Biden knew about them. He certainly has demonstrated no intent to deceive or obstruct the government by keeping them. And that's in direct contrast to President Trump, who refused to cooperate, who refused to comply with a subpoena, and who ultimately forced the Department of Justice to execute a search warrant to retrieve the classified documents. When you look at this very clearly, and you compare them there is no comparison. Those four factors, I believe, apply to President Trump and none of them apply to President Biden. And that is where we need to be centering this conversation.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about your first week in Congress. One of the things you did was hand deliver this ethics complaint to your fellow New Yorker, Republican George Santos. He's under local, state, federal and international investigation. You need a simple majority to-to move ahead with any kind of ethics action. Do you have any Republicans supporting what you're trying to do here?

REP. GOLDMAN: Well, the Speaker of the House indicated that the- he would support an ethics investigation. And in fact this morning, Congressman Torres and I sent a letter to Speaker McCarthy, Chairwoman Stefanik and the head of the Congressional Leadership Fund, Kevin McCarthy's camp super PAC arm, because there's really, really bombshell indication and reporting from the New York Times that they all knew about Mr. Santos' lies prior to the election. And as part of this investigation, we are calling on them to be fully cooperative with the investigators, both in Congress and outside of Congress to disclose exactly what they knew about Mr. Santos' lies, and whether they were complicit in this scheme to defraud voters.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you know, for folks at home who aren't following this a great degree of detail. They hear Kevin McCarthy say things like- the Speaker McCarthy, you say things like Well, other people have also said things that aren't true and they work in Congress. They look at the fact that Senator Menendez of New Jersey has said he knows of an ongoing federal probe that involves him, a number of Democrats have failed to disclose stock trades, other things like that. Why is this case different? And how is this not just politics? Can you explain it?

REP. GOLDMAN: George- Sure. George Santos is a complete and total fraud. Everything that he said about himself on the campaign trail, nearly everything has proven to be a lie. His financial disclosures are  have clear false statements and omissions. And that's what we refer to the Ethics Committee for an investigation to get to the bottom of whether he broke the law. Eight Republican Congress members have called on him to resign. This is not like any of the other examples you're talking about. This is a scheme to defraud the voters of the third district in New York, and this needs to be investigated intensively. And Mr. Santos needs to think twice about whether he belongs in Congress. And more importantly, the Speaker needs to think twice about whether Mr. Santos is fit to serve in Congress.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We will be tracking that story. Thank you very much, Congressman.

Whipple on the "hardest of the hard days" of Biden's early presidency

How classified documents should be handled

Face The Nation: Panel, Patta, Whipple
Features/The Vanished Editor

Tammy Ayer has worked at the Yakima Herald-Republic since 2015. This is her fourth newspaper gig. Alongside general assignment reporting and profiles, she writes about the centuries-long crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, focusing on those who have gone missing, been murdered and have died mysteriously on and around the Yakama Reservation. Ayer grew up in Indiana, lived in Florida for 13 years and has a masters degree in history.
RFA/Health Care Access Reporter

Santiago Ochoa is a bilingual journalist covering health care access at the Yakima Herald-Republic in Yakima, Washington. Before joining the Herald, Ochoa reported for Flint Beat in Flint, Michigan, covering the citys Latino populationhealth care, education, community building and more, and winning top honors in the Michigan Press Associations feature category. He served as photographer and later editor for his college newspaper, The Michigan Times. When hes not working, Ochoa enjoys cross-country trips on his motorcycle, going to the movies, reading and skiing.
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A 72-seater passenger aircraft has crashed while landing on the runway of the Pokhara International Airport in Nepal. As per ANI, a total of 68 passengers and four crew members were on board the Yeti Airlines aircraft that crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport, Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson of Yeti Airlines mentioned. As per the latest updates, authorities have declared all 72 people dead, including five Indians, while 68 bodies have so far been recovered. Yeti Airlines was operating an ANC ATR 72 aircraft, which was flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara with 68 passengers. Rescue operations are underway and the airport is closed for the time being.

"There were 72 people on the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft operated by Nepal's Yeti Airlines, including two infants, four crew members and 10 foreign nationals," said airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula.

Plane with 72 people onboard crashes in #Nepal's Pokhara pic.twitter.com/YcWHNGk4wu January 15, 2023

"I am deeply saddened by the tragic accident of Yeti Airlines ANC ATR 72, which was flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara with passengers. I sincerely appeal to the security personnel, all agencies of the Nepal government and the general public to start an effective rescue," said Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Twitter.

Nepal has a poor air safety record due to the harsh terrain and usage of smaller aircrafts. One May 29, 2022 a turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane operated by Nepal's Tara Air went missing 15 min into the flight, losing communication with the ATC.

The plane with 22 onboard, including 19 passengers and 3 crew members was travelling from tourist town of Pokhara, 125 kilometres (80 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, and was bound for Jomsom, about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Pokhara, a popular tourist and a pilgrimage site. All 22 onboard were declared dead later.

Further details awaited.
Nepal plane crash: India on Sunday (January 15, 2023) said that it is "monitoring the situation" after a Yeti Airlines plane with 72 people onboard including five Indians crashed in Nepal's Pokhara. Releasing the helpline numbers, the Embassy of India in Kathmandu also said that it is in touch with local authorities.

"An ATR-72 plane of Yeti Airlines crashed today near the Pokhara Airport while flying from Kathmandu. According to the info provided by Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, 5 Indians were travelling on this flight. Rescue operations are underway. Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is monitoring the situation," it said in a tweet.

The Indian Embassy also released the following helpline numbers:

I) Kathmandu: Shri Diwakar Sharma:+977-9851107021

II) Pokhara: Lt Col Shashank Tripathi: +977-9856037699

Helplines of Embassy:

I) Kathmandu: Shri Diwakar Sharma:+977-9851107021



II) Pokhara: Lt Col Shashank Tripathi: +977-9856037699

Helpline contacts of Embassy:



Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is monitoring the situation.



N2/2  IndiaInNepal (@IndiaInNepal) January 15, 2023

Nepal plane crash: At least 40 killed after Yeti airlines aircraft crashes in Pokhara

At least 40 people have been confirmed dead when a domestic flight crashed in Pokhara in Nepal.

Hundreds of rescue workers were scouring the hillside where the Yeti Airlines flight, carrying 72 people from the capital Kathmandu, went down.

Unconfirmed video shows Yeti Airlines plane moments before crash in #Nepal pic.twitter.com/y7DLv4CGkG  Zee News English (@ZeeNewsEnglish) January 15, 2023

Those on the twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft included two infants and four crew members, said airline spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula.

Passengers included five Indians, four Russians and one Irish, two South Korean, one Australian, one French and one Argentine national.

Visuals showed rescue workers scrambling around broken sections of the aircraft.

Some of the ground near the crash site was scorched, with licks of flames visible.
Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

PARIS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- French post office, La Poste, on Saturday issued two stamps to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit, which starts on Jan. 22.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye said that 2023 is the year of the Rabbit, and the rabbit is an animal of incredible cuteness, well-behaved, gentle and quick-witted.

The rabbit represents the positive energy of the Chinese people who can overcome difficulties and improve themselves, Lu noted, adding that the Sino-French relations will surely write a new chapter and make rapid progress in the new year.

It has been 19 years since La Poste issued its first Chinese zodiac stamps, Philippe Wahl, president and chief executive officer of La Poste said.

Wahl said that by issuing Chinese zodiac stamps to celebrate the Chinese New Year, La Poste was paying sincere tribute to the Chinese culture.

Featuring a crouching rabbit on a pink background, one stamp applies to the domestic mail service in France with a face value of 1.16 euro (1.26 U.S. dollar). The other, a rabbit looking up on the background of the moon, applies to the international mail service with a denomination of 1.8 euro.

The stamps, designed by Chinese artist Chen Jianghong, are marked with "The Year of The Rabbit" characters in both Chinese and French.

Since 2005, the French post office has been celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year each year by issuing stamps featuring the year's zodiac animal.

The twelve animals, representing the Chinese Zodiac to record the years and reflect people's attributes, are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollar) 

Chinese artist Chen Jianghong displays the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

The Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps, designed by Chinese artist Chen Jianghong, are seen during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

A customer poses for a photo with Chinese artist Chen Jianghong (R), designer of the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps, during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Chinese artist Chen Jianghong displays the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Chinese artist Chen Jianghong signs on the Year of the Rabbit commemorative stamps designed by him during a launching ceremony in Paris, France, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)
The Nepal government has instructed concerned authorities to conduct a technical inspection of all domestic flights after a Nepalese passenger plane with 72 people on board, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened Pokhara airport on Sunday, killing at least 68 people. The Cabinet meeting held in Baluwatar to assess the situation after Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft crash also formed a five-member investigation commission under the leadership of former aviation secretary Nagendra Ghimire to probe the accident.

The aircraft that took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am crash-landed at the airport in Pokhara -- a major tourist destination in the Himalayan nation. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the aircraft crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport. There were a total of 68 passengers and four crew members.

Five Indians were among the total 15 foreign nationals onboard the plane, the Indian Embassy tweeted. The five Indians onboard the crashed plane have been identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, Bishal Sharma, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, Sonu Jaiswal, and Sanjaya Jaiswal, a Yeti Airlines official said.

"An ATR-72 plane of Yeti Airlines crashed today near the Pokhara Airport while flying from Kathmandu. According to the info provided by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, 5 Indians were travelling on this flight. Rescue operations are underway," the Indian mission tweeted.

The embassy is in touch with local authorities and is monitoring the situation, it added. The Council of Ministers emergency meeting also announced a public holiday on January 16 to mourn the victims of the Yeti Airlines plane crash.

Following the Yeti Airlines aircraft crash, the Pokhara International Airport has been closed today for all incoming and outgoing flights. Images and videos posted on social media platforms showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site.

Nepal has had a fraught record of aviation accidents, partly due to its sudden weather changes and airstrips located in hard-to-access rocky terrains. The last major air accident in Nepal happened on May 29 when all 22 people on board, including four members of an Indian family, were killed as a Tara Air plane crashed in Nepal's mountainous Mustang district.
The site of the plane crash, the Pokhara International airport, is the latest airport in the country, inaugurated two weeks ago. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' inaugurated the Himalayan nation's third international airport in western Nepal's tourist hub of Pokhara, built with Chinese assistance. 'Prachanda' unveiled a plaque marking the official inauguration of the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA), a week after he was appointed as the prime minister. The PRIA, a flagship project of Nepal-China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation, was constructed with Chinese loan assistance. Deputy Prime and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and other top leaders were also present on occasion.

The international flights are expected to take off after the second week of February. The government signed a USD 215.96 million soft loan agreement with China in March 2016 for the construction of the new airport in lake city.

Also read: LIVE Updates | Plane with 72 people onboard crashes in Nepal's Pokhara, five Indians among 40 dead

Speaking on occasion, Prachanda, said to be close to China, underlined that aerial connectivity is the most effective means of connectivity for a landlocked country like Nepal. "As the country's third international airport, the airport has started operating in Pokhara from today," he said. "With the opening of this airport, Pokhara's relationship with the international region has been established."



The Prime Minister also requested the Chinese government to facilitate the opening of border crossings with China and to assist in the construction of railway services and other projects.



"I became the Prime Minister after being elected from Gandaki Province, the people here have given me the opportunity to serve as the Prime Minister for a third time, I want to thank them for this," he said. He said that the government under his leadership will work with the basic mantra of social justice, good governance and prosperity of the people.



"Earlier, I played a leading role for the establishment of a democratic republic, now I will move the country forward by promoting economic development, prosperity and good governance," he said.

Chinese Embassy Charge de Affaires Wang Xin said that the airport is designed and built as per Chinese standards, which reflects the high quality of Chinese engineering, and symbolises the national honour of Nepal.

"Pokhara International Airport has been highly valued by the leaders of China and Nepal. The new airport will become a vivid practice and a powerful witness of working together to achieve common development and prosperity," the Chinese envoy said.

He said that the arrival of Chinese tourists would greatly contribute to Nepal's tourism sector as the country unveils Tourism Decade 2023-2033. "Under the guidance of the two heads of state, we will jointly build the trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, and let the BRI cooperation bear fruitful results," he said.

"As the two-way trade at the Kerung/Rasuwagadhi border port resumed export of Nepali products to China had started again. The two-way trade at the Pulan/Yari port will be reopened in early 2023," he said, adding "more Nepali products will be exported to China."

"The expert team for the feasibility study & survey of China-Nepal Cross-Border Railway has recently arrived in Nepal, marking an important step in the construction of this 'sky road'. Nepal's dream from a 'land-locked country' to a 'land-linked country' will finally come true," he added.

Meanwhile, Gandaki Province Chief Minister Krishna Chandra Pokharel urged the Chinese government to transform the loan it provided for the Pokhara airport construction project into grants.

"I urge the government of China through the Chinese Embassy here to convert 75 per cent of the total loan into grants," he said. The airport should serve passengers in South Asia in the first phase and then the passengers in Western countries in the second phase, he said. Pokharel expressed hopes that the arrival of tourists in the town would increase significantly with the operation of the international airport.
The date January 15 will forever be etched in the history of aviation disasters. Two separate aviation crashes took place on the same day, 14 years apart, and both had contrasting endings. While in one crash, the bravery and skills of the pilot saved the lives of 155 people, in another, 72 people lost their lives to either the pilot's fault or the plane's technical malfunction. These two incidents are the plane crash in Nepal, which happened on January 15, 2023, killing all 72 passengers on board the Yeti Airlines flight. The other one happened on January 15, 2009, when Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger managed to save the lives of 155 people on board a US Airways flight, landing the plane on the Hudson river.

A Yeti Airline's plane operating an ATR-72 with 72 people, including 68 passengers and 4 crew members, crashed while landing at the Pokhara International Airport in Nepal on January 15, 2023. Pokhara is a popular tourist destination in Nepal, and its international airport was recently inaugurated and has been built with China's financial help. The plane crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport while landing, and a video shot on mobile revealed the plane banked hard on the left, almost 90 degrees, before crashing.

The ATR 72 aircraft, which was flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara, was carrying two infants, four crew members, and 11 foreign nationals, including 5 Indians. While the exact factors for the crash will be known only after completion of the detailed probe, initially, it looks like the possibility of mishandling by the pilot or malfunctioning of the plane's angle of attack system, experts believe. As seen in the video, the weather was perfectly fine on the day of the crash.

OTD: 14 years ago today, US Airways flight 1549 landed in the Hudson when it struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia, losing all engine power. 155 people on board were rescued by nearby boats, with only a few serious injuries. pic.twitter.com/HrPoAmZD70 January 15, 2023

Miracle on the Hudson

On January 15, 14 years ago, a US Airways flight 1549 landed in the Hudson river when it struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport, New York City, losing all engine power. There were 155 people on board the flight operating an Airbus A320. All the passengers came out safely from the plane and were rescued by nearby boats, with only a few serious injuries. The media quickly dubbed the incident a "Miracle on the Hudson", while the United States' National Transportation Safety Board official described it as "the most successful ditching in aviation history".

The pilots and flight attendants were awarded the Master's Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators in recognition of their "heroic and unique aviation achievement, while Captain Sully became a hero in the world. The movie was made based on the heroics of the former fighter jet pilot, starring Tom Hanks, and premiered in 2016.
Mishandling, malfunctioning of aircraft system or pilot fatigue could be among the factors that caused the deadly plane crash in Nepal that killed at least 68 people on Sunday, according to pilots and an aircraft accident investigation expert. They also said the exact reasons that led to the accident will be known only after a detailed investigation. Nepal, which has witnessed quite a few aircraft accidents in recent years, on Sunday witnessed the crash of an ATR-72 aircraft, operated by Yeti Airlines, that was flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara.

Going by the video clips on social media purportedly showing the plane's trajectory seconds before it crashed, it was a clear sky and the weather was not bad. An aircraft accident investigator told PTI that going by one of the video clips, the nose of the aircraft slightly went up and the wings drooped to the left side before the crash happened, and there could have been a stall.

While the exact factors for the crash will be known only after completion of the detailed probe, initially, it looks like the possibility of mishandling by the pilot or malfunctioning of the plane's angle of attack system, he said on the condition of anonymity.

The person, who was involved in multiple aircraft accident probes, was also closely associated with the investigation into the Calicut plane crash in 2020. A senior pilot at a leading Indian carrier, who did not wish to be quoted, said that following procedures is paramount when flying to terrains like that in Nepal.

The pilot, who also flies to Nepal, said multiple factors, including pilot fatigue, could have led to the crash. While flying an aircraft, there is decision-making at every step and a pilot needs to have good rest. So, there could have been pilot fatigue and also the possibility of procedures not being followed, the pilot added.

A pilot with a regional carrier, who has been flying ATR planes for nearly two decades, opined that the particular aircraft could have suffered a stall or there could have been a pilot error. The factors that led to the crash will be clear only after the completion of the investigation, the pilot added.

"The aircraft involved is a 15 year old ATR 72-500 with registration number 9N-ANC and serial number 754. This aircraft was equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data. We are downloading high resolution data and verifying the data quality," flight tracking website Flightradar24 said in a tweet.

At least 68 people were killed when a Nepalese passenger plane with 72 people onboard, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in central Nepal's resort city of Pokhara on Sunday.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said the aircraft was carrying 72 persons, including 4 crew members.
On January 15, 2023, a Yeti Airlines operated ATR-72 aircraft with 68 passengers onboard crashed near Pokhara Airport while coming from Kathmandu. The plane was carrying 53 Nepalis, 5 Indians, 4 Russians, One Irish, 2 Koreans, 1 Argentinian and a French national, said the Airport authority. Of these, at least 40 people are confirmed dead while rescue operations are ongoing to locate the possible survivors. The plane was 15 years old, according to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24. The ATR72 is a widely used twin-engine turboprop plane manufactured by a joint venture of Airbus and Italy's Leonardo.

Reason for multiple plane crashes

This is not the first crash in Pokhara, and certainly not the first in Nepal. In fact, Nepal has a poor history of aviation safety, with multiple fatal accidents reported over the years. One of the reasons for the high number of crashes is the harsh terrain of the Indian's neighbouring country. Nepal is home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including the world's highest peak, Mount Everest.

Yeti Airlines history

Nepal's high record of air accidents involves mostly small aircrafts, who find it difficult to land on a tough terrain. Yeti Airlines is a domestic airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal and has been in operations since last 25 years, with AOC received on 17 August 1998. Since 2019, Yeti Airlines is the first carbon neutral airline in Nepal and South Asia and is the parent company of Tara Air. Yeti Airlines has a fleet of six ATR72-500 planes, according to its website.

Fatal air crashes in Nepal

One May 29, 2022, a turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane operated by Nepal's Tara Air went missing 15 min into the flight, losing communication with the ATC. The plane with 22 onboard, including 19 passengers and 3 crew members was travelling from Pokhara, a popular tourist and a pilgrimage site. All onboard the plane were later declared dead.

In a strange coincidence, a plane flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed near the Jomsom Airport on May 14, 2012, killing 15 people, making it the same month, and same route for the crash, 10 years apart, as the May 2022 crash. The 2012 flight was operated by Agni Air, Nepal's domestic airliner, flying a Dornier Do-228 plane.

With agencies inputs
MUMBAI: Actor Esha Deol is set to return to the big screens with feature film 'Main', also starring Amit Sadh. The movie, written and directed by Sachin Saraf, will feature Sadh in the role of an encounter specialist. Deol, who made her OTT debut last year with Ajay Devgn-led series 'Rudra: The Edge of Darkness', shared the details of her upcoming movie on Instagram.

In a statement issued to the media, the actor said her character depicts the journey a woman goes through to discover herself and excel in life. "My role in the film caters to the growth of women in life. It conveys a strong yet simple message that a woman can achieve the unimaginable. My character wonderfully depicts how a woman discovers herself and excels in life," Deol said.

The film is produced by Pradeep Rangwani via his UV Films banner. Deol will also be seen alongside Suniel Shetty in noir action thriller series 'Invisible Woman'.
New Delhi: The corporate sector has experienced a veritable bloodbath of job losses as a result of the prolonged economic recession. Technology behemoths like Apple, Twitter, Meta, and Amazon are experiencing slow revenue growth and are therefore laying off staff members across departments in order to save costs. Last year, thousands of individuals lost their jobs, and in 2023, the nightmare will continue. Following recent layoffs by Amazon, Cisco, Salesforce, and even Ola, Vodafone has now declared it will remove staff in an effort to reduce expenses due to the current macroeconomic difficulties.

The global telecommunications company, which employs some 104,000 people worldwide, intends to let go of hundreds of staff members, mostly from its London headquarters. The number of employees who will be impacted in India, where Vodafone is collaborating with Idea under the brand name Vi, is not yet known. The planned layoffs will be the organization's "largest round of job losses in five years," according to the Financial Times. (Also Read: Union Budget 2023-24: All you need to know about process involved in making of Budget)

This follows Vodafone's announcement from November, in which the company disclosed its intention to implement significant cost-cutting measures in response to the weakening market environment. By 2026, Vodafone intends to reduce spending by almost $1.08 billion. And the business intends to carry out this strategy by first reducing its overall workforce. (Also Read: THIS company launches worlds first cow-dung-powered tractor; here's HOW it works and other details)

The fact that Vodafone is attempting to balance its revenue and declining earnings in recent years is noteworthy. The telecom company had a difficult time navigating its ship, particularly last year when the market was in a state of chaos owing to the impending crisis.

As a result, Nick Read, the company's CEO, also announced his resignation because while his leadership, the company's worth dropped by 40%. Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone's chief financial officer, will fill his post in the meantime.
Indian Army Day: On January 15 of every year, Indian Army Day is formally observed. The Indian people honour Field Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa on this day. On this day in 1949, he took Francis Roy Butcher's post as the final British Army Chief Officer and became the first Chief Commander of the country. On January 15, 2023, Indian Army Day will officially mark its 75th year of celebration throughout the nation.

Indian Army Day 2023: History

The Indian Army was formally established on April 1, 1895, and Chief Francis Butcher, the first British Army general, assumed command in 1949. Later on January 15, 1949, Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa was appointed the first Chief Commander of the Indian Army after the British commander-in-chief relinquished leadership of the Indian Army.

Indian Army Day 2023: Significance

Many army command headquarters observe this day in remembrance of the day that K. M. Cariappa became the country of India's first Chief Commander upon its independence.

The Indian Army Day is significant because it honours army soldiers who lost their lives defending the nation. It honours the bravery and sacrifice of the Indian Army in defending the people and the nation.

Indian Army Day 2023: Celebrations

The occasion is marked by a number of activities and special programmes. The day's highlight is the main Army Day parade.

This year for the first time the Indian Army Day parade will be take be held outside New Delhi and will stream live on all social media platforms from Bangalore, on 15 January 2023, 9 am onwards.

LIVE: Army Day Parade 2023 https://t.co/a3Rra6zfGa  ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) January 15, 2023

On this day, people have the chance to remember the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives defending the country from the enemies.
New Delhi: India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, on Saturday, emphasized the country's "strong and firm" counter-response to China's attempts to change the status quo on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) during a speech at an event celebrating the 53rd anniversary of Thuglak magazine. He said, "On the Northern borders, China is seeking to change the status quo by bringing large forces, violating our agreements. Despite Covid, remember, this happened in May 2020. Our counter-response was strong and firm."

EAM Jaishankar praises Indian troops for braving 'harsh weather'

He also praised the Indian forces deployed along the border for safeguarding the frontiers in the most extreme and harshest weather conditions. "These troops deployed in thousands, safeguard our frontiers in the most extreme terrain and harshest weather," he added.

When our national security has been challenged, we have stood our ground, says EAM Jaishankar at Tughlaq's 53rd Annual Day Function in Chennai. pic.twitter.com/mpG33mlqxp  Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 15, 2023

Also Read: 'They attacked our Parliament, Mumbai': S Jaishankar on why Pakistan is 'epicentre of terrorism'

Jaishankar also emphasized India's geo-political significance and geo-strategic location in the world, stating that "Without our active participation, no trans-Asia connectivity initiative can really take off." He also highlighted India's increased global relevance and influence under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Delighted to address the 53rd Anniversary Day of Thuglak magazine. Thank @sgurumurthy ji for the invitation.



Spoke on reasons why India matters to the world.



What India is saying, doing and shaping is a powerful reason why it matters.



: https://t.co/GrHpv7bNv6 pic.twitter.com/pv1sY3JTVo  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 14, 2023

India-China border dispute

This is not the first time Jaishankar has spoken out against China's attempts to change the LAC. In a recent interview with the Austrian ZIB2 podcast, a daily news magazine of ORF television, he said, "We had an agreement not to unilaterally change the LAC, which they have tried to unilaterally do. So there is, I think, an issue, a perception that we have which derives directly from our experiences."

Recently, India and China held the 17th Round of Corps Commanders Level Meeting where both sides agreed to maintain security and stability on the ground in the western sector. The External Affairs Minister also touched upon India's success in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the country's emergence as a "successful producer and as well as the inventor of vaccines."

(With ANI inputs)
Gandhinagar: BJP created history as it swept the Gujarat Assembly polls in 2022. In the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP has smashed all previous records of electoral performance. Taking that into consideration, Union Minister Amit Shah today said that the recent victory in the Gujarat Assembly elections was important to convey the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls. While addressing the public in Gandhinagar, Shah said The seat of Gandhinagar north was not BJP's, but now you all have voted for BJP, hence it is my responsibility to complete all the works of this constituency."

"The 'Plastic Free Village' campaign has started from Moti Adraj today and soon a health and wellness centre will also be constructed," he said, mentioning that a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) has also been inaugurated in Rupal to treat the water.

Also read: Amit Shah chairs high-level meeting, reviews security situation in Jammu and Kashmir

He also made a veiled attack on the opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who also contested the Gujarat polls where the BJP attained a massive victory in 156 of the total 182 seats.

"This time, the Congress people came with a new look, and some new people from Delhi came too, but BJP won with a thumping majority. The Gujarat Assembly election has not only been important for the state but it has also significantly delivered the message from Kashmir to Kanyakumari that PM Modi will be the Prime Minister in 2024 as well," he said.

In the recently held state assembly elections in 2022, Congress had finished a distant second with 17 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the new electoral entrant in Gujarat won five seats and the Samajwadi Party (SP) won a lone seat and three Independent candidates, too, registered wins.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, too, scripted history, winning the Ghatlodia constituency by a record margin of about 1,92,000 votes. This constituency has given Gujarat two of its Chief Ministers - Anandiben Patel and the current CM Bhupendra Patel.

Among the important seats that BJP won in 2022 were Congress bastions Mahudha and Thasra of Kheda, Borsad of Anand, and Vyara. These seats were held by Congress since Independence. Mohan Konkani of the BJP bagged the prestigious Vyara seat.

The BJP had also won 24 out of 27 ST reserved seats in Gujarat, an increase of 12 seats as compared to the last elections. The tribals, too, voted for BJP in huge numbers.

(With agency inputs)
China's optimization of its COVID-19 management has not only facilitated work resumption across the country, but is also shoring up the confidence of foreign investors in the Chinese market.

Xinhua's Zhang Li visits a U.S. auto company in China to find out how are their production and sales nowadays.







Produced by Xinhua Global Service
New Delhi: On the occasion of Army Day, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (January 15, 2023) lauded the Indian Army.

While Murmu said that the Indian Army soldiers have always pushed the frontiers of valour and courage, Modi said they have always kept our nation safe and are widely admired for their service during times of crisis.

ALSO READ | Indian Army Day 2023 parade shifted out of Delhi for first time

"On Army Day, let us recall countless stories of Indian Army soldiers sacrifices! They have always pushed the frontiers of valour and courage, and also acted as saviours in times of calamities. I salute all brave soldiers of Indian Army and their families on this occasion," President Murmu said in a tweet.

On Army Day, let us recall countless stories of Indian Army soldiers sacrifices! They have always pushed the frontiers of valour and courage, and also acted as saviours in times of calamities. I salute all brave soldiers of Indian Army and their families on this occasion.  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 15, 2023

Prime Minister Modi took to his official Twitter account and said, "On Army Day, I convey my best wishes to all army personnel, veterans and their families. Every Indian is proud of our Army and will always be grateful to our soldiers."

On Army Day, I convey my best wishes to all army personnel, veterans and their families. Every Indian is proud of our Army and will always be grateful to our soldiers. They have always kept our nation safe and are widely admired for their service during times of crisis. pic.twitter.com/EJvbkb9bmD January 15, 2023

"They have always kept our nation safe and are widely admired for their service during times of crisis," he added.

Army Day is observed to mark Field Marshal KM Cariappa taking over as first Indian Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army

Army Day is observed on January 15 to mark Field Marshal K M Cariappa taking over as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, replacing his British predecessor in 1949.
Ahead of January 26 or Republic Day, the Delhi Police has foiled a big terror plot in the national capital. P Kushwaha, Addl CP, Special Cell of Delhi Police today said that they caught 2 terrorists, Naushad & Jagjit, on January 12 from Jahangirpuri & recovered 2 military-grade hand grenades, 3 pistols & cartridges. He said that the terrorist duo killed a man in December last year only to demonstrate their capabilities to their handlers and send the murder video to their handlers in Pakistan.

Kushwaha said that the Special Cell had received information about the 2 suspects hiding in Jahangirpuri area. The police team then raided the said location and arrested the terrorists. The accused have been arrested under UAPA. Jagjit is a resident of Uttarakhand while Naushad's house is in Jahangirpuri, Delhi.

The police said that they found traces of blood in the house where the accused were hiding which led to suspicion of murder. Following interrogation, a chopped body was recovered from a nearby drain. The police officer said, "Naushad and Jagjit were involved in terrorist activities. They wanted to kill the right wing leader in Delhi."

Kushwaha also said that these people had planned a big terrorist attack in Punjab in the coming month. They had to attack in Delhi also as many big leaders were on their target, he said. He said that Pakistan's ISI handlers are behind the sinister plot.

"Investigation (in the case of 2 terrorists held by Special Cell) is on. The terrorists have been kept under 14-day police custody. Our teams did a good job by taking prompt action otherwise some untoward incident could've taken place," said HGS Dhaliwal, Special CP, Special Cell.

Police said that Naushad was being handled by a suspected LeT handler while Jagjit's handler is Canda-based Arshdeep Dalla, who is a designated terrorist.

Earlier, the police along with a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team visited the residence of the accused on Friday. The neighbours of the accused told mediapersons that the accused had shifted to the house around Diwali and were rarely seen outside.

Jagjit Singh is suspected to have links with a Canada-based Khalistani terrorist, they had said, adding that Naushad had been associated with terror outfit Harkat ul-Ansar. Jagjit Singh is a member of the notorious 'Bambiha' gang and has been getting instructions from anti-national elements based abroad. He is a parole jumper in a case of murder in Uttarakhand, police had said. (With agency inputs)
Kolkata: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday (January 14) said that the central government will soon send a team to review the implementation of the midday meal scheme in different parts of West Bengal. "On January 5, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari laid down a petition in front of the government of India. Taking this into consideration, the department has implemented a joint review mission JRM, which will consist of all the experts and nutritionists while in 2020 the state had objected to the visit of any such joint review mission (JRM), this time we are determined to send a JRM," Pradhan said addressing the reporters.

He further said that Central officials, state officials and experts from the state will be part of the proposed team.

In a letter to Pradhan, Adhikari urged the Union Education minister to send a central audit team to probe the alleged largescale misappropriation of midday meal funds.

According to an official statement of the Ministry of Education, the JRM will visit West Bengal and review a few major areas, including implementation of the scheme at state, district and school levels for a specified period of time on defined parameters.

"The JRM will also review the fund flow from the State to Schools/implementing agencies, coverage of the Scheme and the availability of management structure at state, district, and block levels. It will also review the delivery mechanism of food grains to schools," the ministry said on Friday.

Recently, the West Bengal government decided to serve chicken and seasonal fruits in mid-day meals for four months starting in January and allotted Rs 371 crore for introducing the same. According to an official notification, chicken and seasonal fruits will be served weekly once for four months for additional nutrition under PM POSHAN.

Pradhan further hit out at the Mamata Banerjee government and said that the education policy is not working properly in West Bengal because of the prevalent corruption. "We need to make the people aware so that they make better choices in the next elections," he added.

Pradhan later visited the residence of a Bharatiya Janata Party worker and had lunch with others in Kolkata.

Notably, the party is gearing up its preparation for the Panchayat elections, likely to be held early this year. The polls will be crucial as it is being seen as a litmus test for both the Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

While BJP had managed to win 18 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the 2019 general election, the TMC returned to power in the 2021 assembly polls for the third time in a row with a sweeping majority.
Taking objection to director Rajkumar Santoshi`s upcoming Hindi cinema "Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh", the Madhya Pradesh unit of Congress has sought a ban on the movie, saying it "insults Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi". Upset over the trailer of the film, senior Congress leader and former minister PC Sharma on Sunday demanded a ban on its release. Sharma, an MLA from Bhopal, talking to reporters on Sunday, also sought dissolution of the Censor Board.

The Congress legislator said: "I am surprised! How can the Censor Board pass this movie which is insulting our Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi? How can one compare Gandhi with Nathuram Godse?"

"The Prime Minister is also from Gujarat. Why this double standard? The Censor Board is acting at the behest of the BJP. I think the board should be disbanded," Sharma said while wondering: "Why is there a Censor Board if it is not independent to take decisions?"

"The Congress will request the Madhya Pradesh government to put a ban on ` Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh` in the state. The BJP government of Madhya Pradesh also cites the examples of Mahatma Gandhi. This film should not be released," the Congress leader added. Ever since the film`s trailer was released, the Congress has been raising objections, while also accusing the BJP of being behind the making of such a movie.

Why Congress wants a ban on `Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh`

On Friday, the Congress workers had burnt the effigy of the film`s director Rajkumar Santoshi in Bhopal. The Congress has warned that the film would not be allowed to be released in theatres in Bhopal under any circumstances. The party said that after watching the trailer of the film, it seems that this film has been made under "a well thought out conspiracy".

The party said "objectionable scenes and dialogues about Muslim society and Mahatma Gandhi have been shown in this film. Fabricated things have also been told in the film. This film will divide the country". The trailer of " Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh " was released on January 11.

In the 3-minute trailer, Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse are seen "fighting a battle of ideas". Godse holds Gandhi responsible for the Partition and plans to assassinate him.

(The above article is sourced from news agency IANS. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency IANS is solely responsible for the contents of the article)

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NEW DELHI: The lieutenant governor cannot "impede" the work of the Delhi government and is supposed to give his nod to subjects already approved by the cabinet, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Sunday. He further stated that the lieutenant governor has not been entrusted with any independent decision-making powers and that he is bound by the aid and advice of the cabinet and elected government.

Speaking about the meeting that took place between Arvind Kejriwal and V K Saxena on Friday, Bharadwaj alleged that the lieutenant governor termed orders of the Supreme Court to be an opinion when he was apprised by the chief minister of their violations.

On July 4, 2018, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court had passed an order saying that "the lieutenant governor has not been entrusted with any independent decision-making power (in context of the transferred subjects)".

"LG isn't accepting the verdict of the Constitution Bench. How can a man who does not believe in the Constitution be allowed to hold a constitutional office? When the CM apprised the LG of how he was violating orders of the Constitution Bench, the LG termed the Supreme Court's orders to be an opinion. LG's ignorance of the law is no excuse," he alleged.

"Only the elected CM & his government can give their opinion to the LG, he does not even have the right to refuse the aid and advice of the elected government. The powers of the LG on 'transferred subjects' is next to minimal. So much so that he has not been entrusted with any independent decision-making powers," Bharadwaj said.

He claimed that the LG has no jurisdiction of rejecting, stopping or amending any decision and that he has to fall in line and act as per the "aid and advice" of the elected government and its council of ministers.

The tussle between Lieutenant Governor Saxena and Chief Minister Kejriwal refused to die down even after the two met for over an hour on Friday with the latter alleging that according to the 2018 Supreme Court judgement, the LG has no independent decision-making power.

Rebutting Kejriwal's statements, a Raj Niwas official said all the statements made by him attributing to the LG were 'misleading, patently false and fabricated and twisted to suit a particular agenda'.
New Delhi: A shocking incident occurred in the Uttam Nagar area of Delhi on Saturday night, when a man, identified as Rajeshwar, was allegedly attacked with an acidic substance by his neighbors. The altercation reportedly began when Rajeshwar's son was taking their pet dog for a walk in front of the accused person's house.

Accused allegedly threw toilet cleaner liquid on the victim

According to police, at around 10:00 pm, they received information of a quarrel taking place and an acidic substance being used. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the altercation began when the victim's son was taking their pet dog for a walk, and as soon as he reached the accused person's house, the occupants of the house started abusing him and pelting stones.

Altercation began when victim and his dog reached accused person's home

The victim's son then informed his father about the incident, who came to his rescue. However, the situation escalated and one of the accused persons threw an acidic substance, believed to be toilet cleaner liquid, at Rajeshwar, causing injuries.

I had taken my dog for a walk & as soon I reached my neighbour's house, they started abusing me. My father came for rescue. The argument escalated so much that one of the accused persons threw acid on me which hit my father, leading to head injuries: Victim's son Abhishek Kumar pic.twitter.com/n5FqGnfqaL  ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2023

Accused detained by Delhi police

The victim was immediately taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences trauma center for treatment. The accused persons have been detained by the police and an investigation is currently underway.

This heinous act has caused widespread outrage and condemnation from the public, with calls for strict action to be taken against the accused persons. The police have assured that they will take all necessary measures to bring the perpetrators to justice.

(With ANI inputs)
New Delhi: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday slammed the National Disaster Management Authoritys (NDMA) office memorandum to various agencies asking them to not post anything on the media about the Joshimath ground subsidence and said instead of solving the problems of people, the government was shooting the messenger.

'Govt has banned reports of agencies like ISRO': Kharge

Kharge said that after Joshimath, there are reports of cracks in the houses from Karnprayag and Tehri Garhwal. He said the government had banned reports of agencies like ISRO and had asked them not to interact with the media.

Instead of solving the disaster and solving the problems of the public, ban has been imposed on the reports of government agencies  ISRO and media interactions have been banned. Narendra Modiji, Do not Shoot the Messenger, Kharge said in a tweet.

  ,              



          ,   - ISRO          !@narendramodi ,



Do Not Shoot the Messenger pic.twitter.com/v9wigOAV0T  Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) January 14, 2023

The Congress leader alleged that ISRO report on Joshimath land sinking had gone missing from government website

Kharge attached an office memorandum from NDMA to various government agencies.

What did NDMA say about the Joshimath land subsidence crisis?

NDMA said various government Institutions are releasing data related to the Joshimath ground subsidence in social media platform and are interacting with media with their own interpretation of the situation.

It is creating confusion not only among affected residents but also among citizens of the country. The issue was highlighted during a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister on January 12, 2023.

(A scientist from G.B Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Climate Change during a survey of the affected area in Joshimath/ANI)

The office memorandum said the matter was also discussed during a meeting chaired by Member Secretary, NDMA, and an expert group has been formed for assessment of ground subsidence at Joshimath.

You are requested to sensitize your organization about this matter and refrain from posting anything on the media platform until the final report of the expert group is released by NDMA, it said.

A team from Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee on Saturday started a door-to-door survey of houses in the Joshimath town of Uttarakhands Chamoli and pasted unusable posters on houses extremely impacted by land subsidence.

The team of CBRI, Roorkee has started to check the land subsidence in Joshimath by conducting a door-to-door survey of the condition and has also installed a gauge meter at houses where severe cracks have been reported.
Army Day 2023: India is celebrating its 75th Army day today (January 15, 2023). Every year, January 15 marks the Indian Army Day which honours Field Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa. In 1949, on this day, he took Francis Roy Butcher's post as the final British Army Chief Officer and became the first Chief Commander of the country.

On this occasion, the army parade is conducted every year in Delhi. However, this year, the Army day parade is being held in Karnataka's Bengaluru. The parade is being held at the Regimental Centre of the Madras Engineering Group (MEG) in Bengaluru.

Karnataka | Army chief Gen Manoj Pande attends the #ArmyDay2023 event in Bengaluru at Govindaswamy parade ground here. pic.twitter.com/O8JTzKOdKh  ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2023

Why is Indian Army Day parade being held outside Delhi this year?

The Indian Army is conducting Army Day parade at Bengaluru and other related events for the first time outside Delhi to connect to the people of the country.

Indian Army Day Parade 2023

A contingent of 5 regiments and military bands will march in the army day parade. This includes a contingent of the Madras Regiment, Artillery Regiment, Para SF, Bombay Engineer Group, Mahar Regiment, MEG, a cavalry contingent from the Army Service Corps, and a military band.

The march will comprise of 5 Regimental Brass Bands and the entire contingent comprises 3 officers and 57 other ranks.

Army Chief General Manoj Pandey is attending the Indian Army Day 2023 event in Bengaluru and will lay wreaths in honor of Martyrs. He will also review Army Day Parade in Bengaluru. In the Southern Command, 75,000 saplings will be planted on the theme of environmental protection for Green India on the occasion of Indian Army Day 2023.

Earlier, the Station Commander of the Southern Command also said that the parade is being held at various field commands in India to facilitate a deeper connection with society.
New Delhi: One of the most powerful women in Indian politics, Mayawati turned 67 today, and wishes poured in from every political party. Political leaders including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath extended birthday greetings to BSP supremo Mayawati. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav also wished health and happiness to the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister. In a tweet, Congress president Kharge said, "Happy birthday to the national president of Bahujan Samaj Party Mayawati ji. We wish you the best of health." Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath's tweet read " Birthday greetings to the national president of BSP and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati ji. I pray to Lord Ram for your good health."

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, while wishing Mayawati on her birthday, in a tweet in Hindi said, "I pray to God that you live long and always be healthy and happy."

     ,             !



            Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) January 15, 2023

Legislative Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana also extended greetings to the former chief minister. Leader of Opposition in Assembly and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in a tweet in Hindi said, "Congratulations and best wishes to @Mayawati ji on her birthday."

Also read: On her birthday, Mayawati says no to alliance; alleges EVM sabotage

Heres all about Mayawatis life on her 67th birthday:

Mayawati is a strong face of Uttar Pradesh politics and is currently the National President of the Bahujan Samaj Party. She is also the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Though Mayawati may have become a well-known name in politics today, but, in her childhood days she aspired to become an IAS.

Raised in Delhi-Noida, Mayawati holds B.Ed and LLB degrees. In 1975, Mayawati graduated in Arts from Kalindi College, University of Delhi. Mayawati did her B.Ed from Meerut University in 1976. Later in 1983, he obtained an LLB degree from Delhi Universit

After completing her education, she prepared for competitive examinations to join administrative service. Meanwhile, she started teaching children as a teacher at a school in Delhi.

Mayawati, who dreamed of administrative services, later entered politics. She was influenced by Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar from the beginning. With the dream of becoming the voice of the Dalits, she joined the politics of UP and became the Chief Minister of the state four times.

(With agency inputs)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today expressed grief on the plane crash accident in which all 72 people are believed to be killed. So far, a total of 68 bodies have been recovered. Jaishankar said that he is deeply grieved upon hearing about the air crash in Pokhara. "Deeply grieved on hearing about the air crash in Pokhara, Nepal. Our thoughts are with the affected families," said Jaishankar in a tweet.

He also shared the helpline numbers issued by the Indian Embassy in Nepal. "An ATR-72 plane of Yeti Airlines crashed today near the Pokhara Airport while flying from Kathmandu. According to the info provided by Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, 5 Indians were travelling on this flight. Rescue operations are underway. Helplines of Embassy: I) Kathmandu: Shri Diwakar Sharma:+977-9851107021/ II) Pokhara: Lt Col Shashank Tripathi: +977-9856037699 / Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is monitoring the situation," said the embassy in a tweet.

Deeply grieved on hearing about the air crash in Pokhara, Nepal. Our thoughts are with the affected families. https://t.co/ebXxx4rCbo  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) January 15, 2023

An aircraft with 68 passengers and four crew members on board crashed in Nepal's Pokhara just before landing. The plane, a 72-seater passenger aircraft, reportedly crashed on the runway at Pokhara Airport in Nepal while landing. The airport is closed for the time being and rescue operations are underway. Kathmandu Post quoted a spokesperson of Yeti Airlines Sudarshan Bartaula as saying that the ATR 72 Yeti airlines aircraft crashed between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport.

Images and videos of the crash posted on social media platforms showed plumes of smoke billowing out of the crash site. 68 bodies have been recovered from the Nepal plane crash site, said a rescue official.

The Pokhara International Airport was inaugurated two weeks ago by Nepal's newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and built with Chinese assistance. Built-in the backdrop of the pristine Annapurna Mountain Range, the airport was officially inaugurated on January 1, 2023.
RAMALLAH, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian man was killed on Sunday by Israeli soldiers east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian medics and the Israeli army said.

Ahmad Kahla, 45, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers near the town of Silwad, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement, without mentioning more details about the incident.

Meanwhile, an Israeli army spokesman said in a statement that a Palestinian who tried to stab an Israeli soldier was killed by another soldier.

The soldiers noticed a Palestinian approaching them while running and holding a knife. Before he reached the soldiers, one of them opened fire, according to the statement. No injuries were reported among the soldiers.

Palestinian security sources denied the Israeli assertions.

Sources told Xinhua that the man was killed following a fight with the Israeli soldiers as they forced him to get out of his car and then shot him dead from a short distance.

Since Jan. 1, Israeli soldiers have killed 13 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including three minors, said Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah. 
New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday (January 15) said that there is no vacancy for Prime Minister's post in India and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will return to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Pradhan's statement came after Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen said that Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has the ability to be India's next PM of India.

"There is no vacancy for PM in India. Since the last two terms, the people of India have kept faith in PM Modi. In 2024 also, under PM Modis leadership NDA will return to power," ANI quoted Dharmendra Pradhan.

Mamata Banerjee can be next PM of India, says Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen

In an interview with news agency PTI, Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen said that Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has the ability to be India's next Prime Minister, however, it is yet to be established whether the West Bengal Chief Minister could be able to pull the forces of public dismay against the BJP.

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen asserted that it "would be a mistake" to think that the 2024 Lok Sabha election would be a one-horse race in favour of the BJP, and felt that the role of a number of regional parties would be "clearly important" for the upcoming general election.

The 90-year-old economist also told PTI that he believes the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) could reduce the role of minorities in the country while encouraging majoritarian forces.
The Tamil Nadu Government announced holidays in schools for the Pongal festival, a four-day festival that will begin today, January 15. Tamil Nadu declared the holidays of all the schools in the state from January 15 to January 18, 2023 on the occasion of Pongal.

Students and their parents must note that the schools will issue their own notice to confirm the Pongal holidays from January 15 to January 18, however, the public holiday has been declared by the Tamil Nadu govt til Jan 18, 2023.

Pongal 2023: Festival to celebrate the harvest

Pongal is a four-day festival celebrated in Southern India, mainly in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The festival marks the beginning of what is called the 'Thai' month which is believed to brings positive change to their lives and help them overcome their problems. The four days of Pongal are - Bhogi Pongal, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kannum Pongal.
Jodhpur (Rajasthan): A Rajasthan government engineer has been suspended for breaching the security protocol of President Droupadi Murmu and attempting to touch her feet during an event on January 4. The Public Health Engineering Department suspended the engineer on Friday following the intervention of the Home Ministry.

"Amba Siyol, a Junior Engineer with the PHED, had violated the protocol during an inaugural programme of the Scout Guide Jamboree in Rohet on January 4 by making an attempt to touch the feet of the president, so invoking the powers under Rajasthan Civil Service Rule, she is suspended with immediate effect," read the order by the chief engineer (administration), PHED.

Siyol was at the venue to take care of the water arrangements. But breaching the security grid of the president, she managed to reach the frontline of officials who were there to welcome the president.

In an abrupt move, she stepped forward and tried to touch her feet, but was stopped by the president's security.

The local police had let her off following a formal inquiry.

The Union Home Ministry took serious note of the incident considering it to be a serious lapse in her security and sought a report from the Rajasthan Police.
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal has stoked a controversy by suggesting that foreigners should be allowed entry into the Jagannath temple of Puri, with several traditionalists and political leaders criticising the proposal and rejecting it outright. Former minister Bijay Mohapatra said centuries-old traditions of the temple should not be tinkered with.

"Everyone, including non-Hindus, can have a darshan of the sibling deities -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath -- when they step out of the temple on the occasion of Ratha Jatra every year. There should not be a dispute over such matters," the BJP leader maintained.

Several servitors in Puri echoed Mohapatra. Senior Congress MLA Suresh Routray said "interferences in religious practices should be avoided".

Lal, while addressing a function at Utkal University on Thursday, had said, "If the foreigners are meeting the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, servitors and the shankaracharya, there is no point in depriving them of Lord Jagannath's darshan inside the temple. It is a suggestion."

The 12th century shrine, one of the four dhams, bars the entry of non-Hindus.

A sign board at the temple gate states, "Only Hindus are allowed."

A Puri based socio-cultural organisation, Shree Jagannath Sena, had staged a protest against the governor's remark in the temple town on Saturday.

"We have a lot of respect for the governor. But his proposal is unacceptable. He should refrain from the commenting on sensitive issues linked to faith and religion," Sena convener Priyadarshan Pattnaik said.

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), a government body that oversees the upkeep and maintenance of the temple and its operations, is yet to issue a statement on the matter.

The governor, who left for Ujjaini in Madhya Pradesh earlier on Sunday, could not be reached for his reaction.

A Raj Bhavan spokesperson, on being approached, said that the "governor has just made a suggestion, and nothing beyond that. He did not give any order."

Meanwhile, Odisha former minister Damodar Rout came out in support of Lal's suggestion and said there should be no restriction on the ?darshan' of the deities by anyone, as Lord Jagannath is the "master of the universe".

"Lord Jagannath is regarded as the origin of all religions. Guru Nanak came here for a darshan of the deity. Similarly, Sri Chaitanya visited Puri in 1508 and propagated Vaishnavism on his return."
New Delhi: The schools in Delhi-NCR will reopen on Monday (January 16) as winter vacations will end today January, 15. Earlier, the Delhi government extended the winter vacation in the schools in the wake of severe cold conditions in the national capital and North India. However, the India Meteorological Department has once again warned of the severe cold wave conditions in Delhi and North India during the next 3 days.

According to IMD, the Delhi NCR will witness a dip in temperature by 4-6 degrees Celsius next week. The IMD has predicted dense fog to very dense fog over Delhi and other parts of North India in the next 5 days.

Winter vacations may extend in Delhi-NCR schools amid severe cold wave

After IMD's warning of severe cold waves and dense fog conditions, the authorities may extend the winter vacations, especially for classes up to upper primary classes as the brutal cold is very likely to affect the health of children. The authorities may also ask the schools to shift to online cases to save children from the bitter cold while managing their seamless education at the same time.

Students and parents must note the government and concerned authorities have not yet issued any official notice regarding the extension of winter vacation in Delhi-NCR school or the conduction of online classes and the same is awaited. As of now the reopening of schools on January 16 remains in place.

Winter vacations in schools in Punjab and Haryana

Meanwhile, Chandigarh administration has extended the winter break in government, government-aided and recognised private schools till January 21 and schools in Haryana are also closed till January 21, 2023.
New Delhi: Actor Alia Bhatt, on Sunday, wished her fans with a not-so-happy post as she got snubbed by her dear pet, Edward. The Raazi actor took to her Instagram to post two pictures with her pet Edward and captioned the frames, Its a great Sunday to be ignored by your cat. She added the hashtag, #notsohappysundays.

Though sun-kissed Alia looked bright in the frames, her dear cat looked grumpy and it turned its face away from Alia in one of those pictures. Alia said on many occasions, that Edward is one of her most prized possessions.

However, Alias Student of the Year co-actor Sidharth Malhotra stoked a lot of speculations when he suggested not to gift pets to lovers, earlier in one of his interviews. After this, fans were left kept guessing whether Alias pet was a gift from Sidharth.

See the post shared by Alia Bhatt featuring the cat

The Darlings actor posts pictures of her cat, Edward on her social media at regular intervals. At times, her pet accompanies her during her gym regime, morning schedules, and me-time. She is known as one of the most popular and versatile actors of this generation and is now enjoying her motherhood as her baby is just two months old.

Alia and her husband, Ranbir Kapoor welcomed their daughter on November 6, last year. The Brahmastra couple tied the knot on April 14, 2022, in an intimate ceremony at Ranbirs Mumbai residence.

Meanwhile, on the work front, she will be next seen in Karan Johars directorial Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani with Ranveer Singh, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi. The film is all set to hit the theatres on April 28, 2023. Apart from this, Alia has her maiden Hollywood project Heart of Stone with Gal Gadot in her kitty.
The minimum salary of government employees salaries is expected to be increased after the presentation of the Union Budget 2023. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to deliver the Budget Speech for 2023 on February 1, Zee News Hindi has reported. Parliament's budget session will begin on January 31. According to reports, it is believed that the government may revise the fitment factor of the government employees salaries. As of now the common fitment factor stands at 2.57 times.

The government employees have been demanding the government to hike the fitment factor to 3.68. The increase will raise the wage from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000.

Government employees argue that even after the increase in DA, there should be an increase in the basic salary because the salary increases on this basis. Earlier it was reported that the central government is also likely to hike the dearness allowance (DA) of government employees in March 2023, effective January 1.

7th Pay Commission: Here is the calculation after probable hike in fitment factor

If the government increases the fitment factor 3 times, then the salary of the employees excluding allowances will be 18,000 X 2.57 = Rs 46,260. At the same time, if the demands of the employees are accepted, then the salary will be 26000 X 3.68 = Rs 95,680. If the government accepts 3 times fitment factor, then the salary will be 21000 X 3 = Rs 63,000.

7th Pay Commission: Govt hikes DA by 4 percent to 38 percent

The Union Cabinet had on 28 September 2022, approved the release of additional instalment of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief @ 4 percent to Central Government employees and pensioners due from 01.07.2022 based on the percentage increase in 12 monthly average of All India Consumer Price Index for the period ending June, 2022.

The Central Government employees and pensioners will become entitled to higher amount of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief respectively, w.e.f. 01.07.2022.

The additional financial implications on account of this increase of Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees are estimated at Rs.6,591.36 crore per annum; and Rs.4,394.24 crore in the financial year 2022-23 (i.e. for a period of 8 months from July, 2022 to February, 2023).

The additional financial implications on account of this increase of Dearness Relief to pensioners are estimated at Rs.6,261.20 crore per annum; and Rs.4,174.12 crore in the financial year 2022-23 (i.e. for a period of 8 months from July, 2022 to February, 2023).
New Delhi: The Indian government is allowing banks to verify individual transactions that exceed a certain annual limit using facial recognition and an iris scan in some cases, in a bid to reduce fraud and tax evasion, three sources told Reuters. A few large private and public banks have begun using the option, said one of the sources, a banker, who declined to name the banks. The advisory allowing the verification is not public and has not previously been reported.

The verification is not mandatory and is intended for cases where another government identification card used for tax purposes, the Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, is not shared with banks. The prospect of banks using facial recognition has concerned some privacy experts. "This raises substantial privacy concerns especially when India lacks a dedicated law on privacy, cybersecurity and facial recognition," said Pavan Duggal, an advocate and cyber law expert.

The government has said it is targeting parliamentary approval of a new privacy law by early 2023. The new measures can be used to verify identities of individuals making deposits and withdrawals exceeding 2 million rupees ($24,478.61) in a financial year, where the Aadhaar identity card is shared as proof of identify, said two government officials, who asked not to be named because the information is not public.

The Aadhaar card has a unique number tied to an individual's fingerprints, face and eye scan. India's finance ministry in December asked banks to take "necessary action" on a letter by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which suggested verification should be done through facial recognition and iris scanning, especially where fingerprint authentication of an individual fails.

The letter from the UIDAI, which is responsible for Aadhaar card issuance, makes no mention of a consent framework for the verification. Nor does it say that banks can take any action if a customer refuses.

Responding to Reuters queries, a UIDAI spokesperson said Aadhaar verification and authentication happens only with the explicit consent of the user. Use of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication helps in guarding against possible misuse, he said.

UIDAI regularly advises all authentication and verification entities to use face or iris authentications to cater to residents whose fingerprint authentication fails. He added that authentication and verification does not mean storing of data.

The latest advisory follows a government order last year that mandated the quoting of an Aadhaar card or PAN number for making deposits or withdrawals exceeding 2 million rupees in a financial year. The federal finance ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
The designs of Vande Bharat trains, according to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, are superior to those of aeroplanes and can offer the most comfortable travel experience. The most recent Vande Bharat Express train, which runs between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam, was essentially flagged off on Sunday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian Railways has now introduced an eighth such train.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was present in person at Secunderabad railway station, on Platform No 10 from where the train departed."On the pious occasion of Makar Sankranti, PM Modi gave the present of Vande Bharat to all the people of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Thank you for this," Vaishnaw told ANI.

Also read: PM Narendra Modi flags off Secundrabad-Vishakapatnam Vande Bharat train, check all routes in India

Addressing the gathering, Railways Minister Vaishnaw said, "Vande Bharat is an outstanding train. It can travel 0-100 km in 52 seconds, whereas other trains in the world take 54 to 60 seconds. The designs of Vande Bharat are even better than that of an aeroplane. It can provide the most comfortable travelling experience."

He said the development of the nation and the Railways is above politics. "PM Modi is giving Telangana Rs 3,500 crore. We must use this opportunity and develop railways in Telangana in the best possible way," Vaishnaw said.He said the Secunderabad station would be developed into a world-class station."

PM Modi has sanctioned Rs 720 crore for this station along with that 35 other stations in Telangana will be developed," added the Railway Minister.According to the Ministry of Railways, the Vande Bharat Express train, connecting Secunderabad with Visakhapatnam, is the first one connecting the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering a distance of around 700 km.

The train will have stoppages at Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Vijayawada stations in Andhra Pradesh and at Khammam, Warangal and Secunderabad stations in Telangana.The indigenously designed train set of Vande Bharat Express is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities. Railways said that it will provide rail users with a faster, more comfortable and more convenient travel experience.

(With ANI inputs)
New Delhi: Gone are the days when you have to physically visit the place to seek any information about anything and the place. Now each and every piece of information is available on Google. Along with the growing acceptance, data threat risk is also growing. As we know that billions of users throughout the world use the well-known web browser Google Chrome. Imperva Red, a cyber security company, has discovered a vulnerability in Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers, putting the data of over 2.5 billion users at risk.

According to the company, a vulnerability known as CVE-2022-3656 allows for the theft of private information like cloud provider logins and crypto wallets. The vulnerability was found during an assessment of how the browser interacts with the file system, primarily searching for widespread flaws relating to how browsers handle symlinks, according to the blog. (Also Read: BAD NEWS for Loan borrowers! SBI hikes lending rates by up to 10 bps-- Check new rates here)

A symbolic link is a sort of file that points to another file or directory, according to Imperva Red. The linked file or directory can then be treated by the operating system as though it were present where the symlink is. It claims that a symlink can be helpful for making shortcuts, changing file paths, or more flexible file organisation. (Also Read: Tips and Tricks: Follow THESE 5 techniques to SAVE income tax)

If they are not managed appropriately, these linkages could likewise be utilised to expose vulnerabilities.

The company explains how the flaw affected Google Chrome by saying that a hacker might make a false website that promotes a fresh crypto wallet service. By asking them to download their "recovery" keys, the website might then deceive the user into creating a new wallet.
A man delivers a speech during a rally at Times Square in New York, the United States, Jan. 14, 2023.

Hundreds of protesters from New York City and nearby regions held a rally and a march against U.S. involvement in overseas wars at Times Square on Saturday. (Xinhua/Liu Yanan)

NEW YORK, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of protesters from New York City and nearby regions held a rally and a march against U.S. involvement in overseas wars at Times Square on Saturday.

The participants spoke against NATO's expansion and called for peace in Ukraine, criticizing U.S. hefty spending on the Ukraine crisis and the White House's announcement to provide Kiev with another Patriot surface-to-air missile battery.

"We're here today because we oppose the endless expansion of NATO, which is not only unnecessary but reckless and proactive," said Brian Becker, national director of the ANSWER Coalition, a major anti-war coalition in the United States.

Instead of escalating the war and sending more weapons to Ukraine, the United States should go back to the negotiating table and recognize that Russia has legitimate security concerns, Becker told Xinhua on the sidelines of the rally.

"We're also here today because the United States is spending extra 65 billion U.S. dollars to fund war in Ukraine while there are a million homeless people in America, while our schools are underfunded and many people are going into bankruptcy because they can't pay doctors' bills," said Becker, who urged his country to spend that money to help Americans in need rather than funding war and militarism.

Initiated by the ANSWER Coalition and The People's Forum, a movement incubator for working class and marginalized communities, the rally is expected to be followed by similar protests in other U.S. cities ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. 

A child holds an anti-war sign during a rally at Times Square in New York, the United States, Jan. 14, 2023.

Hundreds of protesters from New York City and nearby regions held a rally and a march against U.S. involvement in overseas wars at Times Square on Saturday. (Photo by Ziyu Julian Zhu/Xinhua)
New Delhi: Iran has executed a British-Iranian national who once served as its deputy defence minister, its judiciary said, defying calls from London and Washington for his release after he was handed the death sentence on charges of spying for Britain. Britain, which had declared the case against Alireza Akbari politically motivated, condemned the execution, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling it "a callous and cowardly act carried out by a barbaric regime".

Akbari, 61, was arrested in 2019.

I am appalled by the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari in Iran.



This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people. My thoughts are with Alirezas friends and family.  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) January 14, 2023

The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency reported the execution without saying when it had taken place.

Late on Friday, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had urged Iran not to follow through with the sentence.

Also condemned by the United States and France, the execution looks set to further worsen Iran's long-strained relations with the West, which have deteriorated since talks to revive its 2015 nuclear deal hit deadlock and after Tehran unleashed a deadly crackdown on protesters last year.

In an audio recording purportedly from Akbari and broadcast by BBC Persian on Wednesday, he said he had confessed to crimes he had not committed after extensive torture.

"Alireza Akbari, who was sentenced to death on charges of corruption on earth and extensive action against the countrys internal and external security through espionage for the British government's intelligence service ... was executed," Mizan said.

The Mizan report accused Akbari of receiving payments of 1,805,000 euros ($1.95 million), 265,000 pounds ($323,989.00), and $50,000 for spying.

Cleverly said in a statement the execution would "not stand unchallenged". He later announced Britain had summoned the Iranian Charge d'Affaires, imposed sanctions on Iran's prosecutor general, and temporarily withdrawn its ambassador from Tehran for further consultations.

It marks a rare case of the Islamic Republic executing a serving or former senior official. One of the last occasions was in 1984, when Iranian navy commander Bahram Afzali was executed after being accused of spying for the Soviet Union.

British statements on the case have not addressed the Iranian charge that Akbari spied for Britain.

Iran's foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador over what it called London's "meddling in Iran's national security realm", the state news agency IRNA reported.

Iranian state media, which have portrayed Akbari as a super spy, broadcast a video on Thursday which they said showed he played a role in the 2020 assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, killed in an attack outside Tehran which authorities blamed at the time on Israel.

In the video, Akbari did not confess to involvement in the assassination but said a British agent had asked for information about Fakhrizadeh.

Irans state media often airs purported confessions by suspects in politically-charged cases.

Reuters could not establish the authenticity of the state media video and audio, or when or where they were recorded.

Alireza Akbari's execution has 'come as a shock', says nephew

Akbari was a close ally of Ali Shamkhani, now the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, who was defence minister from 1997 to 2005. Akbari fought during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s as a member of the Revolutionary Guards.

Ramin Forghani, a nephew of Akbari, told Reuters the execution had come as a shock.

"I dont think a person who spent all his life, from an early age, to serve the country - since the Iran-Iraq war - would spy for any country," he said, noting Akbari had the rank of colonel in the Revolutionary Guards.

Speaking by phone from Luxembourg, he said Akbari's wife, who lives in London, had tried but failed to persuade Iranian officials to spare his life. Reuters was unable to reach her.

Despicable and barbaric act: US, France on Alireza Akbari's execution by Iran

The U.S. State Department described the execution as politically motivated and unjust. The U.S. ambassador to London called it "appalling and sickening".

French President Emmanuel Macron called it a "despicable and barbaric act".

Iran's ties with the West have also been strained by its support for Russia in Ukraine, where Western states say Moscow has used Iranian drones.

Along with other Western states, Britain, which has a long history of fraught ties with Iran, has been fiercely critical of Tehran's crackdown on anti-government protests, sparked by the death in custody of a young Iranian-Kurdish woman in September.

Iran has issued dozens of death sentences as part of the crackdown, executing at least four people.

A British minister said on Thursday Britain was actively considering proscribing the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation but had not reached a final decision.

In the recording broadcast by BBC Persian, Akbari said he had made false confessions due to torture.

"With more than 3,500 hours of torture, psychedelic drugs, and physiological and psychological pressure methods, they took away my will. They drove me to the brink of madness... and forced me to make false confessions by force of arms and death threats," he said.

Amnesty International said the execution displayed again Tehran's "abhorrent assault on the right to life". In Akbari's case, "it is particularly horrific given the violations he revealed he was subjected to in prison".

The Iranian authorities have not responded to accusations Akbari was tortured.

An Iranian state TV report - details of which Reuters could not independently verify - said he was arrested on espionage charges in 2008 before he was freed on bail and left Iran.

In an interview with BBC Persian broadcast on Friday, Akbari's brother Mehdi said he had returned to Iran in 2019 based on an invitation from Shamkhani.
New Delhi: Amid global criticism of the country's coronavirus data, China on Saturday (January 14, 2023) finally reported nearly 60,000 Covid-19-related deaths since it abandoned its zero-Covid policy last month. A health official said that Covid-19 fever and emergency hospitalisations had peaked and the number of hospitalised patients was continuing to decline.

Jiao Yahui, the head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission (NHC), told a media briefing that between December 8 and January 12, the number of Covid-related deaths in Chinese hospitals totalled 59,938. Of these fatalities, 5,503 were caused by respiratory failure due to coronavirus, while the remainder resulted from a combination of Covid-19 and other diseases, she said.

Of the patients who died, 90.1% were aged 65 and older.

Jiao said the number of patients needing emergency treatment was declining and the share of patients at fever clinics who tested positive for Covid-19 was steadily falling as well.

The number of severe cases had also peaked, she added, though they remained at a high level, and patients were mostly elderly.

"The number of fever clinic visitors are generally in a declining trend after peaking, both in cities and rural areas," she said.

It is notable that the coronavirus cases have surged in China, a nation of 1.4 billion, since early December, when it abruptly dismantled its strict three-year anti-virus regime of frequent testing, travel curbs and mass lockdowns after widespread protests.

China had previously reported just over 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world.

Authorities had been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month - figures inconsistent with long queues seen at funeral homes and body bags seen leaving crowded hospitals.

China, which last reported daily coronavirus death figures on Monday, has repeatedly defended the veracity of its data on the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which earlier this week said that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from the virus and called for more information, on Saturday welcomed Beijing's announcement, while renewing its plea for more detailed data.

The WHO said its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had spoken with director of China's National Health Commission Ma Xiaowei about the latest outbreak, which the UN agency said was similar to what had been seen in other countries.

Concerns over data transparency were among the factors that prompted more than a dozen countries to demand pre-departure Covid-19 tests from Chinese travellers.

Beijing, however, has objected to the curbs.

Meanwhile, international health experts have predicted at least 1 million Covid-related deaths this year in China.

China's Covid-19 peak to last 2-3 months, hit rural areas next

The peak of China's Covid-19 wave is expected to last two to three months, and will soon swell over the vast countryside where medical resources are relatively scarce, a top Chinese epidemiologist has said.

Infections are expected to surge in rural areas as hundreds of millions travel to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holidays, which officially start from January 21, known before the pandemic as the world's largest annual migration of people. But the worst of the outbreak was not yet over, warned Zeng Guang, the former chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a report published in local media outlet Caixin on Thursday.

"Our priority focus has been on the large cities. It is time to focus on rural areas," Zeng was quoted as saying.

He said a large number of people in the countryside, where medical facilities are relatively poor, are being left behind, including the elderly, the sick and the disabled.

Chinese virologists said on Friday they have discovered one infection with the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which has been described by WHO scientists as the most transmissible sub-variant so far after its rapid spread in the United States in December.

(With agency inputs)
KATHMANDU: Of the five Indians who were feared dead in the plane crash in Nepal on Sunday, four were planning to participate in paragliding activities in the tourist hub of Pokhara, a local resident said. At least 68 people were killed when a Yeti Airlines passenger plane with 72 people onboard, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in central Nepal's resort city of Pokhara on Sunday, officials said.

The five Indians were identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, 25, Bishal Sharma, 22, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, 27, Sonu Jaiswal, 35, and Sanjaya Jaiswal, a Yeti Airlines official said.

Among the five Indian nationals, four had just arrived in Kathmandu from India on Friday.

"All the four were planning to enjoy paragliding in the lake city and tourist hub Pokhara," recalled Ajay Kumar Shah, a resident of Sarlahi district in southern Nepal.

"We came together from India in the same vehicle, he added. ?They stayed in Gaushala near Pashupatinath Temple and then in Hotel Discovery of Thamel, before departing to Pokhara," he said.

They were planning to return to India from Pokhara via Gorakhpur, he added.

Sonu, the eldest among the Indian nationals, was a resident of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, officials of the Indian Embassy here in Kathmandu have reached out to the family members of the four Indian nationals.
An American politician Robert Bob Lancia has slammed Pakistan for harbouring terrorism using its soil against India. The Republican politician said that the United States need to be more vigilant for its borders given the fact that Pakistan has a history of supporting terror activities. He said that the law enforcement agencies of the US state of Rhode Island need to be vigilant to counter any threat.

"For many decades, Pakistan has been the epicenter of terrorism, harboring the most UN designated terrorists in the world within its borders. Besides supporting Jihadi terror groups, Pakistan also leaked sensitive nuclear secrets at least to Iran and North Korea, the other two sponsors of terrorism and oppression in the world. Pakistan has also been actively involved in sponsoring terrorist activities in India - not just Jihadi terrorism but also Khalistani terrorist activities, which are mostly based outside of India," said Lancia, who is a former US Navy chaplain.

He claimed that Pakistan-supported Khalistan militants may be active in the US state of Connecticut.

"In fact, it looks like Pakistan-supported Khalistan militants even may be active in Connecticut! A Khalistani terrorist group was responsible for the bombing of Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985. It was a Boeing 747 jumbo jet carrying 329 passengers & crew members, with citizens from Canada, England, and India aboard. They were all killed in the worst terrorist attack in Canada's history," he said.

Lancia further said that knowing the background of Khalistan, and Rhode Island's porous border with Connecticut, 'its extremely important that law enforcement agencies remain vigilant'.

In fact, it looks like Pakistan supported Khalistan militants even may be active in Connecticut! A Khalistani terrorist group was responsible for the bombing of Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985. It was a Boeing 747 jumbo jet carrying 329 passengers & crew members, (3/4)  Bob Lancia (@BobLancia) January 14, 2023

It may be noted that Lancia had earlier said that Pakistan may cede Gilgit Baltistan (GB), a Pakistan-occupied Kashmir region (PoK) to China on lease to pay off its mounting debt due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Islamabad: Pakistan has backtracked on a tweet from the official handle of Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu, which stated that the country would "work closely on matters of mutual interest including the Rights and Freedom of the Uyghurs community." The tweet, which also thanked China for support to flood victims, was seen as the first instance of Pakistan coming out in support of the Uyghur community, a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang which has faced "serious human rights violations" from Beijing.

(A screenshot of the now-deleted tweet)

The UN has previously released a report which stated that China is responsible for "serious human rights violations" in Xinjiang province and that mass detentions in China's Xinjiang region from 2017 to 2019 were marked by credible documentation of "torture, sexual violence, and forced labour, as well as forced abortions and sterilization."

Also Read: China imposing forced inter-ethnic marriages on Uyghur women, says report

'Account hacked': Pakistan backtracks on tweet

However, hours after the tweet, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson stated that the Twitter account of the Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu, China "has been hacked." The spokesperson went on to say that "any tweet or message issued from this account is not made by the Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu nor does it reflect the position of the Government of Pakistan."

The Twitter account of the Consulate General of Pakistan in Chengdu @PakinChengdu has been hacked. As of today, any tweet or message issued from this account is not made by the Pakistan Consulate General in Chengdu, nor does it reflect the position of the Government of Pakistan January 14, 2023

Human Rights violations against Uyghurs

China has been accused for years of detaining more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang region. China has vehemently rejected these charges, insisting it is running vocational centers designed to curb extremism. UN human rights experts have raised serious concerns about the alleged detention and forced labor of Muslim Uyghurs in China, calling for unhindered access to the country to conduct fact-finding missions and urging global and domestic companies to closely scrutinize their supply chains.

(With agency inputs)
Photo taken on Aug. 28, 2021 shows the site of an airstrike conducted by the U.S. against a planner for the Islamic State (ISIS) in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. (Str/Xinhua)

"When confirmation bias was so deadly in this case, you have to ask how many other people targeted by the military over the years were also unjustly killed."

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- A military investigation recently disclosed by U.S. media revealed that U.S. officials knew shortly after a U.S.-launched drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan in August 2021 in which civilians were killed, but top military officers tried to conceal the facts by making misleading statements in the ensuing weeks.





INTENTIONAL LIES

According to part of a partially redacted investigation report, which the New York Times said in a Jan. 6 report it gained through a lawsuit against the U.S. Central Command, top U.S. commanders in Afghanistan were notified within hours after the Aug. 29, 2021 drone strike near the Kabul International Airport that at least three children were killed.

Possible civilian casualties were reported within 20 minutes following the strike by U.S. military analysts, who assessed that at least three children were killed about two to three hours after the attack, the Times reported, citing the investigation.

In their sworn statements for the probe, six of the nine witnesses said they learned immediately after the strike that the missile hit an area where there were civilians who might have been killed as a result.

Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, attends a Pentagon press briefing via video link in Washington, D.C. Sept. 17, 2021. (The U.S. Department of Defense/Handout via Xinhua)

In the ensuing weeks, however, top military officials repeatedly refused to confirm the civilian deaths, with the commander of the Central Command, Kenneth McKenzie, saying on the day of the attack that while the "possibilities" of civilian casualties were being assessed, there were "no indications at this time."

Three days after, Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended the operation as "righteous."

It was not until Sept. 17 that McKenzie finally acknowledged that 10 civilians, including seven children, were killed in that botched strike the United States carried out under extreme pressure.





CONCEALED TRUTH

The ill-advised operation was a preemptive move foiling what intelligence personnel claimed to be a plan by the Islamic State's Afghan branch, ISIS-K, to bomb U.S. troops conducting a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan at the time.

Since the attack, multiple outside investigations have found out that the target, Zemari Ahmadi, was not an ISIS member. Quite on the contrary, he was a longtime Afghan contractor working for a California-based aid group. Others killed in the incident were Ahmadi's family members.

Photo taken on Sept. 2, 2021 shows a damaged vehicle at the site of the U.S. airstrike in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

On that day, Ahmadi was driving his white Toyota Carolla, which U.S. intelligence officers mistakenly believed were loaded with explosives to be used to bomb U.S. troops, to take colleagues to and from work. What were perceived as explosives in the trunk turned out to be jugs of water Ahmadi brought home for the family to drink.

"We now assess that it is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with ISIS-K or were a direct threat to U.S. forces," McKenzie said at the Sept. 17, 2021, press briefing at the Pentagon. "It was a mistake."

A subsequent review led by the Air Force inspector general, Sami Said, remains classified, the New York Times reported. But Said acknowledged that confirmation bias was an important factor in how Ahmadi became a target, which is a tendency to look for, analyze or remember information in a way that supports an existing belief.





DIFFICULT JUSTICE CLAIM

"When confirmation bias was so deadly in this case, you have to ask how many other people targeted by the military over the years were also unjustly killed," Hina Shamsi, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing families of victims, was quoted by the Times as saying.

She said the investigation gained by the Times "makes clear that military personnel saw what they wanted to see and not reality, which was an Afghan aid worker going about his daily life."

People stand at the site of the U.S. airstrike in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Sept. 2, 2021. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

Emal Ahmadi, Zemari's brother whose toddler Malika was also killed in the strike, told Xinhua in an interview days after the tragedy that the United States launching airstrikes that killed innocent civilians, including children, was heinous war crimes, and that those responsible must be held to account.

The Defense Department has said it would not punish those carrying out the strike. It has promised to compensate Zemari's surviving relatives with condolence payments, but none of them have received the monetary assistance so far. 
The crash site of a passenger plane is pictured in the Pokhara region, Nepal, Jan. 15, 2023. A total of 68 bodies had been recovered after a local passenger plane carrying 72 people crashed in the Pokhara region in central Nepal on Sunday, and the effort was continuing to find four others, officials said. (National News Agency of Nepal/Handout via Xinhua)

KATHMANDU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A total of 68 bodies had been recovered after a local passenger plane carrying 72 people crashed in the Pokhara region in central Nepal on Sunday, and the effort was continuing to find four others, officials said.

"We have found the dead bodies of 68 people so far," Jagannath Niroula, spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), told Xinhua.

Ajay KC, police chief of the Kaski district where Pokhara is located, told Xinhua earlier that the bodies were found at the crash site in the Seti River gorge which is over 200 meters deep.

Brig. Gen. Krishna Prasad Bhandari, Nepal Army's spokesperson, said many of the bodies were beyond recognition and 80 percent of the plane had been gutted in fire.

The rescuers were searching for the remaining bodies, he told Xinhua.

Nepali soldiers and police officers are mobilized in the search and rescue effort.

The ill-fated ATR-72 plane from Yeti Airlines took off from Kathmandu for Pokhara at 10:30 local time and it lost contact with the air traffic control at 10:50 local time, the CAAN said in a statement.

According to the agency, there were 68 passengers and four crew members aboard the flight, among them 15 foreigners, including five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans and one each from Australia, Ireland, Argentina and France.

Prem Nath Thakur, general manager of the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, said the plane had been granted landing clearance before it crashed in the Seti River gorge.

The weather seemed not a factor in the accident, as it was "very good" in Pokhara from early morning, Thakur told a press conference, noting the pilots did not report technical problems either.

Among the passengers aboard the flight, there were three children and three infants, Thakur added.

The Nepali cabinet has declared a national mourning on Monday for the victims and decided to form a five-member committee to probe the cause of the accident, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Abdul Khan told Xinhua.

The cabinet also directed airline operators to regularly and mandatorily get their planes checked, the minister said.

In May 2022, a passenger plane operated by Tara Air crashed in Nepal's Mustang district, killing all 22 people aboard. 

Rescuers are seen at the crash site of a passenger plane in the Pokhara region, Nepal, Jan. 15, 2023. A total of 68 bodies had been recovered after a local passenger plane carrying 72 people crashed in the Pokhara region in central Nepal on Sunday, and the effort was continuing to find four others, officials said. (National News Agency of Nepal/Handout via Xinhua)
TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers highlighted the necessity of signing a comprehensive document for long-term cooperation between their countries, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Sunday.

Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, on Saturday in Damascus, where they discussed the issue and exchanged views on bilateral and regional developments.

Finalizing and signing the comprehensive cooperation document can act as a roadmap for enhancing the two countries' long-term cooperation in different areas, Amir-Abdollahian said at the meeting, calling for more joint efforts to boost bilateral trade and remove the obstacles to this end.

Mekdad, for his part, said his ministry would do its best to help achieve the targets set by the two countries' leaders. He said that through cooperation with the related parties, including the Iranian Foreign Ministry, necessary documents will be prepared for improving bilateral relations.

They also discussed details of an imminent visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Syria.

Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Damascus on Saturday morning. During the day, he held meetings with senior Syrian officials, including President Bashar al-Assad. 
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs comprehensive legislation to ban military-style firearms on Jan. 10, 2023, at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield. Gun control advocate Delphine Cherry, second from right, who lost two of her children to gun violence, became emotional during the signing. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

In his closing remarks before a vote on a sweeping firearms ban, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon pushed back at critics who contended the prohibitions would violate the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The Oak Park Democrat concluded with a message for Republican lawmakers and other opponents of the measure, which was passed in response to the deadly mass shooting at Highland Parks Fourth of July parade: Well see you in court.

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When Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure into law Tuesday after the Democratic-controlled House gave its approval, Illinois became the ninth state to ban so-called assault weapons, winning praise from President Joe Biden. It also set up inevitable legal challenges from gun rights advocates that could take years for the courts to resolve.

In a letter Tuesday to Pritzker, Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch of Hillside, Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, responded directly to the Senate presidents remarks, writing: Challenge accepted.

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While no lawsuit has yet been filed, experts on gun legislation and constitutional law said the new restrictions face a murky legal future, particularly in light of the U.S. Supreme Courts June decision striking down New York states concealed carry law.

Its clear that the courts are becoming more hostile to gun safety regulations, said Adam Winkler, a UCLA School of Law professor and author of the book Gun Fight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America. The law (in Illinois) is going to be challenged, and there is a good chance it will be overturned.

Pritzker, who noted hes also a lawyer, said he was very confident the law would withstand legal scrutiny.

The law here that we now have enacted is constitutional, Pritzker told reporters after signing the measure late Tuesday. There was a lot of thought that went into it to make sure that it would be.

The law immediately bans the delivery, sale, import and purchase of assault weapons and .50-caliber rifles. It offers a lengthy definition of the guns that fall under the ban, listing more than 60 specific models and entire categories such as all AR types. The ban covers semi-automatic rifles that can employ a detachable magazine and have a pistol grip, as well as a number of handguns and shotguns.

People who owned such guns before the ban took effect will have to register them, with a serial number, by Jan. 1, facing a misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses.

The law also immediately bans the delivery, sale or purchase of ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds for long guns and more than 15 rounds for handguns. Also banned are devices that increase the firing rates of a gun, known as switches.

Eugene Kontorovich, a law professor at George Mason Universitys Antonin Scalia Law School, said the bill contained several provisions that were clearly unconstitutional on their face.

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Among the issues, Kontorovich said, is the provision limiting the number of rounds an ammunition magazine can contain. Magazines exceeding those limits are available for civilian-owned handguns and the restrictions could be construed as an infringement on a citizens right to self-defense.

Like Winkler, Kontorovich said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the New York case last year will make it much more difficult for states to place restrictions on gun ownership going forward, particularly when it comes to guns purchased for home- or self-protection.

The high courts 6-3 ruling in New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen found that the plain text of the Second Amendment protected the right of the plaintiffs to carry firearms for self-defense.

One gun rights group said that the June decision could wipe out every unconstitutional law that stands in the way of someones Second Amendment rights. The ruling was cited last month by gun rights proponents in a pending federal appeals court case over whether Marylands assault weapon ban should be overturned.

Winkler said while courts in other states had upheld gun bans like Illinois in the past, the Bruen ruling greatly expanded Second Amendment protections by imposing a new constitutional test requiring gun laws to be historically consistent with laws on the books in the 17th and 18th centuries.

A selection of AR-15-style rifles hangs on a wall at R-Guns store on Jan. 11, 2023, in Carpentersville, a day after the state ban. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

That test has already led to some mainstream, widely accepted gun safety regulations being overturned in other states, Winkler said, including bans on people with pending domestic-violence restraining orders from having a firearm, provisions limiting guns at summer camps and churches, and even a law requiring guns to have serial numbers.

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David Sigale, a Wheaton-based attorney who has filed a number of lawsuits on behalf of clients who believe their Second Amendment rights were violated, agreed that the new law wont hold up if the Bruen decision is applied.

The Second Amendment says the people have the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense purposes. That right is not limited to arms that just existed back in 1791 and its not the governments place basically to say what firearms someone needs or should have or should want for those self-defense or other lawful purposes, Sigale said.

Those claims have to be analyzed under a historical tradition test, and when that test is applied I dont think that these restrictions are going to hold up as passing muster, he said.

Portions of the Illinois law, including which firearms fall under the nebulous definition of assault weapons, are similar to a law passed in Delaware last year that has already prompted legal challenges.

The term assault weapon alone is often nonspecific and controversial. Gun rights advocates say it is a manufactured term used by gun control groups to overdramatize certain guns as weapons of war, even though some firearms that bear the ominous designation are commonplace for recreational use.

One national gun control group on its website defines assault weapons as typically semi-automatic versions of weapons created for deadly battlefield purposes.

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They are designed and equipped with features that enable mass killing, including sustained, high-volume rapid fire shooting at large numbers of people in a short period of time, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The Illinois law defines such weapons as having several characteristics, including any feature capable of functioning as a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand.

The Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle, which was used in the Highland Park shooting, is among the more than 60 types of guns listed in the proposal that are categorized as assault weapons.

Aside from Delaware, the Giffords Law Center noted that seven states  California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York  and the District of Columbia have enacted laws banning so-called assault weapons.

Those laws in many cases are similar, the law center said, but vary in terms of what firearms are defined as assault weapons, what exemptions apply to these guns owned before the ban went into effect, whether the laws require owners to register their assault weapons with law enforcement if they owned them before the ban, and other guidelines.

Three other states  Minnesota, Virginia and Washington  have adopted regulations for assault weapons but not outright bans.

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In the Chicago area, Highland Park and about a dozen other suburbs moved to ban possession and ownership of the weapons in 2013 under a legislative compromise that gave municipalities a narrow window to do so as part of a measure that legalized concealed carry, which the state had been ordered to allow by a federal court. More recently, Naperville banned local sales of the weapons in the wake of the Highland Park shooting.

Cook County has had a ban in place since 1993 that closely mirrors the definition in the new state law, though the county prohibits magazines holding more than 10 rounds, while the state allows up to 15 for handguns.

The Cook County ban has survived legal challenges in recent years.

In 2019, the federal appeals court in Chicago upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit from two gun owners who challenged Cook Countys ban, claiming it violated the Second Amendment because it was written so ambiguously that it could broadly apply to nearly all semi-automatic weapons.

The nations highest court, though, has made landmark decisions throughout the years that have been a blow to gun control advocates.

In 2010, the courts 5-4 decision in McDonald v. the City of Chicago struck down the citys nearly three-decade-old handgun ban and allowed Chicagoans to fall in line with the rest of the country by keeping handguns at home for self-defense.

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In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller ruled for the first time that the Second Amendment establishes the right to own a handgun for personal self-defense  not merely as part of a state militia.

However, the ruling in Heller also held that the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose, a part of the decision that advocates are relying on to bolster bans like the one now in effect in Illinois.

The debate over the ban on the floors of both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly made clear the stark divide on the issue.

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, a Republican from Barrington Hills, suggested the measure jeopardized someones right to defend themselves.

If we wish to amend our constitution and the provisions and protections enumerated in the Second Amendment, as well within any of the other 26 amendments for our law-abiding citizens, we should be on the floor of Congress and not here on the floor of the state of Illinois, unfortunately, he said. We cannot improve the safety of the lives of the innocent law-abiding citizens by restricting the rights to self-defense.

State Reps. Will Guzzardi, right, and Bob Morgan celebrate after the House passage of a gun bill banning assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines on Jan. 10, 2023, in Springfield. Morgan, a sponsor of the bill, was present at the Highland Park mass shooting on July 4th. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Democratic state Rep. Will Guzzardi argued theres case law saying that the Second Amendment protected the use of guns that were in common use at the time the amendment was written in 1791, and that the types of guns being used to wreak havoc in todays society were not common in the late 18th century.

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It is widely recognized, it is established jurisprudence, that the Second Amendment is not a regulatory blank check, Guzzardi, of Chicago, said during floor debate. These weapons have no place in civilian society, and I believe that everybody in this chamber in their heart knows that to be true.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court allowed a new law New York enacted in response to the Bruen ruling to remain in effect while a challenge continues in a lower court. The law places numerous restrictions on where concealed carry license holders can bring their weapons.

But conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas issued a statement telling those challenging the law that they should not be deterred by todays order from again seeking relief if the appeals court does not provide an explanation for its decision to leave the law in place or expedite its review of the case.

And in December, the Oregon Supreme Court blocked a ballot measure approved by voters during the November election to ban magazines capable of holding more than 10 bullets. The states high court is weighing the measure after a lower court ruled it violated Oregons right to bear arms under its state constitution.

Ari Freilich, state policy director for the Giffords Law Center, which helped craft the Illinois ban, acknowledged that the legal landscape has shifted somewhat in the wake of the Bruen ruling, with rogue decisions from, largely, kind of rogue conservative judges using the decision as justification to strike down numerous restrictions on gun ownership.

A federal judge in Texas, for example, used the Bruen ruling as the basis for finding unconstitutional a prohibition on possessing a weapon while subject to a domestic violence restraining order.

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Still, given the U.S. Supreme Courts previous opinions in rulings like the Heller case, Freilich said, unless the Supreme Court kind of overturns its own precedent yet again  we expect that if the Supreme Court means what it says, these types of restrictions should stand.

In his closing remarks on the Senate floor, Harmon, whos pushed for many gun control measures during his two decades in Springfield, made clear why supporters feel its both necessary and within the bounds of the Constitution to ban high-powered weapons.

The right of the people to keep and bear arms is intended to produce a secure state, Harmon said. We do not have a secure state. Too many people are dying from gun violence.

Opponents of the ban have made equally clear that they see little room for compromise on a right they see as absolute.

When you ask for a gun ban, theres not a place where we can go, where we can go and negotiate that, Ed Sullivan, a contract lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association, told an Illinois House committee last month at a hearing on the gun ban. There are certain red lines in the sand.

jgorner@chicagotribune.com

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jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

dpetrella@chicagotribune.com
File photo taken on Oct. 12, 2017 shows huge tanks that store contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. (Xinhua)

"It is very concerned that Japan is still unilaterally pushing for the discharge of the Fukushima contaminated water," energy and climate change director at the Korea Federation for Environment Movement said.

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Japan's unilateral push to discharge radioactive wastewater from its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean is irresponsible and harmful, as the Japanese government pursued it without consultations with neighboring countries, a South Korean green activist said.

"It is very concerned that Japan is still unilaterally pushing for the discharge of the Fukushima contaminated water," Ahn Jae-hun, energy and climate change director at the Korea Federation for Environment Movement, told Xinhua on Saturday.

"Neighboring countries such as (South) Korea and China could suffer more direct damage, so Japan had to consult with them. The problem is that Japan follows its own process (without consultations)," said Ahn.

"A sizeable amount of the contaminated water, such as tritium, is difficult to purify no matter how much purification is performed. It is very irresponsible to release it as it is."

Japan's planned release of tritium-laced wastewater from the Fukushima power plant into the sea will start around this spring or summer, according to Kyodo News reports citing the Japanese government.

Japan decided in April 2021 to start dumping about 1.25 million tons of nuclear wastewater into the ocean spanning 30 years from 2023.

The Japanese government has claimed that the contaminated water could be diluted with water and discharged at a low concentration after being treated with an advanced liquid processing system (ALPS).

File photo taken on Nov. 12, 2011 shows the exterior of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. (Xinhua)

The green activist, however, noted that the radioactive substances cannot be completely filtered through the ALPS, saying substances, such as tritium, will be poured into the sea unfiltered.

"A lot of radioactive materials have already flowed into the sea after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Because of that, fish contaminated with cesium are caught in waters off Fukushima," said Ahn.

According to the South Korean environmental group's analysis of the 2021 data from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, cesium was detected from 8 percent of Japanese fishery products.

"Once (the contaminated water) is thrown into the sea, it cannot be retrieved. Environmental effects from radioactive materials cannot be felt immediately, but will inevitably appear over a long period of time," Ahn said.

"The Pacific Ocean is not the sea of Japan, but the sea of everybody ... Pollutants will flow to neighboring countries in a situation that a lot of radioactive materials have already been released and contaminated (the marine ecosystem)," said the green activist.

The South Korean government, which has opposed the radioactive wastewater dumping by Japan, reiterated its opposition.

"Putting top priority on public health and safety, the government will continue to respond by maintaining its position that the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant should be safely disposed of in accordance with international standards from the objective and scientific perspectives," a South Korean foreign ministry official said Friday.
A medical worker carries out grasp reflex training for an infant at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 10, 2023.

Medical staff here have been making all-out efforts to save the newborns' lives. (Xinhua/Li An)

A doctor examines an infant at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 10, 2023.

Medical staff here have been making all-out efforts to save the newborns' lives. (Xinhua/Li An)

A medical worker carries out suck training for an infant at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 10, 2023.

Medical staff here have been making all-out efforts to save the newborns' lives. (Xinhua/Li An)

A medical worker tends an infant at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 10, 2023.

Medical staff here have been making all-out efforts to save the newborns' lives. (Xinhua/Li An)

A medical worker tends an infant at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 10, 2023.

Medical staff here have been making all-out efforts to save the newborns' lives. (Xinhua/Li An)

Medical workers tend an infant at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 10, 2023.

Medical staff here have been making all-out efforts to save the newborns' lives. (Xinhua/Li An)
A patient registers at a community health service center in Minhang District in east China's Shanghai, Jan. 8, 2023. Small-molecule COVID-19 drugs have been put into use in community health service centers in Shanghai. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) spoke highly of the Chinese government's efforts to cope with the COVID-19 epidemic in his phone conversation with a senior Chinese health official.

According to the National Health Commission, its director Ma Xiaowei exchanged views on China's current COVID response with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday.

Ma said China has been sharing COVID information with the WHO and other countries since the onset of the epidemic. China was the first to identify the pathogen and publicize key information including the genome sequencing of the virus. China also set up a technical exchange mechanism with the WHO.

Since China optimized its COVID response, the two sides have conducted many technical exchanges. China will continue to support the role of the WHO in pooling international efforts to fight the virus, Ma said.

The WHO chief expressed appreciation of China's efforts to maintain long-term technical exchanges and share epidemic information and data with the WHO.

The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen technical exchanges and cooperation on epidemic prevention and control, and jointly maintain global health security. 
China's optimization of COVID-19 response will contribute to global growth, said World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende before WEF's annual meeting to be held on Monday in Davos, Switzerland.







Produced by Xinhua Global Service
CAIRO, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- An ancient royal tomb was unearthed at the Western Wadis (Valleys) of the Theban Necropolis on the west bank of Nile River in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, said the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Saturday.

The tomb, unveiled by a joint Egyptian-British archaeological mission, is located in Valley C, one of the Theban mountain valleys, Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the ministry.

"Preliminary evidence uncovered inside the cemetery so far indicates that it may date back to the Thutmosid period of the 18th Dynasty, which will be verified in the coming period," Waziri said.

The 18th Dynasty, which ruled Ancient Egypt from 1550 BC to 1292 BC, is also known as the Thutmosid Dynasty.

Mohsen Kamel, director of the Western Wadis archeological site, revealed that the discovered tomb is in a poor state of preservation due to floods that hit the area in ancient times.

He explained that the floods led to covering the tomb's chambers with thick deposits of sand and limestone, which obliterated many of its features and inscriptions. 
This photo taken on Jan. 14, 2023 shows a dragon dance performance during an event held in celebration of the upcoming Year of the Rabbit in Abuja, Nigeria. (Xinhua/Guo Jun)

by Olatunji Saliu

ABUJA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- An aroma of Chinese foods wafted through the air as people from all walks of life gathered in a festive spirit. With the Year of the Rabbit right around the corner, Nigeria's Chinese community held a carnival celebration here on Saturday.

The observance of the Chinese Lunar New Year is particularly relevant for local Chinese, who wish to maintain tradition and share their culture with their Nigerian neighbors and friends.

Under branded pop-up canopies at the China Cultural Center in Abuja, several tables were laden with Chinese cuisines, such as dumplings, noodles and rice cakes. Revelers moved in droves to taste the savory foods on display.

"It is good to experience China in Nigeria and for us to get to know their culture, their food, and what they represent," Maryjude Ayodele, a businesswoman, told Xinhua.

Displaying a white paper on which her name had been written with Chinese characters under one pop-up canopy, Ayodele praised the level of "Nigeria-China cultural exchange."

The gathering was one of the events hosted by the Chinese embassy to celebrate the Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, which falls on Jan. 22 this year.

The celebration reached its climax with a dragon dance -- a traditional Chinese dance performed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. The long, sinuous dragon twisted and turned through a long red carpet, mesmerizing onlookers with its graceful movements. The dragon, made of colorful silk and paper, was carried by a group of Nigerian dancers who moved to the beat of drums and cymbals.

The joyous celebration was spiced up by local troupes and school art groups who performed various Nigerian dances in addition to Chinese flute performances and dances.

Cui Jianchun, Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, emphasized that people-to-people exchanges between the two countries had bridged cultural differences and fostered a sense of community and harmony.

The celebration would help the Chinese community here mark the upcoming Spring Festival and offer an opportunity for Nigerian people to understand Chinese culture, Cui told Xinhua.

Tang Fanli, a mother of three kids, will spend her fourth Spring Festival in Nigeria. She brought her kids to the activities because she wanted them to experience the festive atmosphere. "I'm so happy. It makes me feel warm all over."

According to Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Nigeria's permanent secretary of information and culture, Nigeria-China cultural exchanges continue to play a vital role in promoting tourism between the two countries by offering a glimpse into Chinese culture, customs and traditions while encouraging more Nigerians to visit China, and vice versa.

"Nigeria and China share a close affinity in cuisine, hospitality and festivals. Hence, the rapid growth of our deep fraternal, cultural cord is incontestable," Jafiya said. "I am proud of the outstanding cultural ties existing between our dear nations, which have flourished nonstop for decades." 

Guests watch a Chinese calligraphy show during an event held in celebration of the upcoming Year of the Rabbit in Abuja, Nigeria, Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Guo Jun)
MOGADISHU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Somali government said Saturday that it had closed 250 bank accounts belonging to al-Shabab to cut off the militant group's funding sources.

Additionally, 70 mobile money accounts of the militants were shut down as part of the government's efforts to block their financial flow, senior Somali officials told a press conference here.

Somalia has declared an all-out war against the al-Qaida-linked militants. Although driven out of Mogadishu in 2011, the militants are still conducting ambushes in rural areas. 
KABUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Unknown armed men gunned down former Afghan female parliamentarian Mursal Nabizada along with one of her bodyguards in her residence, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirmed on Sunday.

"The gruesome incident happened in Ahmad Shah Baba Mina, a neighborhood of Police District 12 of Kabul city, where unidentified gunmen stormed the house of Mursal Nabizada and sprayed bullets on Saturday night, killing her and one her bodyguards and critically injuring one of her brothers," Zadran told Xinhua.

An investigation has been initiated to identify the perpetrators and bring to justice the culprits, the spokesman added.

Nabizada served as a member of Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of the erstwhile Afghan parliament, during the former government which collapsed following the withdrawal of the U.S.-led forces in August 2021.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the assassination of the former lawmaker. Neither her family members nor the police have pointed fingers at any particular group or individual.

Afghanistan's capital Kabul has been the scene of increasing security incidents over the past several months. A blast next to the Foreign Ministry left at least five dead and injured over a dozen others on Wednesday. 
PHNOM PENH, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen left here on Sunday for a three-day visit to the Maldives, said a Cambodian official.

"This is the first ever official visit of the prime minister to the Maldives since both countries established diplomatic relations in 1995," Sry Thamarong, a minister attached to the prime minister, told reporters at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

In the South Asian island country, Hun Sen will hold a bilateral meeting with Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, during which various aspects of bilateral, regional and international cooperation will be discussed, he said.

"After the meeting, the two leaders will preside over the signing ceremony of six documents for bilateral cooperation in the areas of diplomacy, health and tourism," Thamarong said. 
KUNMING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Law enforcement authorities from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand joined forces on Sunday for the start of the 125th Mekong River joint patrol.

Two Chinese vessels departed Sunday morning from Jingha Port in southwest China's Yunnan Province for the mission.

The patrol, expected to last four days and three nights, will focus on tackling cross-border crimes to ensure safety and stability along the river.

The Mekong River -- known as the Lancang River in China -- is a vital waterway for cross-border shipping. The four countries have been conducting joint patrols on the river since December 2011.

In 2022, law enforcement authorities from the four countries carried out 12 joint patrols, sending more than 200 ships and 2,700 law-enforcement personnel. 
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot mixed it up with her challengers Saturday over abortion rights, anti-violence funding and economic development at a punchy candidate forum.

The mayor used a question at the Chicago Women Take Action forum about Roe v. Wade being overturned last year as an opportunity to attack former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Ald. Sophia King. Recalling the days after the Supreme Courts draft decision in the Dobbs case leaked, Lightfoot lambasted Vallas for not releasing a statement in the immediate aftermath.

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Remember how you felt when you heard about the draft (Dobbs) decision? It was like a punch in the gut, Lightfoot said. All of us took to social media except Paul Vallas, whos been silent on this for seven months until today. Shame on you!

Vallas, who earlier in the day released a plan to support reproductive rights, responded by saying he has always been pro-choice and pledged to ensure that Chicago is a reproductive safe haven.

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Lori likes to invent new facts to suit her narrative, Vallas said. That dog doesnt hunt in this day.

In the same remarks, Lightfoot also indirectly criticized King for not supporting her most recent budget, which included funding for reproductive rights. King is a former Planned Parenthood Chicago vice chair and opposed the mayors budget, she previously said, due to concerns it doesnt do enough to support public safety.

Saturdays forum saw eight of the nine candidates in the Feb. 28 mayoral election debate womens issues, though they differed more on the details than the big picture.

Activist JaMal Green said hed be pro-women and criticized the Lightfoot administration for how it handled the case of Anjanette Young, a social worker whose home was wrongly raided by Chicago Police. The mayors administration initially refused to provide her with copies of police video of the raid and later asked a federal judge to prevent CBS Chicago from publishing the video. Lightfoot has apologized for her administrations handling of the situation but has resisted Youngs efforts to add more restrictions on search warrants.

Ald. Roderick Sawyer answered a question about tackling food deserts by vowing support for local grocers. He also called for more job training for the homeless, noting that nine times out of 10, the person refuses the offer for emergency services because they want to be independent and self-sufficient rather than live in a shelter.

Vallas expressed support for keeping school buildings open on weekends, holidays and after school, as well as creating universal work study programs to give students a safe place to stay and learn. But on the topic of education, Vallas also took shots from Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, a former teacher, over Vallas support for school choice.

The fact that Paul Vallas, who has privatized public education all over this country, is even on this stage having a conversation about public education, is morally bankrupt, Johnson said.

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Johnson also again called for a tax increase on the citys highest property sales to fund homelessness services, decrying how The police budget is one of the biggest budgets that weve seen in the history of this city. Were spending more money to lock them up than house them.

Businesssman Willie Wilson repeated his promise to take the handcuffs off the police and put them on the crook, drawing some gasps at one point when he asserted of people who commit gun violence, I say they got no rights.

King went after both Lightfoot and Garcia, saying the mayor only spent a pittance of the citys anti-violence allocation in last years budget, which Lightfoot disputed.

I must say to Mr. Garcia that if you really believe in bringing us together, you should take back the money that you took from Local 150, saying the union is backing an ordinance on crane operator regulations that would exclude the African American businesses from them.

Garcia, for his part, attacked the mayor for her record on the Invest South/West program that Lightfoot launched as her signature neighborhood investment plan in 2019, with the goal of increasing development in parts of the city that have long suffered from disinvestment.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, speaks as Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, listens during a mayoral candidates' forum Saturday. (Chicago Tribune)

The mayor frequently lauds the program as a transformational effort to boost neighborhoods on the South and West Sides. But a Tribune review of the program paints a much more complex and nuanced picture.

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Among the findings were that while Lightfoots administration has spent millions of dollars in public funds and worked to spur both public and private development in neighborhoods that have experienced generations of disinvestment, the mayor has also lumped millions of dollars that were already in the works before she took office or constitute routine government spending, padding the investment total for Invest South/West.

Invest South/West are the vestiges of the (Mayor Rahm) Emanuel administration with a Lightfoot brand on them, Garcia said. Youve read the stories in the newspapers.  Theyre not working because theyre not thought through.

Lightfoot retorted with a shot at Garcias long career as a politician.

Forty years in public service. Where is your economic plan? Lightfoot said.  Of course you have a value statement, but you got to turn that value statement into real action, and thats what weve done for four years.

State Rep. Kambium Kam Buckner was the only absent candidate. His campaign said he had a personal emergency.
ATHENS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The "China-Hellas Young Musicians Concert", brought together by Greek and Chinese young musicians performing classical and contemporary music on Saturday evening, featured an impressive convergence of Sino-Greek melodies.

The event, held at the Athens Conservatoire, was co-organized by the Athens Conservatoire, the Athens State Orchestra, the Chinese embassy in Athens, the China Cultural Center in Athens, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the Beijing Overseas Cultural Exchange Center and the Sino-Hellenic Investors' Confederation.

The concert, which helped build a cultural bridge between the two countries, was staged to strengthen bilateral communication through culture and celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, organizers said.

Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng said this was the first time Chinese young musicians in Greece collaborated with Greek high-level institutions and professionals, and expressed hope for more exchanges to deepen bilateral understanding.

In 2023, the two countries will continue to celebrate the China-Greece Year of Culture and Tourism, Xiao said.

"Music is a language without borders ... it is universal. I think it is a very good way to use music to combine the emotions and cultures of the two peoples," Jie Jiao, organist and a Chinese lived in Greece, told Xinhua.

"We should celebrate (the) difference. With a zither we can hear so different music pieces ... We are different and it is marvelous," said pianist Ruijun Ma, who lived in Greece for seven years.

"Today's experience is enthralling," Mimis Armoutis, student of the Athens Conservatoire, told Xinhua, describing the cooperation on stage with Chinese artists for the first time.

Music encourages exchanges and bonding, Giorgos Gionakis said, A Chinese may get inspiration from Greek composers' music pieces and adapt them to his or her own music. 
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks during his visit to the construction site of Belgrade-Budapest railway near Novi Sad, Serbia, on Jan. 14, 2023.

The Serbia section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway, once completed, will prove to be of immense importance for the country's economy and local development, Vucic has said on Saturday. (Photo by Wang Wei/Xinhua)

NOVI SAD, Serbia, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Serbia section of the Chinese-built Belgrade-Budapest railway, once completed, will prove to be of immense importance for the country's economy and local development, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said on Saturday.

Vucic, accompanied by Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic and Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo, visited the village of Stepanovicevo, where the railway section connecting Novi Sad and Subotica is under construction.

Vucic pointed out the importance of the high-speed railway for developing industry, business and tourism, and attracting investors to North Serbia.

Vucic said that the railway "is important to us because of the development of the north part of our country, as well as to tourism in (towns of) Palic, Topola ... and the further progress of all settlements along the route."

"The construction of the Belgrade-Budapest railway is significant not only for the development of Serbia but also for the connectivity improvement between this region and other parts of Europe and Asia," Chen said, praising the broader significance of the project.

The Belgrade-Budapest railway, about 350-km-long, is one of the flagship projects within China's Belt and Road Initiative at this part of Europe, and a result of the deepening of the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs).

The first section of the railway in Serbia, about 75-km-long, between Belgrade and Serbia's second largest city Novi Sad, was already in operation in March 2022, carrying trains at speed of up to 200 km per hour. Constructions of the second section, 108.1-km-long, between Novi Sad and Subotica started in November 2021. 
JERUSALEM: The latest death in a months-long cycle of violence between Palestinians and Israelis occurred on Sunday when Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

There remained uncertainty about the cause of death. According to Israeli media, the man tried to stab soldiers guarding a Jewish settlement with a knife. The man was Ahmad Kahla, 45, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The Israeli army was immediately silent.

In the occupied territory, where Israeli forces have been conducting nightly arrest raids since last spring, tensions have been running high for months.

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The raids were in response to a wave of Palestinian attacks on Israelis, in which 19 people were killed. Later that year, another wave of attacks killed 10 more Israelis.

According to data from the Israeli rights organization B'Tselem, 2022 was set to be the deadliest year since 2004 for Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. According to a count by The Associated Press, 13 Palestinians have died since the beginning of the year.

Also Read: CAIR claims that a teacher at Hamline University is not anti-Muslim.

According to Israel, most of those killed were terrorists. However, stone-throwing Palestinians, youths protesting the invasion, and unrelated individuals have also been killed.

According to Israel, the aim of the raid is to destroy terrorist networks and prevent further attacks. In the eyes of Palestinians, they represent a further solidification of Israel's ongoing 55-year occupation, which they seek for a future independent state.

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The West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem were all taken by Israel in the 1967 Middle East conflict; These are the areas where the Palestinians desire their aspirational state.

Since then, Israel has built 500,000 homes in 130 settlements in the West Bank, which is seen by much of the Palestinian and international community as an obstacle to peace.
Jakarta: On Saturday, tens of thousands of workers demonstrated in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, in opposition to a presidential decree that opponents claim would weaken labour rights and environmental safeguards.

In Southeast Asia's largest economy, President Joko Widodo replaced a contentious jobs law with an emergency decree last month, a move that some legal experts claim violated a court order.

The 2020 Jobs Creation Law was declared invalid by the Constitutional Court because there had not been enough public input before the law's passage. It mandated that the renewed procedure be finished by the end of November.

Also Read: How Arabs gilded Sri Lanka's historic pearl trade

38-year-old protester Damar Panca Mulia referred to the decree as a government ruse intended to ensure that the job law would be implemented.

"This regulation weakens worker welfare, scales back labour protections, and harms agrarian issues, the environment, and women's protection," he claimed. The improvement of workers' welfare should go hand in hand with job creation, but this decree goes against that. That is why we are against it.

Some protesters carried signs that read, "Reject job creation emergency decree because there is no emergency situation," while others carried banners that read, "Say no to outsourcing."

Also Read: VIDEO: '4 children of Hindus burnt alive..', Atrocities on non-Muslims continue in Pakistan

According to Joko Heriono, 59, the regulation left workers uncertain because they could be fired without cause and would receive less in severance pay.

Outsourcing and the decree's minimum wage regulation, according to Labor Party Chairman Said Iqbal, are two issues to be concerned about.

Said told reporters, "We don't want the state to only act as a tool for unethical businesspeople to undermine the welfare of workers.

Foreign investors had praised the Jobs Creation Law for reducing red tape and revising more than 70 other laws.

Also Read: At least four people were injured in a shooting after a funeral in London

According to the deputy speaker of the legislature this week, the decree's legal standing will be evaluated during the current session. A group of Indonesians requested a judicial review of the rule from the Constitutional Court last week.
A shocking incident is coming to light from Pakistan where a woman was brutally killed by her husband. Then he boiled his corpse in a pan. Actually, there is an area called Gulshan-e-Iqbal near Karachi. Here a man named Ashiq Hussain lived with his wife Nargis and 6 children. They all lived in a deserted school. Actually, this school was in a very deserted place, so it was closed soon. But its owner had hired Ashiq Hussain to guard it. So he lived here with his family.

On April 13, 2022, at 3 am, all the children of the house were sleeping comfortably. Just then Ashiq's elder daughter suddenly woke up. Actually, she had heard someone screaming. This broke her sleep and she got up. She started walking towards the room from where the screams were coming. It was the room of her father Ashiq and mother Nargis. Her parents were fighting among themselves over something. When the daughter started looking inside through a hole near the wall in fear, her senses were blown away. She saw her mother lying on the ground and her father holding her mother's face with a pillow. Her mother was screaming to save herself. But there was no one around that deserted school who could hear her mother's screams. Then her mother's screams stopped. Ashiq killed her.

Seeing this scene, Ashiq's daughter got scared. But she also did not know what was going to happen to her mother's corpse. She fell unconscious there in fear. After 3 hours, when she regained consciousness, she started seeing the scene again in front of her eyes. But then she thought that she might have had a dream. But after a few seconds, she realized that it was not a dream. Her father killed her mother in front of her own eyes. She ran to the room where her siblings were sleeping. She told everyone that their father had killed their mother. All the children immediately got out of there. Then their eyes fell on the canteen in front of the school. The eldest daughter asked the rest of the children to stay there and went to see the canteen herself. She felt like something was happening inside. As soon as she looked inside, her senses were blown away. She saw a large furnace burning. There is a pan on it in which something was cooking. Standing next to it is her father, who is in a pool of blood. Just then, her eyes fell on a severed human leg placed near her father. She couldn't say anything. Then her father saw her. Seeing all this, the girl ran away from there. It was morning now. So as soon as the girl saw some people, she told them the whole thing. They immediately called the police. Police rushed to the spot as soon as the news was received. Seeing that scene, they also lost consciousness.

They found that Ashiq had fled with three children. But the fire was still burning in that furnace. The fire was extinguished immediately. When opened the pan, they saw that Nargis's corpse was being cooked in it. Actually, Nargis's corpse did not fit in the pan. So Ashiq cut off her legs and threw them there. Whereas, the rest of the body was cooked by putting it in the embroidery. As soon as the police grabbed Nargis's hand and tried to remove her, it separated. Because her body was completely swallowed. The police pulled out the body and sent it for post-mortem. Later when the police questioned Nargis's brother and daughter, a very surprising thing came out. Both of them told that Ashiq used to beat his wife after drinking alcohol every day. Actually, Ashiq had a shortage of money. Therefore, he wanted to push his wife Nargis into prostitution. So that he can earn money from it. He used to bring his friends home every day and ask Nargis to spend the night with them. But Nargis opposed it. He never let anyone play with her dignity. Nargis always said that she would die but would not allow her dignity to be dealt with. Nargis was finally brutally killed by her husband. SHO Salim said that before today, he had never seen or heard a more dangerous case in his tenure.

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Mazhar Malik, a cybersecurity and digital forensics lecturer

In an age where cybercrime cases are on the rise, the need to create professionals trained in cybersecurity and digital forensics is increasing. Over the course of the past few years, cases related to cybercrime have gone up in Nepal too, which goes to show how important it is for the country to create these professionals.

This shows the need for a course related to cybersecurity and digital forensics, which is increasing in Nepal too and as of now, it is available only at The British College (TBC). The college has brought the degree from the University of West of England (UWE) and has been running it for over a year. The degree, according to lecturers and officials at TBC, is holistic and makes the student industry-ready as it teaches students networking, programming, laws and security and forensic tools that they will learn in a state-of-the-art lab on campus.

To speak about the course, Onlinekhabar caught up with Mazhar Malik, a senior lecturer in cybersecurity and digital forensics at the Department of Computer Science and Creative Technologies at UWE-Bristol. Malik, who has been in the field since 2005, explained what students learn from the course and its importance in todays world and for a country like Nepal.

Excerpts:

What are cybersecurity and digital forensics? And why are they essential for a country like Nepal?

If you go by definition, cybersecurity is the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks. Digital forensics, on the other hand, is a branch of forensic science that focuses on identifying, acquiring, processing, analysing, and reporting data stored electronically.

If we look at what is happening worldwide, it is clear that cybercrimes are increasing all over the globe as one mostly hears two things. One is cybersecurity and the other is the security of data.

In the past, organisations did not pay enough attention towards investing in cybersecurity. But, when businesses moved to work remotely through the help of the internet, then they realised the importance of cybersecurity.

So if you look at the banking sector, we are using applications through mobile to perform different types of transactions. We are using cards to perform online transactions or point-of-sale (POS) transactions. But for them to operate successfully, we need to ensure that all these transactions are secure.

Recently, I was reading about what is happening in the current market. In 2023, the cyber field will need 1.2 million people according to data published by the United States of America. Another very interesting data I read was how there were around 1 million vacancies that were not filled due to a skill shortage throughout the world in 2022.

The importance of cybersecurity and digital forensics can be learnt through this data when the US predicted that the damages to business due to cybersecurity in the world would be around USD 6 trillion a year in 2021. This was a predicted number, but definitely, predictions have a reason behind them.

Through a unique programme at the University of West of England (UWE) in Bristol, we want to help change that and weve been working with people in the field to come up with plans on how to make the course effective. In Nepal, this programme is totally new and The British College is trying to help solve the skill shortage that will arise in Nepal in the long run.

Are cybersecurity and digital forensics the same or are they different?

These are two different things. Cybersecurity teaches students only how to secure a computer or network and stop breaches. Digital forensics, on the other hand, helps identify how breaches take place and stop these attacks.

The forensic side of the programme basically helps students gain these skills to investigate how the breach took place and find reasons behind the incidents by applying different types of tools and techniques they will use to investigate any digital image.

When did the UWE start the programme in Bristol? How often do you change it?

We started the programme back in 2016. But, a lot has changed since the early years. When we started, it was called computer security and forensics. Then, as years went by, we change the curriculum and made other changes to it along with its name.

We make those changes from the bottom and consult with teachers at the UWE and partner colleges by getting feedback. We ask them what was good about the module and what areas we can improve on. We take those suggestions into consideration and revise the course accordingly without compromising on quality.

This means that whatever we are delivering here in TBC Nepal is the same as what we are delivering in the UWE in Bristol. So our students over there and here will have the same learning capabilities. When they graduate, they will carry the same type of attributes.

But will be programme be relevant here? Our laws are different to laws in the UK. Are the programmes tweaked a bit to fit the local context?

Technical things are the same all over the world along with the court languages. But, yes, when it comes to laws, things will differ. Actually, our module incorporates local laws too along with international laws. So here at TBC, they learn Nepali laws too.

But that said, laws are similar everywhere. The terminologies might change but the authorities that they need to go to are the same. Basically, the concept remains the same and that helps them to work anywhere around the world.

The degree has a practical approach to it with the students being asked to solve problems rather than just a theoretical approach. Why is that?

One of the main focuses of the UWE is wanting to produce ready-to-work graduates. And, we have been successfully doing that. The data for 2022 stated that our employability rate is 91 per cent overall with 98 per cent in cybersecurity.

This is only available through a practical approach. In many programmes, including this, around 30 to 40 per cent of students have a job before they graduate.

Why? The students are taught mostly by working professionals who come from different backgrounds and are working in industries. They then help groom students to help them develop skills. Here at TBC, most of the instructors are from the industry. One of the staff at the cybercrime wing of Nepal Police has been doing digital forensic work for the past decade.

I feel it would be difficult to deliver this programme without industrial knowledge. So thats why the resource persons are so technical and the same skills are embedded when students are taking those skills.

Secondly, a more practical approach means students are more motivated to learn. They showed a keen interest in how to do it rather than reading about it. So we give them tasks and ask them to investigate a certain image or machine and tell what is wrong with them.

We want to prepare them in a natural way, a way in which they are ready to go out and work in the industry.

Does TBC have everything that is needed to make the cybersecurity and digital forensics course successful?

It does as the UWE wont allow for a programme to start with its partner institution without them. TBC has the required facilities and infrastructure in place for this course. It is also installing a new lab here dedicated to cybersecurity students. The lab will have high-end computers with all the necessary software. These computers are similar to the ones they will use in the industry. Hence, they will give them confidence when they get out of college as they will be familiar with all the tools required for the industry.

So this means career opportunities can be anywhere right?

Yes. Students who graduate from this programme can work in any part of the world. The programme is so broad in the sense that our students learn technical skills along with soft skills. They learn how to work in a group and learn the importance of group work. We also teach them how to work under pressure. They also learn entrepreneurial skills and learn to market the product.

As you mentioned, the students learn different aspects of hacking and decoding how the hack was done. Is there a risk that programmes like these will create criminals?

Yes, there is a chance, but I personally feel people who learn this in a professional environment will not indulge themselves in criminal activities. I feel people who are not part of these programmes are more dangerous than these guys who are actually coming through formal education where they learn a lot about the ethical aspects.

I feel they will have a different mindset through the training they receive, which will definitely make them calmer and more composed.

Are there any challenges that youve seen in a country like Nepal that might hinder the course?

Challenges are always there. One issue was human resources, but that was dealt with relatively easily as we were in constant contact with the staff here and spoke about their experiences in teaching the course. Since cybersecurity and digital forensics are new things, there will always be challenges but the college seems to have been dealing with them quite easily, which is great.

Some other challenges can be a student not having the right laptop for the course or other device-related challenges. So for this, we guide the students on the type of device they might need and ask them to upgrade their system accordingly.

How did you find the students here?

I had a nice interaction with students who were curious about what they would be learning in the future. The session was full, and they seemed highly motivated.
Ahead of the 2023 Chinese New Year holiday, which starts Jan. 21 and ends Jan. 27, Chinas health officials are asking people to stay put and protect elderly family members rather than travel and risk exacerbating Chinas ongoing COVID outbreak.

Its an agonizing decision for hundreds of millions of migrant workers and students, who may have hoped to reunite with family during the Chinese New Year (also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival), the first in mainland China without any COVID restrictions since the pandemic began.

Elderly people in rural communities may be infected during Spring Festival when they meet relatives and friends, Liang Wannian, who heads the countrys COVID-19 response team, told state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.

Guo Jianwen, a member of Chinas pandemic prevention team, suggested on Thursday that if Chinese people were worried about infecting their elderly relatives, dont go home to visit them. He said, You have all kinds of ways to show you care for them; you dont necessarily need to bring the virus to their home.

The question of whether to return home for Chinese New Year was a popular topic on Chinese social media, with Reuters reporting the question was the most-read item on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media platform, on Thursday.

One popular response on social media called Guos suggestion to stay home one of the few useful suggestions put forward during this period, according to The Guardian. The post reflects public frustration with the rapidly changing medical advice doled out by Chinas health experts.

What happens during Chinese New Year?

Much of Chinas urban labor force is made up of migrants from Chinas rural heartland, and many return home to see family for the Chinese New Year holiday. Students studying in the countrys universities also return home for the holidays.

China expects over 2 billion trips over the Chunyan period, a 40-day stretch of holiday travel. The period started Jan. 7 and runs through to Feb. 15.

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Chinese New Year was once the worlds largest movement of people, with 3 billion trips made by passengers traveling back and forth in 2019, before the pandemic. (By comparison, the American Automobile Association estimated that over 55 million Americans made trips over the Thanksgiving holiday period in 2019.)

Yet during the pandemic, internal mobility restrictions made it difficult for some people to make Chinese New Year trips. Those considering trips feared that snap lockdowns could stop them from returning to their workplace or school, and so they opted to stay put.

How many COVID cases does China have?

Yet it may be too late for health officials advice to ward off further COVID infections. Chinas COVID outbreak is already spreading to rural communities, even as the outbreak may be peaking in major cities.

China is experiencing a surge in cases beyond anything the country has seen so far. Chinas official case and death numbers503,302 and 5,272, respectivelyunder-represent the scope of the outbreak since Beijing changed how it records COVID cases and deaths last month. Health officials have, at times, suggested that daily case counts are stretching into the tens of millions. Earlier this week, an official in Henan estimated that 90% of local residents had now caught COVID, which would put the provinces case count alone at close to 90 million.

Airfinity, a U.K.-based health research firm, forecasts that over 3.5 million people are catching COVID each day, and over 20,700 people are dying of the disease daily. The company projects the outbreak to peak on Jan. 13.

Chinas health care system is already stretched by the outbreak, with hospital space and medicine running low. There are even fewer resources in Chinas countryside, with rural communities having less than half as many doctors and nurses as cities, according to the South China Morning Post. Villages have also run low on fever and cough medication, forcing communities to appeal for donations over the internet, according to the SCMP.

Beijing on Sunday ordered villages to stockpile at least two weeks worth of medicine, and set up teams of volunteer drivers to carry people to treatment centers, according to state-run paper Global Times.

To make matters worse, China has relatively low rates of vaccination among its elderly population. In early December, health officials estimated that only 40% of the countrys over-80 population had gotten the booster shot needed to protect against newer COVID variants. Outside health experts argue that China also needs to import more effective mRNA vaccines rather than rely on less-effective homegrown versions.

The World Health Organization said it was ready to work with China to handle the wave of people traveling home for the holidays, but officials said they needed more data. There are some very important information gaps that we are working with China to fill, Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHOs COVID technical lead, told reporters on Wednesday. The WHO has accused China of minimizing the scope of its outbreak, particularly with regard to hospitalizations and deaths.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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At least 30 confirmed dead after Saturday's Russian strike

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City mayor says little hope of finding more survivors

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Military says Russia has more cruise missiles at hand

By Herbert Villarraga

DNIPRO, Ukraine, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Ukraine saw little hope of pulling any more survivors from the rubble of an apartment block in the city of Dnipro on Sunday, a day after the building was hit during a major Russian missile attack, with dozens of people expected to have died.

The regional governor's adviser, Natalia Babachenko, said 30 people were confirmed dead so far and more than 30 were in hospital, including 12 in a serious condition. Between 30 to 40 people could still be trapped under debris, she said.

Emergency workers said they had heard people screaming for help from underneath piles of debris from the nine-storey apartment block in the east-central city and were using moments of silence to help direct their efforts. Freezing temperatures added to rescuers' concerns.

A group of firefighters found a lightly-dressed woman still alive more than 18 hours after the attack. They carried her to safety in their arms. Dozens of grim-faced residents, both young and old, watched in horror from the street.

A body was retrieved by firefighters and lifted from the ruins on a stretcher using a crane.

"The chances of saving people now are minimal," Dnipro's Mayor Borys Filatov told Reuters. I think the number of dead will be in the dozens."

The attack on Dnipro was one of the deadliest strikes of the war against civilians, and was noted for the use of a Soviet-era Kh-22 missile, which is known to be inaccurate and against which Ukraine lacks the air defences to shoot down.

Filatov said two stairwells including dozens of flats were destroyed.

Russia fired two waves of missiles at Ukraine on Saturday, striking targets across the country as fighting raged on the battlefield in the eastern towns of Soledar and Bakhmut.

Moscow, which invaded last February, has been pounding Ukraine's energy infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, causing sweeping blackouts and disruptions to central heating and running water.

Story continues

In a statement on Sunday about its previous day of strikes, the Russian defence ministry did not mention Dnipro as a specific target.

"All assigned objects were hit. The targets of the strike have been achieved," it said.

Rescuers toiled through the night searching for survivors. On Sunday morning, they could be seen punching and kicking through heaped mounds of smashed concrete and twisted metal.

"Two rooms on the second floor remain practically intact but buried," Oleh Kushniruk, a deputy director of the regional branch of Ukraine's State Emergency Service, said on television.

A spokesperson for Ukraine's southern command said Russia had fired only half of the cruise missiles it had deployed to the Black Sea during Saturday's attacks.

"This indicates that they still have certain plans," said the spokesperson, Natalia Humeniuk. "We must understand that they can still be used."

APPEAL FOR MORE WEAPONS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his nightly address on Sunday, vowed to press ahead with the rescue mission.

"We are fighting for every person. The rescue operation will be conducted as long as there is even the slightest chance to save their lives," Zelenskiy said, adding that dozens of people were rescued from under the rubble, including six children.

Saturday's attack came as Western powers consider sending battle tanks to Kyiv and ahead of a meeting of Ukraine's allies in Ramstein in Germany next Friday, where governments will announce their latest pledges of military support.

On Saturday, Britain followed France and Poland with promises of further weapons, saying it would send 14 of its Challenger 2 main battle tanks as well as other advanced artillery support in the coming weeks.

The first despatch of Western-made tanks to Ukraine is likely to be viewed by Moscow as escalation of the conflict. The Russian Embassy in London said the tanks would drag out the confrontation.

Russia's invasion has already killed thousands, displaced millions and turned many cities into rubble.

SOLEDAR

In Ukraine's eastern Donbas region - the focal point of Russia's drive to capture more territory - Ukraine's forces were battling around the small salt-mining town of Soledar.

Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern command, told Ukrainian television that Russian forces had shelled the area around Soledar and Bakhmut 234 times in the past 24 hours.

Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of Soledar, which had a pre-war population of 10,000, in what would be a minor advance but one that would have psychological importance for Russian forces, who have seen months of battlefield setbacks.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar maintained Kyiv's position that the fight for Soledar was not over.

In remarks on her Telegram channel Sunday, she noted the Ukrainian armed forces' general staff had reported repelling Russian attacks in a string of locations including Soledar and nearby Bakhmut, but also being fired upon in those same two locations and elsewhere.

"Put simply, THE BATTLE CONTINUES," she said. "Everything else is unverified information, unauthorized and without knowledge of the general picture of the front," she said.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said it was highly unlikely that Ukrainian forces still held positions within Soledar itself.

Reuters could not immediately verify the situation in the town.

Putin said what he calls the special military operation was showing a positive trend and that he hoped Russian soldiers would deliver further gains after Soledar.

"The dynamic is positive," he told Rossiya 1 state television. "Everything is developing within the framework of the plan of the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff."

(Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly and Dan Peleschuk; Writing by Lidia Kelly, Dan Peleschuk and Tom Balmforth; Editing by Frances Kerry, Philippa Fletcher, Raissa Kasolowsky and Daniel Wallis)
At least one locality in the Fredericksburg region already is gearing up for the Nov. 7 election, when every county sheriff and commonwealths attorney, treasurer and revenue commissioner as well as members of county Boards of Supervisors and School Boards will be up for reelection.

King George County will hold a workshop for potential candidates from 68 p.m. Jan. 30 in the boardroom of the Revercomb Building, at 10459 Courthouse Drive. Registrar Lorrie Gump and Virginia Department of Elections staff will discuss eligibility requirements, filing deadlines and other steps involved in running for office.

At this point, few office-holders in the Fredericksburg area have made public announcements about their plans. An exception is Annie Cupka, whos finishing her first term as at-large supervisor in King George. Before she issued wishes for a merry Christmas and happy new year at a Dec. 20 meeting, she announced she will not seek a second term.

Cupka said her family is celebrating multiple major milestones in 2023 and she planned to be there with them instead of campaigning.

Her seat is one of 16 positions on Boards of Supervisors in Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford that will be up for grabs this fall. Culpeper County also will have four seats on the ballot for its Board of Supervisors; Orange County will have three; and Westmoreland County, five.

The same number of positions will be on the ballot for School Boards in those localities.

While presidential elections tend to attract the heaviest voter turnout, off-year elections give residents the chance to pick local representatives who will determine, among other things, how much they pay in local taxes.

Most counties in the Fredericksburg area split up elections so a portion of their boards are up for election every two years, according to an election calendar from the Virginia Department of Elections.

Under that schedule, 2023 marks a biggie in local races. Across the state, the majority of board races are on the ballot in Virginia counties as well as all county constitutional officers (treasurer, commonwealths attorney, commissioner of revenue and sheriff). There are also elections for representatives on soil and water conservation districts and clerks of court who are elected for eight years while others serve four-year terms.

The November election also will include 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and 40 in the State Senate.

The state election department has information on its website on whats involved in running for local office, both for the June 20 primary, if needed, and Nov. 7 general election.

Candidates have until April 6 to file for the primary and until June 20 to get on the ballot for the general election. They must have lived in Virginia for at least a year before the election, be a registered voter and reside in the locality (and district, when applicable) they wish to represent.

More information is available from the Department of Elections at elections.virginia.gov.
The State Land Board recently celebrated the transfer of 640 acres at Schriever Space Force Base to the Department of Defense, ending a yearlong process.

The Air Force requested a reassessment of the lease of the property that is now home to more than $1 billion in facilities. The military has leased the property since the 1980s before taking ownership through the transfer.

Given the critically important nature of the mission at Schriever Space Force Base, its imperative that the Department of Defense has full control over lands that house mission-critical military infrastructure," said Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera in a news release.

The State Land Board started leasing the land to the military in 1982 for a one-time payment of $48,000, approximately $150,000 in todays dollars, according to a State Land Board document. Since then, the Department of Defense has invested approximately $1.1 billion into facilities on the land, the document states.

"The mission has grown and evolved more than anyone could have envisioned some 40 years ago," said Keith Klaehn, chairman of the Defense Mission Task Force and a board member of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & EDC.

Under the previous lease, the State Land Board would have to take over the buildings on base and the potential liabilities if the military ever abandoned the base, according to Land Board documents.

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After a four-year process, the state and the military decided the land transfer made sense for both parties after the Air Force requested it, Klaehn said.

In a statement, a Space Base Delta 1 spokesperson said the state demonstrated its commitment to Space Force missions through the transfer.

"This land transfer is another example of how the State of Colorado is working to be the best home to our military members and key missions," the statement said.

Schriever, about 10 miles east of Colorado Springs, opened as an installation in 1985 and now employs 8,000 people.
Billionaire Ken Griffin on Friday sold an 8,000-square-foot condominium on the 66th floor of the Park Tower building on the Near North Side for $11.2 million  easily the highest Chicago-area home sale price in this new year. (VHT Studios)

Billionaire Ken Griffin on Friday sold an 8,000-square-foot condominium on the 66th floor of the Park Tower building on the Near North Side for $11.2 million  easily the highest Chicago-area home sale price in this new year.

Griffin, who recently relocated his hedge fund firm, Citadel, and his family to south Florida after complaining about crime in Chicago, took a meaningful loss on the unit, which he bought for $15 million in 2012. That means that his sale price on Friday was more than 25% less than he paid for the unit more than a decade earlier.

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Griffin now has unloaded the second of four high-priced condominium on the Near North Side that he recently placed on the market  all of which were listed for more than $11 million each. In October, Griffin sold his five-bedroom, 7,400-square-foot full-floor condo on the 37th floor of the Waldorf Astoria  which had been Griffins most recent legal residence  to an opaque Delaware limited liability company for $10.22 million, which was $1.27 million below his asking price and $3.07 million, or 23%, less than the $13.3 million that Griffin had paid for that condo in 2014.

Still on the market are a 9,250-square-foot, full-floor penthouse condominium on the Park Towers 67th floor, which is available for $15.75 million, and a 7,085-square-foot unfinished condominium on the 35th floor of the building at 9 W. Walton St., which is listed for $14 million. Griffin continues also to own the 36th through 38th floors of the building at 9 W. Walton St., and theres no word yet on when or if he will place those for sale.

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As for the 66th-floor Park Tower unit, Griffin first listed it in July for $13.25 million, and he struck the deal to sell it in November. The unit is raw space  Griffin bought it 12 years after his $6.9 million purchase in 2000 of the Park Towers 67th-floor unit, which at one time was his familys residence. However, Griffin never built out the 66th-floor unit, which has 13-foot ceilings, 360-degree views and 550 square feet of outdoor space.

Listing agent Susan Miner of Premier Relocation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 66th-floor unit had a $165,124 property tax bill in the 2021 tax year.

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.

Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news.
Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright on Friday told the legislature the state's judicial branch is making progress on diversity and workplace culture, while warning lawmakers about the need to address low compensation and problematic levels of turnover.

Boatright also threw his endorsement behind two new proposals that would reform the process for disciplining judges, including an amendment to the state constitution.

"The legislation reflects a true bipartisan effort and are good, commonsense changes," he said.

The biennial State of the Judiciary address is Boatright's second since becoming chief justice in 2021. Two years ago, he stood before the legislature to address allegations that his predecessor and others in the Judicial Department were responsible for covering up harassment and other workplace misconduct. Boatright welcomed an investigation and the involvement of the legislative and executive branches in selecting the investigators.

Two separate inquiries ensued, with one acknowledging Judicial Department leaders engaged in misconduct and the existence of "toxic relationships, factionalism, and a lack of accountability for key leaders" in the branch's administrative office. The second investigation found some claims of impropriety were substantiated, and also reported the results of a workplace culture survey. Among the findings: women were less likely to believe their workplace was safe, and more likely than men to experience retaliation.

"That is not acceptable and we will do better," Boatright vowed to lawmakers.

In that vein, the chief justice cited the judicial branch's budget request, which includes a proposal for an organizational ombudsman. The position, according to the branch, would serve to provide "a safe place for employees to discuss concerns and consider options" for resolving workplace issues. While not explicitly mentioned, Boatright also issued a directive in November clarifying the internal reporting protocols for judicial misconduct.

Boatright's address further endorsed a "modernization" of the branch's human resources operation, including a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. He described a listening tour the seven Supreme Court justices embarked on during the last quarter of 2022, in which they visited each judicial district and heard from employees. Low pay was a concern, as were staff turnover and inadequate training.

"In the simplest of terms: Frequent turnover leads to training issues and inadequate training leads to turnover," Boatright said. "Frankly, we heard that its difficult to have a shared mission and culture of excellence when staff are constantly turning over."

Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she appreciated hearing about the judicial branch's priorities, which would be "the subject of much discussion and debate."

Rep. Matt Soper, R-Delta, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, added that he was pleased about the chief justice's plans for organizational restructuring.

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Boatright "made what is traditionally the most impersonal branch of government very human," Soper said. "While the investigations may have been painful for the court, the changes reported in the ombudsman, HR modernizing, reforming work culture and increased pay for judicial staff hopefully means we won't be reading scandal-laced headlines."

Boatright also endorsed two pending measures, the product of an interim legislative committee, that would establish new protocols for judicial disciplinary investigations in state law and the constitution. He praised voters and lawmakers for helping clear the way for a new judicial district beginning in 2025  the 23rd Judicial District, which will separate Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties from their current attachment to Arapahoe County.

Boatright spoke favorably about efforts to diversify the more-than-300 judges appointed to the trial and appellate courts throughout the state. Gov. Jared Polis has appointed approximately 40% of the bench, Boatright said, and the evolution was apparent during a judicial conference in September.

"The room looked and felt differently. We saw more women and more diverse colleagues among us," he said.

Boatright added: "I imagine you all know the feeling Im describing," a reference to the milestone reached in 2023 of women comprising a majority of the Legislature for the first time in Colorado's history.

Boatright also boasted of the historic number of Black judges currently serving. Including Denver County Court, whose members are appointed by the mayor, 19 Black trial judges are in office, a dramatic increase from five years ago. The observation prompted the first applause line from the Legislature, which had held a commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. immediately before Boatright's address.

Finally, the chief justice complimented the state's probation officers, calling them the "unsung heroes" of the criminal justice system. With approximately 70,000 people on probation at a given time in Colorado, Boatright ticked off the drastic cost savings of a probationary sentence. Whereas incarcerating someone will cost $57,000, probation is only $1,900, he said.

Boatright teared up while reading a letter from a woman whose drug issues landed her on probation. The woman's probation officer, Cassie Korse, reportedly persevered in getting the woman to reach sobriety.

"Between you and Child Protective Services, you saved my life," the woman wrote to Korse. "I now get to help others in their addictions and really get to spread the word that recovery is possible."

"I share this story with the hope that it dispels any idea," Boatright said, that probation officers are "anxious to revoke probation and jail their clients." He and the legislature applauded for Korse and other probation officers present in the House chamber.
Colorado Springs police officers are investigating an incident that left a man with a knife wound early Saturday, according to a news release from the department.

Just before 6 a.m., officers with the departments Downtown Area Response Team went to the area of Pikes Peak and Cascade avenues in response to calls about a disturbance there, police said. When they arrived they found several males involved in a fight. The men were all active-duty soldiers stationed at Fort Carson, according to the release.

A man found lying in the street with a severe laceration on his left arm was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Witnesses told police the man had been cut with a knife.

No additional injuries were reported, and no arrests were announced.
Weekend backpack meals provided via a partnership with the Northern Indiana Chapter of Links, Purdue Northwest, and the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, sit ready to be distributed to students at Frankie McCullough Academy in Gary on Friday, January 13, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

About 100 students at Frankie Woods McCullough Academy in Gary are avoiding weekend hunger pains and eating healthier thanks to the Weekend BackPack program.

The students received their first green and gray backpacks Friday from the Northern Indiana Chapter of the Links through a $23,000 grant from Purdue University Northwest.

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The program will continue each week throughout the school year.

Frankie Woods McCullough Academy students don donated backpacks filled with food for the weekend during an event at the school on Friday, January 13, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Im thankful for it and for them providing for us, said fourth-grader Jahleah Daniels, 9.

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LaVada Taylor, president of the local Links chapter, cited food insecurity as an acute issue in the African-American community.

She said about 12.5% of children in the U.S. struggle with food insecurity and 19% of them are Black children. Poor nutrition leads to vulnerability to kidney disease and other health ailments, she said.

Links, a service group that raises funds for college scholarships, mentoring health initiatives, and cultural enrichment activities, partnered with the Baxter Healthcare Company to create an initiative aimed at an awareness of chronic kidney disease.

The local chapter, chartered in 1958, also receives grant funding from Baxter and it recently piloted the Black K.A.R.E. (Kidney Awareness Resources and Education) program.

Northern Indiana Links president LaVada Taylor speaks during an event to distribute backpacks with weekend meals to students at Frankie Woods McCullough Academy in Gary on Friday, January 13, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Taylor said the Links used funding from its Black K.A.R.E. grant to partner with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana in the National BackPack Program last year.

That program is part of the Feeding America network and provides healthy, nutritious weekend meals in nondescript bags. Theyre filled with soup, stew cans, breakfast bars and cereal from the Food Bank. Students in other Northwest Indiana schools are also part of the program.

Food Bank of Northwest Indiana President and CEO Victor Garcia speaks during an event to distribute backpacks with weekend meals to students at Frankie Woods McCullough Academy in Gary on Friday, January 13, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Purdue Northwest Provost Christopher Holford said the effort is a good fit for the university.

Food security remains a barrier for education in our communities, he said. It is certainly one of the most important factors that affect educational success and overall educational attainment.

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Frankie Woods McCullough Academy principal Sharmayne McKinley speaks during an event celebrating the distribution of backpacks containing healthy meals for the weekend on Friday, January 13, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Principal Sharmayne McKinley said its significant for her students to see other organizations visit the school.

Its a blessing to see the community coming out to help our kids, said McKinley. We need more people to plant seeds. This pandemic has hurt so many families and theyre still struggling.

Purdue Northwest dean of college of humanities, education, and social sciences, Anne Gregory, helps hand out backpacks with healthy meals to studentts at Frankie Woods McCullough Academy in Gary on Friday, January 13, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Links member and Gary school advisory board member Akilia McCain said a big part of a childs life is being safe and not hungry.

Those things prepare you for the classroom. If youre hungry, you cant learn.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Shootings are becoming so common in Colorado people barely notice the violence. Even when someone dies.

A Gazette headline read Shooting leaves 1 dead, 2 injured at southeast Colorado Springs nightclub early Saturday.

The incident happened about 4:30 a.m. Dec. 17. Three people were shot. One, 42-year-old security guard Elijah Beatty, was dead when the police arrived.

That gun-related death was Colorado Springs 53rd homicide in 2022. A new record. It was part of a rising trend of growing violence across the state. Yet there was little news coverage.

Even mass shootings are not receiving attention. Colorado Public Radio told us in December, Most of those shootings in Colorado this year generated little attention. Full details of each have not yet been released but they occurred in Denver, Colorado Springs and Aurora.

The widely circulated FBIs annual crime statistics report showed violent crime up in Colorado this year. Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen recently said Colorado, historically, has been a remarkably safe state, well below the national averages  we cant say that anymore. What an understatement about the increase in Colorado violence.

George Brauchler (a Republican), a former Colorado attorney general co-wrote a new report, with Mitch Morrissey (a Democrat), the former Denver DA. The report is titled The Colorado Crime Wave: An Economic Analysis of Crime and the Need for Data Driven Solutions,

The publication bluntly says, As a result of multiple reforms, the trends across bond practices, parole rates, and incarceration levels, all point to a system tipping further away from accountability.

The Colorado justice system used to place its efforts on getting criminals off the streets  by locking them up. We knew however that merely locking people up did not address the root causes of violent crime.

So, we changed our approach to these issues. We reformed the bond system making it easier to get a personal recognizance bond instead of paying bails bondsmen.

Then we changed how we implemented parole, also making it easier to complete requirements. Then as a state we pushed to lower incarceration levels by releasing prisoners early. Finally, we pushed lower charges, more lenient sentencing in court and less supervision upon release.

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To address system failures, we made the system more fair for those who enter it. But at what cost?

The report shows us Colorados recidivism rate has reached the top-5 in the nation. Fifty percent across the board.

This trend shows itself in n metropolitan areas across the state.

Former Denver District Attorney Morissey has stated, What were seeing are people committing violent crimes and repeat offenders being arrested then let out the next day. These criminals will appear on Zoom or in court, but what theyre doing is committing crimes while out on bond.

During the political season of 2022, the startling rise in Colorado violent crime rates also prompted Gov. Jared Polis to promise to make Colorado one of the 10 safest states in the nation. We are currently 21st in violent crime. Thats not good enough for the residents of Colorado .

Coloradans need this promise kept. The cost of violent crime  $4,762 per Coloradan, per year is too high.

We must change parole and incarceration levels to tip our system back towards accountability. Laws that prevent accountability must be replaced.

But those changes will not be enough. To help Polis keep his promise to make Colorado safe again, both lawmakers and law enforcement must also turn their eyes to root causes of crime. According to the Police Executive Research Forum the top influences on rising crime include mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse, and poor decision-making.

States that have lower recidivism have programs in jail or prison with emphasis on education and mental health and substance abuse treatment. Most also require that sentences be served at least 85% before release.

If we make these changes then  the shootings and other acts of violence affecting our state will decrease. And shootings in Colorado will be go back to being newsworthy because they will be unusual again.

Rachel Stovall is an event manager, entertainer and community advocate.
Im not asking a lot. I just want the vagrant who sleeps under my window to go somewhere else. Anywhere else.

I just want this druggie to stop sleeping under my office window because Im tired of cleaning up after him like Im his freaking hotel maid.

You might note that after years of this I have lost sympathy for the plight of street people.

Ive gone to enough overpriced hotels lately that, due to a labor shortage, no longer offer maid service, to be giving this guy my maid service for free.

I have the honor of running Independence Institute. More than a decade ago, we were proud to purchase a permanent home just blocks from the State Capitol. Long story short, we and our supporters are absurdly proud of the place, as you likely are of your own home.

If only the city were a fraction as proud.

Though Im sure it thrills our collectivist opponents to no end, we need to spend more and more of our donors money and our energy away from our mission to instead fortify our handsome home from the transients who carelessly destroy it. They often descend on our property after dark to camp, and usually leave before we return in the morning.

Vomit, urine, litter, bottles and condoms have been a regular cleanup chore. Not that cleaning up other peoples feces isnt a joy for us  we did choose to clean up after politicians, mind you  we just hoped itd be a figurative thing.

Staying up on the vagrants food waste is crucial because otherwise it invites even more uninvited guests: mice.

Their discarded used syringes are copious and scattered. Fortunately, we just have the interns walk around barefoot until we find them all.

Call the cops you say? You are adorable.

At best the police just chase the bums off if they show up in time. In frustration I called 911 recently (we usually call the nonemergency number) to be put on hold for 3 minutes before being cut off. I called back and got through after another 3-minute hold.

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Helpful crime tip  to avoid bleeding to death, always call 911 3 minutes before being shot.

The poor cops that came hours later looked like death warmed over. You see, the DPD is down about 200 to 300 officers. Why? Heres some insight: One told me he just arrested a guy for stealing five cars. Later that same afternoon, he arrested the very same guy for (drumroll ) stealing a car. Thanks to the new laws, no one stays in jail for more than a few hours for a nonviolent crime.

At considerable expense we made our beautiful building bum resistant, installed security systems, alarms, reworked landscape. We use our lawn sprinklers to keep vagrants from encamping.

But this hasnt stopped one or two very persistent drug users who have found our bushes the perfect vacation getaway.

We throw away their stuff they leave  apparently, were their storage unit too  to try to make it as unwelcoming as possible. This includes boxes, bags, clothes, blankets and pillows (they have pillows). But they keep coming back with more stuff. People keep giving them more stuff! We had to pay for a larger roll-away trash bin for it all.

If they didnt get more supplies, they might have to go into the shelters at night where they could get the help they need. So, for Gods sake, please stop subsidizing this guys behavior. Its the first rule in public policy  what you subsidize you get more of. Theres Colorados transient problem in a nutshell.

The costs continue. We needed to file an insurance claim for roof damage. But with the added costs of the property crime insurance claims around the neighborhood, including our vagrant break-in and robbery, our insurance company decided to drop our coverage altogether. Nonviolent crime doesnt mean noncostly crime.

I get it. I am the furthest thing from a sympathetic character to lots of folks.

But if its happening to me and taking away this much in time, money and energy from my organization, whats it doing to the organizations you support and the businesses you frequent?

When we at Independence dont have to work so hard to stop criminals from sleeping under my window, it will be a sign Colorados economy is improving, saving you money. So, care about that.

Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12. His column appears Sundays in Colorado Politics.
Under Colorado law, a school may not dispense even a tablet of acetaminophen to a child with a fever at the nurses office without the written permission of a parent or guardian. Thats not always convenient, but its a necessary acknowledgment of the pivotal role parents are supposed to play in their childrens health and welfare.

It applies to medical intervention for children in Colorado  except abortion.

Colorados parental-notification law, passed by the Legislature in 2003, requires only that a parent or guardian be notified, not asked, if a minor seeks an abortion. And there are exceptions to the law for minors who are legally emancipated, or who get a court to let them sidestep the notification requirement.

In other words, Colorados parental-notice requirement for abortions performed on pregnant girls under 18 is a lot less onerous than the restrictions on just about any other type of medical treatment for minors.

So, you have to wonder what a couple of University of Colorado researchers were trying to prove last week in releasing findings that 1 in 10 minors seeking an abortion in Texas and Florida  which are among 22 states requiring parental notice  try to avoid notifying their parents by going to court. And the researchers also found that in 13% of those cases, the judge turned down the request for such a judicial bypass.

Thirteen percent of 10% is a minuscule 1.3%. Yet, the studys authors seem troubled by it.

States that support abortion rights but continue to mandate parental involvement have a responsibility to consider the true consequences of those mandates, co-author Amanda Stevenson, assistant professor of sociology at CU Boulder, said in a news release Friday.

What consequences is Stevenson referring to? That, in a handful of cases, pregnant teens tried to keep their parents from finding out? The authors note that Floridas law requires parental consent.

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Evidently, in the vast majority of cases Florida parents did give their consent. And under Colorados law, parents dont even have that much say. They cannot stop an abortion; a court, at most, can require notification before an abortion can proceed.

Then, what the CU research really tells us is that parental-notice laws on the books in nearly half the states are functioning pretty much as intended. And its a safe bet thats what really bothers the studys authors.

They dont appear to realize parental-notice policies are not a threat to abortion rights. Abortion isnt under attack in Colorado.

Just last year, the Legislatures Democratic majority passed the Reproductive Health Equity Act, arguably the most permissive state law on abortion in the country after last springs U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed the act amid fanfare. Abortion will remain unfettered for adults in Colorado for the foreseeable future.

Parental-notice laws such as Colorados are simply about ensuring that parents or guardians are at least apprised and, one hopes, engaged if their child undergoes a procedure that for many people has profound and life-changing implications.

If parents have to sign off on an aspirin, shouldnt they at least be informed of an invasive medical procedure performed on their 15-, 14- or maybe 13-year-old child?

Colorados parental-notice law is hardly a burden. But it does keep parents in the loop. Thats a good thing.
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Democrat representing Colorados Sixth Congressional District  which includes Aurora  won The Gazettes endorsement in his 2022 re-election bid. He recently spent time with The Gazettes editorial board to discuss multiple challenges ahead, including the potential loss of a fighter jet wing at Buckley Space Force Base, a flood of illegal immigrants into his district and a deadly fentanyl crisis. The interview was edited for length.

Gazette: Our editorial board recently visited Buckley Space Force Base and was impressed anew with the critical roles that are played by both facets of that installation: the cyber and aviation in the nation's defense, as well as supporting Aurora's and Colorado's economy. How do you view the future of this linchpin in your congressional district?

Crow: I am an unabashed and unapologetic national-security Democrat. I have spent my life in service to this country, first in uniform and now as a member of Congress. When I was in private practice as a corporate lawyer, I did a lot of community work. I believe in a very strong, robust and sensible national security and Colorado plays an essential role in that. We are at the tip of the spear in so many ways we can't really talk about too many of the specifics, but I think you all are aware of the general confines of what happens behind the fence at Buckley. And being on the House Intelligence Committee gives me the perch to take a deep dive into both the intelligence aspects, what happens in the district, as well as the national security aspects of what happens. But the other element to this is the fusion with the private sector. The defense industrial base is huge in Colorado. And I'm proud of the fact that I represent one of the largest defense aviation and aerospace industries in the country.

I have over 250 businesses all the way from the primes -- the Lockheeds, the Raytheons and the Boeings  and the small mom and pop shops of 3 to 5 folks who are helping develop software for drones that are assembling batteries that go into spacecraft and everything between. They employ about 30,000 of my constituents Sometimes I get hit by folks in my own party who say, Oh, you're just looking out for businesses and industry for your district. And I'm like, well, that is my title. I promote jobs and businesses in my district. That's what I do.

Buckley is number one. Number two is the 140th Fighter Wing. That wing is under threat and Im working very hard with the folks at the Department of Defense, with senators, with some of the private coalition folks, as well as the Colorado Guard to try to save that wing.

Were also working on things like Star Command, which I think could be based at Buckley. We are well positioned to build out Buckley. We have the space, the physical land and the infrastructure.

Gazette: Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers would like to have Star Command relocate to Colorado Springs in the event his city loses Space Command. Does that put you at a conflict? You've got to fight for your district, yet Colorado Springs, the second largest city in your state, would suffer by losing Space Command and not winning Star Command.

Crow: I wouldn't use the word conflict because it implies that we are adversarial. I think it's a healthy competition. This happened with Space Command. Buckley was one of the finalists for Space Command. So (U.S. Rep.) Doug (Lamborn, R-Colorado) and I and others sat down and said, hey, listen, I'm a representative. My job is to represent my district and my constituents. I'm going to make a great case for Buckley, and he's going to make a great case for Peterson (Space Force Base) Buckley didn't make the final cut, and then we very rapidly pivoted and I came to the support of the Springs and helped make the case down there. I'm first and foremost going to look out for my district. And if we lose out, then secondarily I'm going to look out for the state of Colorado.

Gazette: Do you think there's any chance we keep Space Command in Colorado?

Crow: I think it is an uphill battle if I'm being honest. As you know, the Alabama delegation punches above its weight. You have outgoing Sen. (Richard) Shelby, but Shelby still has a lot of influence. And ... you have the incoming chair of the Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers, from Alabama. It's very hard once these decisions are made to unwind them. I thought that decision was made inappropriately without the proper process, without looking at the metrics in an appropriate way. And I also think they didn't incorporate metrics that really are the most important and the biggest  that being the workforce. I think they made a mistake on the assessment of housing costs using an outdated, outmoded housing-cost model. Number two, regarding infrastructure and construction costs, I thought that they used incorrect assumptions. And third is they didn't really look at the workforce because 80-90% of the success of Space Command is going to rely on a civilian workforce.

Those workers are already in Colorado, and they would rather be here than in Alabama.

Gazette: Have we seen this type of problematic relocation in the past?

Crow: The last big example was when STRATCOM moved to Nebraska. This is an amazing stat that nobody talks about. Only 10% of the people that worked for STRATCOM decided to move to Nebraska. They didn't want to live in Nebraska. That's the bottom line. So, they had to rebuild the entire workforce there. We can't afford that right now. We cannot afford the loss of time to move a command to have a whole bunch of the workforce opt out of that move, and then have to reconstitute that workforce in a new place. China is moving way, way fast. And if we lose the workforce, if we lose time, that is time we cannot afford to lose.

Gazette: Back to Buckley. What priority do you place on preserving Buckley's dual role? What will you do to protect it? That being the cyber side and the aviation side. What congressional hurdles are there? What are the risks to letting Buckley go all cyber and no aviation?

Crow: There are about 13,000 uniformed and civilian personnel associated with Buckley. From a national security standpoint, I believe we are well positioned. I think it's good for national security. It's good for the country because we have the infrastructure. We have the workforce. Geographically, we are positioned in a good place in the middle of the country Loss of the flying mission would be a major problem for all those reasons. The Air Force has asked me, well, why don't we replace it with a cyber unit much like they did in Ohio? I do not support that. I would be happy to add a cyber unit, but I don't view this as an exchange.

They're trying to save money by finding four more (wing operations) to cut and they're trying to do it using Guard and Reserve units. It's a mistake because you lose bang for your buck on Guard and Reserve units. You get tremendous value out of National Guard flying units because these are some of the most experienced pilots.

In the case of the Colorado Guard, these pilots are based out of the United Hub. So, they have tremendous numbers of flying hours. On average, they have about 50% higher flying hours than the average Air Force pilot. So, you're losing some of the most seasoned, experienced pilots in our inventory. And these are folks who are repeatedly being deployed and performing extremely well We're doing a lot of foreign training assistance. Also, the ready alert mission for the western United States comes out of Buckley. So, if you lose that you're losing the red alert mission that covers the western United States, including NORTHCOM and NORAD and everything down in the Springs. And there's no replacement for that. So, you're losing that entire mission I submitted a question for the record, a Q & A for General Van Kirk (commander of USNORTHCOM) asking him if he was aware of the plan to cut the flying mission and whether a cut to the flying mission would jeopardize NORTHCOM operations. He was not aware and said he would not support the cut of the flying mission as it would jeopardize NORTHCOM operations.

The next reason is you look at the NDS, the national defense strategy, and the national security strategy and assess how it is trying to realign us for great power competition and to address a rising China and the realignment of our resources. It does not call for the reduction of fixed-wing aircraft. To the contrary, it calls for what could be easily classified as an increase in fixed-wing platforms. So, by trying to find $10 billion by cutting Reserve and Guard fighter wings the Air Force actually jeopardizes their ability to comply with our stated mission. They need to find their money elsewhere.

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The fifth reason is we do things in the south metro region. We build things that are required to keep that airfield operable.

Gazette: Does your status as a veteran place you at odds with a wing of your party on foreign and national policy issues?

Crow: Sometimes at odds with Republicans. Sometimes I'm at odds with the Democrats. I have voted for increased defense budgets and that's sometimes unpopular with my party. At the same time, I've been an unabashed supporter of Ukraine because I believe Ukraine is a fight for democracy and a fight for global stability and a fight for our economy and against tyranny. And I've been at odds with Republicans and Democrats on that. I'll put it this way. Labeling is easy. And it's popular right now in politics because you always want to label somebody, oh, they're a moderate or they're progressive. Or theyre a liberal or a Freedom Caucus member. Labeling is an easy thing to do, but I find it intellectually lazy. People's politics and policies are more complicated than that. And I think my policies and my approach in a lot of ways defies labeling. I'm certainly progressive in some ways, but in other ways I might defy that label.

Gazette: Lets leave Washington and go to our southern border, which is in utter chaos. Latin America refugees have poured into Colorado. Your district, of course, is as hard hit as any in the state. What are you doing to address this crisis on the border? Is the Biden administration doing its part? Have you heard from our US ambassador to Mexico, Colorado's own Ken Salazar?

Crow: I haven't spoken to Ambassador Salazar in a little while, but I have a good relationship with him. And he's been a friend for a long time. And I know he's working hard on this issue, and it's a tough one My approach to it is several fold. Number one, recognizing that there are multiple prongs to the solution. Border security is one. We need to have strong border security, but that border security needs to be humane, and it needs to be appropriate, and it also needs to be effective I disagreed vehemently with the last president's decision to spend $20-plus billion on a wall. I think walls are a waste of money, not because I didn't think we needed more security. There are more effective ways with personnel, with surveillance, with drones, with sensors to address that security concern. And we do need more resources there to do that. There's no doubt about it. But ultimately, we also must address both the push factors and the pull factors. These people are fleeing because of the instability and the violence and the terrible conditions in Central and South America.

One of the things that America is not good at is paying attention to the Western Hemisphere. We have ignored the Western Hemisphere for a very long time. And we don't have a good policy towards Central and South America to address bad governance, human rights issues, corruption and violence. And I'd like to see us focus more on that, so people aren't making the journey in the first place.

The other element is reform within the United States, making sure that we have immigration judges, that we have a pathway to citizenship, which we don't for many people. People say, why don't people just follow the pathway and the laws? Well, the system is broken and there is really no pathway for most folks. I represent one of the most diverse districts in the nation. About 20% of my constituents were born outside of the United States. And that's not just from Mexico or Central America. I have 120 languages spoken in my district What I think needs to happen is we need to go back and find a bipartisan approach to this. We came very close with the Gang of Eight, and (Sen.) Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) was a part of that process where there has to be a comprehensive approach that deals with securing the border, with providing a pathway to citizenship, with addressing our Dreamers, which I am very, very ardent about.

Our businesses come to me all the time and they say our number one economic issue is we don't have enough workers, we don't have the workforce, and our immigration system is shooting ourselves in the foot because we're not actually importing the workforce that we need to grow our businesses.

We lose half of our economic growth opportunity for expansion because we don't have pathways for folks to come here legally Our system does not account for supply and demand of workers. Were using a sledgehammer in a system that needs a scalpel and it's really hurting our economy. We can figure this out if we can get beyond politics and get people to sit down and work together.

Gazette: Where do you stand on federal decriminalization of marijuana?

Crow: I'm in favor of federal decriminalization of marijuana. I think our drug war and our drug policies have failed. I think the data supports and shows that. I think mass incarceration in America has torn apart families and communities. And I think we not only spend exorbitant amounts of monies incarcerating nonviolent offenders, but that also has reverberating effects by tearing apart communities and reducing cohesive families. And I think there's a way to do it. I think it's challenging. At the same time, I'm a father and it does bother me when I'm walking around downtown, and you smell marijuana and how ubiquitous it has become. Certainly, teen use bothers me and there's been some increases there. So, I would like to see enforcement. I'd like to see better education. And I certainly am concerned about some of the impacts on children.

Gazette: Back to the border for a moment. Your state and your district are ravaged by fentanyl abuse and overdoses. The DEA just confiscated enough fentanyl in Colorado to kill every single Coloradan. This seems like a crisis that ought to be the first order of business in Congress. Do you agree with that? If so, what are you going to do about it?

Crow: Yeah, it is a crisis, there's no doubt about that. And it is killing a lot of folks. It is tragedy after tragedy, and we must address it. I sat down with the experts on this. I had a long meeting late last year with Special Agent (Brian) Besser, who is the head of the DEA in Colorado and the region that covers Utah, Wyoming and Montana. I asked whats going on? Give me the lay of the land. How do we address it? In his take this is not a border issue? It's kind of a border issue, but not really because of the nature of fentanyl. You can put $1 million worth of fentanyl pills in this coffee cup. So, you're not talking about truckloads of cannabis or truckloads of cocaine coming across the border. You're talking about people bringing small packets that can kill hundreds of thousands of people and make millions of dollars.

Gazette: Is there anything you could do in your role on the Intelligence Committee to disrupt the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the cartels -- to go after the money like we did with terrorism?

Crow: Without getting too much into Intel stuff, we do know that some of this is coming from China and that the Chinese are, for lack of a better word, permitting that to happen. This is tantamount to drug terrorism. If the Chinese wanted to lock this down, they could lock it down. We know they could do that, but they're not. So that is, frankly, an element of our great power competition against China and Russia to some extent. So, accountability is important there One element of the focus of the Select Committee on China will be how we can stem that flow.

Gazette: On the penalty side, on one extreme you have former President Donald Trump floating the idea of the death penalty for drug dealers. Meanwhile, Colorado state lawmakers who have made it more or less a slap on the wrist if you deal a deadly drug, kill someone and cooperate with authorities. What's your position on this? Do we need to be harsher on people who distribute this drug?

Crow: Yeah, I would support that. Fentanyl dealers know damned well the dangers they pose. Excuse my language, but they know that they can't control the quality of that product If you are dealing fentanyl, then I think you should be held accountable accordingly. I don't support capital punishment, but certainly we need to make sure that the penalties are severe enough that we're dissuading folks to the extent we can from conducting that deadly business.

Gazette: Rep. Crow, Thank you for your time and insights.
For the first time in six years, both of Colorados major political parties will have new leadership after this springs party elections.

The states Democrats and Republicans are scheduled to begin reorganization meetings starting next month at the county and district levels, culminating in statewide meetings in late March and early April, when theyll pick state party chairs and other officers to serve two-year terms.

On the Republican side, its shaping up to be a heated battle for the direction of the party on the heels of a string of thumpings across the last four general elections after voters have dealt the GOP losing hands statewide, leaving the party with less power in Colorado than at any time since the 1930s.

For Democrats, the contest so far promises to be less contentious, though no less consequential. The party grapples with holding all the reins  every statewide elected official in Colorado is a Democrat, and the party commands historic majorities in both chambers of the legislature  while also pivoting toward an uncertain future, since the slate of incumbent Democrats occupying every statewide executive office will be term limited in three years.

Colorado Republicans will choose their seventh chair in eight cycles  the last GOP state chair to serve two terms lost a bid for a third term in 2015  and Democrats will elect only their fourth state chair in the same duration.

Last month, Colorado Democratic Party chair Morgan Carroll, a former state Senate president from Aurora, announced that shes stepping aside after three terms  having won the last two uncontested  and state GOP chair Kristi Burton Brown, an activist who made her name in state politics leading the charge for a ballot initiative that would have banned abortion, said shes passing on a run for a second term.

Carrolls three terms followed fellow three-termers Rick Palacio, the former legislative and congressional aide who ran the party from 2011 to 2017, and Pat Waak, the former congressional nominee who had the job from 2005 to 2011.

Over the same stretch, Republicans have traded leaders more often, with longtime strategist Dick Wadhams serving two terms from 2007 to 2011, followed by Ryan Call, who was the partys attorney before he ran the show, from 2011 to 2015. Call was denied a third term in 2013 by former Adams County chair and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Steve House  the first time in state history a GOP chair lost a bid for reelection.

House, who didnt seek a second term, was succeeded after a single term in 2017 by former El Paso County chair Jeff Hayes, who also declined to run again. In 2019, Republicans elected U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, who split his duties between Congress and heading the party. At the same party meeting, Burton Brown won election as the state GOPs vice chair.

After Buck announced he wouldnt seek a second term, five candidates sought the job  Burton Brown, election law attorney and former Secretary of State Scott Gessler, communications consultant Jonathan Lockwood, perennial congressional nominee Casper Stockham and retired businessman and history teacher Rich Mancuso.

It took three rounds of balloting for Burton Brown to win a majority at the GOPs state central committee meeting two years ago, after three of the candidates  Stockham, Mancuso and Lockwood  withdrew before the final round and threw their support behind her.

When she was elected, Burton Brown was the youngest Republican to head the state GOP and only the second woman to win the job, following Colorado Springs Republican Marian Carters one-term stint in the late 1970s. For the first time, Colorado Republicans elected women to all three of their statewide officer positions two years ago, also including vice chair Priscilla Rahn, a former University of Colorado regent candidate, and secretary Marilyn Harris, an Archuleta County GOP chair and unsuccessful legislative candidate.

The Democrats state party offices have proliferated in recent years, at this point including first and second vice chairs, a secretary and a treasurer, and a slew of additional vice chairs devoted to various party activities, from operations and public relations to geographic, cultural and demographic outreach.

At this point, four candidates have emerged for this springs GOP chair election, while three Democrats are bidding to helm their state party for the next two years.

Republicans seeking the state GOPs top job include two failed congressional nominees, a controversial county party chair and an activist who wants to tear up the party by its roots. Three of the Republican chair contenders have vowed to cancel the partys participation in Colorados semi-open primary system, which allows unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in either major partys primaries.

The Democrats, meanwhile, will face a choice between a state party officer, a seasoned political operative and a longtime party volunteer.

After some jockeying and shuffling  with more likely to come before the state reorg  the Republicans seeking the office at this point are Stockham, who ran unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. House in the 1st, 6th and 7th congressional districts; last years 7th Congressional District nominee Erik Aadland, a West Point graduate and former project manager in the energy industry; two-term El Paso County GOP chair Vickie Tonkins; and Aaron Wood, founder of the conservative Freedom Fathers group and an organizer behind a heated news conference held on Nov. 30 across the street from state GOP headquarters in Greenwood Village.

Republicans who considered running for chair but have decided against it include Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams and two-time gubernatorial nominee Greg Lopez, who threw his hat in the ring in December but withdrew earlier this month.

Potential chair candidates include former state Rep. Dave Williams, who lost a primary challenge last summer aimed at unseating nine-term U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, and former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who faces trial in March on felony charges related to allegations she helped breach her countys voting equipment in an attempt to find evidence that Colorado elections are rigged.

In a candidate questionnaire, Stockham, Tonkins and Wood all expressed support for closing Colorados primary elections to prohibit unaffiliated voters from participating.

Things are quieter on the Democratic side, with two-term first vice chair Howard Chou, veteran political operative Shad Murib and Larimer County party stalwart Tim Kubik in the running for chair.

Both parties county organizations hold meetings from Feb. 1-15 to elect officers and bonus members to their state central committees, with the latter apportioned based on the parties top-ticket vote totals in recent elections in larger counties.

The two parties handle the meetings  dubbed reorgs  differently, with any registered Democrat allowed to participate in their county elections, while Republicans restrict the proceedings to members of their respective central committees, including precinct leaders and Republican elected officials.

Once those reorgs have taken place, the campaigning begins in earnest for the statewide offices, with Republicans set to convene in late March to pick theirs and Democrats planning to meet on April 1.
Devishi Jha, a 2021 Valparaiso High School graduate, is now a Harvard student who is currently visiting Brazil as part of a startup event. - Original Credit: Photo courtesy of Devishi Jha (Photo courtesy of Devishi Jha / HANDOUT)

Typically, at Valparaiso High Schools UNICEF club meetings, the officers start off each meeting with information to club members about current events.

We want to let the members know so that they can get involved, and make it known that you can make a difference, said club president Julia Vamos. It is important for us to become comfortable to ask for things in the community.

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But the Jan. 11 meeting featured a special guest with local ties via Zoom.

Devishi Devi Jha was the guest speaker for the meeting. Jha, a 2021 VHS graduate and former member of UNICEF club, had planned to be at the high school in person but, at the last minute, took a trip to Brazil for a startup event with students from MIT and Harvard.

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By the time Jha was a sophomore in high school, she had already started her own company and she has not taken much of a break since. She is the co-founder and CEO of Voyagers, a youth-led platform that works directly with companies, advising them on sustainability and purpose from a Gen Z perspective (bevoyagers.org). She is currently a sophomore at Harvard, and spoke to the current UNICEF members about following their dreams.

Take even small wins, said Jha. Every new contact you make, every person you talk to is a small win. You cant have a steppingstone unless you start.

Do you know how many times a day I hear the word no? said Jha. You cant get a yes until you hear a lot of nos. You have to believe in yourself and know the yes is coming.

UNICEF club board members from Valparaiso High School speak virtually with VHS 2021 graduate Devishi Jha on Jan. 11, 2023. Board members, left to right, are Lacie Esmoer; Cameron Hosek; Maggie Lopez; Audrey Barriball; Matthew Gnaden; Nick Taglia; and Julia Vamos. (Deena Lawley-Dixon / Post-Tribune)

After Jha had spoken to the students for a while, sponsor Allison Walker gave each student a Post-it note and asked them to write down your moonshot. Be willing to admit to yourself that you have a dream and be willing to take that first step. Write it down and post it on the wall.

Students then had individual time to talk to Jha on the desktop computer privately about their dreams and making a difference. After the meeting had concluded, the UNICEF board members stayed around for more time with Jha.

Reach out and make what you want happen, said Jha. Never be too scared.

Senior Cameron Hosek has been in UNICEF for all four years of high school. It was great to see someone who used the resources provided for to us to make a difference, said Hosek, referring to Jhas success. As a high school student, you get used to instant defeat sometimes, but you have to continue on and keep going.

Jha plans to return to the high school in the future to speak to the UNICEF students in person.

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Deena Lawley-Dixon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
ELMA  An Elma man has been charged after the remains of a missing New Hampton resident were found at his home.

On Friday, Howard County sheriffs deputies announced they charged Sayvonne Eugene Jordan, 26, formerly of Waterloo and Charles City, on a charge of first-degree murder. Bond was set at $1 million.

Jordan was arrested in connection with a Nov. 20 search at his home at 808 Main St. in which authorities found human remains.

The Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office later identified the remains to be those of Jonathan Esparza, 30, of New Hampton.

Esparza was last seen leaving his home to go to a friends house Oct. 20, according to investigators. His vehicle was located Nov. 11.

Court records show that following the November search, authorities arrested Jordan in connection with drugs found at the home. They found a bag containing 23 grams of marijuana, a second bag with 233 grams and a small electric scale.

He was initially charged with possession with intent to deliver and violation of the drug tax stamp act.

He posted bond pending trial on the drug charges and allegedly moved from the Elma Street address to Marion, court records state.

At the time of the search, Jordan was on probation for a November 2021 eluding charge in Chickasaw County where he allegedly gave police a fake name and was found with THC vape cartridges.

He also has a prior assault conviction in a 2016 incident where he and two others attacked a man in a Charles City Caseys parking lot. The victim suffered a broken eye socket.
Following a record-setting year of sending aid to disaster victims, Danville-based God's Pit Crew is heading to Georgia following a deadly tornado last week.

The local team plans to leave Monday and stay until Jan. 29 to help victims in Griffin, Georgia, with things like placing tarps on roofs, cutting trees and removing debris, according to a news release.

It also is sending about 1,200 of its signature Blessing Buckets filled with food, first-aid, hygiene items, a Bible and an encouraging note to Selma, Alabama, after a destructive twister there. Selma also will received nearly 50 Play Pails for children. Those contain a blanket, coloring book, stuffed animal, baby wipes and a toothbrush.

Our hearts break for those impacted by these deadly tornadoes," Gods Pit Crew President Randy Johnson said in a statement. "We are praying for everyone impacted."

God's Pit Crew is keeping an eye out for other areas that may need help, the release stated. The truckload of Blessing Buckets is going to a church partner to help hand out to tornado victims.

"Were grateful to be able to send volunteers and Blessing Buckets to help the victims," Johnson said. "Thank you to our wonderful volunteers and donors for helping us to provide hope, healing and restoration to hurting people in their time of need.

Johnson, who started God's Pit Crew with his wife, Terri, in 1999, was awarded the Kiwanis Citizen of the Year for 2022, one of the citys highest honors.

The team stayed busy last year helping areas across the country. For example, they deployed twice to Florida to aid victims of Hurricane Ian, including rebuilding a single mothers home, the organization reported.

Last year they also sent Blessing Buckets to Puerto Rico for Hurricane Fiona victims.

The group's immediate response team deployed to eastern Kentucky and southwest Virginia to assist victims of devastating floods.

Volunteers rebuilt five homes last summer for Kentucky and Tennessee families after the deadly tornadoes a year ago.

They also provided a mobile home for Pembroke, Georgia, family after last Aprils EF-4 tornado.

Closer to home in Virginia, God's Pit Crew helped with a mobile home for a family whose home flooded in Pilgrim Knob.

To donate to God's Pit Crew, visit godspitcrew.org/donate.
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Richard Craver: 5 stories that defined 2022

As we learned to live with COVID-19 in our communities during 2022, the local news focus on my beats centered once again on public health, legislative and economic developments.

Forsyth County's largest employer  Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center at more than 13,000 workers  became a part of the national healthcare consolidation churn for the second time.

After tying its future in October 2019 to Atrium Health in a "strategic combination" featuring a long-sought medical school in Charlotte, Baptist became on Dec. 2 part of the nation's fifth-largest healthcare system when Atrium merged with Advocate Aurora to form Advocate Health.

The great debate on Medicaid expansion in North Carolina came close to reaching an agreement between the state House and Senate in June, only to be carried over into the 2023 session by Republican legislature leaders.

That meant between 450,000 and 650,000 potential beneficiaries were forced to wait another year for action as North Carolina remained one of just 12 non-expansion states, all with Republican-controlled legislatures.

The stunning overnight collapse of United Furniture Industries Inc. on Nov. 22 permanently closed five Triad facilities  where it was reported to have had between 530 and 600 employees, including between 50 and 70 in Winston-Salem. United also eliminated 199 jobs in ending local production in July.

United's shutdown  one of the largest manufacturing job cuts in the nation at 2,700 overall  sent employees into a job market offering the promise of other manufacturing employment and the nation's most stringent unemployment benefits.

A major factor of COVID-19 during 2022 involved more Triad residents becoming overwhelmed by medical debt burdens, an issue that became heated talking point in the legislature.

A local example was Kernersville resident Alicia Pender, whose life turned into a physical and emotional tailspin since her COVID-19 diagnosis in December 2020.

However, what is causing Pender the most stress, she said, is being overwhelmed by more than $30,000 in COVID-19 related medical bills.

In April, the nearly 18-year saga surrounding controversial Winston-Salem Dr. Anne Litton White came to a conclusion when she closed her practice as part of the indefinite suspension of her medical license issued in March.

White had been the operator of Carolina Laser and Cosmetic Center since 2004.

White has been subject to a board notice of charges and allegations six times before closing her practice, the others occurring in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2017 and 2018-20.
EDEN  Organizers of The Lynn H. Smith Memorial Scholarship announced this week that the annual award is now open to students from across Rockingham County.

The fund is now accepting applications from graduating seniors from all Rockingham County high schools who are going into a four-year fine arts degree program.

The scholarship had previously been offered only to students at Morehead High School in Eden.

Were excited to expand this program to include all high schools in the county, said Wally White of Eden, chair of the scholarships board.

This scholarship has allowed Lynn to continue supporting young people in the arts just like she did in life, White said. Thanks to the good stewardship of our board, she will be able to do that for generations to come.

All applications should be turned in to guidance counselors at all high schools by April 17.

Since 1997, the scholarship has awarded approximately $30,000 to support local students majoring in art, music, dance, film, and theatre. The annual award is guaranteed to be at least $500, but has been $2,000 the last few years.

Qualifying seniors are encouraged to ask for an application from the college advisor in their high schools guidance office.

Lynn Smith, who passed away in 1997, was the wife of Sam Smith, Jr. A graduate of Morehead High School, where she was a member of the glee club in the late 1960s, Smith attended Mitchell College shortly before moving to Florida to take a job as a piano player at Walt Disney Worlds Polynesian Resort in Orlando.

Smith, a true lover of music, returned home to Eden, where she was an active part of the music program at Spray United Methodist Church and other community events.
Governor Roy Cooper announced Thursday a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the 2017 murder of a Southeast Guilford High School student.

Investigators are still trying to determine who shot and killed Kate-Lynn Hope Simmons, 18, on June 4 that year outside a party at the North Winds Apartments at 1373 Lees Chapel Road in Greensboro. At approximately 1:21 a.m., officers found Simmons suffering from a gunshot wound.

She was taken to a local hospital and later died from her injuries.

The state's reward is in addition to the existing $5,000 cash reward offered by Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers.

Simmons' family has previously urged the community to help solve this case by coming forward with any information.

"The Governors Clemency Office receives requests for rewards from local law enforcement officials and recommendations from the State Bureau of Investigation," Cooper's press secretary, Sam Chan, said in an email to the News & Record. "The Clemency Office reviews the requests and they are also reviewed by the State Bureau of Investigation."

Chan said the funding for state-issued rewards comes from state funding that requires Council of State Approval.

Authorities ask anyone information concerning this case should contact Greensboro Police Department at 336-574-4020, Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers 336-373-1000 or the State Bureau of Investigation at 919-662-4500.
WINSTON-SALEM  The citys oldest radio station, WSJS at 600 on the AM dial, has been off the air since earlier this week after vandals destroyed the last of three working radio towers on a 44-acre tract off Robinhood Road, according to Stu Epperson Jr., the president of the Christian broadcasting company that owns the station.

Winston-Salem police are investigating the vandalism of the towers operated by Truth Broadcasting Co. and located in the 4800 block of Robinhood Road, Epperson said.

Epperson said the first of the three towers fell days before Christmas, taking out 101.5 FM. Another tower was destroyed late last week, taking out WSJS. Epperson said staffers were able to execute a patch to put the 600 AM signal onto the last of the remaining towers on the property, but vandals took down that one earlier this week, he said.

We are working on a couple Band-Aid solutions to get back on the air, Epperson said Thursday. We are a 24-7 service that people depend on for news, talk, weather and inspiration. We are getting calls from everyone. The ones who cant hear us want their AM radio back.

WSJS began broadcasting in April 1930. The Truth Network, which was founded in 2000, is owned and operated by the Truth Broadcasting Corp., according to its website. It broadcasts predominantly preaching and teaching on Christian and Bible based topics in North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa and Utah.

On Tuesday, Epperson posted a picture on his Facebook page showing him with his head down as he sat on a fallen radio antenna frame. He called it one of the toughest days of my broadcasting life, noting that law enforcement authorities are working on the case, and asking people to pray for the conversion of the person responsible for the damage.

At first Epperson thought the damage was weather-related, but as the towers kept falling he realized it was actually criminal activity, Epperson said.

During all of my years, we have never had this type of attack and violent action taken against us, he said. They destroyed FCC-licensed towers. Its a major federal crime. Its very bad.

Kira Boyd, a spokeswoman for the Winston-Salem Police Department, said the vandalism case is an active, ongoing investigation, but added that police would not be revealing further information at present.

Epperson said he doesnt know how much the towers were worth or how much money it will take to replace them, but determining that cost is one of the tasks ahead, he said. The towers were insured, Epperson said.

The FBI is aware of a radio station tower vandalism investigation in Winston-Salem, said Shelley Lynch, a FBI spokeswoman in Charlotte.

If during the course of the local investigation by the Winston-Salem Police Department, a federal crime comes to light, the FBI is prepared to investigate, she said.

Under federal law, anyone convicted of damaging or destroying the property of any radio station can be fined or imprisoned for 10 years.

Truth Broadcasting acquired WSJS from Curtis Media Group last year. Epperson said that there was a fourth tower on the site when it was owned by Curtis Media, but that it came down before the sale. Now, Epperson is wondering if that, too, was an earlier act of vandalism.

The property off Robinhood Road is owned by 4870 Robinhood Road TRTORV LLC, a company formed by Truth Broadcasting, Roanoke Vinton Radio Inc. and TOV Corporation. Eppersons father, Stuart Epperson Sr., is president of Roanoke Vinton, and Todd DeNeui is president of TOV Corporation.

On Jan. 3, the owners of the towers property obtained a rezoning of the property for a residential mix of 156 apartments, 14 twin homes and 178 units of senior housing. While the plans called for the eventual removal of the three towers as the new development took shape, Epperson said that would have happened in an orderly way.

We needed those towers to broadcast, he said. If and when they would come down, that is a controlled process, handled very deliberately, safely and legally, under the authorization of the FCC.

Two opponents of the rezoning spoke during the public hearing but said their objection was not to the development as such but to city requirements that the new development connect to other nearby developments.

One speaker, Cliff Orgnon, whose house is near the towers property, told council members during the hearing that he had personally watched one of the towers falling down on Dec. 21.

Listeners can still access Truth Broadcastings radio signal at 103.FM in Winston-Salem, 104.9 FM in High Point and 93.7 FM in Greensboro, Epperson said.

The local vandalism doesnt affect his companys operations outside of Winston-Salem, he said.

The radio station is evaluating how the loss of its broadcast signal is affecting its advertising revenue, Epperson said. No layoffs have occurred among the companys 40 employees in Winston-Salem, Raleigh and Greensboro, he said.

However, the vandalism has prevented the radio station from a making a positive difference in our community, Epperson said. This is our hometown, and this is a big hit. We have a couple challenges.

Epperson and the staff at the radio station are grateful for the support and prayers that they have receive from the community, he said.

Epperson is urging anyone with information about the vandalism to call the Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700.
RALEIGH  Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will finally compel the University of North Carolina and the rest of American higher education to halt the pervasive practice of racial and ethnic discrimination in admissions.

Academic leaders should have ended this obnoxious and counterproductive policy on their own, decades ago. It shouldnt have required lawsuits by Edward Blum and his group Students for Fair Admissions to force universities to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws.

But it did  and even now, the higher-education establishment is plotting to circumvent what it finally understands will be a definitive ruling from the nations highest court.

One tactic will be to diminish the significance of academic ability and accomplishment in the admissions process while elevating the role of more-subjective criteria such as essays, interviews, and extracurriculars. In this way, they hope to smuggle illegal preferences in the back door, so to speak, much as Harvard University already discriminates against Asian applicants by systematically giving them low ratings in interviews.

This may be one reason UNC officials sought to extend a temporary moratorium on the requirement of minimum SAT or ACT scores for admissions. Originally introduced in 2020 as a pandemic-era measure, the moratorium will now last until 2025. High test scores shouldnt be the sole or even primary criterion for university admissions, of course, but the best available evidence suggests that a combination of grade-point average and test score is a better predictor of college success than GPA alone.

Another probable response to the end of racial preferences in admissions will be, if anything, more pernicious: universities will shift their emphasis from admissions to employment.

It is already illegal, but nonetheless widespread, for institutions to take race or ethnicity into account when making decisions about hiring, pay, and promotion. Infuriated by the end of admissions preferences, however, progressive faculty and activists will press university leaders to advance social justice (properly used, the noun needs no such modifier) by establishing explicit hiring goals and preferences based on both racial and ideological identification.

One device for tracking the latter will be the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion statements. At many campuses and departments, including some here in North Carolina, individuals are already required to submit DEI statements when applying for jobs or even for admission to graduate programs. Heres what the UNC-Chapel Hill medical school offered as a sample of the kind of DEI statement it wants from prospective faculty:

As I move forward in my career, I intend to continue to include issues of equity and inclusion in my bedside teaching. I commit to annually attending a seminar offered by the University Office of Diversity and Inclusion to learn more about the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation in clinical care and medical education, and to confront my own biases and the biases of our medical culture to improve inclusivity in my environment.

What if you are an experienced, accomplished, and caring physician who sincerely believes you already treat everyone with respect and dignity and prefers to devote your professional-development time to other topics, such as the economics of health care or the latest innovations in your medical specialty?

Better not say that if you want to get a job, or get ahead, at the medical school.

Contrary to the strident claims of self-styled anti-racism advocates, the most-effective way to combat prejudice and expand opportunity in a free and open society is to make less use of crude racial and ethnic categories, not more use of them. It is to treat individuals as individuals, not as pawns in some political game or cogs in some social-justice machine. It is to respond to specific markers of personal disadvantage  offering scholarships to poor students, for example, or well-tailored accommodations to disabled ones  rather than to membership in some politically concocted class of preferred beneficiaries.

Explicit admissions preferences will end. Then a broader debate, likely a very contentious one, will begin. The stakes couldnt be higher.
Barely a week into the new year, a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., becoming one of the youngest school shooters in the nations history. While details of the case are still emerging, his teacher remains hospitalized with serious injuries. David Riedman, creator of the K-12 School Shooting Database, discusses the relative rarity of school shooters under age 10 and the likely aftermath of the event.

How rare is it to have a school shooter this young?

This is the 17th shooting involving a student under the age of 10 at a school since 1970  the first year for which my database keeps track. Most of these shootings were not intentional. But in 1975, a 9-year-old student at the Pitcher School in Detroit was in a fight with a 13-year-old, left campus, got a rifle from his house and came back to the school and shot the student in the head, killing him.

In 2000, a 6-year-old boy fatally shot his 6-year-old classmate, Kayla Rolland, in their classroom at Buell Elementary School in Michigan while their teacher lined up other students in the hallway. The shooting followed a dispute on the playground.

How do kids this young typically get guns?

In most school shootings, the gun is taken from the students home or from the house of a friend or relative. In the 2000 shooting at Buell Elementary, the students uncle pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to prison for a minimum of two years for leaving a firearm in an easily accessible place.

The 6-year-old shooter did not face charges due to his age.

What stands out about this recent case?

The most striking part of this shooting is that it appears to be intentional. While many details remain unknown, it is likely that the student had the gun with him the entire day, possibly multiple days, before shooting his teacher. In many states, the legal system assumes that young children are not capable of the thought and planning that goes into committing a violent crime. In Virginia, the minimum age to charge someone with a felony is 14 years old.

Do schools need to start searching first graders?

Despite the attention that they generated, school shootings at any age are relatively rare. There have been 17 shootings involving kids under 10 publicly reported across a 52-year period. More than 50 million students attend schools every year, and fewer than 300 of them shoot someone on campus.

When most guns that end up in schools come from the home, Id argue it is the responsibility of parents, relatives and older siblings to make sure that every firearm is locked, secured and accounted for.

The use of metal detectors has been shown to increase students anxiety and they are effective only with constant maintenance, training, staffing and screening procedures. Some of the incidents involving children have resulted from adults putting a firearm in the kids bag and the child firing it when they find the gun at school.

Whats next for this boy?

This remains unclear, and due to juvenile privacy laws, we may never know. The 6-year-old who killed his classmate at Buell Elementary in 2000 was not charged with a crime. In 2021 in Rigby, Idaho, a 12-year-old girl shot three people during a planned attack at Rigby Middle School. Based on her written plan, this young girl intended to kill 20 students and wound 40 to 60 others. She is being held in juvenile custody until she turns 19  and possibly until age 21 if she is not deemed fully rehabilitated  following a guilty plea to three counts of first-degree murder.

Whats next for the school?

While much attention is focused on the shooter and teacher, a classroom full of first graders witnessed their classmate shoot the teacher. She was critically injured, which means that it was likely a gruesome scene. These students will all need extensive counseling to understand and deal with this trauma. For the other students, teachers and parents, this is also a traumatic experience, and many students may no longer want to go to school.

What does this case suggest for school safety in the U.S. broadly?

There were 302 shootings in school property in 2022, more than in any other year since 1970. Since 2017, the number of shootings each year has significantly increased. This pattern matches the spiking rates of violent crime and gun crime across the country. It is important to remember that most shootings at schools are committed by current or former students, not outsiders breaking into the building. Because of this, school security plans need to include all levels of schools and shootings by all ages of students. The Conversation
As the unleashed pent-up travel demand has brought back a Spring Festival travel rush unseen for three years, China's transport sectors are making all-out efforts to ensure smooth and safe journeys amid optimized COVID-19 response.

The total number of passenger trips for the year's travel rush, or "Chunyun," is expected to reach 2.1 billion, almost twice as much as last year or 70.3 percent of the 2019 reading, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Of the total, about 55 percent of the trips will be driven by family reunions, 24 percent will involve migrating for work, and leisure and businesses will take up roughly 10 percent, respectively.

The latest data from the ministry showed that between Jan. 7 and 12, or the first week of the travel rush, some 221 million passenger trips were made nationwide.

The growing travel demand is a result of China's recent downgrading of COVID-19 management from Class A to Class B. Under Class B management, travelers no longer need to present health codes and negative nucleic acid test results or undergo temperature checks when entering railway stations and airports.

"As the first travel rush after the country optimized its COVID-19 response, this year's Spring Festival travel rush will be the most challenging in recent years, with a surge in both passenger flows and virus infections," Vice Minister of Transport Xu Chengguang said.

EASIER JOURNEYS HOME

"The Spring Festival travel rush I used to be so familiar with is finally back," said Chen Ping, an attendant with a years-long service at the Ganzhou West Railway Station in east China's Jiangxi Province, while pointing at a long queue of passengers at the entrance.

In Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, migrant worker Li Jianxing could barely hide his excitement for a long-awaited family reunion during the Lunar New Year.

"I can't wait to be back home," said Li, who arrived at a railway station hours before departure, waiting for the train that would bring him back to his hometown in Shanxi Province, over 2,000 km north of Guangdong.

Li is among tens of millions of people on their way home for the Lunar New Year following the shift in China's COVID-19 response. Official data showed that on Jan. 7, the first day of the travel rush, a total of 34.74 million passenger trips were made by rail, road, water, and air all across the country, a 38.9-percent surge from the same period last year.

The journeys home are also simpler now for those returning from abroad -- according to the adjusted rules, the country has scrapped restrictions on international passenger flights, increased the number of flights in stages, and optimized the distribution of routes since Jan. 8.

Chen Xia, a native of Fuqing, east China's Fujian Province, has lived in Japan for more than a decade. Over the past three years, COVID-19 has disrupted her annual plan to return to Fuqing for the celebration of the Chinese New Year.

Thanks to the timely adjustments of inbound travel rules, Chen and her husband have booked a flight home on Jan. 16, without concerns about the trip being canceled or themselves being forced into quarantine.

"Only back in China can you get an authentic taste of the Spring Festival," said Chen. "We have spent so many years abroad, and our biggest wish is to reunite with families during the festival."

INCREASING TRANSPORTATION CAPACITY

Facing the rising passenger flows, China's railway and aviation operators have planned ahead to boost transportation efficiency.

China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. said that a peak day before this year's Spring Festival will see as many as 6,077 train lines in service, and the maximum seating capacity of trains for this year's travel rush will increase by 11 percent from the same period in 2019.

The country, moreover, saw some 4,100 km of new rail tracks begin construction in 2022, with over half of them for high-speed.

"We will give full play to our high-speed railway network amid the travel rush, and ratchet up the transportation capacity in key areas and at peak hours," said Huang Xin, head of the company's passenger transport department.

To meet the growing demand for air travel, Wan Xiangdong, chief pilot of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said the country will increase the average daily number of flights to 11,000 during the travel rush, equivalent to 73 percent of the level in the same period in 2019.

Domestic airlines are also encouraged to add more flights on popular routes, Wan said.

Unlike the previous Spring Festival transport characterized by more passenger trips and less cargo volume, Xu Chengguang said transportation demand for anti-COVID-19 supplies, festival supplies, energy, and food was on the rise this year.

Currently, all is going well, major traffic arteries and hubs are running smoothly, and key logistics indicators keep improving, Xu noted.

MAKING TRIPS SAFER

China has taken multi-pronged measures against risks from COVID-19 infections, adverse weather events, and dysfunctions of transport facilities, to ensure safe and sound Spring Festival transport.

While promoting paperless, contactless services such as online ticket selling and self-service ticket checking, transport operators nationwide are intensifying ventilation and disinfection at railway stations, expressway tollgates, and other public transport venues to minimize infection risks.

Among its latest attempts, east China's Zhejiang Province has invited a renowned healthcare expert to offer instructions regarding COVID-19 prevention and self-care on an outbound train, so that passengers would take better control of their health during the upcoming festival.

Ensuring transportation safety has also become a concern, as some transport services had been either suspended or kept running at low capacity as a result of the repeated disruptions from COVID-19 since 2020. Such risks could be exacerbated by cold waves and sleet during the travel rush.

To cope with the situation, operators across the country have doubled their efforts in facility maintenance, equipment overhaul, and staff training.

Railway workers have worked intensively at the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, one of the transportation hubs in densely populated east China, to make sure all rail tracks work in good conditions.

Their maintenance work is being boosted by a new model of detector robot, which is able to reach every corner of the tracks, thereby increasing efficiency and saving manpower, according to the municipal railway department.

Smart technology has also been applied in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi, where all parts of a train, including bogies, couplers, and brakes, are monitored and visible on a screen at a local maintenance garage.

The maintenance progress of each part is represented by changing colors in real time, so that railway workers can figure out where they should pay more attention.




Greensboro has had a long, tragic history of police using excessive and deadly force disproportionately against persons of color  accompanied by a failure of the City Council to correct and punish such misconduct. A recent example is the hogtying restraint that killed Marcus Smith, who was Black, in September 2018. After spending more than $1.3 million on private lawyers to deny any wrongdoing, the city in February 2022 finally settled the federal lawsuit brought by the Smith family for $2.57 million  with its usual hollow assertion that denies any wrongdoing.

During discovery in that lawsuit the city was forced to reveal that, in the nine months before the killing of Smith, police had hogtied 50 individuals, more than 75% of them people of color and nearly half of them women. Hogtying is a practice that had been banned decades ago in many cities. Not admitting there is a problem ensures there is no correction of the problem.

Sadly, the pattern continues and another such episode has begun. In November 2021 Officer Matthew Hamilton shot in the face and killed Joseph Lopez, who was unarmed. Hamilton was allowed to remain on the police force and no punitive measures were taken  that is, until June 6, 2022, when a strange series of events unfolded.

First, on that morning the father of Lopez, represented by the same legal team that represented Marcus Smiths family and was led by renowned Chicago lawyer Flint Taylor, filed a federal lawsuit against Hamilton and the City Council for the shooting of Lopez. The complaint alleges the council has had and still maintains patterns, practices and policies of racist excessive force and deadly force disproportionately against persons of color. Equally serious, the lawsuit claims the city engages in a pattern of coverup of such illegality.

Second, by early afternoon District Attorney Avery Crump announced that her office had obtained a criminal indictment against Officer Hamilton for manslaughter. The press release said: The matter was investigated and presented to the Grand Jury by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Third, later that same day, the city of Greensboro fired Officer Hamilton.

Fourth, Greensboro attorney Amiel Rossabi, who is retained by the Greensboro Police Officers Association and who is representing Hamilton, issued a fiery press release attacking the district attorney, and, implicitly, the SBI, for having been manipulated by local citizens and failing to have stood up to the uninformed mob who have a clear agenda to handcuff the police, self-aggrandize and profit financially from targeting police officers.

The mob was unnamed but the word presumably refers to concerned citizens who speak out at City Council meetings. Rossabis attack went even further. He claimed there is in Greensboro a climate of anti-police sentiment that has been fostered by the majority of City Council.

But wait, theres an O. Henry twist at this point. Documents I received from the city that were prepared in December 2022 reveal the city is paying Rossabi to represent Officer Hamilton to fight the federal civil rights suit brought by the Lopez family. Yes, the same city that fired Hamilton is now paying Rossabi to defend him.

In fact, those records show Rossabi already has been paid $54,765 for defending Officer Hamilton; that is six times what the city has paid for its own private lawyers defending the same case  and the case is just getting started. When I brought these figures directly to the attention of council members during public comments at the Jan. 3 meeting, some seemed surprised but no one complained about this absurdity.

The right thing to do now is stop wasting money on lawyers to delay, obstruct and cover up; settle the case with the Lopez family for a fair amount; and, equally important, end this pattern and practice of misconduct and hold those responsible accountable. City Council members need to hear from the public, especially about these issues so crucial to any modern, growing, diverse city.
Many were mesmerized while watching some or most of the 15 votes required to elect a speaker of the U.S. House. I cant remember which round it was when it hit me that North Carolina has been here before.

Our state was breaking the shackles of one-party political domination, on the way to party parity. Our first sign of this was perhaps 1988, when Democrat Joe Mavretic formed a coalition of Democrats and Republicans to oust Liston Ramsey after he had served eight years as N.C. House Speaker. Republican voter registrations grew steadily and in the 1994 Newt Gingrich-led revolution, not only did the GOP capture Congress but it also won a plurality in the N.C. House, electing Republican Harold Brubaker as speaker. It would be another 15 years before Republicans took control of our legislature in both chambers.

While it was fascinating to see Kevin McCarthy finally elected on the 15th ballot, it was nothing compared to the intrigue we witnessed in the Tarheel state in 2003. In the November 2002 election voters elected 61 Republicans and 59 Democrats to the N.C. House. The closeness of that election was fascinating, but the drama grew more memorable when it was suddenly announced that Republican Rep. Michael Decker, who many of us remember lived in a motor-home parked at the legislative building, declared he was switching his registration and would become a Democrat, thus giving both parties 60 members. The news rippled through the Capital City, causing all sorts of speculation as to what prompted this decision. Suddenly, North Carolina had a 60-60 House membership. Who would become speaker?

After the 2003 session began and about a week of voting, no one tallied the 61 votes needed to win the speakership outright. The intrigue continued when the two parties agreed to a strange power-sharing arrangement. For two years, the Republican speaker presided one day of the session, the Democrat the next. Years later we learned the rest of the story. Speaker Jim Black had delivered $25,000 in cash in a paper bag to Decker in an IHOP bathroom as payment for Decker to switch parties. When it all came to light, Black went to prison. It isnt surprising that the 2003 session wasnt very productive; Democrats regained the majority two years later.

Why did it take so many votes to name a speaker this year? McCarthy met with serious opposition and was blocked by the House Freedom Caucus. Formed in 2015, with one of its founders being North Carolinian Mark Meadows, this ultra-conservative group of about 40 Republicans is known for disruption, contention and a willingness to stop anything or anyone they oppose. Even though they have just over 15% of Republican House membership this hardline bloc votes together. They forced the resignations of two former Republican House speakers. One of them, John Boehner, said, They cant tell you what they are for. They can tell you everything they are against. They are anarchists. They want total chaos. Tear it all down and start over.

It was the Freedom Caucus members who held out and forced so many votes. Only when they had demonstrated their power and maneuvered to vote present was McCarthy elected. But he and all other Republican House members recognize who holds the real power. One pundit remarked that McCarthy shouldnt order new drapes; he might not be around long enough to hang them.

The message is clear. Dont look for much legislation in this just-convened 188th session of Congress. Even if Republicans can somehow wrangle the votes to approve a measure it is unlikely to be approved by the Democrat-controlled Senate. The smart money says little will get done over the next two years.

Again, this is reminiscent of what occurred in 1948. President Harry Truman was running for reelection against New York Gov. Thomas Dewey. Trumans campaign strategy was to run against the Republican-controlled 80th Congress, calling them the do-nothing Congress. Dewey was heavily favored, but after more votes were tallied Truman won. I couldnt help but wonder if we could see deja vu all over again, in 2024. Could we see Joe Biden run against a do nothing House on his way to reelection? Stay tuned and get out the popcorn popper. It should be entertaining even if frightening.

There are serious issues facing us right now. A budget, the debt ceiling, immigration, climate change and any number of crises beg resolution. Above all, we need unity, not further divisiveness and uncivil partisanship. But if the recent election of the House speaker is any indicator of what to expect, it is probably too much to hope for consensus instead of chaos and contention.

Remember, weve been here before.
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Detail of 1881 Birds Eye View. A newspaper reporter in Augustus Kochs time wrote that HIS maps depicted every street, block, railroad track, switch and turn-table, every bridge, tree, and barn, in fact every object that would strike the eye of a man up a little way in a balloon. Sophienburg museum and archives collection
CLAREMONT  Cargo Transporters Inc., an asset-based regional and national carrier, announced that Darren Burger has been promoted to the position of vice president of operations effective Jan. 1. Burger will oversee the operations, customer service and logistics departments.

Since 2004, Burger has been a part of the Cargo Transporters family from the furniture division to the vice president of operations. Burger was also responsible for managing/supervising the Cargo Transporters Inc. Rocky Mount facility when it opened in June 2017.

Burger pays homage to his father, Doug who was a part of Cargo Transporters until his death in 2000. Darren was able to get his foot in the door and explore different roles throughout his time at Cargo Transporters in the last 19 years. Looking towards the future, Burger wants to leave a legacy for his son, Lincoln, just like his father did for him.

My father is responsible for the man I have become, and I hope to be that image for my son as he goes through life. Even though my father is no longer with me, I know the impact a great role model can have," he said.

Darren and his significant other, Samantha, live in Taylorsville with their son, Lincoln.

Throughout his tenure here at Cargo Transporters, Darren has always been eager to grow, said Jerry Sigmon Jr., chief operating officer at Cargo Transporters. We feel his time spent in various roles within the operation will help him succeed in his new role as vice president of operations.

Cargo Transporters is a truckload carrier serving the continental United States. Based in North Carolina, the company operates terminals in Claremont, Charlotte, Rocky Mount and Anderson, South Carolina. The company employs nearly 700 people.
This is Peter Hitchens's Mail on Sunday column

A primary school in London, named after Sir Francis Drake, has changed its name to something so dull I cannot remember it. The original BBC report of this decision (now amended) described Sir Francis as a slave trader and failed to mention much else about him.



Apparently the school has only just discovered this bad thing about the Elizabethan sailor, though I think it has been well known for years. The action is stupid.



While I readily admit that Drake did some very wicked things, I think it idiotic to pretend that he was not a great Englishman. That belief is deep inside me. As my father was in the Navy, and so we moved all the time, I cannot claim to come from any one place in this country.

I was born in Malta, in those days very British and now a foreign country. My first memories are of Scotland, a lot more British than it is now, and then, much more strongly, of the West Country  about as British as you can get.



In that part of the world and at that time, Sir Francis Drake was a figure out of legend. Of course, he had existed as a normal man, drinking, swearing, fighting and who knows what else. But a misty, magical idea of him still lingered in that deep green, rain-sodden peninsula, where the unresting sea is ever-present and our dependence on it for our safety is unforgettable.

He had sailed round the world in a ship so tiny that the thought of the voyage makes me go pale. He had brought the wealth of Spain to England. He had defeated one of the most dangerous attempts to destroy this country by foreign invasion.



DRAKES Drum (the legend said that it beat mysteriously at moments of national peril) was still at his old home in Buckland Abbey, not far from one of our many rented, temporary homes. I would gaze in awe at it.



I would not have been wholly surprised to see Drake himself strolling in one of the deep lanes on the edge of Dartmoor. The great naval station at Devonport, still in those days a mighty fortress filled with warlike grey vessels, was called (it still is) HMS Drake.



At my astonishingly old-fashioned preparatory school, where every dormitory was named after a distinguished seadog (including Sir Francis, of course), we learned Henry Newbolts poem Drakes Drum, spoiled by an embarrassing attempt to put it into Devon speech.



In it, Drake lies dead or perhaps asleep in his hammock a thousand miles away, slung atween the roundshot in Nombre Dios Bay, but dreaming all the time of Plymouth Hoe.

The general idea was that when danger threatened, this calm but ferocious old seaman would return to save us again, as he had when the Spanish Armada threatened us in 1588. It is about as true as the story that he played bowls while the Armada was approaching. But who cares? These stories sustain us and make us what we are.



Drake certainly stole colossal piles of gold and precious stones from the Spanish Empire, which had itself stolen them from Latin America. The handsome gold doubloons and moidores which Drake brought home were the beginnings of Englands great age of wealth and power, and chests of them still remained in our vaults till the USA forced us to hand over our gold reserves to them in 1940. Nobody knows what happened to them after that.



So if you now tell me that Sir Francis Drake was a slave trader, my reaction is that I am not especially surprised. But it is not the most important thing about him. We are kinder and better than the men of his age because we can afford to be, not necessarily because we are ourselves superior people.



We still profit from the actions of men we now like to despise. Yet we survive nowadays by bowing and scraping to horrible despots in Saudi Arabia, who we literally cannot afford to offend.



Sir Francis lived in a cruel and violent age in which the defeated were themselves enslaved or murdered. He committed his own crimes, rather than living at ease while letting others commit them for him. I think we need to continue to remember and to some extent revere such figures.



There are no perfect heroes. Seek, and you will find worrying things in the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and other objects of worship. And I hope I shall never live to see a school (or anything else) named after Anthony Blair.



Our heroes are all flawed. Yet, take them for all in all, they were still heroes and we should question ourselves carefully before being sure we are in any position to wipe out their memories from the land.

*********

The Soviet tyrant Stalin sometimes went to great lengths to obliterate the past. He ordered all images of his defeated and exiled rival Leon Trotsky to be removed from official photographs, a huge task. The same thing happened to many other less famous figures who were pictured with Stalin and later murdered on his orders. But this was quite difficult with the technology of the day and the results often look quite fishy.

Nowadays technology makes this sort of thing frighteningly easy, as we saw when the former Premier Al Boris Johnson was wiped by an unknown hand from a picture of Business Secretary Grant Shapps, posing in front of a space rocket, which failed last week thanks to an anomaly. Why might this have happened? Mr Shapps likes being in the Cabinet, and Mr Johnson has become (for now) a Tory unperson who everyone is trying to forget. But Mr Shapps says the wiping was nothing to do with him. In fact, when the suspiciously doctored and Johnson-free picture was drawn to his attention, he removed the whole thing from Twitter, so wiping the wiped picture.

Perhaps Mr Johnson should be asked if he erased himself from the picture because he did not want to be associated with Grant Shapps. Who could blame him if so? Mr Shapps is quite embarrassing, being among other things the man who introduced the e-scooter plague into this country. He also had an interesting business career before he went into politics and must be the only person who has ever confessed that he had over-firmly denied having a second job. In any case, we now know for sure that it is not just homicidal dictators who doctor sensitive pictures. Bear that in mind in future.

********

The BBCs Ritula Shah is an informed and experienced journalist. So how come that on Tuesday night on Radio 4s World Tonight she asked a conservative US Congressman who is critical about American aid to Ukraine, Bob Good: Do you support democracy and freedom? Are you opposed to Communism? What?! I think this slip of the brain reveals a general total misunderstanding among many in the media and politics. Russia ceased to be Communist more than 30 years ago. I was there when it happened. I can provide details.

If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens, click on Comments and scroll down
West Point, N.Y.-

Moritz Mueller scoring a 12.85. NU started off the night on floor with seniorscoring a 12.85.

Liam Doherty-Herwitz registered a score of 14.70, tying his career-high on vault. Taylor Christopulos capitalized on the energy, notching a 14.95, good for the first-place event title. Transitioning to vault, the Huskers showed strength with two podium finishes. Claiming second place in the finals,registered a score of 14.70, tying his career-high on vault.capitalized on the energy, notching a 14.95, good for the first-place event title.

Cooper Giles represented Nebraska on pommel horse for the rotation scoring a 13.25. represented Nebraska on pommel horse for the rotation scoring a 13.25.

James Friedman claimed 3rd place with a score of 13.25. Travis Wong followed with a career-best score of 13.65, earning 2nd place for Nebraska. Carrying the energy to parallel bars, sophomoreclaimed 3rd place with a score of 13.25.followed with a career-best score of 13.65, earning 2nd place for Nebraska.

Chris Hiser led with a 13.75, snatching the event title in first. James Friedman put up a score of 13.30, good for second place. Moritz Mueller closed the event with 12.45. On still rings,led with a 13.75, snatching the event title in first.put up a score of 13.30, good for second place.closed the event with 12.45.

Taylor Christopulos in sixth with a score of 12.30 and Donte McKinney snagging second place after putting up a 13.25 on high bar. The Huskers impressed with two additional podium finishes on high bar includingin sixth with a score of 12.30 andsnagging second place after putting up a 13.25 on high bar.

The Big Red concluded the second day of competition at the West Point Open with a total of eight podium finishes and two event titles highlighting the meet.

Up Next

The Huskers travel to Air Force for the Rocky Mountain Open this upcoming Saturday, Jan. 21 to compete against Air Force, Arizona State, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Stanford. The competition will commence at 7:00 p.m. CT in Colorado Springs, Colo. Fans can follow @NebraskaMensGym on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for live updates during the meet.

The Huskers returned for the second day of competition at the West Point Open where the top ten scoring individuals from the day one qualified to compete in the individual and all-around finals. NU finalized day two of the meet with two event titles, includingon rings with 13.75 andon vault with 14.85, and a total of eight podium finishes.
The Nebraska track and field team combined for four individual titles and relay victories on the second day of the Graduate Classic at the Devaney Center Indoor Track on Saturday. The Huskers finished the two-day meet with nine event victories.

Mayson Conner won the men's high jump with the best clearance in the Big Ten this season of 7-2 1/2 (2.20m). That height is tied for second in the NCAA this season. Tyus Wilson and Ashriel Dixon both cleared 6-8 3/4 (2.05m) to place third and fifth, respectively. won the men's high jump with the best clearance in the Big Ten this season of 7-2 1/2 (2.20m). That height is tied for second in the NCAA this season.andboth cleared 6-8 3/4 (2.05m) to place third and fifth, respectively.

Taylor Latimer won the women's shot put title with a mark of 53-10 1/2 (16.42m), which puts her at No. 9 all-time in Nebraska indoor history. Latimer's throw was also the third-best in the Big Ten this season so far and a top-10 throw nationally. Kalynn Meyer was the runner-up with a personal-best throw of 53-3 3/4 (16.25m), which put her at No. 10 in school history. won the women's shot put title with a mark of 53-10 1/2 (16.42m), which puts her at No. 9 all-time in Nebraska indoor history. Latimer's throw was also the third-best in the Big Ten this season so far and a top-10 throw nationally.was the runner-up with a personal-best throw of 53-3 3/4 (16.25m), which put her at No. 10 in school history.

Kevin Shubert won the men's shot put with a distance of 63-2 1/4 (19.26m) on his first attempt. That mark is now second in the Big Ten and sixth in the nation this season. It's also only half an inch off his previous personal best that he set last year. Combined with Maxwell Otterdahl's and Latimer's wins in the weight throw on Friday night, the Huskers swept all four throwing events in the meet. won the men's shot put with a distance of 63-2 1/4 (19.26m) on his first attempt. That mark is now second in the Big Ten and sixth in the nation this season. It's also only half an inch off his previous personal best that he set last year. Combined withand Latimer's wins in the weight throw on Friday night, the Huskers swept all four throwing events in the meet.

Hannah Preissler was crowned the women's pole vault champion, clearing a personal-best 12-9 1/2 (3.90m). Jessica Gardner finished third with a height of 12-3 1/2 (3.75m). was crowned the women's pole vault champion, clearing a personal-best 12-9 1/2 (3.90m).finished third with a height of 12-3 1/2 (3.75m).

Johanna Ilves clocked an 8.51 in the women's 60m hurdles to finish as runner-up. clocked an 8.51 in the women's 60m hurdles to finish as runner-up.

Chris Ramsey finished second with a 6.88. In the men's 60m,finished second with a 6.88.

Lorenzo Paissan clocked a 21.71 in the men's 200m to place third. clocked a 21.71 in the men's 200m to place third.

The Huskers return to action next weekend with two events. Nebraska will compete in the Prairie Wolf Invitational on Friday, Jan. 20 and is set to host the Mark Colligan Memorial on Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Devaney Center Indoor Track. Azusa Pacific, Colorado State, Missouri and Utah State are set to compete against the Huskers at this year's Mark Colligan Memorial.

was the women's triple jump runner-up with a jump of 38-7 (11.76m), whiletook third place at 38-6 3/4 (11.75m).The Husker men () took second place in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:16.17. In the women's 4x400 relay, Nebraska finished third (, Ilves,) with a time of 3:53.79.
Washington, D.C.

The Huskers finished with a team score of 196.150 while George Washington finished in second (195.300), Cornell in third (189.900) and William and Mary in fourth (188.575).

Kinsey Davis earned the vault and uneven bars title. Ayzhia Hall , Emma Simpton and Sophia McClelland all earned a share of the balance beam title. McClelland also earned the all-around title. NU claimed four event titles.earned the vault and uneven bars title.andall earned a share of the balance beam title. McClelland also earned the all-around title.

Rotation One

Emma Spence followed with a 9.800 while McClelland earned a 9.775. Clara Colombo and Genesis Gibson both notched a 9.725. Csenge Bacskay rounded out the rotation with a 9.700. Nebraska started on uneven bars, finishing with a team score of 48.875. Davis led NU with a 9.850.followed with a 9.800 while McClelland earned a 9.775.andboth notched a 9.725. Csenge Bacskay rounded out the rotation with a 9.700.

George Washington started the meet on vault, earning a team score of 49.050. Cornell was on beam for rotation one, finishing with a 47.400. William and Mary started on floor, tallying a 47.800.

Rotation Two

Allie Gard received a 9.175 after recording a fall. The Huskers competed on balance beam in rotation two, notching a team score of 49.025. Hall, McClelland and Simpton all notched a 9.875 to lead the Big Red. Colombo followed with a 9.775 while Spence scored a 9.625.received a 9.175 after recording a fall.

NU led the meet with a team score of 97.900 at the halfway point. George Washington was in second (97.850), William and Mary was in third (95.675) and Cornell was in fourth (95.250).

Rotation Three

Martina Comin followed with a 9.875 while Kylie Piringer earned a 9.825. Halle Rourke tallied a 9.650. Hall finished with a 8.675 due to a fall. McClelland and Spence led the way on floor as both gymnasts recorded 9.900 on floor as the Huskers finished with a team score of 49.150.followed with a 9.875 whileearned a 9.825.tallied a 9.650. Hall finished with a 8.675 due to a fall.

GW was on beam during rotation three, finishing with a 48.400. Cornell competed on vault, earning a 47.875. William and Mary finished rotation three on uneven bars, tallying a 47.325.

Rotation Four

Katie Kuenemann earned a 9.750. McClelland rounded out the rotation with a 9.675. NU finished on vault, scoring a 49.100. Davis led Nebraska with a 9.900. Comin tallied a 9.850 while Spence finished with a 9.825. Hall recorded a 9.775 andearned a 9.750. McClelland rounded out the rotation with a 9.675.

The Huskers claimed the victory with a team score of 196.150. George Washington finished in second with a 195.300. Cornell finished in third with a 189.900. William and Mary claimed a fourth-place finish with a score of 188.575.

All-Around

McClelland earned the all-around title after notching a 39.225. Spence finished in second with a score of 39.150.

Up Next

The Huskers return to action Saturday, Jan. 21, against Maryland in Lincoln, Neb. The meet will take place at the Bob Devaney Sports Center and is set to begin at 6 p.m. (CT). Fans can follow the Huskers on Facebook at NebraskaWGym, Twitter at HuskersWGym or Instagram at HuskersWGymnastics for live updates during the meet. The meet will also be streamed live on BTN+ (subscription required).

- The Nebraska women's gymnastics team claimed four individual titles on the way to earning the team title at the Lindsey Ferris Invitational Saturday afternoon.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong on Saturday sent congratulatory letters to each other on the coming Spring Festival, a traditional festival for both countries.

In his message, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, extended his most sincere greetings and blessings for the Spring Festival to Trong, the CPV as well as the Vietnamese government and people on behalf of the CPC, the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

The year 2022 is of crucial importance to the respective development of the two parties as well as the two countries, and also a milestone for the China-Vietnam relationship, said Xi. He noted that the CPC held its 20th National Congress successfully, putting forward the Party's missions and tasks in the new era and on the new journey.

Under the leadership of the CPV Central Committee, the Vietnamese people have fully implemented the guiding principles of the CPV's 13th national congress, Xi said.

Shortly after the conclusion of the 20th CPC National Congress, Xi said, Trong paid a successful visit to China, during which the two countries issued a joint statement on further strengthening and deepening their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Noting that relevant departments and sub-national authorities of the two parties as well as of the two countries have been striving to implement the broad consensus reached between the two sides, Xi said he believes it will consolidate the political mutual trust and traditional friendship between China and Vietnam, and improve the wellbeing of their people.

Xi pointed out that at the beginning of the New Year, everything takes on a new look. Looking ahead to 2023, Xi said he is ready to stay in close communication with Trong and jointly steer the course for the sustained, sound and steady development of China-Vietnam relations.

China and Vietnam are a community with a shared future that bears strategic significance and Vietnam is a priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy, Xi said.

China is ready to work together with Vietnam to enhance synergy of their development strategies, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, enhance communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, and make contributions to advancing the noble cause of peace and development of mankind, Xi added.

In his message, Trong said that under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core and under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the CPC successfully held its 20th National Congress in the past year, which was an extremely important event in the political life of the Chinese people.

Trong expressed confidence that under the leadership of the CPC, the brotherly Chinese people will successfully fulfill all the goals and visions set forth at the 20th CPC National Congress, build a modern socialist country in an all-round way, and march toward the realization of the Second Centenary Goal.

Under the guidance of a series of consensus reached by the general secretaries of the two parties, Vietnam-China relations have maintained a positive momentum of development and made important progress, Trong said, adding that his official visit to China with a high-level delegation of the Vietnamese party and government after the 20th CPC National Congress was a success.

Trong said he is ready to work with Xi to guide the departments and sub-national authorities of both sides to implement the agreements and consensus reached during the visit, conduct strategic communications on the theories and practices of socialist construction of the two countries, and chart the course and set out strategic plans to ensure that the development of relations between the two parties and two countries reaches new highs.

He wished the CPC continued growth, the People's Republic of China prosperity, and the brotherly Chinese people a happy and peaceful New Year!
Sunday, January 15

A Red Cross blood drive will be held at Harrisburg Presbyterian Church, 4815 NC-49, Noon to 4 p.m. Harrisburg Presbyterian Church, 4815 NC-49, Noon to 4 p.m. To book a time to give, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Monday, January 16

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

A Red Cross Cabarrus VIP blood drive will be held at First Presbyterian Church, First Presbyterian Church, 65 North Church Street, 2:30 to 7 .p.m. To book a time to give, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Tuesday, January 17

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St. Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

A Red Cross blood drive will be held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Parkway South, 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. To book a time to give, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Wednesday, January 18

The Cabarrus Senior Center Photo Club is alive and clicking away. If you like taking photos, come join the members on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 1:30-3 p.m. at the Cabarrus Senior Center, 331 Corban Ave. SE, Concord, and share your photographic creativity. Whether you are a seasoned photographer or strictly amateur, all are welcome.

Thursday, January 19

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. -2 p.m. 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery call 704-786-5500.

Friday, January 20

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, January 21

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Monday, January 23

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Tuesday, January 24

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St. Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

A Red Cross blood drive will be held at Rocky River Presbyterian Church, 7940 Rocky River Road, 2 to 6:30 p.m. To book a time to give, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

The Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary holds its General Meeting at The Salvation Army of Cabarrus County headquarters at 216 Patterson Ave SE, Concord, NC 28025. Socializing and refreshments begin at 9:30 a.m. prior to the meeting at 10.. The speaker will be Tanya Sumerel, owner/manager of "Honeysuckle Hill Bee Farm" in Concord. There will be pre-owned books available for sale, with proceeds to be used to buy new books for the Christmas Angel Tree project. Please plan to wear a mask.

Wednesday, January 25

A Red Cross blood drive will be held at Elevation Church - Concord, 545 Concord Pkwy. N, Noon to 4:30 p.m. To book a time to give, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Thursday, January 26

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. -2 p.m. 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery call 704-786-5500.

Friday, January 27

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A Red Cross blood drive will be held at Unity United Methodist Church - Kannapolis, 8605 Unity Church Road, 2 to 6:30 p.m. To book a time to give, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Saturday, January 28

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Hot Dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union Street S, are offered on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Dine in and take out. Call in orders are welcomed. 704-782-1785.

Monday, January 30

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Tuesday, January 31

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St. Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

A Red Cross blood drive will be held at Lowe's of Concord-#2981, 8670 Concord Mills Blvd., 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. To book a time to give, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Wednesday, February 1

The Cabarrus Senior Center Photo Club is alive and clicking away. If you like taking photos, come join the members on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 1:30-3 p.m. at the Cabarrus Senior Center, 331 Corban Ave. SE, Concord, and share your photographic creativity. Whether you are a seasoned photographer or strictly amateur, all are welcome.

Thursday, February 2

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. -2 p.m. 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery call 704-786-5500.

Friday, February 3

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, February 4

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Monday, February 6

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Tuesday, February 7

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St. Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

Thursday, February 9

Epworth UMCs famous hot dogs and taco soup, 9:30 a.m. -2 p.m. 1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. For free delivery call 704-786-5500.

Friday, February 10

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, February 11

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Got news or events?

Does your community group or nonprofit agency have an upcoming event that would be of interest to the public? Email it to mplemmons@independenttribune.com.
NAPERVILLE  Dangerous wood, metal and glass shards embedded in the yards of 70 Naperville homes by an EF-3 tornado on June 20, 2021, will be removed and the soil replaced through a grant from the state.

State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, was able to include $1 million for the needed environmental cleanup in the state's capital program that was adopted during the Legislature's lame duck session this past week.

"This is huge," said Kristy Kennedy, co-founder of Naperville Tornado Relief. "The grant means kids can play in their yards again this summer."

In the days after the tornado, a group of moms known as Ranch View Area Community Assistance created a Facebook page to cut through the red tape and connect neighbors who needed help with those who wanted to volunteer.

The group morphed into Naperville Tornado Relief, which raised money to fill the financial gaps not covered by homeowners' insurance and then partnered with the Naperville-based nonprofit M.P. Foundation with a goal of collecting $1.5 million.

Of top priority is replacing yards for the 31 families whose homes were declared uninhabitable or their direct neighbors whose yards became blanketed by debris.

Residents say the ground surrounding their homes is filled with dangerous materials and they can't let their children or pets use them without fear of injury.

"Getting this money now, we have a great opportunity to do a great job implementing our initiative," Kennedy said. "We have more time to plan, strategize, work with contractors ... everything. It's such a gift to have the time. We'll be able to do a better job for people."

The estimate on the cost to clean up 70 yards is about $1.1 million, she said.

"We will be able to fulfill our commitment," she said.

Whatever the group collects from other sources would be used for landscaping and beautification projects, Kennedy added.

Stava-Murray said when devastation from a tornado occurs, it's assumed everything is going to be covered by insurance.

"The reality is that not everything is covered by insurance, and we saw this gap in the environmental cleanup in particular," she said.

She spoke with Kennedy in mid-November, right before the veto session, so she had time to put in her request before the new legislature was seated, she said.

"What inspired me was just seeing my neighbors in need and seeing my constituents, knowing that tornadoes like this could hit any one of us in any one of these districts across the state of Illinois," Stava-Murray said.

The damage wasn't large enough to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance. "But it's really the right size problem for state government to take care of," she said.

"My only ask was this million dollars for Naperville because that was the most critical need for my district, so that was what I prioritized," Stava-Murray said.

The grant, funneled through Naperville Tornado Relief's nonprofit partner MP Foundation, will be administered through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Photos: See tornadoes' deadly destruction over the years May 22, 2011: Joplin, Missouri April 2011: Southeastern U.S. Feb. 5, 2008: 'Super Tuesday' outbreak April 2014: Southeast and Midwest May 20, 2013: Moore, Oklahoma March 18, 1925: Missouri, Illinois and Indiana May 11, 1953: Waco, Texas Nov. 6, 2005: Evansville, Indiana May 10, 2008: Southwest Missouri May 25, 2008: Iowa Feb. 29, 2012: Illinois Feb. 11, 2009: Oklahoma April 28, 2011: Virginia June 8, 1984: Barneveld, Wisconsin May 1955: Udall, Kansas March 2, 2012: Indiana October 2013: Nebraska May 4, 2003: Missouri June 11, 2008: Iowa July 8, 2014: Upstate New York Dec. 10-11, 2021: Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio Valley, southern US
The gravitational pull of the Charlotte metropolitan area  approaching the top 20 nationwide for population  has proven enticing again to Lowes Foods Stores Inc.

The Winston-Salem grocery chain announced last week plans to open a store in Concord and Kannapolis later this year. It also has plans for a store in Pittsboro and in Aiken and Indian Land, S.C.

The stores would double Lowes store presence from three to six in the 11-county metro counting existing stores in Harrisburg, Huntersville and Mooresville.

The metro includes Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan and Union counties in North Carolina, and Chester, Lancaster and York counties in South Carolina.

Indian Land is in Lancaster, S.C., just south of the Ballantyne community in south Charlotte.

Were excited to be building additional Lowes Foods stores to serve the booming growth areas around Charlotte and northeast of Augusta, Ga., Tim Lowe, Lowes Foods president, said in a statement.

All five of our new stores are in various stages of planning and construction, and we look forward to sharing opening timelines and plans in coming months.

Challenging market

Yet, Lowes hasnt committed to a re-entry inside Charlottes city limits.

Lowes pulled out of the market in July 2012 by selling 10 stores to rival Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. in exchange for six Harris Teeter stores mostly outside the Charlotte metro.

Lowes sold three stores in Charlotte, two in Matthews and one each in Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Mint Hill and Fort Mill, S.C.

As part of the store swap, Harris Teeter paid Lowes $26.5 million.

Lowes said at that time it wanted to focus on core markets in the Triad, the Triangle and Hickory.

Perhaps the biggest reason for Lowes cautious toe dipping into the Charlotte metro now is that the city already is served by more than 20 grocery chains.

The leading grocer in market share, according to Chain Store Guide, is Walmart, followed by Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Publix and Sams Club.

The main way that food retailers can grow is to open more stores, frequently either buying them from existing food retailers or move into new markets, said John Stanton, a professor of food marketing at Saint Josephs University in Philadelphia.

What Lowes is doing is not novel and maybe expected.

After 10 years, they may have learned something about the markets or have new ideas and approaches to deal with past failure, Stanton said.

The operational changes with Harris Teeter as part of being owned by The Kroger Co. may have enticed Lowes Foods management to reconsider the Charlotte metro even as Publix is in expansion mode.

Now that Harris Teeter is really Kroger, things just arent the same as the old days for our beloved Harris Teeter here in Charlotte, said Tony Plath, a retired finance professor at UNC Charlotte.

I suspect thats whats bringing Lowes back: theres a gap in the middle market of the retail grocery industry here that BiLo used to occupy at the low end of the middle market, and Lowes occupied at the high end of this market.

Theres a gap in this particular middle-market space of our retail grocery choices.

Huntersville experiment

Lowes did not indicate whether the Concord, Indian Land or Kannapolis stores would be similar in design to its experimental Huntersville store which opened in February.

The Huntersville store is 25,000 square feet, about half of a typical store.

Tim Lowe has described the Huntersville store as the Swiss Army Knife of grocery stores. We will have a tool for what you need to do.

Our new Huntersville store is like a food hall that will also serve as a community hub for morning coffee, family dinner on the go, beer with a friend, picking up groceries curbside, or a complete grocery shopping experience.

The store features a second-floor mezzanine available for booking events, such as birthday parties, book clubs, team celebrations, group meetings, trivia nights, board game tournaments, and beer and wine tastings.

You want something to do with the kids? We will have events for them, Lowe said.

The Huntersville store also includes a shopping app called Scan*Pay*Go that allows customers to scan items as they shop and then check out at specially marked kiosks.

Standing out

Roger Beahm, a marketing professor at Wake Forest University, said Lowes is likely pursuing a primary strategy of deepening its market penetration here in the Carolinas as opposed to pursuing expansion into a broader geographical area right now.

This includes a gradual advance back into the more-densely-populated Charlotte market.

Beahm said Lowes Foods rebranding efforts in recent years are likely to attract Charlotte-area customers with expanded in-store shopping experiences, such as Chicken Kitchen, The Cakery, and The Beer Den.

Because of its North Carolina roots, Lowes Foods enjoys strong brand equity in this geographical region.

Leveraging that equity by opening new stores here in this region is a more-effective, yet also more-efficient, way for the company to grow.

Beahm said expansion may be an effective way for Lowes Foods to fend out expanding rivals such as Publix and Wegmans in the Triangle.

Lowes Foods is now much more capable of holding its own against these key competitors than it would have been 10 years ago, Beahm said.

The announcement of these new stores demonstrates the companys recognition that many shoppers again prefer getting into stores.

The new brick-and-mortar locations will give Lowes Foods a deeper foundation from which to serve online shoppers, Beahm said.

These stores can serve as new collection points for click-and-collect, and at the same time represent a source of product for their home delivery service.
A Forsyth County man accused of murdering a woman four years ago and discarding her body in a dumpster along Country Club Road is asking a judge to throw out any evidence investigators got from the ankle bracelet he was wearing at the time because he alleges that he was never supposed to be on probation in the first place.

In fact, attorneys for Mario Kennard Bennett, 35, want the judge to also throw out a previous conviction for second-degree kidnapping and assault by strangulation that landed him on probation requiring the ankle bracelet.

Dan Anthony and Keith Hanson, Bennetts attorneys, argue in court papers filed last month that Bennetts guilty pleas he made in January 2018 should be vacated because the court system did not hold up its end of the plea bargain. Bennett decided to plead guilty, they said, largely because Bennett was told that he would get time served for his sentences and he would not be placed on supervised probation. He ended up on probation anyway because of errors court officials made, Anthony and Hanson argue.

Bennett is charged with first-degree murder in the Dec. 12, 2018 death of Shantika Tika Lashae Dunlap, a mother of three boys and one girl. Dunlap was reported missing Dec. 13, 2018, and her body was found two days later in a dumpster at 4843 Country Club Road. An autopsy report said Dunlap was suffocated to death. An arrest warrant alleges that Bennett killed Dunlap on Dec. 12, 2018.

Bennett is scheduled to go on trial for Dunlaps murder starting May 8. If convicted of first-degree murder, he could face the death penalty. Assistant District Attorney Elisabeth Dresel said Thursday in an email that Forsyth County prosecutors will not comment on pending litigation.

The case has a long and convoluted history.

Bennett, a registered sex offender, was first connected to Dunlaps death when he was arrested in Florida in January 2019 and charged with felony larceny based on allegations that he stole Dunlaps Federal Credit Union card on Dec. 14, 2018, the day before Dunlaps body was found. Several weeks later, Bennett was officially charged with murder in Dunlaps death.

At the time of Dunlaps death, Bennett was on probation for his conviction on Jan. 24, 2018, for second-degree kidnapping and assault by strangulation in connection to allegations from October 2012. Initially, he was also charged with second-degree rape, second-degree sex offense, false imprisonment and a second count of assault by strangulation.

The charges stemmed from allegations that Bennett raped three women and assaulted another at a house in Rural Hall. In two of the alleged rapes, the women told sheriffs deputies that Bennett raped them several times and threatened to either hurt or kill them. In one instance, he allegedly told a woman he had several guns in the house, according to search warrants.

Bennett was charged only in an October 2012 incident in which a Greensboro woman told investigators that Bennett threatened to shoot her and gut her and gagged her with a handkerchief. Dresel, who prosecuted that case, said at the 2018 plea hearing that the woman alleged Bennett had sexually assaulted her. None of Bennetts DNA was found on the woman, according to a transcript of the hearing filed with the motion Anthony and Hanson filed, but Bennetts DNA was found in her pants and her DNA was found on a handkerchief at his Rural Hall house

She said at the hearing that there were some problems with the physical evidence that led to the plea deal, according to the transcript.

As part of a plea deal, Bennett pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and assault charge, and Dresel voluntarily dismissed the remaining charges. Bennett also pleaded guilty to an unrelated probation violation.

Bennett was sentenced to between three years and one month to four years and nine months in prison. He was given credit for spending nearly five years in the Forsyth County Jail awaiting trial. He was released from prison on Nov. 4, 2018.

Anthony and Hanson argue that Bennett understood that as part of his plea agreement, he would not have to be on probation  he would get mostly time-served for the kidnapping and assault charges and he might have to serve a few months for the probation violation. And then he would be done.

Instead, court officials miscalculated the amount of jail credit he had.

Because of the courts error, Mr. Bennett was placed on Post Release Supervision  and put on an ankle monitor  for want of the 20 days jail time he was not credited by the court  in violation of his plea agreement and due process rights, Anthony and Hanson said.

Anthony and Hanson said that the main reason Bennett agreed to plead guilty and give up his right to challenge the charges at trial was to be finished with all of his prison time , be released from any other prison time AND have no more obligations to the state regarding this charge.

Mr. Bennett did not get the benefit of his bargain and, therefore, should be allowed to rescind his guilty plea, the attorneys said.

The motions Anthony and Hanson filed include an affidavit from Bennetts attorney for his 2018 criminal case, Brandon Goldsborough. Goldsborough said in the affidavit that it was his intention that Bennett not have any probation once he served any prison sentence.

If Bennett wasnt supposed to be on probation, then he shouldnt have had to wear an ankle bracelet, Anthony and Hanson argue in a separate motion to suppress the evidence. That means, they argue, that any evidence obtained through the GPS on Bennetts ankle bracelet should be thrown out.

Anthony said in an affidavit that Winston-Salem police detectives noted that Bennett had been charged with sexually related crimes in the past, and that (the Defendant) had been assigned a GPS ankle monitor due to his past criminal convictions.

One of the detectives, Greg Dorn, who has since retired, was told by probation officers about where specifically Bennett was on Dec. 12 and Dec. 13 of 2018.

Anthony said Winston-Salem police detective Michael Ognosky and other investigators used the information from probation officers to go to various addresses and sites where they were told Bennett had been in order to conduct further investigations, searches and seizures which ultimately led to the arrest of the Defendant.

Anthony said the GPS ankle monitoring information was an illegal search and a violation of Bennetts Fourth Amendment constitutional rights.

This isnt the first time Bennett has challenged his probation. A previous attorney, Bob Stitcher, filed a motion to dismiss a charge of interfering with electronic monitoring because Bennett was not supposed to be on parole.

A date to hear the motions has not yet been set.
Runnymede Park is the sort of place where people gather to take family photos or wander down a gentle valley to crisscross a stream over the stone bridges. In the fall, a big ginkgo tree picks a time to suddenly shed all its leaves, carpeting the lawn in gold.

What some people have noticed, though, is that the park is also plagued with severe erosion. When rainfall is abundant, the stream rises and eats into the red clay banks on its sides. Erosion threatens the bridges. Aging sewer pipes make an unsightly view at stretches where they hang in the air as they cross over the stream.

All thats about to change, thanks to a $2.8 million federal grant that U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning (D-6th) obtained for the city of Winston-Salem from federal legislation approved late last year.

As the runoff has increased in Runnymede Park, the stream banks have failed said Keith Huff, the citys director of field operations. Some concrete walls are getting ready to fall in. It has exposed sewer lines through there. What needs to happen is that the entire stream needs to be stabilized and rehabilitated.

The work will take place between Springdale Avenue, where the stream emerges from underground piping, to just on the other side of the ring road where Hawthorne and Runnymede roads come together in a small roundabout.

Before crossing Hawthorne on its way to join Peters Creek, the Runnymede stream disappears into pipes that carry it over the ring road and underneath the Norfolk Southern rail tracks. Because of the complications of getting clearance from the railroad to work in its right-of-way, Huff said, no work is planned now between the tracks and the pipe outfall on the east side of Northwest Boulevard.

In the book Winston-Salems Architectural Heritage, historian Heather Fearnbach said the section of West Highlands with Runnymede Park was platted in 1923, with a long central park designed as a series of Runnymede Road medians. Fearnbach describes many of the houses on Runnymede as finely detailed, expansive residences, and also notes that some of the concrete retaining walls at the creek were the work of Black stonemason and concrete contractor Frank W. Murrells company.

Fixing the problems in the creek are more complicated than they might seem at first, Huff said, since you have the park, stormwater drainage and sanitary sewer all mingled together in that one location.

The stream doesnt have an official name, but people call it Runnymede Branch, Huff said. Like many stream courses in cities, the stream gets overloaded with runoff in storms and eats away at the banks, in some places to considerable depths.

The fix for the stream will involve what Huff calls natural channel-stabilization techniques. Some of the banks will be graded back to a stable angle of repose, and boulder step-downs will help the stream slow down as it reaches lower elevations.

For a look at how that might work out, one can look at the stabilization that was done at a stream of similar size in Washington Park, Huff said. There, low stone walls on the outer sweep of the curves keep the stream in place, and rocky interludes slow the flow.

Huff cautioned that a lot of the engineering work remains to figure out what needs to be done and how, but said a likely solution to the sewer line problem would involve putting in a second sewer line along Runnymede.

Heres why: Looking downstream, the existing sewer line runs down the left, or north side of the creek. The lines that serve houses on the south side of the creek all have to cross the creek to get over to the north side.

The solution would likely be to put down a second sewer line for the south side of the road so that the pipes would not need to cross the stream, Huff said.

And that means some traffic disruption at some point, Huff said.

Unsurprisingly, the city plans to create ways for the public to get involved about what happens with the work. In addition to questions about the stream and sewer work, Huff knows people will also be asking about the works impact on vegetation: The park is home to a number of memorial trees, as well as azalea plantings that create a sea of pink each spring.

Jeff MacIntosh, the city council member whose Northwest Ward includes Runnymede Road, said the city reached out to Mannings office to see if there could be federal money to tackle the project. The erosion and other problems have long been seen as needing a fix, he said.

The conversation has been going on for a long time, McIntosh said. It is one of those engineering jobs that didnt anticipate what would happen when we had as much water as we have had. The stream that runs through the park has been over capacity for many years. It is not a quick fix.

Council Member D.D. Adams, of North Ward, said she has nothing against the citizens of Runnymede, but said her ward has a bridge that has been out for two years.

We are not so willing to take those kinds of concerns to the east side, Adams said. I look at everything with a somewhat jaundiced eye. We have got to do better.

Adams said she would be bringing her concerns up at a forthcoming council meeting on capital project planning.

The bridge Adams referred to is on West Lakeview Drive. City officials said the replacement is in design and is funded.

MacIntosh said the Runnymede work is not taking money from any other project, since it is a federal earmark.

The good thing about this is that it is not coming out of city coffers, McIntosh said. It would be better to spend federal money than more of our money later on.
UMR Inc. has joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC in protesting the decision by the State Health Plans board of trustees to choose Aetna for its 2025-27 contract for third-party administrative services.

UMR, a wholly owned subsidiary of national insurer UnitedHealthcare, submitted its formal protest Friday, a day after Blue Cross NC took the same expected step.

It is requesting a stay on the awarding of the contract until a full and fair analysis of the cost proposals is conducted. UMR said such an analysis would demonstrate that there has been an improper contract award.

According to the SHPs request for proposal, its board can accept the protest and schedule a meeting with Blue Cross BC and/or UMR within a 30-day period, or take up to 10 days to reject the protest.

The SHP is North Carolinas largest purchaser of medical and pharmaceutical services. It covers nearly 740,000 teachers, state employees, legislators, retirees and their dependents,

Blue Cross NC has held the administrative contract with the SHP since the early 1980s.

Both Blue Cross NC and UMR said the SHP and state Treasurer Dale Folwell informed them of the decision on Dec. 14 following a unanimous vote by the SHPs board,

Folwell announced Jan. 4 the awarding of the contract to Aetna which has a renewal option for two, one-year terms.

Folwell has responded to the Blue Cross NC and UMR protests with similar statements, saying that we welcome the opportunity to engage in a factual, thoughtful and transparent review of the State Health Plans contracting process for third-party administration services going into effect two years from now.

We developed a process where all parties had a fair chance to win the contract.

Folwell said in his response to the Blue Cross NC protest that just like Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has the right to point fingers at everyone else for losing the contract after 44 years, the State Health Plan, (its) board of trustees, professional staff and I all have a duty to seek the best financial value and member service for those that teach, protect and serve, as well as taxpayers like them.

UMR stance

UMR claimed in its protest filing that the SHP did not comply with request-for-proposal-evaluation and scoring criteria in concluding that Aetna had the highest and best final evaluation.

It claimed the SHP failed to conduct a comprehensive, fair and impartial evaluation as required by state law.

That included that the SHPs network cost analysis was fundamentally and inherently flawed because the self-reported discounts do not match real world data available ... but not utilized.

UMR said that awarding Aetna the three-year contract would result in the SHPs costs going up at least $500 million during that period, rather than decreasing by $145 million as the SHP board and Folwell have estimated.

As a result of selecting Aetna, UMR says the SHPs decision was not made based on the bid that was the most advantageous and represented the best value to the state.

Blue Cross NC stance

A meeting to discuss the decision was held by Blue Cross NC and the SHP on Dec. 16.

The simplistic request for proposal, or bid process, represented a significant departure from the State Health Plans previous procurement and contracting process, Blue Cross NC said.

Blue Cross NC said it submitted public records requests on Dec. 15 and Dec. 20. It said the SHP has not committed to a specific timeline for response.

The protest highlights the limited information and distorted scoring system used during the decision-making process. Additionally, Blue Cross NC bid the lowest administrative fee of any bidder.

State Health Plan members are more than customers; they are our neighbors, our friends and our family, said Dr. Tunde Sotunde, president and chief executive of Blue Cross NC.

We have filed this protest to ensure the best outcome for them, for taxpayers and for our state.

Aetna response

Aetna said it will have nearly 600 employees assigned to work on this transition with SHP Director Sam Watts.

Jim Bostian, Aetnas president for N.C., said the insurer submitted an aggressive proposal affirming the State Health Plans commitment to high-quality and affordable health benefits.

The people who teach, protect and serve North Carolina deserve a health benefits administrator that leads with customer service, quality care and affordability. Aetna intends to deliver it to them.

The hundreds of Aetna employees dedicated to this seamless transition will continue their work without distraction.

We will continue to work to bring more providers into the network that can offer the high-quality care that state employees deserve, Bostian said.

SHP motives

The treasurers office said that the administrative contract oversees health care spending of more than $17.5 billion over five years.

The new contract reflects a partnership that focuses on transparency and lower costs, with the potential administrative cost savings over the course of the contract equaling $140 million, according to the news release.

Folwell said in announcing the transition that Blue Cross NCs chairman Ned Curran and Sotunde have assured me that they will finish strong for the next two years.

Their comments this morning (Jan. 4) is evidence that statements and promises dont matter.

Folwell said that partnering with Aetna, which already employs more than 10,000 people in North Carolina, will create a lot of new opportunities for the (SHP) and the members we serve.

A change of this magnitude is a great opportunity for a fresh perspective, and we look forward to working closely with Aetna to create new ways to provide price transparency, increase access and quality, while lowering the cost of health care for those who teach, protect and serve, and taxpayers like them.

SHP members are expected to begin receiving more information regarding the changes in 2024 prior to open enrollment for the 2025 benefit year.
My name is Johan Georg Faust. Though I died in 1541, my legend has allowed me to live throughout the ages.

Many are aware of my existence even if they are unaware of the origins. My name has transformed into an adjective, Faustian, as a way to note someone willing to sacrifice personal integrity for power or material gain. I was known for my erudition. Dissatisfied with my life, I made a deal with Satan, exchanging my soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly power.

By the time Johann Wolfgang von Goethes play about my life was posthumously released in 1832, the term Faustian bargain had taken hold in the public consciousness; and there I have remained, until now.

It seems, after several centuries, I now have company. McCarthian, named for newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is a companion term that must be added to the lexicon as a vapid form of ambition where one must publicly forgo any pretense of a soul or dignity. McCarthy humiliated himself through 15 rounds of voting, only to provide comedic fodder for late-night TV hosts and political cartoonists.

McCarthy sold his soul for a better office. He yielded to the will of nihilistic neophyte politicians who call themselves the Freedom Caucus, which is akin to a lion pride re-branding itself as the vegan coalition.

McCarthy has no one but himself to blame. Lest we forget, he slunk down to Mar-a-Lago to beg for forgiveness and seek the blessing of President Joe Bidens immediate predecessor after publicly placing him at the epicenter of the Jan. 6 attack.

McCarthy doesnt understand the position he coveted. To be an effective speaker of the House is the art of herding disparate cats. But McCarthys shameful tactics to become speaker included self-flagellation and neutering so that he enters the office, third in succession to the line of the presidency, as arguably the weakest House speaker in the history of the republic.

Former President Lyndon Johnson famously stated, Power is where power goes. McCarthys power has flown south for the foreseeable future. At the very least, it is sealed and safely tucked away in an undisclosed location, most likely in one of the Freedom Caucus offices.

What price has McCarthys limited, but unbridled ambition exacted on American democracy? Did McCarthys concessions to become speaker make it difficult to secure the votes to fund the federal government or raise the debt limit?

The recalcitrant behavior of an extreme cluster of House Republicans, which McCarthy was willing to pacify in exchange for the mess of pottage contained in the speakers chair, demonstrates they have little interest in the responsible role of governing. They prefer the speaker be more ceremonial, with the power inherent to the office evenly distributed to their incompetent hands.

The basic functions to keep us safe and secure would cease to exist should this group of nihilistic wingnuts that McCarthys ambition emboldened have their way.

Raising the debt limit reflects the nations full faith and credit, the ability of America to be a leader on the global stage. Calling for internal brinkmanship, President Bidens immediate predecessor has already released an unhinged statement that House Republicans should refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless the president repeal every piece of legislation passed over the previous two years.

Its unclear if the Freedom Caucus is listening to the former president, but McCarthy can only chirp in protest from the sidelines because no one is listening. No one fears his repercussions; he is essentially a toothless tiger.

Given McCarthys naked pursuit of political power and his willingness to hold Americas status in the world hostage, to call him an empty suit would be disrespectful to the hardworking men and women that make up the garment industry.

McCarthy, like many others led by blind ambition, will be unable to pay the bill when it comes due. He chose to be the neutered politician who relishes his hour upon the stage, but will soon be forgotten. Hes speaker only because the other McCarthy (Charlie) turned it down; he reportedly didnt want extreme Republicans putting words in his mouth.

I look at Kevin McCarthy with contempt. If youre going to sell your soul, the reward should at least have value. What he did wasnt Faustian; he sold his soul for a title and new office. I played for much higher stakes.
RALEIGH  I have two favorite quotes from Ronald Reagan about the world of work. The first one illustrates his mastery of an indispensable political tool: self-deprecating humor. Its true hard work never killed anybody, he quipped, but I figure, why take the chance?

My other favorite Reagan quote makes a serious point: I believe the best social program is a job. He was right, as mountains of empirical evidence have subsequently demonstrated. Government actors can boost the real incomes of low-income people with a variety of means, including cash welfare and non-cash benefits such as housing assistance and Medicaid. American governments have done this to a massive extent over the past five decades, helping to reduce the real poverty rate from 31% in 1960 to less than 2% in 2021.

Yet many people who now live above the poverty line  when the government benefits they receive are properly counted as income  certainly feel poor, appear to others to be poor and are often bitterly disenchanted or deeply unhappy. Thats because ones material condition, while obviously important, isnt as critical in determining ones sense of well-being as what Harvard University scholar Arthur Brooks calls earned success.

Although our unemployment rates remain relatively low  3.9% in North Carolina in November and a statistically indistinguishable 3.7% for the nation as a whole  far too many people are without the dignity and stability that comes from having a job. And many more are employed but lack the opportunity to advance in their chosen profession, enter a new and more promising profession or start a business of their own.

Elected officials often proclaim themselves to be champions of labor. But the policies they propose, be they progressives advocating giveaways or national populists advocating trade restrictions, will do little to help average workers. Youll find a better set of policies in a new Cato Institute book entitled Empowering the New American Worker.

In a section on occupational licensing, for example, Cato analyst Chris Edwards points out that places with freer labor markets tend to have higher levels of employment, economic mobility and entrepreneurship. Policymakers can make workers better off, while maintaining or even improving the quality of services for consumers, with such commonsense reforms as replacing mandatory licensure with voluntary certification and allowing workers licensed in other states to be automatically licensed in a new one.

One of the strongest chapters, co-written by the books editor, Scott Lincicome, explains the potential for remote work to smash barriers to worker advancement. While some jobs clearly cant be done from home, many employers and employees learned during the pandemic that shifting to remote or hybrid models can be mutually advantageous. The broader effects on, say, traffic congestion and affordable housing are also significant. Unfortunately, public policy has yet to adapt to these new realities. Governments need to change how they tax individuals who earn income from multiple states, for instance, and how they tax businesses that employ large numbers of remote employees. Theyll also need to rethink how employee benefits are regulated.

From educational services and child care to transportation, housing and health care, the Cato team offers sensible reforms that either eliminate barriers to opportunity or make it easier for individuals to spend public dollars in the way most likely to meet their particular needs.

As Lincicome observes in the books conclusion, our political debate is filled with supposedly pro-worker proposals that are based on faulty assumptions about the past, present and future of the American workplace. Far too many politicians think of workers as helpless and in need of government protection from cradle to grave, despite the long-term harms that such policies inflict on these very same workers and the economy more broadly, he writes. By contrast, pro-market policies that respect the individual agency and ability of all workers would allow them to pursue their unique hopes and dreams in a more dynamic, diverse, and high-wage economyand to adjust to whatever comes next.
Words have meaning, a friend said to me last week as we discussed issues of the day, and I agree wholeheartedly. Its a gentle reminder  OK, a slightly pointed reminder (words have meaning) that word choice and vocabulary are important and that reality is both nuanced and precise. Not every Republican is a far-right extremist; neither is every Democrat a woke liberal. No, really.

Take freedom.

Last year, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake gave an interview to Liam Bartlett, a reporter with Australias version of 60 Minutes, in which things got a little heated.

Complaining about the treatment of the alleged insurrectionists who were in prison awaiting trial (like, it must be said, thousands of other criminal suspects, for whom Lake, et. al., have expressed little concern), Lake said, Maybe they get away with that stuff in Australia. Perhaps in Australia, because youve given your rights away, youve melted down all of your guns and you guys have no freedom, you find that OK.

In the early 80s, I spent a little time abroad, including about a year in Sydney. I dont think about it much these days, but I still remember how surprised I felt at the sight of topless women swimming and sunbathing at Bondi Beach, not far from downtown. I was not accustomed to that degree of personal freedom.

That may be a trivial example. But heres another freedom Australians have that we dont: An Australian can bump into someone on the sidewalk and say, Why dont you watch where youre going? without worrying that the clumsy oaf might pull out a gun and shoot him. An Australian can get into a shouting match down at the pub without worrying that some drunk bloke might get a little too carried away and shoot him.

And Australian children can go to school every day without worrying much about someone showing up with an AR-15 to shoot them.

I watched an analysis of Lakes 60 Minutes interview by an NRA rep who goes by the name Colion Noir, who said: Regardless of where you stand politically, one thing is true: The only thing that deters governments from overstepping their power and becoming tyrannical is the government realizing that if they go too far, people have the ability to effectively fight back. The Second Amendment is the big-ass bodyguard at the club.

True is a word with meaning, and I dont think it applies here. Its not our personal arsenals that keep us free. Its the rule of law; its our traditions; its our free press; its our commitment to fair elections; its what my colleague Byron Williams might call our public discourse.

And it includes keeping our military free of political influence, as former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley insisted when former President Trump tried to co-opt them.

Tyrannical is a word with meaning. Whos going to decide whether an administration  or a law, or an election  is tyrannical? People with guns? People with guns who hate it when Democrats are in charge? They get to decide?

Tyrannical doesnt mean I dont like Brandon or Alex Jones says Italian satellites changed the Dominion machine votes. But those are among the rationalizations that inspired the people who thought Jan. 6, 2021, was their call to arms (in some cases, literally).

The idea that if you dont like an election or a policy or a tax rate, you can just get everyone together and march down to City Hall (or up to Washington) with your guns to set things straight is absurd. I like people, but in groups, with guns, they cant always be trusted to do whats right  as our history repeatedly attests.

Despite Australians lack of personal arsenals, no tyrant has ever gained control of their government. People there do like we do: They vote the losers out.

Its the same in pretty much every modern democracy: Japan, France, Norway.

Guns dont, in and of themselves, represent freedom. The assault weapons sported by Proud Boys standing outside drag shows  they represent the threat of murder. Their guns dont say, Go, do what you want. They say, If I get the chance, Im going to kill you.

And Moms for Liberty  the group exists to pull books about gender and race off library shelves and keep people from reading them. Thats the opposite of liberty.

I couldnt complain about Moms for Vigilance. Well, not about the name. It might be accurate without carrying negative connotations.

But Moms for Oppression  those words would be more precise.
We were saddened last week to learn that Lynnette Hardaway  better known as Diamond of the Diamond and Silk media duo, with her sister, Heather Hardaway Silk Richardson  died at her home near Fayetteville. In their professional roles, they billed themselves as President Trumps most loyal supporters, and though were hardly sympathetic to that cause, we wouldnt wish an untimely death  Hardaway was 51  on anyone who came from our state and made a name for themselves while entertaining people.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hardaway family in their time of sorrow, Hoke County Republican Party chairman Chris Holland said last week. Lynnette rose to fame as (an) ardent supporter of conservative values. Her contribution to the national discussion will be terribly missed.

Upon hearing of Hardaways passing, former President Trump posted a message on social media, saying, Really bad news for Republicans and frankly, ALL Americans.

The unfortunate elephant in the room is that Hardaways death is being attributed by some to COVID. The sisters were fired from a position with Fox News back in 2020 (a)fter a series of false and misleading statements about how to combat the coronavirus, according to The Daily Beast. Which, considering what other Fox personalities were saying at the time, hardly seems fair.

The cause of death has not been confirmed by any authoritative news source or family member; her death could well be unrelated to that scourge. But it comes to the minds of many because it would echo so many other incidents of prominent COVID deniers and anti-vaxxers who found themselves in the last place they would have expected: a hospital bed.

Earlier this month, Cirsten Weldon, a popular QAnon promoter who went by the name CirstenW online, and was virulently anti-vaccine  she would sometimes harass people waiting in line to be vaccinated  died after contracting COVID.

Were sometimes told that ones willingness to die for their convictions testifies to the veracity of their claims.

These deaths teach us otherwise. Its especially tragic to die for a lie.

They also highlight a very important message for the rest of us: Its not over yet. Nine more COVID-related deaths were reported in Forsyth County last week, the Journals Richard Craver reported Thursday.

Like many infectious diseases, COVID has the ability to evolve and mutate, which explains the numerous variants  and why vaccines need to be updated and boosted.

Currently, 12 of 17 U.S. subvariants have been detected in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. And more are on their way. Two subvariants that have already surged in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast are likely to arrive in the next few weeks, according to Dr. David Priest with Novant Health Inc. and Dr. Christopher Ohl with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.

Theyre different enough from their parents that they have immune evasiveness, Ohl said. Even people who have been boosted or gotten the vaccine or both and had COVID-19 can have a breakthrough infection, Ohl said. Of those North Carolinians with a positive test result last week, 4,252, or 20.5%, were considered re-infected.

Thats troubling.

But since we know theyre coming, we can prepare.

The CDC recommends that people who live in counties with the highest levels of infection  that includes Forsyth  wear masks in indoor public spaces, as well as on public transportation, regardless of vaccination status.

Some have done so ever since the first outbreak. Weve got to admire their dedication to keeping themselves and their loved ones safe.

And, as conscience and science direct  weve got to join them in taking precautions. Its not too late to get the jab, even for the first time.
 Flash

The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) spoke highly of the Chinese government's efforts to cope with the COVID-19 epidemic in his phone conversation with a senior Chinese health official.

According to the National Health Commission, its director Ma Xiaowei exchanged views on China's current COVID response with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday.

Ma said China has been sharing COVID information with the WHO and other countries since the onset of the epidemic. China was the first to identify the pathogen and publicize key information including the genome sequencing of the virus. China also set up a technical exchange mechanism with the WHO.

Since China optimized its COVID response, the two sides have conducted many technical exchanges. China will continue to support the role of the WHO in pooling international efforts to fight the virus, Ma said.

The WHO chief expressed appreciation of China's efforts to maintain long-term technical exchanges and share epidemic information and data with the WHO.

The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen technical exchanges and cooperation on epidemic prevention and control, and jointly maintain global health security.




Duke Energy failed

Reading articles about how Duke Energy explained to the utilities commission about the blackouts on Christmas weekend was disappointing. Frankly, I expected more than hearing it simply say, Were so sorry. All our systems failed.

And I do mean all.

Adequately following the weather forecasts: Nope. Failed. Using its fancy modeling tools to see how much its system could handle: Nope. Failed. Basic operation of power plants: Nope. Failed. Buying extra power backup: Nope. Failed. Managing where and when customers lost and regained power: Nope. Failed. Accurately telling customers what to expect: Nope. Failed.

After all that, if I had a choice in the matter, Id call up the customer service department and tell Duke Energy it had lost my confidence and my business. But we dont have a choice here in North Carolina. Duke Energy gets all my electricity money whether it does a good job or not. And it did a wildly bad job, without giving any real, data-backed assurances that it wont fail catastrophically again the next time it gets especially cold.

North Carolinians deserve a choice  and we definitely deserve better than Duke Energy.

Kaye Romans

Winston-Salem

Think

Impeach President Joe Biden! Get him out of office! Put Vice President Kamala Harris in charge!

Im not sure Republicans have thought this through.

Helen Batterton

Winston-Salem

Investigations

So the new Republican-led House has created a committee to investigate the supposed weaponization of the federal government. What does that even mean? Would that be, like, federal government agencies really doing their jobs well?

The whiny Republicans claim that the federal government has targeted conservatives. But considering their cooperation with and support for the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, conservatives should be targeted. They cant constantly be shooting texts back and forth with Oath Keepers on the day of the attack, then complain when the Justice Department investigates.

Well, I say they cant, but they will.

I imagine dozens of interrogations of federal officers and employees that will produce nothing at all.

Rep. Joe Conservative: Mr. Undersecretary, did you weaponize the federal government against conservatives?

Undersecretary: No sir, I did not.

Joe: Are you sure?

Under: Yes sir, I am.

Joe: Well, all right then.

This is a big waste of taxpayer money by what used to be the fiscally conservative party but is now the nutty party.

Ronnie Miller

Winston-Salem

No classroom police

As a young graduate of Winston-Salem State University, I am appalled at the universitys handling of the recent arrest of a student in the classroom (WSSU: Police followed rules, Jan. 12). It is an utter betrayal that law enforcement was allowed by a professor to arrest Leilla Hamoud. There is absolutely no excuse for a non-violent student to be taken out of the classroom in handcuffs and charged for an argument over an apology.

Whether or not university policy was followed, it is a systemic and personal failure of the university employees involved that a 20-year-old student was put into the legal system over a disagreement about an assignment. College students face an enormous amount of pressure as they navigate the higher education system, learn to be an adult and deal with their lives outside of academics. Faculty should be trained and expected to de-escalate and deal with student issues with law enforcement only as an option in violent situations.

Classrooms and student-teacher relationships will never be free and open anywhere as long as there is the threat of police force. HBCUs pride themselves on being safe spaces for students, especially Black and Brown students, to learn and grow in a culture of understanding and respect for the specific struggles their communities face. I stand with Leilla Hamoud; I wish my school would, too.

Jemma Johnson

Winston-Salem
Superintendent experience is not among the qualifications listed Friday in an advertisement seeking applicants for the job of Nebraska commissioner of education.

But its easy to see how someone with such experience might check the boxes on the qualifications list assembled by the Nebraska State Board of Education.

The advertisement calls for applicants with experience as a visionary educational leader within complex organizations and among varied school districts and settings.

Members of the board are casting a wide net with the broadly written qualifications posted on the website of the search firm McPherson and Jacobson.

The firm is assisting the board in identifying and screening the candidates.

Steve Joel, the former Lincoln Public Schools superintendent and one of the consultants, had cautioned the board about narrowing the qualifications so much that qualified candidates without superintendent experience, such as assistant commissioners in other states, would not apply.

Board members are looking for someone to replace Matt Blomstedt, who resigned Jan. 3.

Under the heading of salary range, the advertisement says, Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits commensurate with experience.

The listed characteristics sought by the board include the following:

* A track record of successfully building teams and consensus as a servant leader who models high character, honesty, respect and trustworthiness in all interactions.

* Effective written, oral and interpersonal communication skills, and a commitment to actively engaging stakeholders at all levels.

* A critical thinker and creative problem-solver with a history of successful data-informed decision-making, including policy development and academic achievement.

* The demonstrated ability to make difficult decisions and effectively manage the people and multiple priorities of a large organization.

* An energetic and hard worker who is committed to continuous professional learning focusing on best practices.

The closing date for applications is March 2. Finalists will be selected the week of March 13, and interviews will take place the week of March 27.

Board members will select the new commissioner the week of April 3. Their intention is to have someone in the job by July 1.

The Lincoln Journal Star's top photos from 2022
As expected, the 2023 Farm Bill express is not running on time. In fact, it didnt even leave the station when its chief engineer, Pennsylvania Republican and incoming House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, said it would.

Thats no surprise; its Congress, after all.

Indeed, it would have been a big surprise had it started on the date Thompson had scheduled, Jan. 7. Instead, he and his 221 Republican colleagues were still slugging it out on the House floor before finally putting Californian Kevin McCarthy -- four days and 15 ballots later -- into the Speakers office.

One Republican House Ag Committee member, Illinoisan Mary Miller, voted with other Never Kevin members to deny McCarthy the Speaker's chair -- even as other House members remained glued to theirs -- while the drama played out. Millers never, however, lasted only 11 of the 15 ballots before she joined other Only Kevin Republicans to elect McCarthy.

Ag Boss Thompson was not impressed. He later groused to Politico that he had no idea for her not coming on board for McCarthy and chided her stubborn Freedom Caucus colleagues on the Republican right for burning daylight during the bitter, public brawl.

Every day is a lifetime, he said, in a year where you start  behind on the Farm Bill. So they need to get on board with the team. And we need to go to work.

All other Ag Committee Republicans stood firm with McCarthy throughout the Speaker fight and now stand firm with Chairman Thompson. They want to get to work after what seems like a long-ago House win last November.

But, as Iowan Randy Feenstra told Politico, the lack of Ag Committee news didnt mean there was a lack of work. There is a lot of stuff thats happening behind the scenes, he opined without offering one example of what, exactly, anyone had been doing.

His immediate Midwestern neighbor, South Dakotan Dusty Johnson -- who was prominent in the television coverage during McCarthys election ordeal -- took a dimmer view of the Ag Committees slow start. Frankly, he told Politico, were probably months behind where we need to be.

He blamed the committees former chairman, Democrat David Scott of Georgia, for the delay. I would say we could have had leadership on the committee in the last two years be a little more aggressive in their timeline.

Johnsons jab at now Ranking Member Scott highlights a growing partisan split on what most ag policy experts long said was the most bipartisan committee in Congress. While that may have been true 20 years ago, the last two Farm Bill fights have highlighted deep fissures between Republican and Democratic members and House and Senate Farm Bill writers.

The sticking point on both centered on the Farm Bills most expensive and expansive title, food assistance programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children program). U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food programs account for 80% of all Farm Bill spending. Forty-one million Americans -- 92% who live below the federal poverty line -- receive, on average, $5.45 per day in aid.

Republicans, both on the ag committees and off, have tried to contain -- and even cut -- the spending, labeling it out of control. Those efforts, however, have only succeeded in delaying the last two Farm Bills.

Despite that dismal record, GOP fiscal hawks -- especially the Never Kevin faction -- are urging House Ag members to cut food aid programs in the 2023 Farm Bill. Seasoned veterans of past Farm Bill fights are publicly warning them not to take up that sure-to-lose fight again.

Every year, people say, Oh, lets just get the nutrition [food aid] title out of the bill, Mary Kay Thatcher, a 31-year, Capitol Hill lobbyist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, told an ag trade association in Chicago earlier this month.

But if we want agriculture to be successful in any farm bill, Thatcher urged her agbiz audience, please put a stop to that.

Thats rock-solid advice for the now-ascendent boat-rockers of the Republican right. Theres no evidence, however, they will follow it.
For the fourth consecutive year, Humanities Nebraska is providing a platform for Nebraskans across the state to connect through a tried-and-true pastime: writing a letter.

The nonprofit organizations Dear Stranger letter-exchange program officially kicked off on Wednesday. The premise of the program is for Nebraskans to make a connection with a complete stranger through the exchange of letters written about a predetermined prompt.

According to Mary Yager, the associate director of Humanities Nebraska, the program started in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and was an instant hit.

It was just a way to kind of try to continue our work in bringing people together when we couldnt meet for a while, Yager said. And it was pretty popular, so weve done it every year since.

The program itself isnt new, though. Yager said that Oregon Humanities originally conceived the Dear Stranger program and that it was easy for Humanities Nebraska to start the effort with the blueprint from Oregon.

Nebraskans interested in participating can submit a letter addressed to Dear Stranger, c/o Humanities Nebraska, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 330, Lincoln, NE, 68508. From there, Yager and the rest of the Humanities Nebraska team will find an appropriate match based on a few factors.

We divide the letters into short and long letters so that people who write a long letter might get a longer letter in response, and vice versa, Yager said.

She also noted that location is a big factor, too. Yager noted that they try to match people from the eastern part of Nebraska with people from the western part of Nebraska, and try to make sure theres enough of a distance buffer between any two people to maintain intrigue.

Interested parties have until Feb. 15 to submit a letter. After theyre submitted and Humanities Nebraska goes through the matching process, people will receive their letter from a stranger.

For most, according to Yager, that first letter exchange is the extent of their involvement in the Dear Stranger program. Those wanting to chat further with their new pen-pal can request their contact information upon mutual consent from the person theyve written to.

Yager says the program has led to new friendships.

I know that a few of our participants every year do connect beyond the first letter exchange and maintain a relationship over time, Yager said. I think some who participated the first year are still in communication today.

As far as participation goes, Yager said Humanities Nebraska is hoping for a rebound in 2023. The program had about 50 people participate in 2020 and that number doubled in 2021. She said that those figures tapered off last year, and credited that to more people willing to get out of the house and interact in-person.

Yager said their current participation demographic skews a bit older, but that they also have children participate and exchange letters each year.

With recent advances in technology, Yager feels that letter writing has kind of fallen by the wayside a little bit. She believes theres power in a handwritten letter, and she hopes Nebraskans utilize that power while making a new connection.

As long as people are interested in doing it, well continue to connect people through letter writing, Yager said.

Those interested in learning more about the Dear Stranger program can visit https://humanitiesnebraska.org/programs/dear-stranger/.

Top Journal Star photos for January 2023
OMAHA  Nebraska is taking another step into the as-yet uncertain future of nuclear power.

On Friday, the Nebraska Public Power District announced that it would undertake a study of potential locations for a small modular reactor, thanks to funding from the Legislature. The study will be funded through $1 million in federal dollars awarded to NPPD by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

Small modular reactors are the new type of nuclear reactor under consideration around the world. Utilities say the smaller reactors offer several advantages over the much larger traditional reactors by requiring less space, costing less to build and providing greater flexibility in where they can be built and how much electricity they generate.

However, critics say they remain unproven and carry the baggage of any nuclear reactor: no great solution for radioactive spent fuel, potential high costs to build and potential nefarious use of nuclear material.

Because they are so new, no such reactors have yet been built in the U.S.

Grant Otten, spokesman for NPPD, said the study will put NPPD in a better position should small modular reactors prove themselves and the district decide that nuclear power is something it wants to pursue.

Other major utilities in Nebraska and Iowa also have expressed interest in nuclear power. MidAmerican Energy has included nuclear among the options it is studying. The Omaha Public Power District has said it is monitoring developments in the industry.

The NPPD study will occur in two phases: determining the 15 best such sites within Nebraska, then whittling them down to four. The first phase is expected to be completed this spring and the second phase could take a year, according to the utility.

Factors used in evaluating sites include access to water and transmission lines and criteria set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Some models of the new reactors are less reliant on water, which means NPPD could study sites that arent along rivers, which has been where the states power plants have been built.

NPPD has contracted with the engineering firm Burns & McDonnell to assist with the study.

A nuclear power plant hasnt been built in Nebraska in 50-some years.

As a state, Nebraska has been taking a number of steps toward reopening doors to nuclear power. Most recently, the Legislature set aside money from the federal governments infrastructure bill for the study. In 2021, the Legislature unanimously approved allowing nuclear power to qualify for renewable energy incentives.

Safety would be paramount with any project, Otten said.

Small modular reactors are designed with very advanced safety features, he wrote in an email to the Omaha World-Herald. Further, if an SMR were to be built in Nebraska, it would have to meet Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations; and it would be operated and maintained to protect the safety of the public.

NPPD operates Nebraskas only nuclear station, Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville. OPPD used to operate the much smaller Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station near Blair, but closed it several years ago, citing costs. Construction at both Cooper and Fort Calhoun began in the 1960s, and they came on-line in the early 1970s.

The utilitys other major baseline plant, the Gerald Gentleman Station, runs on coal and is located near Sutherland.

Otten said NPPD remains committed to its existing baseload plants.

(Gerald Gentleman) and Cooper are both essential parts of NPPDs generation mix, for providing low-cost reliable power to our customers, he wrote. NPPD does not currently have any plans to retire either GGS or Cooper.

NPPD has said it plans to continue operating Cooper until its license expires in 2034. A decision on whether to seek a 20-year license extension for Cooper will be made at a later date.
Contaminated spices were determined to be the second-leading cause of lead poisoning in Douglas County children in 2021.

The reason? Medical testing of families fleeing war-torn Afghanistan found a number of children with high lead levels.

The Douglas County Health Department traced the source of the lead to food, specifically lead-contaminated spices, said Naudia McCracken, supervisor of the lead poisoning prevention program at the Health Department.

McCracken said the test results brought into sharper focus an issue shed already been concerned about: A lack of regulatory standards for herbs and spices and the resulting potential for anyone to ingest too much lead from their meals.

In the case of these families, they were using spices purchased in their home countries, McCracken said. Refugee and immigrant children also are are greater risk of lead poisoning because of spices brought into the country or purchased at ethnic groceries. Because their cultures rely heavily on spices, immigrants from south Asia, especially India, Myanmar and Afghanistan, are most likely to be exposed, McCracken said.

But the broader community also could be exposed because testing has found lead and other contaminants in spices sold at grocery stores around the world, including under major brand names in the U.S.

The Douglas County Health Department says the spices most likely to contain lead include cumin, curry powder, masala, paprika, turmeric and chili powder. Herbs most likely to contain lead include oregano and bay leaves. Lead has also been found in some tea leaves and dark chocolate.

Public health advocates have been calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to set limits on heavy metals in food (heavy metals, including lead, are metals that are relatively dense and toxic at low doses). However, no limits have been set.

Consumer Reports in 2021 tested 126 herbs and spices, including major brands, and said it found that almost one-third contained heavy metals at levels high enough to raise health concerns. The organization is collecting signatures on a petition calling on the FDA to undertake tighter regulation.

A spokeswoman for the FDA said the agency does monitor the food supply and will remove foods, including spices, that are determined to be hazardous. The agency doesnt need to have a regulatory standard to do so, the FDA says.

By law, according to the FDA, food manufacturers and processors have to significantly minimize or prevent exposure to chemical hazards  including lead.

Additionally, the FDA says it has been in talks with the American Spice Trade Association to learn more about contaminants in spices and options for working collaboratively to help reduce levels.

The American Spice Trade Association told the World-Herald it supports FDA limits on heavy metals in spices. The association noted that the European Commission has set limits and that the World Health Organization is studying the issue.

McCracken and others say explicit limits set by the FDA are needed. Otherwise, the person who is consuming is the one who has to change what they are doing instead of addressing the root cause, she said.

In 2021, at least 19% of children (17 kids) who tested high for lead in Douglas County likely got it from spices, McCracken said. The percentage could be higher because not all parents allow health investigators into their homes to look for causes. Refugee/Asian immigrant children made up 25% of lead poisoning cases in Douglas County in 2021, she said.

The primary cause of lead poisoning among children  nationally and in Douglas County  remains lead paint, either chips or dust. In 2021, 69% of Douglas County children testing high likely ingested the lead from paint chips or dust.

The potential presence of lead in spices caught the attention of a University of Nebraska at Omaha chemistry class, and students there performed what appears to be the only systematic testing of spices sold in Omaha.

Nikae Perkinson, chemistry instructor, said her students found lead in every sample purchased in Omaha. The levels varied, but the highest levels were found in thyme and basil.

Our exploratory studies found detectable level of lead (Pb) in every spice we tested, regardless of whether they were from a grocery store or a specialty store. Some of the spices we tested were organic, she said.

Students tested 13 different spices, including turmeric, basil, ginger, thyme, curry powder and two supplements  a turmeric supplement and a ginger root supplement, she said. All contained some level of lead.

Perkinson offered these caveats: These were students, not professionals, and the tests were not done in a certified laboratory. To account for that, each sample was tested by three sets of students.

One of the students, Brandon Wallroff, said the results underscore the need to be informed.

Everybody without exception was surprised, Wallroff said. At the very least, people should note there are products in their community that have lead in them.

McCracken advises concerned families to purchase quality spices from major grocery outlets. If shopping at an ethnic grocery, be certain to purchase only spices that have labels and that the labels include language in English.

Lead gets into the spices typically during manufacturing, but it can also come from the environment during cultivation or from cookware during food preparation. In some cases, lead is intentionally added to spices. In the case of turmeric, researchers say some manufacturers will add lead chromate to the spice to give it a brighter yellow or increase the weight and thus profitability.

Anyone can be poisoned by lead, but children under the age of 7 suffer the worst, lifelong effects because their neurological systems are still developing. Federal health officials consider lead poisoning the most preventable environmental disease of young children. In children, lead-poisoning can impair intellectual development and contribute to behavioral problems.

Among adults, the health effects include high blood pressure, distractedness, hearing loss, and gastrointestinal distress.

The issue has been personal for McCracken.

An immigrant herself, McCracken grew up eating heavily spiced foods. She hails from Guyana, a South American country where the largest ethnic group is of Indian descent. Where she once ate curry-type meals a couple of times a week, she now does so about once a month, she said.

She cut back on traditional spices before her children were born and now they havent developed a familiarity and affection for the foods she grew up with.

They really dont like it, its a struggle to get them to try it, she said. Its hard to change your culture and what you eat. It actually made me feel really sad.
ANTWERP, Belgium  Each tiny plastic package was barely the size of a fingernail and weighed all of 0.2 grams. Still, the bags of white powder police seized in a Brussels cellar were yet another indication that a surge in cocaine and crack supply is hitting Europe hard.

And, with it, comes unprecedented drug violence in Belgium and the Netherlands, whose ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam have proven the main gateway for Latin American cocaine cartels into the continent.

In Belgium, the justice minister is forced to live in a safehouse, out of reach of drug gangs. In the Netherlands, killings hit ever more prominent people and there are suspicions that the reason the heir to the Dutch throne had to quit her student life and return home was also linked to threats from drug lords.

We almost have to see it as a war, said Aukje de Vries, the Dutch State Secretary for customs.

Officials in Belgiums northern port of Antwerp on Tuesday announced yet another annual record in cocaine seizures last year: 110 tons, up 23% compared to 2021 and more than twice the amount confiscated five years ago.

It astounded us, said Belgian Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem. It also means the drugs that are entering Europe (undetected) through our ports are also rising. And that, of course, has a huge impact."

In the past three years Antwerp has suffered dozens of grenade attacks, fires and small bombs often linked to gangs trying to carve up the thriving cocaine trade.

On Monday evening, the city better known for painter Peter-Paul Rubens and a famed fashion school saw the fatal shooting of a child, likely an unwitting victim of the drug war.

A girl of barely 11 that obviously has nothing to do with crime gangs is now the victim of narco terror that is turning ever more ruthless, said Antwerp Prosecutor Franky De Keyzer.

The situation in Belgium has become so bad that even Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne is living in hiding after evidence emerged that drug gangs might be seeking to kidnap him, or worse.

In the Netherlands, home to the global port of Rotterdam, murder and intimidation have become increasingly common as drug lords go to extreme lengths to protect their cut of the multibillion dollar market. And 50 tons of cocaine were seized there last year which, combined with Antwerp, made for another record year.

Among high-profile murder victims in the Netherlands in recent years were a lawyer representing a witness in a drug gangsters trial and crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, who was a confidant to the same witness.

Unspecified threats to the heir to the Dutch throne, Princess Amalia, forced her last year to abandon student life in Amsterdam and return home. Security reportedly also has been beefed up around Prime Minister Mark Rutte. In both cases, its suspected that drug-related crime is a factor.

And in places like Brussels, where the violence might be less spectacular, cocaine and crack are starting to have a chilling effect in areas like the Marolles, a neighborhood so quaint it figured in Tintins cartoon adventures.

The chief police inspector for the neighborhood, Kris Verborgh, said South American cocaine seems to be  or seems to have become  the new normal.

Verborgh says the cost of the base product in Colombia amounts to some 500 euros ($536) a kilogram. A kilogram of the finished product can turn into some 70,000 euros on Belgium's streets.

It is a massive amount of money that you can earn relatively easily, he said.

Because of that, seizures in the dozens of tons in Antwerp and Rotterdam may still constitute a losing battle in a multibillion global trade from the Latin American nations of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia to the major cities of Europe.

Brussels' Marolles is hardly ground zero of that trade and many of the 11,000 people living in its warren of narrow streets are among the poorest in the city of 1.2 million.

Yet, over the past months they have been sought out for cocaine and crack sales. Verborgh said each tiny dose of 0.2 gram sells for 20 euros, within reach of even a beggar seeking instant gratification for whom a traditional 0.8 gram dose costing 50 euros is too expensive.

They're really targeting homeless people, said Verborgh. In a cocaine seller's world, it makes economic sense.

Fixers sometimes sell crack ready-made to be smoked on the curbside of once tranquil streets, even in a subway station with families walking by. Gangs start intimidating locals not to squeal, hurl rocks at passing police vans and try to turn streets into no-go zones for police  who Verborgh stresses, are not giving in.

Since mid-October, there have been 115 arrests in the neighborhood. The power of the gangs is such however, that within half an hour a new seller may be on the same corner.
1873: In his inaugural address, Gov. Robert Furnas stressed Nebraska educational needs and urged development of coal and salt interests.

1883: Lincoln police asked the city to buy a patrol wagon. The biggest problem in getting approval seemed to be that few citizens knew what a patrol wagon was.

1893: Authorities were investigating the death of a convict at the penitentiary. He had died while serving a prison disciplinary sentence in solitary confinement.

1903: A.G. Wolfenbarger was cured of the hiccups, but friends still were teasing him about the ailment. They told him it was inexcusable for a leader in the temperance movement to have such an ailment.

1913: The skull of the Nebraska Loess Man was discovered near Omaha. It was considered a great archaeological find; Harvard University scientists were expected to study what appeared to be relics of a primordial race.

1923: Hall County teachers were victimized by a smooth kiter. Bank statements indicated that checks they had given to a magazine salesman were raised $10 each.

1933: Members of the Nebraska House of Representatives listened with little enthusiasm to a resolution introduced by Rep. A.A. Heater of Eustis calling for each representative to cut his salary 10%.

1943: Sen. Fred Mueller of Kearney planned to introduce a bill offering a $10,000 bonus for the first Nebraska synthetic-rubber plant. Conditions for receiving the bonus included a manufacturing process exclusively using Nebraska products and a first-year production of 20 tons.

1953: A committee of Nebraska assessors requested a change in the tax structure. Suggestions included assessment of real property each year instead of alternate years and setting a limit on expenditures of all governmental agencies.

1963: In his inaugural address, Gov. Frank B. Morrison proposed a new state department to promote highway safety, eventual combination of the teachers colleges and the university under a single board of regents, expanded agricultural research, a state motor pool and tax increases on cigarettes, liquor and parimutuel wagering.

1973: Protracted cold brought increasing local fuel shortages; even railroads and bus lines felt the pinch. Schools in several communities were curtailing programs because of cold buildings.

1983: Eight people died as a result of weekend traffic accidents as a winter storm swept across Nebraska.

It was announced that Beatrice Lutheran Hospital, closed since October, would reopen about Feb. 1 as a 40-bed skilled-nursing center, primarily for older patients.

1993: University of Nebraska President Martin Massengale announced his decision not to seek an extension of his contract, saying only that his health was good and that he planned to pursue personal and professional options.

The Lincoln City Council was discussing plans for a proposed shopping center, anchored by Wal-Mart, at 70th Street and Pioneers Boulevard.

2003: Rep. Doug Bereuter introduced legislation in the House to establish an additional permanent federal judgeship in Nebraska. Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Hagels office reported that the senator has received assurances that a fourth judgeship for the state will be included in the U.S. Department of Justice reauthorization bill on the Senate side. Nebraskas criminal caseload per judge ranked ninth in the nation.
RACINE  Gov. Tony Evers was in town on Wednesday for a listening session with community leaders about the programs in place to help those with mental health issues.

The message from the community was that programs are in place, but the needs are substantial and growing, and they could use additional funding for expansion.

Evers said as the state begins the budget process, he wanted to spend some time with community leaders and hear firsthand what the needs are, especially regarding mental health.

He was joined by Rep. Greta Neubauer, the Democratic Assembly Minority Leader, Racine Mayor Cory Mason and County Executive Jonathan Delagrave.

Evers toured the Villa Street COP (Community Oriented Policing) House named for Dr. Thelma Orr, whose oldest child was on hand to speak of her mothers legacy.

Jewel Jones said her mother told her children to venture out and see what is being offered and be sure to participate.

I know she is smiling down on each and every one of you, Jones said. She believed in the COP House and policing. She believed everyone on this earth had a place, but we have to work together.

COP House

Officer Colin Powell is assigned to the Villa Street COP House and was the person who conducted the tour for the governor, outlining some of the programs and activities hosted in connection to the house, which includes monthly neighborhood watch meetings.

An assignment at a COP House lasts three to four years, enough time for the officer to build relationships with those in the neighborhood, which in turn builds trust between the community and police officers.

Its police helping people around here and not necessarily arresting and ticketing everyone, Powell said. Were trying to solve problems instead of showing up, gathering names and information and moving on to the next call.

Powell told the governor that nonprofits donate food, diapers and other necessities, which are handed out to those in need.

Delagrave said there are still more opportunities for the COP Houses, including the potential to expand its purpose for an interdisciplinary team that could include mental health professionals that could have a real impact on the neighborhood.

Maurice Horton, the countys community violence prevention coordinator, worked out of the Thelma Orr COP House for about 10 years doing gang diversion.

There was a time, Horton recalled, when grassroots organizations all worked on their own, competing for funding. Recently, the goal of ending the cycle of violence has taken on a community approach, he told the governor.

At the end, its about family, and building this neighborhood one family at a time, Horton said.

Youth

One thing many in the room spoke of is the need for mental health care for youth.

Nakeyda Haymer, the Violent Crime Reduction coordinator for Racine County, and the state lead for Voices of Black Mothers United, told the governor as it relates to mental health, I think we need an emphasis on youth services.

Tanya Wooden, also of Voices of Black Mothers United, added that the trauma and mental issues that follow acts of violence are a huge concern of hers.

Troy Collier, a community connector with Racine Unified School District, explained that he and his five colleagues work to connect students with resources they might need, acting as a bridge between the school and services. He said they work to establish rapport and build trust, so the students know they have someone to talk to during tough times.

What would help, Collier told the governor, is to have mental health services at every school staffed by professionals in the mental health field. Currently, there are nine school-based mental health clinics as well as a community clinic serving all K-12 families at the Community Pathways Clinic.

Additionally, the city established a grant using ARPA funds that assists families with the large insurance deductibles that are sometimes attached to pursing professional counseling.

In an interview with The Journal Times, Collier said youth are often signaling the issues they are having, but staff do not always have the training to recognize those signals. Either staff need advanced training on this issue, Collier said, or there needs to be people in the building with the training to recognize those signals because young people do not have the skills to communicate their issues.

Additionally, Collier said student punishment for behavior in schools could use a structural overhaul, particularly regarding suspensions.

I dont feel like its an effective way to curb behaviors, Collier said.

A student who is suspended is sent home, but home life is problematic for many students.

If the home is that bad, we cant send them home, we cant do that, Collier said. It would be like sending an alcoholic to the bar. That is where the problem started, where they learned everything.

Collier said students who are acting out need help instead of punishment. They need professionals to help them learn what they have not learned at home, such as how to effectively regulate their emotions. Rather than a suspension, Collier would like to see students with behavioral issues given time with mental health resources.

Much is required of a young person at school, Collier explained, including paying attention in class, completing assignments and being on time. However, students may have experienced challenges before they arrived at school, and those challenges will still be there when they leave school and go home.

There does not appear to be space in the system for a student to say, Im dealing with so much, and I cant get that assignment done, Collier said, adding he would like to see that changed.

It is very, very important for us to understand and place kids in the right setting for success with the right resources, Collier added.
RACINE  Racine students are winning recognition by expressing themselves through art with messages about a dream.

More than two dozen students are being honored for their winning entries in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. art and essay contest. It is the second year that the Racine Unified School District has sponsored the contest allowing students in kindergarten through 12th grade to honor King in their own way.

Mallory Umar, the district's assistant director of curriculum and instruction, said more students participated this year  with a total of 99 entries  and each of them took time to learn about the civil rights leader.

Even some private school students entered the contest, Umar said, and organizers next year hope to involve more private schools and others throughout the county.

"It's bringing people together," she said. "That's what MLK was all about."

The contest coincides with MLK Day on Monday, honoring the slain civil rights leader who would have turned 94 this year. Best known for his "I Have A Dream" speech, King achieved significant advancements in civil rights before he was shot to death at age 39 in 1968.

His birthday became a national holiday in 1983 marked on the third Monday in January.

This year's winning contest entries in Racine were displayed Saturday during an exhibition and celebration event that brought together artists and supporters inside Mahogany Gallery & Artspace, 1422 Washington Ave.

Eduardo and Heidi Perez had twice as much to celebrate, as both of their children from Olympia Brown Elementary School had winning entries in the contest.

First-grader Ian Perez drew a picture of a historic King demonstration site, while his sister, third-grader Isabella Perez, created a sculpture honoring women who were active in the civil rights era.

Heidi Perez, said she and her husband are a mixed-race couple, and they have made a point of teaching their children about the importance of racial equality and justice.

Seeing both children recognized in the art and essay contest had both parents beaming.

"We're so proud," Heidi Perez said. "They worked really hard."

Some teachers joined the celebration to see their students being recognized for their artistic works.

Julia VanOudenhoven, an art teacher at Jefferson Lighthouse Elementary School, said she has been impressed to see her students learn about King and also to find their own way of expressing his significance to them.

VanOudenhoven said three of her students  Jayda Turner, Tiyana Snow and Zara Vallin  skipped recess to stay inside and work on their winning portrait of the civil rights leader.

Some students become so inspired by King and his "I Have A Dream" message, VanOudenhoven said, that they often go home and teach their parents about civil rights.

"They're advocating for themselves and the things that they believe in," she said. "The kids are the biggest change-makers."

Collection: Enjoy some of the winners in the MLK Jr. art contest for 2023 Aaliyah Gates Aarya V. Zore Amelia Jensen Ayana Jackson Desire Siller Elizabeth Paulson Ethan Glenn Famke Adams Ian Perez Isabella Perez Jayda Turner, Tiyana Snow, Zara Vallin Jocelyn Garcia Joselyn Maldonado Keyonah Porter Kjuan Howard Moises Donoso Roman Nasser Simrita Juluri
1. Yes. Having a community member interview panel is an excellent opportunity for input.

2. Yes. Its good that the city will allow residents to meet the finalist at a reception.

3. No. The city should have conducted a public survey early in the process, as KISD is doing.

4. No. Residents should be able to meet candidates before a lone finalist is chosen.

5. Unsure. Its hard to know how to gauge the proper level of public involvement.

Vote

View Results
Emergency personnel work at the site where an apartment building was heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine Jan. 15. Reuters-Yonhap



Ukraine reported a fresh barrage of Russian missiles and civilian deaths Saturday, as Britain became the first Western country to offer it the heavy tanks it has long been seeking.



The British move drew a swift reaction from Moscow which warned it would only "intensify" the conflict.



Moldova meanwhile, said debris from the latest Russian missiles had landed on its territory and condemned the attacks.



Ukraine also insisted Saturday that the fighting in Soledar was continuing, a day after Russia's claim that it had captured the ravaged eastern town following a long battle.



Victory there would be a rare achievement for Moscow after a series of military setbacks.



Ukrainian officials denounced the latest wave of deadly Russia missiles strikes across the country, as the country celebrated the Old New Year, a popular holiday in Ukraine.



At least nine people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed and 64 wounded when an apartment building was hit in the eastern city of Dnipro, Dnipropetrovsk governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on messaging app Telegram.



Seven children were among the wounded, the youngest three years old, he added.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said later: "It's not yet known how many people are under the rubble. Unfortunately, the death toll is growing every hour."



Ukraine presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak called for Russia to be expelled from the UN Security Council.



UK sending first heavy tanks



Earlier Saturday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, the first Western country to supply the heavy tanks Kyiv has been crying out for.



Russia's embassy in the UK swiftly issued a warning that "bringing tanks to the conflict zone, far from drawing the hostilities to a close, will only serve to intensify combat operations, generating more casualties, including among the civilian population".



But in his evening address on Saturday, Zelensky argued that Russian "terror" could only be stopped on the battlefield.



"This can and must be done on our land, in our sky, in our sea," he said.



Moldova, Ukraine's southwestern neighbor, said Saturday it had found missile debris on its territory after the latest Russian strikes.



"Russia's brutal war against Ukraine directly impacts Moldova again," President Maia Sandu tweeted, posting photos of the wreckage.



"We strongly condemn today's intensified attacks."





Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 14. AP-Yonhap
Isnt it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it?

As our new year begins, Im reminded of this quotation from Anne of Green Gables. This 1908 classic by Lucy Maud Montgomery takes place on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Written for all ages, this endearing series recounts the adventures of an 11-year-old orphan girl. Its such a favorite!

A fresh beginning pushes us forward. The Westby public library is energized as we renew and grow! Our dedicated staff is working tirelessly deselecting materials that have become dormant and showcasing new arrivals.

We are embracing the hygge as wellcozy has become our middle name! Come check out our new lamp lighting. Illuminated corners of inviting light create the perfect environment to snuggle up with some juicy reading.

As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our 10 a.m. Wednesday story time gang will read about this peaceful Nobel prize winner who led the Civil Rights Movement. We will be making kids of all colors chains of unity. Come enjoy a clementine orange, organic milk and graham crackers as we join together.

On this same day, Jan. 18, the Bekkum hosts an adult social with award-winning local author Lisa Gammon Olson. The timing of this event is serendipitous as it highlights issues Dr. King addressed before his assassination in 1968. Lisas most recent book, Reach, explores the effects of outside influences on the innocence of unconditional love. The book offers ways to start a conversation to reach towards balancetimely today.

Here are a couple of great kids books highlighting this holiday of social justice: Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr Day with Mrs. Parks Class by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy and Robin Hill School Martin Luther King, Jr. Day written by Margaret McNamara.

People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they dont know each other; they dont know each other because they have not communicated with each other.Martin Luther King, Jr.
HeatherEllen Archer started the new year with one of the biggest gifts she could ever receive: a roof over her head.

Just a few months prior, Heather had been living in a tent at Houska Park.

Now, she spends every day getting her life back on track with her 2-month-old son in their blue and white cottage.

Heather and her son, Jayce, moved into the bungalow in mid-December.

Her cozy home still has a Christmas tree lighting up the living room  courtesy of her landlord, Jessica Olson.

Due to her past experience of homelessness, Heather is considered a high-risk tenant. Many landlords avoid high-risk tenants and use background checks to weed out potential renters who have past evictions, criminal histories or bad credit.

Olson, who works with her family to manage properties around town, is able to comfortably rent to Heather because of a city program called the Landlord Mitigation Program.

Its refreshing to see the city take a positive note towards landlords here and say, Yes, were going to support you, were going to empathize with you. We dont want bad things to happen to you if youre willing to take these risks, Olson said.

The program helps support landlords who want to rent to high-risk tenants by offering payments of up to $5,000 to the landlord if their unit is damaged or arrears in rent or fees were accumulated. The program also includes a social worker component to help the tenant with the transition.

It basically takes the high risk tenants and puts them on an elevated platform to say, Look, I might have made a mistake in my past, I might have done something I shouldnt have in my past rental situation. But if you take a chance on me, Im going to do my best, Olson said.

Went off the deep end

In 2015, Heather had been living a stable life. She was happily married, lived in Virginia with her kids and managed a business with her spouse. But after the death of her son that year, her life flipped upside-down.

Just a couple years later, in 2018, she and her husband decided to separate.

After my marriage fell apart, I couldnt stay there. I was not getting grief therapy. I was not working on my problems. I self-sabotaged to the point where I lost my home, my employment, Heather said. Even though I had worked for years getting away from that childhood stuff, all of those bad habits were waiting for me the minute that I had something like my son passing away, and I just went right off the deep end.

As a child, Heather experienced abuse and other traumas that led to struggles with her mental health, self-sabotaging and coping abilities. After her divorce, she struggled to maintain stable housing, experienced some substance abuse and eventually found her way to Houska Park.

Its ultimately my fault. I should have gone for grief therapy. I should have not isolated myself, she said. But taking that kind of loss, I didnt want to feel better. I didnt want to be loved. And thats sad because I do have other children and a lot of people that care about me.

Heather attributes part of her success today to the Econo Lodge winter shelter situation in 2021. It was the first time in years that people were trying to help her.

When she first entered the Econo Lodge, Heather was experiencing night terrors and suicidal thoughts, and she would physically run away when things got difficult. The social and program workers who managed the hotel during that time noticed Heathers struggles and helped her.

When she wanted to run out at night, they stopped her, not with force but with compassion.

They started being able to relate to what I was struggling with, Heather said. Many of the social workers had experienced homelessness or substance abuse themselves. They just gained my trust and then they worked with me. A lot of them told me their story first and I became friends and family with all of them.

A couple months later, back in Houska Park, Heather  now pregnant with her son  made the decision to take her life back. She recalled a moment when she was at Houska, watching the social workers try to help and listening to her neighbors have the same argument over and over again.

I just finally reached that place where I felt strong enough to say, I cant do this anymore. I cant live like this, I cant breathe like this, and I want to be able to do better, Heather said. I want to be able to make people proud; when I look in the mirror I want to feel better about myself again.

It is the moment where the change happens. But its the hundred little moments before that. It is everybody in my head, changing that inner voice, she said.

Heather applied for Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance and started living at the Norwood Inn, a transitional space, before she found her home. Julie McDermid, a social worker who Heather met while at the Econo Lodge, sponsored her in the Landlord Mitigation Program and helped her find her new home.

That really impressed me, as someone whos really ready to take the huge step of going from living in a tent down by the river to now having a house of their own, its going to feel big, Olson said. Somebody has to be really ready for that step themselves and to have people help them stay on that path. And Heather was ready.

Back on her feet

Heather and Olson are the first pair to utilize the citys Landlord Mitigation Program.

The program has enough funding for up to 10 tenant-landlord pairs. The city received $50,000 of funding for the program from the Johns Flaherty Collins Michael Stoke Memorial, June Kjome Justice & Peace and Community Giving funds of the La Crosse Community Foundation.

The funds only need to be accessed if the landlord experiences damage to the property or unpaid bills. Each landlord is eligible for a payment of up to $5,000.

Brian Sampson, the citys homeless coordinator, worked with a group of landlords, community members and city staff to create the program. It also has a case management program in which a social worker sponsors the tenant and meets with them regularly. Each tenant is eligible to be in the program for two years.

Its got to be a marriage of support. So the landlord takes care of the structure, the physical sticks and bricks, but the case manager needs to take care of the tenant and whats going on in the tenants life. Thats the formula to keep somebody housed long term, Olson said. In the case of Heather, she was a wonderful candidate because she had spent months assembling the support team.

Since Heather and her son are the first tenants, there is room for more people to benefit. Sampson said that he has received interest from both landlords and tenants, but said the city needs to recruit more social workers for the program.

It has potential to be a really good program for our community, Sampson said. Its not going to solve homelessness on its own. Im not even saying its going to be a major piece to the puzzle, but it can be a piece of the puzzle.

Since Heather moved into her new home just about a month ago, she has been going to therapy, support groups and has regular visits from an abundance of program workers who offer her help.

Heather attributes much of her success today to the people of the La Crosse community.

Its not just the city programs. Everybody in this community is playing their part and its actually pretty amazing, she said. I am determined not to let (Olson) down, to not let myself down or let down all of the people that have helped me and really went to bat for me to help me get here.

Throwback from Tribune files: Life in the La Crosse area in the 1950s 1951: La Crosse Central High School 1951: YMCA at Seventh and Main streets 1954: Triangle Cafe 1954: Estell Tall Fashions 1954: Howards Clothes 1954: Crescent Jewelers 1954: Tom's Speedometer Shop 1954: YMCA basketball 1954: 5 and 10-cent Store fire 1955: La Crosse Beauty School 1956: Christmas shoppers in downtown La Crosse 1956: Central High School Memorial Day assembly 1957: Kroger 1957: Jackson Plaza 1957: Old Style newspaper advertisement 1958: 1st National Bank 1958: State Bank of La Crosse 1958: Heat exchanger plant 1958: American Legion parade
Located at 608 11th St. S. in La Crosse, Sienna Hall was built in 1877. It is the best example of French Second Empire architecture in La Crosse, featuring a well-preserved double-pitched mansard roof.

It was built in 1877 by the Diocese of La Crosse to serve as the Bishops House, which it was until 1922. At that time, the Diocese sold it to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration for $15,000. It was converted into a residential facility for 60 nurses who served at St. Francis Hospital. The remodeled facility included a new recreation hall, living room, dining room, parlor, and kitchen.

In 1942, the Franciscan Sisters who taught at Aquinas High School moved into the home and it was renamed St. Catherines Hall. It later housed students attending St. Rose High School and Viterbo College. In 1967, it was renamed Sienna Hall and became a treatment facility for patients.

Anyone with more information about this photo or wishing to donate photos of the Coulee Region may contact the La Crosse Public Library Archives at 608-789-7136 or via email at archives@lacrosselibrary.org.

Throwback from Tribune files: Life in the La Crosse area in the 1950s 1951: La Crosse Central High School 1951: YMCA at Seventh and Main streets 1954: Triangle Cafe 1954: Estell Tall Fashions 1954: Howards Clothes 1954: Crescent Jewelers 1954: Tom's Speedometer Shop 1954: YMCA basketball 1954: 5 and 10-cent Store fire 1955: La Crosse Beauty School 1956: Christmas shoppers in downtown La Crosse 1956: Central High School Memorial Day assembly 1957: Kroger 1957: Jackson Plaza 1957: Old Style newspaper advertisement 1958: 1st National Bank 1958: State Bank of La Crosse 1958: Heat exchanger plant 1958: American Legion parade
WASHINGTON  It's President Joe Biden's refuge from Washington  a place that's part home office, part Sunday family dinner venue, a safe place for his treasured 1967 Corvette and a makeshift campaign studio during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, is coming under fresh scrutiny as a repository of classified material.

The White House confirmed that classified records were found in the garage of the home, as well as an adjacent room that the president later identified as his personal library. The disclosure came days after the White House said similarly classified materials were located at Biden's former institute in Washington. The discoveries, taken together, prompted Attorney General Merrick Garland to tap a special counsel to oversee the matter.

The announcement shines a brighter spotlight on Biden's Wilmington house, where he regularly spends the weekends and where he finds more freedom and a homier atmosphere than at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

"I said when I was running, I wanted to be president  not to live in the White House, but to be able to make the decisions about the future of the country," Biden said in February 2021, just after he took office. Living in the White House, he said, is "a little like a gilded cage in terms of being able to walk outside and do things."

So far in his presidency, Biden has spent part or all of 194 days in his home state of Delaware, spending most weekends either at his Wilmington home or in Rehoboth Beach, where he owns a $2.7 million home, according to an Associated Press tally.

Despite an onslaught of criticism, particularly from Republicans, for regularly escaping to the state, White House officials say the time spent in Wilmington is important for a president who traveled home nightly during the 36 years he served as senator. Biden also can stand up presidential operations at home, where he regularly meets with advisers, and an aide from the National Security Council travels with the president during Wilmington weekends.

"Every president can work from anywhere they are, because that is how presidencies are equipped," former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in February 2022, as Russia began invading Ukraine and Biden was preparing for another weekend in Wilmington. She confirmed that Biden can make secure calls from "anywhere he is, yes."

Biden's custom-built Wilmington home, finished in 1998, is in the tony Greenville section of the town and abuts a lake in a neighborhood where residents are now used to Secret Service vehicles and flashing motorcade lights. It's a brief drive to his home church, St. Joseph on the Brandywine, and a branch of the upscale grocery store Wegman's opened nearby in recent months.

The home is also a culmination of Biden's decadeslong quest to establish the perfect family home and his self-admitted obsession with real estate. Over the years, he would purchase several homes in Delaware and later sell them at a profit.

"Joe has a very symmetrical eye, and if he had a million dollars he wouldn't be traveling, he would be putting it into his house," his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, said in journalist Jules Witcover's biography of the president. The book, "Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption," described him as an "admittedly frustrated architect."

So meaningful is the home to the Bidens that when the former vice president floated the prospect of a second mortgage to pay for his ailing son Beau's expenses, then-President Barack Obama flatly refused "with a force that surprised me," Biden wrote in his 2017 memoir, "Promise Me, Dad."

"I'll give you the money," Obama said, in Biden's retelling. "I have it. You can pay me back whenever."

Jill Biden also has written fondly about the home, describing its sunroom  covered in family mementos, campaign paraphernalia and artwork  as "one of my favorite places in the world."

"The small room overlooks the lake behind our house, and I like to sit with my feet tucked up on the sofa, wrapped in a pashmina, grading papers there from my classes at Northern Virginia Community College, where I've taught English and writing for the last eleven years," she wrote in her memoir, "Where the Light Enters." "It's a room made for homeyness and comfort."

This haven for the Bidens quickly morphed into his de facto campaign headquarters in March 2020, when Americans were suddenly homebound with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and presidential candidates ditched in-person stumping for virtual roundtables and Zoom fundraisers. It allowed for an unusual glimpse into the personal home of the Bidens, as he fielded questions sitting in front of shelves stuffed with books and posted Instagram photos of him and Jill dyeing Easter eggs in their kitchen.

The White House was pressed last week to disclose a visitors' log to Biden's personal home, but it's unclear whether one even exists. Aside from family members and close advisers, there is little public knowledge about who comes in and out of Biden's home, particularly when he is handling presidential business.

Timeline: Key dates in discovery of classified records tied to Biden Jan. 20, 2017 Mid-2017-2019 Jan. 20, 2021 Nov. 2-4, 2022 Nov. 8, 2022 November-December 2022 Nov. 9, 2022 Nov. 14, 2022 Dec. 20, 2022 Dec. 20, 2022: Biden's personal counsel informs Lausch that a second batch of classified documents has been discovered in the garage at Biden's Wilmington home. The FBI goes to Biden's home in Wilmington and secures the documents. Jan. 5, 2023 Jan. 9, 2023 Jan. 10-11: 2023 Jan. 12-14, 2023 Jan. 19, 2023 Jan. 20-21, 2023 Feb. 1, 2023
ANCHORAGE, Alaska  After tidal surges and high winds from the remnants of a rare typhoon caused extensive damage to homes along Alaska's western coast in September, the U.S. government stepped in to help residents  largely Alaska Natives  repair property damage.

Residents who opened Federal Emergency Management Agency paperwork expecting to find instructions on how to file for aid in Alaska Native languages like Yup'ik or Inupiaq instead were reading bizarre phrases.

"Tomorrow he will go hunting very early, and will (bring) nothing," read one passage. The translator randomly added the word "Alaska" in the middle of the sentence.

"Your husband is a polar bear, skinny," another said.

Yet another was written entirely in Inuktitut, an Indigenous language spoken in northern Canada far from Alaska.

FEMA fired the California company hired to translate the documents once the errors became known, but the incident was an ugly reminder for Alaska Natives of the suppression of their culture and languages from decades past.

FEMA immediately took responsibility for the translation errors and corrected them, and the agency is working to make sure it doesn't happen again, spokesperson Jaclyn Rothenberg said. No one was denied aid because of the errors.

That's not good enough for one Alaska Native leader.

For Tara Sweeney, an Inupiaq who served as an assistant secretary of Indian Affairs in the U.S. Interior Department during the Trump administration, this was another painful reminder of steps taken to prevent Alaska Native children from speaking Indigenous languages.

"When my mother was beaten for speaking her language in school, like so many hundreds, thousands of Alaska Natives, to then have the federal government distributing literature representing that it is an Alaska Native language, I can't even describe the emotion behind that sort of symbolism," Sweeney said.

Sweeney called for a congressional oversight hearing to uncover how long and widespread the practice has been used by the government.

"These government contracting translators have certainly taken advantage of the system, and they have had a profound impact, in my opinion, on vulnerable communities," said Sweeney, whose great-grandfather, Roy Ahmaogak, invented the Inupiaq alphabet more than a half-century ago.

She said his intention was to create the characters so "our people would learn to read and write to transition from an oral history to a more tangible written history."

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, who is Yup'ik and last year became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, said it was disappointing FEMA missed the mark with the translations but didn't call for hearings. "I am confident FEMA will continue to make the necessary changes to be ready the next time they are called to serve our citizens," the Democrat said.

About 1,300 people have been approved for FEMA assistance after the remnants of Typhoon Merbok created havoc as it traveled about 1,000 miles north through the Bering Strait, potentially affecting 21,000 residents. FEMA paid out about $6.5 million, Rothenberg said.

Preliminary estimates put overall damage at just over $28 million, but the total is likely to rise after more assessment work is done after the spring thaw, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

While English may not be the preferred language for some residents, many are bilingual and can struggle through an English version, said Gary Holton, a University of Hawaii at Manoa linguistics professor and former director of the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Central Alaskan Yup'ik is the largest of the Alaska Native languages, with about 10,000 speakers in 68 villages across southwest Alaska. Children learn Yup'ik as their first language in 17 of those villages. There are about 3,000 Inupiaq speakers across northern Alaska, according to the language center.

It appears the words and phrases used in the translated documents were taken from Nikolai Vakhtin's 2011 edition of "Yupik Eskimo Texts from the 1940s," said John DiCandeloro, the language center's archivist.

The book is the written record of field notes collected on Russia's Chukotka Peninsula across the Bering Strait from Alaska in the 1940s by Ekaterina Rubtsova, who interviewed residents about their daily life and culture for a historical account. The works were later translated and made available on the language center's website.

Holton, who has about three decades of experience in Alaska Native language documentation and revitalization, searched the online archive and found "hit after hit," words pulled out of the Russian work and randomly placed into FEMA documents.

"We make no excuses for erroneous translations, and we deeply regret any inconvenience this has caused to the local community," Caroline Lee, the CEO of Accent on Languages, the Berkeley, California-based company that produced the mistranslated documents, said in a statement.

She said the company will refund FEMA the $5,116 it received for the work and conduct an internal review to ensure it doesn't happen again.

How the flood risk has changed in your state, according to FEMA How the flood risk has changed in your state, according to FEMA Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
In last Sundays Tribune, the Strausses provided an excellent critique of John Rosemond. Although Rosemond has a wide following, he also has been the target of legitimate criticism during his career. At times, he has strayed from fundamental mainstream psychological and medical science, and promoted controversial ideas that potentially have had adverse impact on his readership.

When a highly visible influencer uses his persuasive skills to deter individuals from seeking potentially beneficial care, this is not only wrong, but also harmful to the well being of many.

The controversy over the link between childhood vaccinations and autism is another example of how false information can detrimentally affect community health. In 1998, a British physician, Andrew Wakefield, published research suggesting such a causative link. This belief unfortunately led to a marked decline in childhood vaccinations and a surge in measles cases in different parts of the world. Years later, this conclusion was proven false and we learned that Wakefield falsified the data in his study.

If it is fair to criticize these high profile influencers, is it also fair to criticize the platforms that give voice to their misinformation? Whether the platform be social media, broadcast journalism, print journalism and even local newspapers, they too must bear responsibility for providing a stage that spreads dubious health information. I believe that the La Crosse Tribune is capable of putting profits aside, and prioritizing the necessity of hosting columnists who have standards that best serve the interests of the community.

Harvey Weinberg
Gov. Tony Evers, together with Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) CEO and Executive Director Elmer Moore Jr., announced Dec. 27 that 54 organizations will receive $2 million in grants from the WHEDA Foundation to provide emergency shelter, transitional residences, and extremely low-income housing.

Ensuring individuals have safe housing is essential to the health, wellness, and success of our kids and families, workers, and communities, said Evers. Everywhere we go, we hear about the need for reliable, affordable housing, and WHEDA and our states nonprofit housing partners have been critical to advancing this important work, especially for Wisconsinites who might need additional support. I was proud to provide additional support for these grants so we can continue to work together to create housing opportunities that help families and communities thrive.

Receiving grant funding locally was the Walworth County Housing Authority in Elkhorn, which received a $20,000 award.

This year, the Foundations annual Housing Grant Program is funded by $1 million from WHEDA reserves and an additional $1 million that was provided by Evers using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. WHEDA received 94 applications requesting more than $3.6 million through the housing grant process this year, an indication of the high demand and need in Wisconsin. According to WHEDA, this years $2 million in grants will create or improve 1,764 beds and housing units across the state. The investments at the community level also support economic recovery by creating valued construction jobs.

As it has for the last 38 years, the WHEDA Foundation Housing Grant Program expands the supply of safe, affordable housing for people facing housing instability, Moore said. We are thankful to the governor for providing the resources to fund 20 additional applications and add 899 more beds than last year.

Providers in 29 counties received awards ranging from $2,500 to $50,000, the maximum award available. Notably, applications were submitted by two Tribal Nations, the Bad River Housing Authority and the Lac Court Oreilles Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. Both Nations received awards.

Administered by WHEDA, the WHEDA Foundation grants improve housing for community members with complex needs, including individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people experiencing intimate partner violence, individuals with incomes at or below 30 percent of the area median income, youth experiencing homelessness, and people with mental and behavioral health conditions.

Including this year, the WHEDA Foundation has issued 1,286 awards totaling nearly $29 million to housing providers across the state since 1985. Established by WHEDA in 1983, the Foundation is responsible for receiving and administering housing grant funds on behalf of WHEDA. Grants are awarded in one of two categories: emergency/transitional housing or permanent housing.

Organizations receiving the grants include nonprofit agencies, local governments, and Tribal authorities serving low-income or disadvantaged populations, including individuals experiencing homelessness, runaways, youth in out-of-home placement, individuals struggling with substance use disorder, people in need of protective services, aging and older residents, and people living with HIV, among others.

Close Side of the Riviera Facing the Riviera from Geneva Lake Geneva Lake with sunset Geneva Lake on Riviera Beach Another view from Riviera Beach Photos of frozen Geneva Lake Photos of Geneva Lake frozen Side of the Riviera Facing the Riviera from Geneva Lake Geneva Lake with sunset Geneva Lake on Riviera Beach Another view from Riviera Beach
A proposed joint Buona Beef restaurant and Rainbow Cone Ice Cream Shop development has received final approval in the City of Lake Geneva; however, city officials want the state to review the traffic flow plan for the project.

Members of the Lake Geneva City Council unanimously approved both a general development plan and a precise implementation plan, Dec. 27, to allow for renovations and a drive-thru food service window to be completed at 393 N. Edwards Blvd., so the proposed joint Buona Beef restaurant and Rainbow Cone Ice Cream Shop could be established at that location.

The plan commission unanimously recommended both plans, Dec. 19.

Representatives from Buona Restaurants in Berwyn, Illinois plan to establish the Italian beef restaurant and ice cream shop at the North Edwards Boulevard site, which previously was the location for Cuoco Pazzo Eatz & Drinkz and Red Geranium Restaurant.

As part of the project, representatives from Buona Restaurants plan to renovate the eastern portion of the building for the Rainbow Cone Ice Cream Shop and to demolish the western portion of the building and construct a new addition for the Buona Beef restaurant.

City officials have expressed excitement for the project but also concerns about potential increased traffic that would be caused by the development.

Buona Restaurants representatives have revised initial plans for the project to include a three-point access area to the development which includes an inbound lane, a designated left-hand turn outbound lane and a designated right-hand outbound lane to help reduce the number of vehicles waiting to exit the restaurant.

The city council members approved an amendment to the general development plan to have representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation review and approve the traffic flow plan for the development.

Alderwoman Mary Jo Fesenmaier proposed the amendment, which was approved by a 5-2 vote with aldermen Ken Howell and John Halverson voting "no."

"I just think it would be nice to have outside eyes on it to make sure we're not missing any recommendations," Fesenmaier said. "Because otherwise the city, down the road, will have to bear the onus of trying to figure out the traffic flow and this is the point to make sure we have it the best that it can be."

Fesenmaier said she is concerned about possible increased traffic to that area because of the drive-thru restaurants.

"Just the addition of this kind of restaurant would cause even more traffic than the kind of restaurant that was there before," Fesenmaier said. "With the sit down, obviously the turn over of vehicles isn't as great as with this kind of restaurant, then you add in the drive-thru. So it will still have a significant impact."

Neal Styka, project engineer for Kapur & Associates, said he has reviewed the traffic study that was conducted of that area during the summer, and he does not feel the restaurants would affect traffic in that area too much.

"From the study so far, from what we've seen, it's not going to have a negative impact to the point of intersection failure," Styka said. "The changes are consistent with this type of a restaurant. We have that dedicated southbound, left-turn lane on Edwards Boulevard, allowing for easy access into the restaurant. Giving all these things, I believe the report is thorough and shows there's not going to be significant impacts."

Naomi Rauch, project engineer for Kapur & Associates, said that area of Edwards Boulevard is located within Lake Geneva's city limits and is not in the jurisdiction of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

"This part of Edwards Boulevard is within the city," Rauch said. "It's outside of Wisconsin DOT intersection and jurisdiction."

Buona Beef restaurants feature Italian beef sandwiches, burgers, hotdogs, pizza, pasta, chicken, soups and salads.

Rainbow Cone Ice Cream Shops offer ice cream cones, shakes, sundaes, doughnuts and ice cream cakes.
Returning home along a snow-lined road last month, 73-year-old Mary Frahm had just dropped off her son for work when her car started acting bizarrely  the dashboard lights were flashing, the windshield wipers started up on their own, the speedometer was "going crazy" and the vehicle was losing power.

After pulling over on Highway AB in the town of Dunn, the McFarland resident phoned her fiance to report that her 2009 Dodge Journey was "acting up" again, an occasional electrical problem with the vehicle she'd owned the past four years. This time, though, she couldn't unlock the doors, even with her key fob, and the windows wouldn't roll down, according to a Dane County sheriff's report.

En route to help her, Frahm's fiance got another call from Frahm, this one more urgent. Smoke was now seeping out of the dashboard, and she could smell burning, the report stated.

He told her to call 911, which she did. But before first responders had arrived at the scene, flames had engulfed the vehicle, with Frahm still locked inside.

The Dane County medical examiner declared Frahm dead at the scene but has not released a cause of death in the Dec. 9 incident.

Frahm "babied" her car, including staying on top of its standard maintenance, her fiance told a sheriff's officer on the scene.

An investigation revealed that the vehicle had a Totally Integrated Power Module, or TIPM, a part installed in some older Chrysler vehicles that has been in the crosshairs of an auto safety group and litigation but deemed safe by federal authorities.

A sort of command center for a vehicle's electrical system, TIPMs can sometimes go on the blink, causing windshield wipers and windows to malfunction or forcing a vehicle to shut down altogether, according to a class-action lawsuit against Chrysler.

In 2009, Chrysler recalled nearly 17,000 Dodge Journeys from that year over concerns that parts of the TIPM could "become contaminated, potentially causing the connector to melt and/or catch fire."

But Frahm's vehicle was not subject to that recall or any other, according to a search of her vehicle identification number.

To avoid compromising any possible civil legal proceedings, Dane County Sheriff's Detective William Hendrickson said he did not move or touch any vehicle parts in an attempt to find a cause of the fire, according to the sheriff's report. He said his investigation revealed that the vehicle had a TIPM, which had a documented history of possibly shorting out or causing some sort of an electrical or mechanical abnormality with the vehicles.

Hendrickson said in the report that witness statements, the vehicle condition and comments from Frahm before her death certainly suggested some sort of issue with the vehicle and not the involvement of a third party.

Eric Mayne, a spokesperson for Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, said the company was not aware of other incidents similar to what happened to Frahm.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Ms. Frahm," Mayne said. "We were unaware of this tragic event."

'A groundbreaker'

Frahm was well known to the area's autism and cognitive disability community. Her son, who is now in his 50s, has Down syndrome.

At the time of his birth, those with Down syndrome often didn't live past childhood, but Frahm was resolute that "this isn't going to happen to my son," her sister Jill Raschein said.

"Mary was really a groundbreaker for Down syndrome in the Madison area," Raschein said.

For decades, Frahm spent much of her time working with community organizations. Beyond the Special Olympics, she helped secure funding for a Gigi's Playhouse location in Madison and volunteered for the Shared Table Community Meal at McFarland Lutheran Church.

Frahm's family has hired a lawyer and experts to look into what happened to her car that day.

Eric Haag, the family's attorney, said the results of the investigation will determine whether the family has a lawsuit to bring against the vehicle manufacturer.

"Obviously, cars aren't supposed to catch on fire, and they're not supposed to exhibit the kinds of whacko behavior that's described in the report," Haag said.

Lawsuit settled

TIPMs in other Chrysler vehicles got the auto manufacturer hit with a class-action lawsuit in 2014 alleging that the car company misled vehicle owners about defects in the power system. The lawsuit was settled after Chrysler recalled Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles from 2011 to 2013.

According to court records, alleged TIPM defects in some 2011 and 2012 Jeep and Dodge models included vehicles stalling in traffic, and headlights and windshield wipers activating on their own.

The Center for Auto Safety, a consumer advocacy group, saw a more-pervasive issue with TIPMs at the time, and in 2014 petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall Chrysler SUVs, trucks and vans from 2007 to 2014. TIPM issues with other Chrysler vehicles included lights, windshield wipers and windows activating and doors locking on their own.

"These owners remain at the mercy of a defect which many have likened to the vehicle being possessed and uncontrollable," the center said in its petition.

About 4.7 million vehicles, including about 157,000 2009 Dodge Journeys, had a TIPM-7, the part subject to the class-action suit.

In addition, the center unsuccessfully tried to unseal documents from the class-action suit against Chrysler.

Agency's finding

The NHTSA ultimately found that a further probe of TIPMs was "not warranted" and that allegations of TIPMs causing airbag non-deployment, unintended acceleration or fire were "wholly without merit based on review of the field data and design of the relevant systems and components."

The specific issue with TIPMs stemming from the class-action suit impacted only 11% of the 4.7 million vehicles with TIPM-7s and "has been addressed by safety recalls," the NHTSA said.

In an interview, Michael Brooks, the Center for Auto Safety's executive director, said that during the group's battles over TIPMs, the center never found a case like Frahm's. He called her incident something "inevitable that we thought would happen."

"It's harder to track fires and fatalities that occur if they're not collision-related," Brooks said, noting that fires rarely prevent electrical systems from being able to open a vehicle's doors.

A lack of federal standards on the quality of electronics that go into vehicles makes it harder to regulate the auto industry, Brooks said, particularly at a time when vehicle software and electronics are becoming ubiquitous.

Search for recalls Drivers can search if their vehicle has been recalled by entering their vehicle identification number (VIN) at vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin.
Dear W.C.,

This past year has been very difficult. I am a senior woman who lost my only son in a car accident last February and my 81-year-old husband in March due to a heart attack. I am convinced he died of a broken heart as our grief was so great. I did not have the funds to pay for both funerals and I was so distraught I took out a second mortgage on my house. I know now that it was the wrong thing to do. My husband had always told me to never take a second mortgage out on the house and now I know why. Now I am unable to pay my property taxes and I will lose my house if they are not paid. It has been a downward spiral all year for me. I am praying you can help me with the property taxes as I have no where else to go and no family to turn to.

Dear Readers,

I contacted the distraught senior woman to talk about all she had been going through this past year. I hoped we would be able to help her start the new year without the additional stress she was enduring due to the fear of losing her home.

After our introductions the woman quickly opened up about the painful year she had endured and the loss of her son and husband. Her grief was still sharp and fresh. I could easily see how she would have not been in the best state of mind when she had decided to take out a second mortgage. She admitted she had not thought it through completely, but at the time it had seemed like the only way she could pay for two funerals, a new furnace she had to purchase last winter, and several other needed home repairs.

We discussed the womans home that she had shared with her husband for 40 years. It was a small older home, but it was her home. I explained to her to try and calm her fears that they do not foreclose on your home for nonpayment of property taxes for only one year, it takes four years of nonpayment. The senior woman began to cry, saying, I didnt listen to my husband and got the second mortgage. It continues to haunt me. I am unable to sleep with these unpaid property taxes. The property taxes were very reasonable for this small house so I felt paying her property taxes would be the best way to ease the senior womans fears.

I went over the senior womans budget and found she would be able to make the loan payments and other bills going forward with our assistance in paying her property taxes. This alone made a big improvement in her budget.

The sweet woman cried fresh tears of relief as I went over the plan I put together. She said, I had asked for help with my property taxes, but I never truly believed you would be able to help me with that. I have not felt this relief from stress and worry in a long time.

It is such a relief for this senior woman to begin the new year without the additional stress and worry that only enhanced her grief. Thanks to our assistance she will be able to pay her bills going forward and with my encouragement she has even made a commitment to return to volunteering like she did before the loss of her family. She also would be joining a grief support group to help her continue her journey to healing. We ended our call with a prayer for healing and thanks for all of You who make our good works possible.

We are blessed and happy to announce we have successfully matched the $50,000 Give a Hand Up Christmas Matching Grant. We are busy using these funds to provide desperately needed poverty relief to many people in our communities. We will soon share with you where every penny is being spent to provide food, rent assistance, utility assistance, toiletries, household necessities, car repairs and much more to remove the pains of poverty. Thank you and God Bless you for making this matching grant a success!

Health & Happiness, Love & GOD Bless Everyone, Sal

Please Help: There are many coming to us in desperation. Our good fellow creations need our compassion. Together we make a big difference. Make checks payable to: The Time Is Now to Help, P.O. Box 1, Lake Geneva, WI 53147. The Time Is Now to Help is a federally recognized 5013 charitable organization. You will receive a tax deductible, itemized thank you receipt showing how 100% of your donation was used for providing poverty relief. Please visit our website for more information, to read more of our past and current columns and/or to make a donation: www.timeisnowtohelp.org.

A Very Special Thank You: The Clarence W. and Marilyn Schawk Donor Fund, Jeff Martin, Wayne and Beverly Hilbelink, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schuberth, Kunes Country Auto Group, Martin Group, John Stensland and family, Paper Dolls, Paul Ziegler, Ziegler Charitable Foundation, John and Valerie Lincoln, Timothy Bagby, Ruby Recknagel, Robert and Rita OBrien, John and Darlene Milne, Steven and Deidred Trumble, Edward Hechmann, Susan Gatziolis, Doris Kushch, Colleen Heffernan, Jay and Karin Hiller, Joseph and Sharon Symoens, Glenn and Diane Lemanczyk, Fairwyn SB and the Symphony Bay Team, Mary McCarthy, Michael and Barbo Olijnek, Douglas and Jean Chase, Heidi Salas, the Lenchard Warren Family, Kurt Blechner, Roger Seymour, Robert and Vienna Pasche, Michol Ann Ford, Joyce Francis, Aileen Hodges, Charlene Gorden, Patricia Jankowski, Scot and Shari Karasek, Mark and Laurie Manchester, G. and D. Stelter, Kevin and Marilyn Murphy, Gregory and Monica Prairie, Bernice Vongunten, Jerome and Peggy Serwa, Leland and Linda Swenson, David and Dorothy Meisenheimer, Robert and Shelly Hecht, George and Nadine Kelm, William Reisner, William and Ruth Rorig, James McConnell, Roy and Vickie Terracina, Robert and Patricia Davis, Carol Hinners, all of our anonymous donors and ALL of you who support The Time Is Now to Help donation boxes. Anyone who would like a Time Is Now donation box in your business, please call (262) 249-7000.

Memorials: Michelle Bultman in memory of William Mangold. Robert and Mary Ann Zelenski in memory of Ralph Heck. Peggy Cardiff in memory of Dot Cardiff and Marty Hansen. Dolores Piotrowski in memory of her beloved parents Gene and Lottie Piotrowski and her best friend M. Dee Valentine.

Honoraries: Judith Vande Sande in honor of good friends Myrtle and Mark Lovrine. Robert Anderlick in honor of his moms birthday. Carla and John Olson Gift Fund in honor of the Livingston and Olson families.

Prayer Chain: The power of prayer and positive thoughts comes from the true healer, our Lord answering our prayers. Please pray for healing for the following people: Brian, Talyn, Mike, Sylvia, Megan, Kayla, Maria C., Deda Lee, Betty, Scott, Annie, Marilyn, Brandon, Helen, Dennis, Mary, Joseph, Jordan, Jean, Tom L., Dr. Peter, Alyce, Matthew, Pam E., Jenene B., John S., Patricia H., Darlene, Ron K., Marian K., Judy, Wendy, Eric, Anthony, Mary, Charlie, Tom P., Christina, Billy, Mike, Cheryl, and Ellie.
EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SUNDAY JANUARY 15, 2023

Schiller Conference Honors Martin Luther King, Seeks To Dismantle International Assassination Bureau

Jan. 14, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)Sponsored by the Schiller Institute, an online conference titled Resurrect the True Mission of JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr.: Stop NATOs World War and Dismantle the International Assassination Bureau,  presented different facets of the process beginning in the 19th century and reaching a crescendo of violence following the end of the Second World War. An international oligarchy, faced by a threat to its power, posed by the rise of actual and potential sovereign states, implemented a strategy of tension to intimidate political leaders around the world into submission.

The conference opened with a short excerpt from Lyndon LaRouches address on Jan. 19. 2004, in Talladega, Alabama, on the immortality of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Then a concise, powerful summary of the current strategic picture was given by Harley Schlanger, Vice President of the Schiller Institute U.S.A. and former national spokesman for Lyndon LaRouche, which set the stage for the next four hours of speeches and discussion. Schlanger warned that we are up against an Anglo-American approach of foreign policy through warfare. What followed was an in-depth look at the mechanisms which have been used to suppress political leaders and movements who offered an alternative to this benighted policy.

This process was analyzed from different perspectives, going back to the 19th century. Dr. Clifford A. Kiracofe, president of the Washington Institute for Peace and Development and former senior professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, described the emergence during that period of the Synarchist movement, Synarchism being self-defined as the antithesis to anarchism. He characterized it as an international brotherhood of financiers and industrialists, an overworld that placed itself above sovereign nation states, but collaborated with the underworld of organized crime. This tendency favored a controlled society as depicted in George Orwells 1984, and was central to the intellectual networks which spawned fascism. Following World War II, these networks reorganized themselves, and their heirs will be meeting next week at the annual World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, which Kiracofe called a consensus-building mechanism for the global elites. As Schlanger pointed out during the discussion period, these networks played a key role in shaping the Anglo-American intelligence services after the war.

The disparate elements of these supranational elites, confronted by the twin dangers of Third World anti-colonial movements and national leaders who tried to assert their nations sovereignty, collaborated to form an assassination bureau. As Schiller Institute founder and Chairwoman Helga Zepp-LaRouche observed, what followed has been called a strategy of tension intended to inject fear into political leaders, so that they would not entertain the idea of a departure from the City of London-Wall Street-dominated system.

A wave of assassinations took place, beginning in the 1960s with the assassination in 1961 of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Lumumbas importance was developed by journalist Norbert Mbu-Mputu from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, author of LAutre Lumumba. Peuple du Congo: Histoire, resistances, assassinats et victoire sur le front de la Guerre froide. He referenced other African leaders who became targets, including Kwame Nkrumah, Laurent Kabila, and Thomas Sankara. During the discussion period, Schlanger added the name of Muammar Qaddafi to that list.

The murder of Lumumba was followed in 1962 by the assassination of Italian leader Enrico Mattei, founder and administrator of state-owned ENI, the National Hydrocarbon Authority (Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi). Italian EIR journalist Claudio Celani reviewed the recent evidence that Matteis death in a plane crash was an assassination, contrary to the initial state finding, and described the motives: Mattei had undermined the dominance of the Seven Sisters oil cartel, and had offered actual development aid to the oil-producing nations of West Asia and North Africa, in addition to more favorable terms (a 25%-75% profit-sharing arrangement, as opposed to the 50%-50% deals proffered by the Seven Sisters). Celani went on to analyze other episodes of the strategy of tension in Italy, such as the Red Brigades kidnap/murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978.

One year after the assassination of Enrico Mattei came the assassination of American President John F. Kennedy, followed by the assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy. LaRouche Organization leader Dennis Speed took a thorough look at these events. (The JFK assassination has been in the news recently due to Bidens decision to declassify some of the relevant documents as required by law, but to continue to hold back others.) Speed reviewed some of what is known about the various components of the assassination bureau, including the role of Clay Shaw and Permindex (Permanent Industrial Expositions), and the recent addition to this apparatus, the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD). The last prepared a notorious online hitlist, a large plurality of whose names are either Schiller Institute leaders or have addressed its events, including several among todays conference speakers.

Speed also developed the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose national holiday we celebrate this weekend. He played excerpts of Lyndon LaRouches 2004 Martin Luther King Day address in Talladega, Alabama, in which LaRouche described King as a man of God, who deliberately accepted the full implications of that dangerous role.

Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst, whistleblower and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), added additional insights regarding King and other Civil Rights Movement leaders, notably James Lawson. He quoted Fannie Lou Hamer saying, Sometimes it seems like to tell the truth today is to run the risk of being killed. But if I fall, Ill fall five feet, four inches forward in the fight for freedom.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche presented an intensive analysis of the strategy of tension, employing the examples in Germany of the assassinations of Deutsche Bank chairman Alfred Herrhausen and Treuhand administrator Detlev Rohwedder, in 1989 and 1991 respectively. Both were in positions of responsibility for economic policy during the German reunification. She said that these killings created a climate of fear in Germany, which explains why German leaders today embrace a war policy that runs so directly counter to the interests of their nation. She reported that Col. L. Fletcher Proutythe former Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Kennedy (and the real-life Mr. X in Oliver Stones JFK movie)had told representatives of the LaRouche organization that Herrhausen was killed because he would present an alternative pathway to the one desired by the Anglo-American elites for the post-Soviet world, and that his killing was as important as the assassination of JFK. She said that Herrhausens growing support for Third World debt relief was the cardinal sin which would cost him his life, and his death sent a message to then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl: Dont dare to go for a sovereign program.

Radio talk show host and political analyst Garland Nixon added his insights, describing how, following the Second World War, the U.S.S.R. asserted its dominion over the nations of Eastern Europe through the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon). NATO did the same thing, but needed the illusion of national independence, sovereignty and democracy. The Ukraine war has dispelled this illusion, has lifted the veil. The trans-Atlantic elites take a view of the citizenry that is no different than the way Prince Harry viewed his Afghan victims, through the sights of his helicopter gunshipthey are not regarded as human. These elites feel now that they must stifle dissent in the media and the social media; but this is a basis for optimism, because it demonstrates that they are afraid. The U.S. empire is at war with modernity, Nixon said. Its like whack-a-mole.... The U.S. is also at war with itself.

Jacques Cheminade, a close associate of Lyndon and Helga LaRouche in France going back to the 1970s, and three-time former French presidential candidate on the Solidarite et Progres ticket, conducted a sweeping review of the oligarchys attempts to manage the postwar world. He examined the theory that the 1960 summit conference in Paris between the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France was intentionally sabotaged by the intelligence agencies, which may have leaked information to the Soviets that enabled them to detect and shoot down the U-2 high-altitude surveillance aircraft. He said that these intelligence services functioned as an integral component of the military industrial complex (MIC), about which President Dwight Eisenhower had warned in his farewell address. (Ray McGovern has subsequently expanded the initials into MICIMATT, for military industrial, congressional intelligence, media, academia, think tank complex.) Summarizing the significance of the many postwar political assassinations, Cheminade said that the trail of murders was obviously not a coincidence, but an action against the principle of nation-states. He described the abortive attempts on the life of French President Charles de Gaulle by the OAS (Secret Army Organization), another tentacle of the assassination bureau. Cheminade concluded by saying that de Gaulle and Kennedy, despite their flaws, were giants, compared to our present-day heads of state.

Well-known political consultant, campaign advisor and Trump confidant Roger Stone offered his own observations on a wide spectrum of topics, including the revelation in Politico of a taped conversation between President Richard Nixon and then-CIA Director Richard Helms, in which Nixon attempts to gain leverage during the Watergate scandal by threatening to reveal who had actually killed John Kennedy. According to Stone, several of the Watergate burglars were still on the CIA payroll, and some had been present at Daley Plaza at the time of the JFK assassination.

During the open discussion section, the significance of the assassination bureau was summarized in a variety of ways. Claudio Celani said that there is a red line that goes between cases of Mattei, Moro, King, JFK and others: these figures all had a policy in conflict with the oligarchy. Helga Zepp-LaRouche said that the assassinations were intended to create an aura of terror.... If you assassinate a few people, then maybe the others will be afraid and behave. Clifford Kiracofe added that the objective of the globalists is to prevent the U.S. from having good relations with Russia and China.

Many questions were raised by those watching over the internet. One question of particular interest was whether there was a connection between the recent assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the subsequent announcement of Japans remilitarization.

At the close of the conference, Helga Zepp-LaRouche elevated the proceedings by referring to the ideas of the Schiller Institutes namesake, Friedrich Schiller. She said that our opponents, the oligarchs and racists, are like the crippled plants in Schillers metaphor, because they are emotionally undeveloped. True happiness comes not from having billions of dollars, caviar and Porsches, but from creativity, from love, from contributing something to humanityWhat you hate, you lose, what you love, you gain.
For working parents with young children, it seems like the rest of the world has moved on from the pandemic.

But COVID-19 and other illnesses continue to cause disruptions in childcare. Such disruptions have severely affected these families' lives.

Kathryn Anne Edwards has a 3-year-old son who goes to daycare. He has missed 47 days of childcare in the past year.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), COVID-19 and two outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease struck one after another. The illnesses were so disruptive that Edwards quit her full-time job. She now does independent contract work, which makes it easier to care for her son and her 4-month-old daughter when childcare is not available.

The rest of the world has moved on from the crisis that Im still in, said Edwards. Thats sometimes how it feels like to me.

In the first and second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantines and isolations were common for many Americans. The arrival of vaccines for younger children and the end of quarantine requirements for COVID exposure were supposed to bring relief.

Instead, families have faced what some call a tripledemic. Childrens hospitals are filled up with patients with flu, COVID-19 and RSV. The diseases are now threatening the already stressed childcare system. It is also forcing parents to miss a lot of work.

A record-high 104,000 people missed work in October because of childcare problems, passing even early pandemic levels, federal data shows.

Missing work has hurt many parents finances. Most of those who missed work in October because of childcare problems did not get paid. That information comes from the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Now, doctors are preparing for the number of sick children to rise after families gathered for the holidays.

Illnesses among teachers and children have put pressure on a childcare system that is already short on workers.

This is the worst year Ive ever seen in my entire life, said Shaunna Baillargeon. She is owner of Muddy Puddles Early Learning Program in Massachusetts. She faces a constant battle of staff and children being sick with a different virus every day. There is often not even a substitute teacher available if the classroom teacher calls in sick, she added.

Jana Williams teaches at a day care center in Washington, D.C. She said illnesses have caused classroom shutdowns almost weekly since October. Her 19-month-old daughter also attends the day care and has been sick with the same viruses.

You want to stay home and care for your child, Williams said. But then its like, you have to get to work.

At the pandemics peak, more than one-third of day care jobs were lost, Edwards said. Hiring has not fully recovered. As of November, the country had 8 percent fewer childcare workers than before the pandemic, federal data shows.

The current strong labor market has driven up the cost to hire new workers. That means childcare centers often cost a lot of money and openings are hard to find. And centers with openings may close when workers or kids are sick.

Disruptions due to illness can affect even very young children. Parents who are worried about their job or money can cause stress for a baby. This stress can in turn cause sleep, stomach and socialization problems, said Dr. Sherri Alderman. She is a developmental-behavioral doctor for children.

The continued crisis for young families causes parents to feel lonely, especially as other Americans lives have returned to normal, said Lauren Hipp. She is with MomsRising, an advocacy group.

I feel pretty angry about it, said Hipp, a mother of three. To feel like society has passed you by is a really difficult and lonely feeling.

Im Dan Novak.

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press.

Quiz- Child Care Disruptions Continue With Tripledemic Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

disruption  n. to cause to be unable to continue in the normal way

quarantine  n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading

isolation  n. the state of being in a place or situation that is separate from others

exposure  n. the fact or condition of being affected by something or experiencing something

relief  n. a pleasant and relaxed feeling that someone has when something unpleasant stops or does not happen

constant  adj. happening all the time or very often over a period of time

staff  n. a group of people who work for an organization or business

advocacy  n. the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal

society  n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values
NASAs James Webb Space Telescope has made its first confirmation of an exoplanet. An exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star outside our solar system.

The American space agency says the exoplanet is almost exactly the same size as Earth.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland examined new data collected by the Webb to make the confirmation.

Past observations made by another NASA telescope provided some evidence that the exoplanet existed. But the Webbs confirmation made the discovery official.

The other space telescope is called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS. TESS was launched in 2018 with the goal of discovering additional planets outside our solar system.

The exoplanet has been named LHS 475 b. The researchers said it is quite close to Earth for an exoplanet. It sits about 41 light-years away in the constellation Octans. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year.

Exoplanets are difficult for telescopes to identify. One reason is that bright light from the stars they orbit can hide them. The search process includes observing drops in the light level of stars. Such drops could be caused by a planet passing, or transiting, in front of a star.

Researchers said the Webb was able to confirm the existence of the exoplanet using the transiting observation method. They said the confirmation came quickly after just two transit events.

NASA has said the Webb telescope was developed to be able to provide a high level of detail in its observations. It is equipped with the latest technology to observe infrared waves. These waves are a kind of electromagnetic energy that cannot be seen with the human eye. NASA says the telescopes instruments can find infrared waves through gas and dust to observe distant objects.

Jacob Lustig-Yaeger helped lead the research. He said in a statement that the telescope data made it easy to make a clear confirmation. There is no question that the planet is there.

The finding was recently presented at a conference of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, Washington.

Another leader of the team, Kevin Stevenson, added that he found the confirmation impressive because the exoplanet is small and rocky, which makes identification more difficult.

Of all of NASAs operating telescopes, only the Webb is equipped to collect information on the atmospheres of exoplanets. But in this case, the researchers said they do not have enough data to confirm what kind of atmosphere LHS 475 b has.

Scientists generally use computer models and telescope data to study the atmospheres of exoplanets. Another member of the research team, Erin May, said the Webb telescope can easily identify a series of different molecules. But we cant yet make any definitive conclusions about the planets atmosphere, she added.

While the researchers said they cannot confirm what is present in the exoplanets atmosphere, they are very sure about what is not present. For example, LHS 475 b cannot have a thick atmosphere that is mostly methane, Lustig-Yaeger said.

The team even noted it is possible that the exoplanet has no atmosphere at all. Some of the available data suggests the exoplanet may have an atmosphere of pure carbon dioxide. But the researchers said they plan to gather more data in future observations to help them learn about atmospheric conditions.

NASA says it has so far confirmed more than 5,000 exoplanets. But Lustig-Yaeger noted that the Webb telescope is much better equipped to discover small, rocky exoplanets. He said this will likely lead to a lot more exoplanet confirmations.

And, Lustig-Yaeger added, We have barely begun scratching the surface of what their atmospheres might be like.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA.

Quiz - NASAs Webb Telescope Confirms First Exoplanet Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

impressive  adj. making a good or marked impression

definitive  adj. clear and not likely to change

conclusion  n. an opinion reached after considering all information about something

scratch the surface  idiom. to deal with only a small part of a subject or problem

___________________________________________________________________

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A new study has found that nearly 70 percent of the worlds glaciers could disappear by the end of 2100.

A group of international scientists recently reported the study in the publication Science. They said their predictions were based on current climate change developments. However, the researchers noted many glaciers can be saved if planet warming is reduced.

The findings provide the most detailed examination yet of the worlds 215,000 glaciers.

The study considered four possible world temperature rises. One is a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase in the average world temperature. A 2015 international treaty, called the Paris Agreement, established a targeted long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement aims to limit the harmful effects of climate change on Earth.

The study also considered possible temperature rises of 2, 3 and 4 degrees Celsius.

Regine Hock is a professor of geophysics at the University of Oslo and University of Alaska Fairbanks. She was a co-writer of the study. She told the French news agency AFP, Every degree increase produces more melt and loss.

Hock added that if Earths temperature can be reduced, glacier losses can also be limited. "In that sense, there is also a little bit of hope," she said.

The study found that even if world temperature rise is limited to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels, an estimated 49 percent of the world's glaciers would disappear by the year 2100. That amount of loss would represent about 26 percent of the world's total glacier mass.

Current estimates suggest that if climate change keeps heading in the same direction, the world is set to have a 2.7 Celsius rise in temperature. That increase would cause nearly all glaciers in Central Europe, Western Canada, the continental United States and New Zealand to melt by 2100, the study found.

If the world temperature rose as high as 4 degrees Celsius, large glaciers such as those in Alaska would be more affected and 83 percent of glaciers would melt away by the end of the century, the researchers predicted.

The scientists noted that glacier loss would also worsen the problem of sea level rise. For example, the study found that warming of 1.5 degrees would lead to an average sea level rise of of nine centimeters. Temperatures of 4 degrees would cause 15 centimeters of sea level rise.

The disappearance of glaciers will also affect water resources, the researchers said. Glaciers provide freshwater for about two billion people.

The study's predictions were reached through observations of the size of each glacier over many years. The researchers also used computer simulations to arrive at the new findings.

Hock noted that it is currently unclear whether the studys estimates will come true. But she said the extreme predictions do not mean that it is too late to reduce glacier loss through human actions. Hock urged policymakers around the world to take action now to prevent such glacier loss from happening.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

glacier  n. a very large area of ice that moves slowly down a slope or valley or over a wide area of land

simulation  n. a creation of something that behaves or looks like something real but is not

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About 100 Ukrainian soldiers will arrive in the United States as soon as next week to begin training on the Patriot missile defense system.

The system is able to identify and shoot down enemy aircraft and missiles.

The decision to train the Ukrainian soldiers and provide the missile defense system came out of the December visit to the U.S. by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president said the system and training would make a difference in his countrys war with Russia.

The number of soldiers coming to the U.S. is the number required to operate one missile system. An American military spokesperson said the soldiers will also learn about long-term care for the system.

The official also said Ukraines armed forces will be reduced by 100 soldiers during the training period, which normally takes many months. The Ukrainian training will be briefer so the soldiers can return to the ongoing fighting.

The soldiers will stay at Fort Sill, a Patriot missile training center.

The U.S. offered Ukraine one missile system during meetings in December, along with other military aid. Germany also offered a Patriot system last week.

Each Patriot system comes with eight launchers that carry four missiles. The U.S. said it has 16 groups of soldiers that operate Patriot missile systems.

The Patriot systems will add to air defenses already sent by the U.S. and other NATO partners.

Ukraine has been defending itself from Russian missile and drone attacks for nearly one year. The war started in late February of last year.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

___________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

drone n. an unmanned aircraft controlled by someone far away, often used for attacks in war or to take photos from above

___________________________________________________________________

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A man was arrested when officers responding to a burglary found him in a Far East Side store early Friday morning, Madison police reported.

Officers were sent on the burglary call at the Mobil, 3859 E. Washington Ave., about 3:45 a.m. on Friday, police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said in a statement.

When police arrived, the man fled the store and tried to get away, but was caught, Fryer said.

The man, Tyler T. Towsley, was arrested on tentative charges of burglary, criminal damage to property and felony bail jumping, Fryer said.

The cities with the most break-ins and burglaries Cities With the Most Break-Ins / Burglaries Over the past decade burglary and larceny rates have declined Daytime break-ins of homes are most common Southern states experience the most property crime Small and midsize cities with the most burglaries 15. Dallas, TX 14. Houston, TX 13. Las Vegas, NV 12. Columbus, OH 11. Minneapolis, MN 10. Milwaukee, WI 9. Wichita, KS 8. Kansas City, MO 7. Oklahoma City, OK 6. Bakersfield, CA 5. Seattle, WA 4. Baltimore, MD 3. Detroit, MI 2. Tulsa, OK 1. Memphis, TN
Green wool, rafia yarn, leather masks covered in live moss, tree branches and 40-pound cowbells: That's all it takes to make a Wueschte Silvesterchlausen costume, an Appenzell, Switzerland, specialty.

Or, in English: an ugly Silvesterchlausen costume.

America's little Switzerland, New Glarus, hosted its first celebration of Silvesterchlausen, which simply translates to New Year's Day.

The holiday has been a Swiss custom for so long that an exact beginning isn't known, but it's celebrated every Jan. 13 and dates back through the use of the Julian calendar.

In New Glarus' case, Silvesterchlausen was celebrated Saturday.

"Eastern Switzerland is (a majority of) farming, dairy communities  there's not a whole lot else going on this time of year," said Gregory Long, head organizer of the Silvesterchlausen celebration in New Glarus.

A member of New Glarus' Mannerchor and Jodlerklub, a men's choir yodeling club, Long chose to organize a local celebration after being enamored with how strange the tradition is.

"When I saw it in Appenzell, Switzerland, for the first time I was immediately struck with how beautiful and weird and different it was," Long said before getting in costume.

"(When it comes to) Switzerland, a lot of people think cheese, Heidi, and cows and alphorns, but this is something that's deeply Swiss, but so different and so unusual. It just gives people a different dimension of what Swiss culture is."

Working with fellow members of his choir group and the Swiss Center of North America at 507 Durst Road in New Glarus, Long organized a yodeling path for he and his fellow Wueschte performers.

Despite the loud noise and intricate costumes, Silvesterchlausen is a really simple holiday.

To celebrate the new year, groups of six will dress up in one of three distinct costumes, or characters, before spreading joy and cheer with the overwhelming noise of their jingle bells and 40-pound cow bells.

The three categories are: Schone, Scho-Wueschte and Wueschte.

Beautiful, pretty ugly and ugly.

"We have large headdresses made out of tree branches and holly berries and milkweed, just whatever you'll find in the forest," Long said. "We want to make (the costumes) as big and ugly as possible.

"It's really a way to get out, be out with friends and family. And just have an excuse to have a party and go nuts."

The kooky holiday definitely sparked just the right amount of curiosity, even managing to surprise Andre Renia, 22, who's from Switzerland and visiting his uncle in the area.

Renia was no stranger to the holiday. The costumes, on the other hand, were new.

"This is the first time I've heard of something like this," Renia said from Dirty Dog Taphaus, 101 Sixth Ave., the third yodeling stop in downtown New Glarus. "There are a few different Silvester traditions, but this is one of the more obscure ones."

Many from Madison also wanted to experience the event out of curiosity.

Sandy Waity, 56, was most intrigued by the oral tradition behind it, and wanted to get a taste of the unique style of singing, along with friends Andrea Ziegler, 60, and Lauri Gustafson, 63.

"It just sounded interesting. It's something to do, and it's always fun coming out to New Glarus," said Gustafson.

Ziegler, who is half-Swiss herself, had known of the holiday in the past, but with this being the only Appenzell-like Silvesterchlausen celebration in the West, she wanted to tag along.

"It's special," said Ziegler.

Photos: World Dairy Expo
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President Joe Biden is in trouble after classified documents were found in his office in Washington and home in Delaware. Republicans are understandably comparing this incident to former President Donald Trump's mishandling of classified documents, which culminated with an FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence.

But the situations are very different. Biden has immediately handed over documents that were possibly taken by accident. Trump fought tooth and nail to not hand over the document, leading to an FBI raid to seize them.
Madison is growing fast, adding more than 35,000 residents over the last decade.

Yet its public schools are heading in the opposite direction, losing a net 1,889 students over 10 years, with most of that decline  1,744 students  occurring during the last three years.

Lower birth rates and the pandemic are partly to blame.

But what else is going on? The Madison School Board needs to find out, with as much data as possible. Then it needs to stem the loss of young people from its classrooms with an aggressive and spirited strategy. It needs to highlight its many successes and avoid distracting debates.

The sobering trend of fewer students is only intensifying, according to projections by the UW-Madison Applied Population Laboratory. The district is expected to lose 2,500 students over the next five years  about 10% of its current 25,000 student body.

Wisconsin allows students to apply for enrollment outside their home districts. And last school year, 174 more students chose to leave Madison schools than join it. A lot of them chose to enroll in suburban schools, such as Monona and Verona. Public charter schools that the Madison district rejected  only for them to open anyway, under the oversight of the University of Wisconsin System  are another draw. So are virtual and private schools.

The Madison School Board agreed last month to ask families why they are leaving. Such exit interviews should be conducted in a neutral way to get as accurate and honest of answers as possible. That way, problems or perceptions about the district can be addressed head-on.

At the same time, interviewing families entering the district makes sense. By finding out whats attracting people, the district can do and say more about those good things.

The districts communication with the public has been poor in recent years. It often seems on the defensive and rigid in its responses to public concerns, rather than engaging and transparent.

It also needs to effectively market its many successes, such as its diverse and immersive language programs, its easy access to college STEM credits, its international rocketry team, planetarium, star teachers, National Merit Scholars, improved facilities and more.

The Madison district should be more open to sponsoring magnet and public charter schools that cater to niche interests.

The jury is still out on One City Schools, the independent public charter school that recently suspended its high school grades. One thing One City does extremely well  and which the Madison School District should learn from  is touting its assets and ambitious goals to parents and students.

Other public charter schools in Madison competing for students include Isthmus Montessori Academy and Milestone Democratic School.

The Madison School Districts endless debate over whether a single police officer should be stationed at each of its high schools led to perceptions, whether true or not, that its schools arent as safe. The districts recent and lengthy focus on the structure of its honors classes isnt nearly as important as the impact of losing so many students, which reduces state aid.

Madison isnt alone. Milwaukee Public Schools has lost 20,000 students in 14 years, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Thats a quarter of the enrollment in its main schools. But Milwaukee has many more private and religious voucher schools that have been competing with it for decades. Moreover, the city of Milwaukees population has been falling.

The Madison School Board needs to treat its declining enrollment as one of the most important challenges it faces. It should be a central issue in the spring elections.

Our growing city depends on an attractive public school district to be a great city.
A motorcycle ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway brought Sean Adkins to Patrick County and shortly after, he made it his home.

Adkins, who has worked in economic development for 12 years, also is a house-flipper. He started this side venture, in which he does all the work himself, while he was living in Roanoke and brought it with him to Patrick County. He also enjoys riding his motorcycle, a Harley Davidson, which hes on about 300 days out of the year.

That time he discovered Patrick County, he was taking a motorcycle ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway and made a stop in Meadows of Dan. At the time, he was working for City of Roanoke Economic Development Authority and living at the base of the mountain where the Roanoke Star sits.

His love for motorcycles began at a young age when he grew up seeing his father riding them.

It just  It [Patrick County] got stuck in my head, Adkins said. It had kind of been on my radar and then I was looking to move on when the perfect opportunity to make the move opened up.

He moved to Patrick County in October 2021 when he took the position as director of the Patrick County Economic Development Authority.

He said that he enjoys being in the field of economic development for similar reasons to why he enjoys motorcycles. He gets to do all the work himself and see the outcome when projects are completed.

If youre good at it, at economic development, you get a good pulse for the community need, and with renovating houses, he said, you find out what needs fixing, find solutions and then you get to see the fruits of your labor.

He added that seeing the result of his work through seeing citizens benefit from programs and other efforts is one of the reasons he enjoys working in the field.

His main responsibilities in this director position involve business expansion, facilitating community development and finding solutions to needs in the community. Some current projects are the addition of a day care facility to Patrick County and a business development center.

He was also involved in getting a facade grant for local business buildings, has been a part of the process of bringing a hospital back to Patrick County and just recently learned that the Patrick County EDA received funding to renovate an office space at the Rich Creek Corporate Park in Stuart and for the historic landmark in Meadows of Dan, the Cockram Mill.

Another aspect of his job that he enjoys is that there is rarely a day thats the same. Additionally, Some days its putting out fires, and other days its meeting with a lot of folks.

The attributes the success of his work to making connections.

For me, I consider it all to be relationships based  regardless of what Im working on, he said. I spend a lot of time out in the community, meeting with businesses, stakeholders, elected officials and more.

Adkins said that in addition to building relationships within the community, he is also making a concerted effort to build relationships for us outside of our county, such as with the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance (SVRA) and Patrick and Henry Community College (P&HCC).

He also happens to be on the board of directors for both SVRA and P&HCC. Thats two very big, important partners for our county and Im grateful for them and Im grateful for them kind of helping us out in any way they can, he said.

He said that relationship like those are vital to the community because if we dont have friendly neighbors in this field, it can really be a burden.
TODAYS WORD is leucocholy. Example: After Kyle retired, he was surprised to find himself feeling leucocholy with all the free time he had available, when what he had assumed hed be feeling was freedom and excitement.

FRIDAYS WORD was peristeronic. It means: pertaining to or concerned with pigeons. Example: Callum was collecting all of the peristeronic books he could find after a pigeon flew in his window last night and wouldnt leave.

Sourdough bread

This sourdough bread recipe was featured in a 2010 edition of the Martinsville Bulletin and was contributed by Kathy Johnson. It will need to be started a few days in advance unless you already have a sourdough starter prepared to use.

Starter:

3 tablespoons instant potatoes

 cup sugar

1 cup warm water

1 package yeast

Mix all ingredients together. Let stand in refrigerator for 3 or 4 days. The instant potatoes and sugar will feed the yeast and create a fermented sourdough starter that is ideal for sandwich bread or rolls. The dough may be sweeter than it traditionally would be.

Take out and feed with the feeder ingredients below.

Feeder:

3 tablespoons instant potatoes

 cup sugar

1 cup warm water

Mix all ingredients together and add them to the starter. Let stand at room temperature for 8-12 hours before beginning to make your bread.

Bread dough:

1  cups warm water

1 cup starter

 cup oil

 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

6 cups bread flour

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl before transferring to a different large, greased bowl (can use cooking spray). Cover the dough with wax paper before letting stand on counter 8 to 12 additional hours.

Once it is fully rested, punch down the dough and knead on a floured surface until soft (3-4 minutes) and divide equally into three parts. Knead each part and shape into sprayed loaf pans.

Brush the top of each loaf with oil and let them rise for an additional 8 to 12 hours at room temperature.

Once all the loaves have been rested, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes. Let stand at room temperature to cool for 10 minutes and then turn the loaves out of their pans. Transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool before cutting your loaves into slices.

Todays chuckle

Why did the loaf of bread hate hot summers? Because the weather is too toasty.

How does the bread court his sweetheart? With lots and lots of flours.

What did the toast say to the psychic? You bread my mind.

What did one slice of bread say to another after a long day? Dont worry, tomorrow will be butter.

Why did the bakers card get declined? He didnt have enough dough.

Why was the loaf of bread upset? His plans kept going a rye.

These bread jokes came from Southernliving.com.

FRIDAYS TRIVIA ANSWER: Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of ones mouth.

TODAYS TRIVIA QUESTION: What does Dorito mean in Spanish?
70th anniversary

The Ararat Ruritan Club celebrated its 70th anniversary on Jan. 7. The club was chartered on Jan. 9, 1953, when it had 29 members, and the club was sponsored by the Critz Ruritan Club.

At the celebration, around 65 people attended to join in fellowship, to reminisce and to eat some cake and ice cream, a release said.

Ruritan National President Glen Broadwater attended along with his first lady, Linda Broadwater, to partake in the festivities and help present awards.

Ararat Ruritan Club member Mary Slate was awarded the Ruritan Forever plaque and pin. This award was decided by votes from club members and relieves Slate of having to pay club dues for life.

Slate has been a member of the Ararat Ruritan Club since 2009, serving in many different capacities. This year, Slate is the secretary.

Mary Dellenback was awarded the Tom Downing Fellow plaque and pin, which is the highest honor to be bestowed upon a Ruritan, according to the release.

At its regular January business meeting the club donated a check to the PARC Workshop which was accepted by Laura Hausler. There will be an organizational meeting held at the community room of the Patrick & Henry Community College in Stuart at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26.

Scholarships

The J.T.-Minnie Maude Charitable Trust has announced that the application period is now open for scholarship opportunities available for the 2023-24 school year.

Scholarships are available for traditional and non-traditional students who are pursuing certificates, diplomas, associate, bachelor or graduate degrees. Students must be U.S. citizens who currently live in and who have lived in the following counties for a minimum of 12 consecutive months: Halifax, Henry and Pittsylvania in Virginia and the North Carolina counties of Caswell and Rockingham.

Feb. 1 is the next non-traditional application deadline and March 31 is the next traditional application deadline. The complete list of guidelines, requirements, deadline dates and the application can be found at jtmm.org.

For more information, contact the J.T.  Minnie Maude Charitable Trust at 434-797-3330.
Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith announced on Thursday his intention to run for a fifth term as sheriff of Patrick County.

Patrick County Registrar Susan Taylor confirmed that, as of Friday, no other candidates have filed to run for the office.

Smith said in a release that under his leadership, the Patrick County Sheriffs Office has made great strides across the board making a long list of accomplishments by the employees under his command.

Smith also gave credit to the employees in his department and agency partners for arresting more that 800 drug dealers in his jurisdiction under his administration. He said his department has transitioned into new offices including a new jail, achieved and maintained accreditation and upgraded equipment and technology.

We are nothing without the support of our citizens, and we take great pride in that relationship, Smith said in the release. I fundamentally believe that bond starts with me, and I want folks to know that I am just a phone call away.

Smith was born in Stuart in 1972 to Sue Simmons Smith and the late James Russell Smith Jr. and is the youngest of six children.

My drive and work ethic come from my parents and brothers and sisters; they had a huge influence on me, Smith said in the release.

Smith graduated from Patrick County High School in 1990 and from East Tennessee State University in 1994 and that same year he was employed by the Chesterfield County Police Department in the Richmond metro area. In January of 1997 Smith was hired by the Martinsville Police Department where he became a Sergeant and commander on the departments special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team.

Smith was elected sheriff of Patrick County in November 2007.

This place is my life, it is in my DNA, Smith said in the release. I consider our people and our beauty a national treasure and I will protect and defend it until the day I die.

Smith and his wife Amy have two sons: Daniel and David. They live in Patrick Springs and are members of the Stuart Presbyterian Church.

Taylor said the deadline to file to run for office in Patrick County is June 20 at 7 p.m. and in addition to the Sheriffs seat, on the ballot in November will be the Senate of Virginia7th District, House of Delegates47th District, Clerk of Court, Commonwealths Attorney, Commissioner of Revenue, Treasurer, board of supervisor and school board for the districts of Peters Creek, Mayo River and Blue Ridge, and three positions on the Soil and Water Directors board.
Somewhere along the line it became acceptable to deny responsibility when there was someone or something else to blame.

The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study last week that examined 169 teenagers and the results suggests that there is a potential link between the changes in the brain in young teens who frequently check their social media apps.

More study is needed, the article stated, but we may be on the verge of a wave of young adults who have developed hypersensitivity and impulse control disorders.

What this means is that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok may be causing young people with developing minds to be overwhelmed by the least little thing and simply unable to cope with lifes ups and downs.

Thats all the Seattle Public Schools needed, so the largest school district in the state of Washington filed a lawsuit days after the study was released against these social media companies in order to hold them accountable for the harm they have wreaked on the social, emotional, and mental health of its students.

Youve no doubt read a word or two about my dad even if you only occasionally see this column. He was born in 1914 and started driving some fashion of a logging truck at a very young age for a saw miller who needed a driver.

I dont know how old my dad was at the time, but I remember him saying the biggest obstacle to driving the truck was seeing over the front dash.

At some point, many years later, my father was asked to present his drivers license to a police officer. He was surprised to learn a person was required to obtain a license to drive a vehicle. Back in the Stella community of Patrick County there werent but two or three automobiles within a days walk, but anyone known to be somewhat responsible and willing to try was licensed to drive, without regard to age or size.

In this absurd comparison, the Seattle Public School System would probably sue the truck manufacturer for the great risk of my father driving a truck before he knew how to ride a bike.

Brent Jones, the school superintendent in Seattle, was quoted as saying: It has become increasingly clear that many children are burdened by mental health challenges. Our students, and young people everywhere, face unprecedented, learning and life struggles that are amplified by the negative impacts of increased screen time, unfiltered content, and potentially addictive properties of social media.

As one of my favorite preacher friends says: Well, cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it.

I suppose this top educator thinks the children, or their parents, have no choice in the matter of these screens that keep appearing in front of the eyes of our young for excessive amounts of times and causing our youth to become dysfunctional.

A child is dependent upon his or her parents for food and shelter as well as the use of an unfiltered device connected to the internet. We all realize school systems have increasingly taken on the responsibilities of irresponsible parents, so this applies to the school systems too.

Unfiltered computers and smartphones are adult devices and should be treated as such. Give one to a kid and its your fault, not the company that created an app for it.

At some point we have got to get back to the reality that God gave us the ability to make choices for ourselves, and those choices largely determine the course of our entire lives. Most importantly, we are in control of those choices. They are our individual responsibility.

Mr. Jones fails to mention what he, his school district or the parents have done to protect and insulate these kids from what he claims is an addictive poison creating severe mental disease in our youth.

Instead, he wants to make the companies of these apps pay. Who would they pay? The families, or maybe the school system?

And how would that change anything?

The solution to the problem is not in punishing those who have no reason to care, it is in holding responsible those who should.

To serve or not to serve I can't help but have a concern about how easy it is for people to overhire and overpay employees during the good times and then cut jobs and bonuses when things go south.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Most symptoms from long COVID clear up within a year for people who had mild initial infections, a large Israel study said Thursday, with the findings welcomed as "reassuring".

At least 17 million people in Europe suffered from long COVID symptoms months after recovering from their initial infection during 2020 and 2021, according to modelling from the World Health Organization.

However much about the condition has remained unclear, including how long it lasts.

Researchers in Israel analysed the medical records of nearly two million people of all ages who were tested for COVID in the country between March 2020 and October 2021.

The results therefore covered the earlier COVID variants including Delta, but not the more recently discovered Omicron variants.

The researchers combed through the records, which were provided by Maccabi Healthcare Services, for more than 70 different symptoms that have been linked to long COVID.

They excluded patients who had more serious illness, including those who were hospitalised, which previous research has suggested have a higher risk of long COVID.

For the mild cases, the study found a significantly increased risk of several conditions, including loss of smell and taste, breathing problems, weakness, palpitations, strep throat, dizziness, and concentration and memory impairment commonly called "brain fog".

However most symptoms cleared up within 12 months.

"There is a small number of people still suffering from shortness of breath or weakness for a year after COVID," said Maytal Bivas-Benita, a researcher at Israel's KI Research Institute and study co-author.

The study, published in the journal BMJ, also found that vaccinated patients had a lower risk of breathing problemsthe most common symptomcompared to unvaccinated cases.

Children meanwhile had fewer health problems than adults, and recovered from most of them well within a year.

Bivas-Benita told AFP that she was "encouraged" by the findings, particularly after fears about how long the symptoms could linger.

"The vast majority of patients will be OK after a year," she said.

Lead study author Barak Mizrahi said he hoped the research would help lower uncertainty for doctors trying to figure out if their patients' symptoms are related to COVID.

Michael Absoud, a paediatrician and clinical academic at King's College London not involved in the study, called the findings "reassuring".

It confirms that the vast majority of children with long COVID symptoms have "a very good recovery," he said.

More information: Long covid outcomes at one year after mild SARS-CoV-2 infection: nationwide cohort study, The BMJ (2023). DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2022-072529 Journal information: British Medical Journal (BMJ)

 2023 AFP
Holiday Closure

The Library is closed Monday, Jan. 16 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Democracy Project: From the Atom to the Atmosphere  Replacing Nature with a Synthetic World with Christopher PrestonThe Democracy Project and Humanities Montana are pleased to host a Missoula Public Library teen-led civic engagement program with a lecture from Christopher Preston. Participating teens will also share information about what they are currently working on. Join the discussion on Jan. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Level Four Cooper Room.

Tuesday Yoga at the Library

Join Missoula Public Library Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Cooper Room A on Level Four of the library and end your day right with yoga. During this class led by local instructor Kristen Stoeger, participants can expect to start with breath work, transition into mindful movement, settle in for a yoga nidra meditation, and finish with some gratitude. Kristens teaching style is a mix of techniques involving poses from hatha, restorative, gentle yoga, and yoga nidra meditation that is about being present in your body and noting how you feel. Class is designed for basic skills and beginners are welcome! Kristen is also certified through the Veterans Yoga Project in Mindful Resilience Yoga to teach in a trauma-informed manner.

Space is limited and online registration is required. Register online at https://registerfortuesdayyoga.eventbrite.com. Participants are encouraged to wear a mask during this class and must sign a liability waiver prior to the session by downloading and printing it or by filling out a provided copy before class begins. Download the waiver (PDF) here https://tinyurl.com/5f5h4jvw. Participants are welcome to bring their own yoga mats or use mats that are provided.

Fossils Rock! Lecture Series: Field Guide to Montana Fossils

Explore our ancient past at Missoula Public Library with UM paleontologist Kallie Moore! Kallie will present one lecture per month from January through June (plus one extra in March for kids!) on topics ranging from local geology to deep time and lots in between. For full series details visit our Ongoing Programs page of our website at: missoulapubliclibrary.org/home/programs-events/ongoing-programs/. The Jan. 18 lecture will describe the processes of legally collecting fossils  it will be up to you to find the localities themselves. Well first go into some basic geology and apply that to our state. Our first step in narrowing down the possibilities  because they are not endless. Further still well take a closer look at the paleontological record and see examples of the life you would expect to find. Then  most importantly  discuss legal details of fossil collecting, as well as the ethics...basically how not to be a jerk or worse, get fined or go to jail. Join us from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Cooper Room B on Level Four of the library.

Tech Connect: eBooks and Audiobooks

Meet with a Missoula Public Library staff member to learn how to download eBooks and audiobooks for free with your library card using a variety of mobile devices. Join us on Jan. 19 from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. in Cooper Room A on Level Four for this class. Bring your own device, or try out one of the librarys devices before buying your own. A variety of tablets, smartphones, Kindles, and other E-readers will be on hand for use during the class.

Youre an Engineer

Build and create with oversized Building Blocks and our Rig-a-ma-Jig at Missoula Public Library on Jan. 19. The Rig-a-ma-Jig is a set of wooden planks with pulleys, oversized nuts and bolts, and screws. Come to the Imaginarium from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. and enjoy your own free building time or join in our building challenges.

Cheap Date Night

Enjoy a recently released feature film during Missoula Public Librarys Cheap Date Night the third Friday of each month in the Cooper Room on Level Four of the library. The next film is Jan. 20. Doors are open from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. and the film starts at 6:30 p.m. Late entry is not allowed. Attendees must enter from the librarys parking garage, all other doors are locked. Please call the library or check our website for movie titles: https://tinyurl.com/3be37tzx.

Tech Connect: Tech Time @ MPL

Meet with a Missoula Public Library staff member during our drop in tech help hour and get one-on-one assistance with basic technology issues and library services. Bring your own device, or use a library laptop. No appointment required, first come, first served. The next session is Jan. 21 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Level Three Ellingson Room.

Western Montana Genealogical Society Work Day

The Western Montana Genealogical Society hosts a Work Day at Missoula Public Library the third Saturday of every month in the Level Four Blackfoot Room from 12 to 4 p.m. Bring a part of your genealogical project to the gathering. Other genealogists will be working on their projects and can lend a hand if needed, and share websites and advice on research problems. The next workday is Jan. 21.

Pop-Up Library

Missoula Public Library and All Under One Roof Partners Pop-Up brings services to you in exciting locations. Connect with your local library Jan. 21 and Feb. 18 at the Southgate Mall in Missoula from 1 to 3 p.m. Get a library card, check out and return library materials, participate in an activity, and discover something new with your Missoula community.
Students in kindergarten through grade 12 were invited to enter the annual Lynn Schwanke Youth Art & Essay Contest in recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This contest is sponsored by EmpowerMT.

Participants were asked to respond to this quote attributed to King:

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."

The MLK planning committee named this contest after Lynn Schwanke, a longtime educator in Missoula, after she passed in 2020. In 2021 the contest was renamed to reflect her efforts of leading and supporting the contests as well as her dedication to young people.

The winners of this contest will be recognized on Monday, Jan. 16 at the MLK Community Celebration. Awards will be presented, keynote speakers will present and a community social and dinner will follow.

Community celebration festivities will be held at St. Anthony's Parish at 217 Tremont St., and will be streamed live on MCAT from 6-8 p.m. Community social and dinner will follow from 8-9:30 p.m.

Kindergarten through second grade

Imogen Graham; home school

"IT TAKES HEART"

Everyone does not have justice if they are not treated the way they deserve. Calm down, stop fighting and arguing, and think about how you can help each other. It takes heart, work and courage to make a peaceful world for all of us. Our words do not mean anything if we do not do what we say.

Third through fifth grade

First place, essay

William Rolend Bernard-Kearns, Sussex School

"TRUE PEACE"

Everyone is equal, everyone should have the chance to be equal and should live in true peace and justice no matter who you are.

No matter who you are, what you are, what you look like, or what you believe in you are special, everyone is special.

All should be loved and not judged for who they are. People should be judged for not their mistakes but for what they did after them.

Everyone is different but also the same. Everyone is wonderful and deserves to be loved, deserves to be special, deserves to be equal.

That is how we create a better world for everyone, if everyone is treated equally, treated kindly, lovingly, and thoughtfully, then and only then can we have a wonderful world where everyone can live in true peace and justice as equals.

Second place, essay

Clarice Vieira-Marques; Sussex School

"PEACE IS A WILDFIRE"

Peace is kindness

Love

Freedom

not being judged

being able to make your own choices

without anyone criticizing you

for me peace is being able to have fun without getting into fights

or having war

or having any arguments

for me I think peace is not just no tension in the air

It's that there's justice for everyone

even if justice means something that you don't want it to mean

justice is doing what's right

peace is just the same

being kind

Loving

Caring

safe and healthy

I think that everything and everyone should be at peace with one another

No more fights

no more killing

no death

just life

Hope

Prosperity

and kindness for everyone.

Third place, essay

Everett Frank; Sussex School

"CHEERS TO PEACE"

Everybody matters no matter what the color of their skin is, no matter how good they are at reading, writing, and math. This is what matters: how kind they are and what they do to help the earth and other people. How would you feel if people didn't like how you dressed up? I would feel like I didn't matter  but everybody matters. Martin Luther King, Jr. died because people didn't like what he was doing for Black people even though he was doing the right thing. Cheers to justice!!!!

Sixth through eighth grade

First place, essay

Nina Rohd; Sussex School

"DEAR AMERICA"

What does true peace mean to you? Does it mean oppressing people because of a bodily characteristic over which they have no power? No. Does it mean imprisoning people who come to you for help? No. Does it mean fighting over whether it is right to harm someone because of their race, sex, ethnicity, or religion? NO! A person is a person, regardless of what they look like, who they love, or what they believe. America will have true peace when men and women are treated the same. America will have true peace when all races and ethnicities are treated the same. America will have true peace when all sexualities and gender identities are treated the same. So I ask you America, when will you have true peace?

Second place, essay

Julian Milkus; Sussex School

"SWEPT UNDER THE CARPET"

There can never be

Peace

If there are injustices

Performed by

Either party,

That have not been

Righted.

If these injustices are

Thrown aside,

Covered up, there will be

No justice.

So uncover the problems,

Take them head-on,

March for them,

And you will have peace.

Third place, essay

Keira Kujawa; Sussex School

"BREATHE"

Let freedom rain like the tears of the oppressed and the cries of the oppressor

Let the voice of hope cut through the doubts

How can we call our world peaceful if our spirits are still at war

A drop of blood seeping into our cores

Why do you sit there thinking?

Not standing up, fighting for justice

How do you live in a bubble when there is a heartbeat slowing....

Stopping

A hurricane engulfing us, hate crashing over

Putting up walls of privilege, trapping the suffering

Hold on to me and take a breath

Breathe in

Take a moment

Feel the blood, and tears, from a world trapped in a dark history

Let it pump through you

Giving you

Strength

Power

Hope

Life

Ninth through 12th grade

First place, essay

Kaylie Moe; Hellgate High School

"BUILDING A DAM"

simply building a dam cannot stop water from existing

simply having no violence cannot bring peace

for there is still water building up on the other side

for there is still conflict brewing behind the scenes

there needs to be balance

understanding

resolution

dams do not eliminate water

an absence of violence does not eliminate conflict

there needs to be a drain

there needs to be justice

somewhere the water can go

somewhere the conflict can resolve

to dispel of water you need a drain not a dam

to bring peace you need justice not just an elimination of violence

Second place, essay

Addison McClellan; Hellgate High School

"TRUE PEACE"

True peace is not merely the absence of tension.

It is the presence of justice, clear and fair.

When all are treated equally, with dignity and grace,

we can finally find solace, in a world without hate.

No longer do we fear, for our safety and our rights,

As justice prevails, and wrongs are put to right.

We can live our lives, without constant dread and worry,

In a world where peace reigns, and all are free to flourish.

True peace is not just the absence of hate

But the presence of love and compassion, not just for our own fate

Where everyone is treated with kindness and respect

Where everyone is valued, regardless of race, gender, or sect

True peace is not just the lack of war and strife,

But the absence of inequality and prejudice in our life.

When all are treated with respect, and given a chance to thrive,

We can finally find peace, and live a life that's truly alive.

So let us strive for justice, and make it our goal

To create a world where peace and equality can unfold.

For only then can we truly find, the peace we all seek,

In a world where justice reigns, and all can live in harmony.

Third place, essay

Destiny Ask; Hellgate High School

"PEACE CAN BE DESCRIBED"

Peace can be described best,

As the feeling when all is laid to rest

When there are things that you can no longer ignore,

And finally action is taken and all is accounted for

When something presents itself known as opportunity

And finally you're given the chance to have complete unity

When there finally isn't a reason for riot

And all you can hear is a deep sigh in the relaxing quiet.

Peace and justice are forever intertwined

And together they will forever be bond.
Billings Police have named the man involved in the Sunday carjacking homicide and home invasion where he shot the homeowner during a birthday party.

Thomas Slevira Jr., age 32, has been jailed and faces charges of deliberate homicide and attempted deliberate homicide, according to police Lt. Matt Lennick.

He is expected to be arraigned later Friday.

Slevira is the suspect in the carjacking death of Carlos Delao, a single father of two teenagers. The suspect had been prowling the area near Avenue F and 1200 West at about 6 p.m. Sunday when he spotted Delao in his truck in the driveway of his home. Slevira allegedly shot Delao in the head, pulled him out of the truck, and drove away.

Nearby Slevira allegedly kicked in the back door of a home at 1207 Burlington, shot the homeowner, Erik Brady, and barricaded himself in the basement where he held off police for more than seven hours.

Members of an armed SWAT team entered the home at 1 a.m. and arrested Slevira.

Slevira has been previously sentenced for several violent crimes, according to Montana Department of Corrections records. Most recently, Yellowstone County District Judge Donald L. Harris sentenced him to five years in the DOC for partner or family member assault in January 2021.

He's also been convicted in the past of assaulting a police officer, and strangulation. Twice he's been convicted of failing to register as a sex or violent offender.

The homicide and subsequent break-in are still under investigation, Lennick said, and Slevira could face more charges.

This story will be updated
Montana elder care is in crisis. However, we disagree on the solution presented in the Dec. 27 guest column from several Montana county commissioners entitled Fix reimbursement rate for Montana nursing homes. The column stated that Montanas elder care economy is broken, and to fix it the Legislature must boost Medicaid reimbursement rates. Independence has always been a core belief of Montanans, and failing to support our home- and community-based services would be a travesty.

Medicaid reimbursement rates fall dramatically short of what is needed, but only addressing facility reimbursement rates disregards our critical in-home care and independent-living services. The column states that in-home care is very expensive and rarely covered by private insurance or Medicaid. While it is true that private insurance rarely covers these expenses, it is not correct to say that Medicaid does not cover them. Not only does Montana Medicaid cover care at home but the average cost of home- and community-based services is significantly less than institutional care. Genworth.com cites the national median cost of in-home care to be $5,339 per month. The home care services provided by Ability Montana, a nonprofit serving people with disabilities, seniors and veterans in southwest Montana, average $1,200 per month. When compared to the current Montana Medicaid reimbursement of about $6,500 a month for nursing home care, its clear who the economic winner is.

As many Montana families know, the decision of how to best care for their loved ones is not all about money.

The freedom to choose our outcomes and determine our futures is precious and shouldnt be handed to what are often for-profit institutions, where profit is the singular corporate motivation and adequate standards of care are not achieved. Surveys of seniors, veterans and people with disabilities, which comprise a full 34.8% of the states population, affirm what Montanans have long known: People want to remain in their homes. An overwhelming number of our elders have decided that their homes are where they belong and where they want to receive their care. Moreover, the column did not address that persons with a disability, seniors and veterans have the RIGHT to choose where and how they live out their lives. Federal regulation (79 FR 2947) and a Supreme Court decision (Olmstead v. LC, 1999) dictate that home and community-based services are the first and preferred choice for long-term care, echoing the common sentiment of Montanans.

Medicaid reimbursement rates are a problem, but the bigger problem is the preference of our state government for funding institutional care. Better options are available. Not surprisingly, the care provided in the home is superior as are the outcomes for self-directed in-home services when the individual chooses who will give their care. These community-based options that keep Montanans in their homes have been shown to result in greater levels of health and longer life expectancy, allowing our elders to be present for their families growth and prosperity. Montanas seniors, disabled and veterans all want the option to live and age in the comfort and security of the homes they spent their lives building.

We urge Gov. Greg Gianforte and members of the 2023 Montana Legislature to reimburse Medicaid services at the rates recommended in the study that they commissioned and make the reasonable move toward supporting the expansion of home and community-based services as the option most desired by Montanans and the most fiscally responsible use of Montana taxpayer monies.
Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images

When the octogenarian billionaire Nelson Peltz calls, perhaps from his New York officeor, if hes craving the sun, his 44,000-square-foot palace on Palm Beach islandthe worlds most powerful CEOs have reason to grow alarmed.

Peltzs firm, Trian Fund Management, specializes in activist campaigns against companies it believes are underperforming. Industry giants like DuPont, Procter & Gamble, and PepsiCo have all felt the heat.

Peltz described his philosophy simply in 2016: Were trying to figure out how we can get sales up and put a lid on expenses. Sometimes, that means helping show executives the door.

Trians latest target: Disney, where Bob Iger returned as CEO in November, less than three years after passing the torch to Bob Chapek. Since last summer, Peltz has been angling for a board seat, but Disney hasnt complied. As a result, Trian has ratcheted up pressure, launching a website called Restore the Magic and vowing to take up the fight directly with other shareholders.

With Phenomenal Puss in Boots, DreamWorks Has Bested Disney

Peltz is demanding a clear succession plan for Iger and is pushing to trim costs. And he is apparently willing to embarrass Iger to gain influence. In a recent public filing, Trian unsubtly noted that Iger wanted to schedule a board meeting at a date that would leave him plenty of time to sail his yacht off the coast of New Zealand.

Trian declined to comment. Disney did not respond to an email from The Daily Beast.

Trian, which Peltz cofounded in 2005, oversees about $8 billion in assets under management. That has enabled them to take on some big game, said Stephen Bainbridge, a professor at the UCLA School of Law who has extensively researched corporate governance.

I would say that on the spectrum of hedge fund activists, that Peltz is definitely at the aggressive end, Bainbridge continued, though he noted that in many cases, Trian has made changes that were regarded as helpful.

Story continues

The trouble is getting executives to listen without a protracted battle, he said, since CEOs are known for big egos and nobody wants what they would regard as a sort of professional rabble-rouser coming in and telling them to change their plans.

Edward Rock, co-director of the Institute for Corporate Governance & Finance at NYU Law, told The Daily Beast that Trian engages with companies because they think that they can genuinely make them better. The aggressive tactics come next.

In 2017, for instance, Peltz commenced a protracted proxy fight against Procter & Gamble for a board seat.

During that clash, Trian used the media and issued detailed white papers to criticize the performance of P&Gs CEO, said Szu-yin Jennifer Wu, who teaches corporate finance at the University at Buffalo. According to media reports, the proxy battle cost over $100 million, one of the most expensive in U.S. corporate history. (Peltz lost the final vote by a thin margin, Procter and Gamble said at the time, but he nonetheless received a seat on the board.)

In another case, Peltz reportedly cautioned Unilever chief Alan Jope against letting brands take political positions, after its subsidiary Ben & Jerrys announced that its ice cream would not be sold at Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories. (Unilever later moved to prevent the ban from going into effect.)

Trian has similarly sought influence at Wendys, in which it invested in 2005, arguing that the restaurant chain had lost its way after the passing of its founder Dave Thomas. At DuPont, meanwhile, Trian lobbied in 2014 to break the business up into different segments, a proposal that ultimately failed.

Peltz has a piratical charm and a velvet glove. But dont mistake the iron fist. He is relentless in pursuit of his own objective, which is value creation, the former chairman of Cadbury, who once experienced a Trian pressure campaign, told the Financial Times.

To his critics, Peltzs tactics prioritize short-term returns over long-term financial health. Theyre in it and then out of it, Bainbridge said, summarizing the argument against many hedge fund investors. (Trian has said the firm invests in companies for an average length of six years when it receives a board seat, longer than some competitors.)

Rabbi Marvin Hier, Nelson Peltz and Rupert Murdoch attend the annual tribute dinner for the Simon Wiesenthal Center in 2006 in New York City. Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Nadya Malenko, an associate professor at the University of Michigan who considers Trian potentially less hostile than some rivals, defended the activist industry. Theyre good at streamlining the company and selling the assets that the company does not have a good ability to operate efficiently, she said.

At Disney, Trian insists it doesnt want to oust Iger, nor does it intend to break up its assets. Instead, Peltzs team argues, Disney needs to reduce its non-core expenses, peg executive compensation to the businesss target objectives, and improve its approach to acquisitions.

In a letter to Disneys board on Jan. 8, the firm argued that Trian investments where Nelson has served on the board have outperformed the S&P 500 by approximately [9 percent] annually during the period of his board involvement.

Despite his triumphs, in recent years Peltzs name has more often been associated with his daughter, Nicola, who last spring married the son of soccer legend David Beckham and fashion designer Victoria Beckham. The event took place at Peltzs Palm Beach estate.

Theres a certain amount of irony here that a guy whos a multi-billionaire, and in the corporate world is known and feared is sort of in the back of a picture with a bunch of Beckhams in it, said Bainbridge. Its kind of funny that way.

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Editor's note: This story discusses self-harm. If you or a loved one are at risk, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for support at 988 or 1-800-273-8255.

The Lyft driver made light conversation with the depressed woman in the back seat.

Lauren Clements, now 28, had asked Lyft to take her to the Natchez Trace Bridge, about 25 miles south of Nashville, which, in the experience, was an unusual request.

She told him she was a photographer, and wanted to get a shot of the award-winning expanse. He asked if he should wait around for her to finish because she might have trouble finding a ride back.

That, Clements told him, wouldn't be necessary.

"You're not going to jump, are you?" the Lyft driver joked.

When she got out of the car, she didn't have any photography equipment with her.

It was the morning of July 2, 2018. Clements wore a Blue Hawaii T-shirt, black shorts and black flip flops. Earlier that morning, she said goodbye to her golden doodle, Ronan. She had already taken about 100 aspirin.

Elliott Lopes and Lauren Clements pose for a portrait at Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Franklin, Tenn. Clements recently tracked down Lopes, who saved her life when she was trying to commit suicide by jumping off the Natchez Trace Bridge in 2018.

"I was miserable," Clements said. "I felt like no one understood that pain."

Beginning to feel the effects of the drugs, Clements walked past a blue sign that reads, "There is hope" with a phone number for suicide prevention.

She walked to the bridge and climbed over the side. She stood on the tiny ledge, looking down 145 feet to a grass area below.

A lifetime of pain was about to end.

Awards and darkness

The double-arch Natchez Trace Bridge spans Birdsong Hollow between Nashville and Franklin at the intersection of Highway 96. The bridge was completed in 1995 and won the Presidential Award for Design Excellence.

The bridge, however, has a dark history.

Forty-two people have ended their lives by jumping off the bridge, and it has become known among some people as "Suicide Bridge."

In 2018, a coalition formed to work toward making the bridge more difficult for people to commit suicide. The bridge is the responsibility of the National Park Service.

Story continues

In August 2022, a temporary fence was erected, and permanent mesh netting is expected to be finished by 2025. Since the fence went up, two people have tried, but failed, to scale it. Another potential jumper was stopped by a worker who was putting up the fence.

Taking action:They lost loved ones to suicide on the Natchez Trace Bridge. They say better barriers could prevent more tragedies.

Bridge safety:National Park Service to erect safety barrier at Natchez Trace Bridge: 'This is a big deal'

"The day they announced construction was beginning was one of the happiest days of my life," said Trish Merelo who chaired the Natchez Trace Barrier Coalition.

Merelo's son, 17-year-old John Miller, committed suicide by jumping off the bridge.

"Our objective was to get a barrier, and that's been done," Merelo said.

A nice place to ride

Elliott Lopes, 40, liked to ride his bike along the Natchez Trace because of the beautiful scenery and the relative lack of congestion.

On July 2, 2018, he was the only rider on the bridge, going fast, when he saw a woman standing on the ledge.

What he didn't know was that the woman, Lauren Clements, had already called 911 from the ledge. She told the operator that she was going to jump. The operator kept talking, but she was past the point of listening.

That's when Lopes intervened.

Lauren Clements poses for a portrait with Elliott Lopes at Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, in Franklin, Tenn. Clements recently tracked down Lopes, who saved her life when she was trying to commit suicide by jumping off the Natchez Trace Bridge in 2018.

"Maybe there was some sort of divine intervention," he said. "I had a feeling in my stomach something wasn't right."

Without speaking to her, he approached the woman from behind and grabbed her with a bear hug. He pulled her back to safety.

"I was angry," Clements said. "Someone got in the way of what I was trying to do."

He held her there until an ambulance came.

'Just take my hand':Video of deputy stopping suicide on the Natchez Trace Bridge highlights need for aid

'You are not invisible': 12-year-olds leave messages of hope on Natchez Trace Bridge in light of suicides

Lopes got on the open phone line and began talking to the 911 operator explaining what he had done.

In a recent interview, Clements, who had tried several times over the years to take her life, said her life was changed by someone she had never met.

"I was happy that a stranger thought enough about another stranger to step in," Clements said.

As the ambulance pulled away, "I just got back on my bike," Lopes said.

He told his wife later, but that's about it.

"I've always been a humble guy," Lopes said. "But I know it was a big deal."

A professional photographer, Lopes had once been a state trooper. He said his first-responder instincts kicked into gear.

"Doing the right thing at the right time is what we do," he said.

A life turned around

Lauren Clements had been abused as a child. She had been so hopeless through the years, she had tried to commit suicide more than a dozen times.

She's in therapy now, and said she is doing well. She's been traveling a lot, working as a nanny and taking gigs as a photographer to make a little extra money. She hopes to visit Australia someday and hug a koala.

"The progress has been huge," she said.

Just before Christmas, there was something else she had to do.

Saving lives:Williamson deputies save two from suicide at Natchez Trace Bridge

Clements wanted to find the man who pulled her to safety and tell him thank you.

She posted on Facebook about her desire to find the man. A friend suggested she get the 911 call from the incident. When she re-listened to the call, she heard him say his name, Elliott Lopes, to the 911 dispatcher. She contacted him on Facebook, and he agreed to meet.

He walked into her apartment in Franklin and she said the feeling was "surreal."

"It was like meeting him again for the first time," she said.

Lopes agreed.

"It felt great to see her," she said. "She's still struggling with those demons, but she seems to be doing very well."

Clements said they talked about getting together again.

"He wants me to come to meet his family," she said.

Reach Keith Sharon at ksharon@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Natchez Trace Bridge suicide prevention: Stranger saves woman's life
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  Two Illinois emergency medical workers from LifeStar Ambulance Service, Inc. were charged Monday with first-degree murder in the Dec. 18 death of a Springfield, Illinois man.

Sangamon County State's Attorney Dan Wright filed the charges against Peggy Jill Finley, 44, and Peter J. Cadigan, 50. Acts by Finley and Cadigan resulted in the death of Earl L. Moore Jr., 35, Wright said at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Footage captured by police body cams showed Finley and Cadigan strapping a face-down Moore onto a stretcher.

Moore was pronounced dead at 3:14 a.m. after being transported to a local hospital.

He died of "compressional and positional asphyxia due to prone face-down restraint on a paramedic transportation cot/stretcher by tightened straps across the back," Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said on Tuesday.

Sangamon County State's Attorney Dan Wright speaks during a press conference Tuesday Jan. 10, 1023 at the Sangamon County Building in which he said two EMT's will be charge with first degree murder.

Finley and Cadigan knew, according to the criminal complaints read by Wright, "based upon their training, experience and the surrounding circumstances, that such acts would create a substantial probability of great bodily harm or death."

How it unfolded

An original dispatch call came in for a residence at 2:02 a.m., Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette said. That call indicated there were multiple subjects at the residence with guns.

Upon arrival, Scarlette said, three SPD officers talked to a female resident who said Moore was suffering from hallucinations because of a medical condition. The female was a relative of Moore.

The officers were invited into the residence and within minutes of encountering Moore, radioed for an ambulance, Scarlette said.

Officers met Finley at the door and relayed to her information about Moore's condition, Scarlette said.

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Finley treated Moore "poorly and didn't give him the care and compassion and respect he deserved," Scarlette added. No medical treatment was rendered to Moore in the residence, he said.

Story continues

Scarlette said EMTs told Moore that if he wanted to go to the hospital, he would have to walk to the stretcher, which was outside the home.

It was the officers, Scarlette said, who took turns getting Moore outside and placed him in "a recovery position, essentially lying him on his side on the stretcher."

That, he said, transferred care to the EMTs.

NAACP President Springfield branch Teresa Haley Speaks during a press conference at the Sangamon County Building Tuesday Jan. 10, 2023.

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Scarlette said the three officers waited until Moore was loaded into the ambulance before clearing the scene.

"They literally threw (Moore's) hands behind and strapped him down. He couldn't move if he wanted to and he's face down," Teresa Haley, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP and its state director, said. "They did not show any compassion whatsoever to this individual. He should be alive today."

Scarlette also commended the officers for the way they handled their portion of the call.

"They recognized this individual was suffering from some type of unknown medical condition and their mindset was immediately focused on compassion and empathy and patience," Scarlette said.

'That was my brother': Moore's relatives tell his story

'Heartbroken'

A statement from Black Lives Matter SPI said it was "heartbroken to learn about the senseless killing" of Moore and supported the legal action taken against Finley and Cadigan to hold them accountable.

The statement added that "Unfortunately, this incident shines a light on how dangerous it can be for the Black community to seek treatment and receive medical care."

Haley said watching the body cam footage reminded her of the murder of George Floyd.

"I believe (the EMTs) were treating (Moore) rougher because he was Black," Haley said following the press conference. "It was hostile to see the video and how they treated him."

Roger D. Campbell, the president of LifeStar, said the company had no comment because of the ongoing investigation.

Charges

Finley and Cadigan are being held in the Sangamon County Jail on $1 million bonds. Both face 20 to 60 years behind bars if convicted.

Illinois State Police is continuing its investigation into the case.

Follow Steven Spearie on Twitter: @StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois EMTs charged with first-degree murder of Earl L. Moore Jr.
A restauranteur is hoping to garner support from diners as the city of Morganton moves forward with legal proceedings to have him vacate the city-owned property where his business has operated for the last several years.

Bella Vino owner Emmanuel Manolakas was informed by letter Jan. 4 his lease for the restaurant at 112 W. Union St. was up and he needed to vacate the property, according to a Jan. 8 News Herald article.

On Friday, the city of Morganton filed a summary ejectment complaint against Manolakas, asking the court to order Manolakas to vacate the property.

The city held in the filing that Manolakas lease ended Dec. 31, and that he was informed before the lease ended it would not be renewed or extended.

A copy of the lease agreement between Manolakas and the city does allow for an automatic renewal of the lease if all terms were met, but the city said the lease already was breached in 2020 when he got behind in rent and utility payments.

The city also previously said it didnt want to renew the lease because it didnt think Bella Vino brought in enough business to be considered a driver of economic development, which is what it intended for the building to serve as when it was purchased in the 1990s.

In the Friday filing, the city also claimed Manolakas removed and threw away window coverings from the upstairs deck of the business, and said more than $1,000 in damages had been done to the property.

Manolakas didnt respond to The News Heralds request for comment for the Jan. 8 story, but he sent an email this week with a statement on the issue.

He claims the city is trying to change the terms of his contract, and said the citys actions are despicable.

After struggling through hard times, were thankful that this community appreciates a family friendly restaurant serving Italian And (sic) Greek food made with love, Manolakas said in a written statement to The News Herald.

Manolakas has said he plans to hash it out in the courtroom.

Bella Vino will work with our legal counsel to prove that the lease was properly renewed, and prove through the courts that our beloved restaurant should remain a fixture for many years to come, Manolakas said in his statement.

He also encouraged other business owners to pay attention to the citys actions, so the City wont do the same thing to you, he said.

But Bella Vino is the only business in the city of Morganton that rents its building from the city, Morganton officials said.

The citys filing isnt the only legal action against Manolakas.

As reported Jan. 8, the North Carolina Department of Revenue filed certificates of tax liability against him, saying he owed more than $55,000 in back sales tax.

Manolakas told The News Herald this week he had worked out an arrangement with the NCDOR to pay the amount owed.

He started a petition on change.org this week, asking customers to show their support for the business in an apparent attempt to sway the city to renew the lease. There were 125 signatures on the petition Saturday morning.

Were ready to feed our loyal customers and ask for your continued support, Manolakas said in a statement to The News Herald and in the description of the petition.

The issue is due in court Jan. 24. The city is asking for rent and interest up to the day a judgement is entered, along with reimbursement for damage done to the building and court costs.
A career that started in his grandpas driveway has landed a Morganton man on the cast of a HISTORY Channel show premiering this week.

Jamie Buchanan started working when he was just a teenager, first washing dishes at a restaurant, then taking after one of his uncles and washing cars.

He would wash his car and my grandpas car in our driveway, so thats where I started, in my grandpas driveway, Buchanan said. I would take peoples cars home from work and wash them and make some extra money.

You got some gratification or satisfaction from doing that, and  making people happy, and you could see the end result, and so I kind of got good at that.

He started his own business at 19, detailing cars and picking up a full-time, third-shift position to help make ends meet until he made the connections for his small business to take off.

For two years, I worked about 100 hours a week starting out, Buchanan said. Just working, trying to make somewhat of a name for myself, somewhat of a business for myself. And the harder you work, the more you make, and I was all about working hard, but it was also about taking care of people.

Now 50, thats still how Buchanan tries to run his business.

A lot of people come in and look at the bottom line, at business and this is how much money I need to make to survive, Buchanan said. I can tell you when I come into work, I dont look at it that way. I look at it as its a new day, its a new challenge, its a new breath of air. How can I be helpful to somebody in my community today? You have a problem, Im here to fix it.

When it comes to making vehicles shine, there likely isnt much Buchanan hasnt seen in the last 30 years of running Visual Perfection, his detailing business, but this week viewers from across the country will get an inside look at Buchanans work on the new HISTORY Channel series Dirty Old Cars.

Its really been about a year and a half in the making, Buchanan said.

Buchanan said he was contacted to be in the series through a group of detailers from around the world. Producers had reached out to the group looking for five detailers to interview for a potential reality show.

Members of the group recommended Buchanan and Visual Perfection. Producers reached out to Buchanan around noon on a Thursday, giving him 36 hours to submit a video explaining who he is and giving details of his business.

What we didnt know in the beginning was they wanted to see how well we operated under pressure, Buchanan said. And if we could produce under timelines, time restrictions and give them great quality content. We didnt know that until it was all over and we got chosen.

It wasnt long after they submitted the reel before the network reached out to Buchanan wanting him to sign a contract to be on the show.

We nailed it because they contacted us immediately, Buchanan said. Three days after we submitted it they called and they were like, hey, look, we really would like for you to sign. We would like to cast you in this thing.

There were several months of back and forth from this point, with contracts being sent over and Buchanan getting help from local attorneys like Rob Denton and Larry McMahon over the several months of contract negotiations.

Once the ink was down, production dates ended up getting moved around a couple of times, but eventually the crew  with members from across North Carolina and as far away as Vermont and Georgia  was assembled.

We had a phenomenal team, Buchanan said. Everyone was just so nice and so courteous and so helpful.

When shooting began, Buchanan said the work was nearly nonstop.

We worked every day, six days a week, Buchanan said. The video team would be here for those five days, theyd shoot 12 hours a day, five days a week. And of course we had to stay late to finish up the work, so we worked an average of 16-17 hours a day for six days (a week) for eight weeks, just making sure we had everything done that needed to be done.

The show will feature Buchanans detailing shop and two others from around the country as they clean cars smothered in filth and, in some cases, infested with creatures. Each 30-minute episode features two before-and-after reveals.

If youre looking for a way to be amazed by looking at a car thats sitting in your driveway for the last 15 or 20 years and you have not known what to do with it, you watch this show and youre gonna want us to haul it to our place to clean it up so you can sell it and get it out of the yard from being a pot planter, Buchanan said.

He said some people find it hard to believe that all it took was throwing some elbow grease into cleaning cars like the ones featured on the show to get them back in good condition.

Just seeing what work we have done and what magic we have performed, some people are like, theres no way you didnt paint that car, theres no way you didnt reupholster that car, Buchanan said. Theyre just amazed at the work we can actually do and actually turn from our shop.

Dirty Old Cars will premiere Wednesday at 10 p.m. on the HISTORY Channel. Visual Perfection is at 431 E. Fleming Drive, Morganton.
In Ghana, West Africa, home of my Akan ancestors, there is a principle known as Sankofa, which means that one should seek knowledge and engage in the patient, intelligent examination of the past as a way of informing the future.

Its rare that I become so engaged with a book that I plow through it in a day, but I sat down with Larry J. Griffins Slavery in Wilkes County North Carolina early one Friday morning, planning to read a chapter or two as a resource for a university course Im teaching. As each chapter built an anticipation for the next, I finally put the book down after reading it cover to cover.

Based on a series of award-winning, research-based news articles from the Record of Wilkes titled Setting the Record Straight, Griffin calls his book a historical expose intended to separate fiction from fact regarding local beliefs and tales about slavery. With extensive community collaboration, he wove together a series of interrelated stories about free people of color, enslaved African Americans, and those whom law and custom called their owners.

The focus of the book is Wilkes County, but I was intrigued to find prominent Burke County names among its pages: Avery, Bouchelle, Caldwell, Erwin, Harper, Hawkins, McDowell, McKesson, Tate, Walton and others. My curiosity also was stirred by my Caldwell County roots with references to names in my family tree: Dula, Harshaw, Horton, Lenoir, Patterson. I cant describe how it felt to see the names of known ancestors leap from the pages of primary resources and public records, telling stories of slavery and life in this region before the Civil War.

An interesting account of Burke Countys early slave trade involvement went back to the 1790s and focused on William Walton Jr., a merchant who moved to Morganton to open a mercantile business. Walton discovered that the slave trade was a lucrative and open enterprise and arranged to purchase enslaved people directly from slave ships arriving in Charleston. He then sent them to his 600-acre plantation in Burke County where they were taught English and local farming techniques in preparation for sale.

John Inscoe, Morganton-born University of Georgia history professor emeritus, indicates that nine families comprised Burke Countys slaveholding elite. Walton sold unfree people to these and other households across the region until the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade ended in 1808.

With this and similar local entrepreneurial ventures, the population of enslaved people grew more in Burke than in other Appalachian counties. The 1860 Federal Census reports that 26% of Burke Countys population was enslaved, down slightly from 27% in 1850. According to Wilma Dunaway, Virginia Tech history professor emerita, Burke County, North Carolina had one of the largest recorded enslaved populations in the Appalachian region, which included 215 mountain counties across nine states at the time of the Civil War.

Another story of local interest is told of Dr. Thomas Slater Bouchelle, born in Morganton around 1804 to the elder Dr. Thomas Bouchelle and his second wife, Clarissa. Starting with a modest holding of seven enslaved people, he increased his human chattel within a five-year period to become one of the largest slaveholders in Wilkes County. To protect his growing business interests, Bouchelle partnered with two other wealthy Wilkes County slaveholders to be the patty-rollers or patrollers, whose task was to apprehend and punish enslaved people who were away from their owners plantations without written permission. During the same period, Bouchelle served as Wilkes County Clerk and Master of Equity.

The most personally impactful story concerned my great-great-great-great-grandfather, William Dula. I grew up hearing stories about my ancestors, including Captain William from my father, and nearly a decade ago, my lineage to this Revolutionary War Patriot was established with the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. I knew that after the war he moved to Wilkes County and became one of its wealthiest European settlers. I also knew that his last will and testament passed more than 80 enslaved people to his children.

Griffins book informed me that in 1810, Capt. William Dula owned more enslaved people than anyone in Wilkes County, which at that time extended to the border of Burke. And Dula was only one of several of my slaveholding forefathers who appear in the text. Once again, I cant describe how I processed this knowledge. In truth, Im still working through it. I wonder if some of the enslaved people Capt. William owned were also my ancestors.

About two years ago, my husband and I visited the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, where Capt. Williams hat is on permanent loan. As the gloved curator lifted the fragile old stovepipe hat from its archival container, placing me in real-time and space with a relic that was worn daily by my ancestor more than 200 years ago, I was conflicted. When we think of our ancestors, we want to assume that they would be benevolently inclined toward us. I wonder if that would be the case for my fourth great-grandfather and me.

Describing Sankofa, Jerry Gore of the National Underground Railroad Museum says, We cant live in the past, but we can learn from it. Larry J. Griffins work underscores the power of history to generate transformative knowledge, to positively impact the present and the future and to grapple in useful ways with the past.
More than 3 million people in the U.S. are estimated to be living with glaucoma. By 2030, that number is expected to increase by 58% to more than 4.2 million people.

Glaucoma is an eye disease typically characterized by elevated pressure in the eye that causes damage to the optic nerve as well as defects in the field of vision. The increase in eye pressure is caused by a reduction in the ability of fluid to drain from the eye, the cause of which is unknown. However, as eye pressure increases, nerve cells (which carry the information we require to see) are damaged, and gradually begin to die, which causes the loss of vision.

Usually, peripheral vision or side vision is lost first. This often goes unnoticed. Ultimately, central or reading vision is affected. Blindness caused by glaucoma occurs in thousands of people every year and is the most common cause of blindness in African-Americans.

Glaucoma can develop at any age in life, from infancy through late life, though it most often affects people who are 45 or older. Groups at increased risk include people who have a family history of glaucoma; African and Hispanic Americans; people who have diabetes, hypertension, myopia (nearsightedness), poor ocular circulation or a previous eye injury; people who have used steroid/cortisone medications on a long-term basis, and people with elevated intraocular pressure.

Regular dilated eye examinations are required for early detection of glaucoma. When detected early, treatment can generally control glaucoma and prevent loss of vision. During the exam, a painless test to measure eye pressure is performed. Structures of the eye also are examined, including the optic nerve.

Other tests can detect damage to the field of vision. Visual field tests measure light sensitivity of your eye. Damage to the optic nerve caused by glaucoma produces a distinct pattern of visual field loss. Doctors can use the visual field to detect and follow the course of glaucoma over time.

Some patients can develop glaucoma without ever having high pressure. In other cases, individuals with elevated eye pressures may never develop glaucoma.

In most cases, glaucoma is a painless disease, so patients frequently are unaware that they have a problem until significant visual loss has already occurred. It has been estimated that half of those with glaucoma are unaware of their diagnosis. Unfortunately, visual loss caused by glaucoma is irreversible.

Current treatments include topical and/or oral medications, laser surgery or conventional surgery. The iStent Trabecular Micro-Bypass can be used to treat mild to moderate open-angle glaucoma. Inserted in conjunction with cataract surgery, the iStent works similarly to stents that prevent heart attacks and strokes. It creates a permanent opening through the blockage to improve the eyes natural outflow to lower eye pressure and help prevent further damage.

Based on the discretion of your doctor, the procedure may reduce the number of glaucoma medications you need. About 70% of patients are able to get rid of one eye drop after they receive the iStent.

A new novel treatment modality for glaucoma has been approved by the FDA to help patients who have a difficult time using eye drops. Durysta (bimatoprost implant) is a prescription medicine to reduce eye pressure in patients with glaucoma. With a quick office procedure, the Durysta implant can be inserted in the front chamber of the eye where it slowly releases the active medicine to help control the intraocular pressure.

Research is looking at the genetics of glaucoma, as well as examining certain neurotransmitters to determine the cause. Hopefully, this research will help identify the cause of glaucoma and improve methods of detection and treatment.

The material contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider.

Dr. Nikhil Wagle is board-certified with a fellowship in glaucoma. He sees patients at Eye Surgeons Associates in Rock Island and Bettendorf. For more information, visit esaeyecare.com.
The Napa Valley Register community calendar includes events submitted by our readers. To list your event in the community calendar, fill out the online form at napavalleyregister.com/forms/nvrcalendar. For more details, email Online editor Samie Hartley at shartley@napanews.com.

Sunday, Jan. 15

MLK Celebration

4 p.m. Congregation Beth Shalom, 1455 Elm St., Napa, hosts the 2023 MLK Celebration of Compassion and Action Commemoration, a public interfaith commemoration to renew Dr. Martin Luther King's "Dream" in Napa Valley. The event features community speakers and local musicians.

Monday, Jan. 16

Day of Service

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Napa Valley Center for Spiritual Living, 1249 Coombs St., Napa, serves as the hub for the 2023 MLK Celebration of Compassion and Action Day of Service. To find various service projects in Napa Valley, visit volunteernow.org.

Thursday, Jan. 19

Chinese in Napa Valley

7 p.m. John McCormick discusses his new book, Chinese in Napa Valley: The Forgotten Community that Built Napa Valley at Native Sons Hall, 937 Coombs St., Napa. Tickets are $10-$20. Info, 707-224-1739; info@napahistory.org.

Saturday, Jan. 21

Family Fun Day

1-3 p.m. Napa Valley Museum, 55 Presidents Circle, Yountville, hosts an Old West-inspired family event. Explore the museum, finish a scavenger hunt and win a prize, learn to use a lasso, and throw some horseshoes. Info, napavalleymuseum.org.

'My Sailor, My Love'

4 and 7 p.m. Jarvis Conservatory, 1711 Main St., Napa, screens the Finland film "My Sailor, My Love." The film is about a retired sea captain and his daughter who must reassess their strained relationship after he begins a new romance with a widowed housekeeper. Tickets are $15. Info, 707-255-5445.

Saturday, Jan. 28

'La Boheme'

7 p.m. Jarvis Conservatory, 1711 Main St., Napa, screens Opera Australia's production of the opera "La Boheme." Tickets are $20. Info, 707-255-5445.

Saturday, Feb. 4

Authors Forum

2 p.m. Authors Vanessa Hua and Margo Candela present their latest novels, "Forbidden City" and "The Neapolitan Sisters" at the Napa AAUW Authors Forum held at the Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center, 2277 Napa Vallejo Highway, Napa. Tickets are $40.

Crab Feed Fundraiser

5-10 p.m. Napa Valley Horsemen's Association hosts its annual crab feed fundraiser at 1200 Foster Road, Napa. Tickets are $85 and include dinner and live music by Salty Dawg. Info, napahorsemen.org.

A Cappella Extravaganza

7 p.m. Uptown Theatre, 1350 Third St., Napa, hosts the 17th annual A Cappella Extravaganza, featuring high school and collegiate a cappella groups, and headliners m-pact. Tickets are $30. Info, napachoir.org.

Saturday, Feb. 18

Comedy

7 p.m. Comedian Jeff Capri performs at Grand Reserve at The Meritage, 850 Bordeaux Way, Napa. Tickets are $32. Info, info@thelaughcellar.com.

Saturday, Feb. 25

Documentary

1 p.m. The Michael Leonardi Foundation hosts a free screening of Dead On Arrival  a documentary about fentanyl from filmmakers Dominic Tierno and Christine Wood, at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington St., Yountville. RSVP required. Reserve your seat at eventbrite.com. Info, michaelleonardifoundation.org, 707-815-7744.

Saturday, March 11

Ol' School Dance Party

6:30-10 p.m. The St. Helena Cooperative Nursery School hosts its Ol' School Dance Party benefit fundraiser at Native Sons Hall, 1313 Spring St., St. Helena. Tickets are $65 and include beer, wine, and food along with live music. Info, sthelenacoop.org.

Saturday, April 1

Viva Mariachi!

3-7 p.m. Napa Valley College hosts the Viva Mariachi! Festival at its Performing Arts Center, 2277 Napa Vallejo Highway, Napa. This cultural event promotes the rich heritage and traditions of Mexico through Mariachi music and music education. The event features Mariachi de Uclatlan as headlining performers. Tickets are $15. Info, 707-256-7161.
Updated at 5:22 p.m. Saturday  The latest in a nearly three-week wave of Bay Area storms led to flood warnings in Napa County and much of the North Bay well into Saturday, as well as several local road closures.

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Heavy overnight rains that totaled as much as 2 inches in 24 hours led the Napa County Office of Emergency Services to declare a flood warning, which began Saturday morning and was extended first to 5 p.m. and then 11 p.m. Officials kept the warning in force into the evening due to forecasts of small-stream and urban flooding in the North Bay, according to county spokesperson Linda Ong.

A county flood watch was then to take effect until 10 p.m. Sunday.

In the wake of rains that began Friday evening, the northbound lanes of Highway 29 shut down at Napa Junction outside American Canyon before reopening at about 11:45 a.m. Saturday. Oakville Cross Road also was closed due to flooding, but reopened shortly before 3:15 p.m.

Other roads that closed due to flooding included the Silverado Trail at the Rutherford fire station and Tubbs Lane at Highway 29 outside Calistoga.

Napa County work crews were dealing with fallen trees or slides on Wooden Valley, Pope Canyon, Berryessa Knoxville and Mount Veeder roads, the county said in a Facebook post.

The county was sending an excavator to Wooden Valley Road to clear the blockages there, and also was working to clear the other routes during an afternoon pause in the rains, Ong said earlier Saturday.

A rain gauge at Napas city corporation yard measured 1.77 inches in the 24 hours ending 9:30 a.m. Saturday, and precipitation totals in higher-elevation and Upvalley areas ran as high as 2.6 inches at the Dry Creek fire station, according to Napa OneRain website.

Rain totals at Napa County Airport were expected to total up to another quarter-inch on Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.

As much as 8 to 10 inches of rain have fallen on the Bay Area in the past 19 days.

The Bay Area as a region remains under a weather service flood watch, which began at 4 a.m. Saturday and was extended by eight hours to midnight at the beginning of Tuesday.

Despite the latest rainfall, the Napa River was on track to stay under the 22-foot flood monitoring level.

North of the city of Napa, the river was expected to peak at 5 p.m. Saturday at 20.3 feet, well below the 25-foot flood stage, according to the California Nevada River Forecast Center.

The district closed the flood gates in the Oxbow Commons, a Napa River overflow channel downtown, at 5 p.m. Friday ahead of the rising river level, its second such closure in six days. The closure, which is blocking McKinstry Street, will remain in place at least through Tuesday, according to Ong.

Flooding concerns have led to the closures in Napa of Kennedy Park, the Main Street boat dock and Trancas Street park, likely through the weekend, the city announced earlier.

In downtown Napa, the weekly Farmers Market in the West Street parking lot was canceled for the morning due to unsafe weather conditions. We apologize for the late notice, but things got pretty intense on site and we made the call as soon as possible to protect safety, Cara Mae Wooledge, Napa Farmers Market director, said in a statement.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co.s online outage map showed new service interruptions Saturday afternoon in Napa County, with 147 customers affected east of the Silverado Trail north of Napa and another 35 blacked out near Deer Park.

The weather service predicted up to an additional 3/4 inch of rain at Napa County Airport on Sunday and a quarter-inch Monday, before a return to sunny skies on Tuesday.

Throughout Saturday, California received more rain, wind and snow, raising flooding concerns, causing power outages and making travel dangerous. Bands of rain with gusty winds started in the north and spread south, with more storms expected to follow into early next week, the weather service said.

More than 68,000 utility customers were without electricity Saturday morning, although that number was cut by more than half during the afternoon, according to poweroutage.us.

To the south, warnings were posted for parts of counties including San Mateo and Santa Cruz, where the tiny community of Felton Grove along the San Lorenzo River was ordered evacuated.

The swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County, and to the east, flood warnings were in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where Gov. Gavin Newsom visited to take stock of storm problems.

The reality is that this is just the eighth of what we anticipate will be nine atmospheric rivers  we're not done, Newsom said at a briefing with local leaders where he urged people to be vigilant about safety for the next 24 to 48 hours.

The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab tweeted Saturday morning that it received 21.3 inches of snow in 24 hours and that its snowpack of about 10 feet was expected to grow several more feet by Monday.

At least 19 storm-related deaths have occurred statewide, and a 5-year-old boy remained missing after being swept out of his mother's car by flood waters in San Luis Obispo County.

In Santa Barbara County, where a massive debris flow through the community of Montecito killed 23 people on Jan. 9, 2018, residents were told that new evacuations were not expected but that they should be prepared.

Montecito and adjacent areas were most recently ordered evacuated last Monday, the fifth anniversary of what is locally remembered as the 1/9 Debris Flow. But the community perched on foothills of coastal mountains escaped serious harm.

Associated Press reporter John Antczak contributed to this report.

Photos: Scenes from around Napa Valley as storms continue to batter the area Storm Coverage 2 Storm Coverage 1 Storm Coverage 3 Storm Coverage 4 Storm Coverage 5 Storm Coverage 6 Storm Coverage 7 Storm Coverage 8 Storm Coverage 11 Storm Coverage 10 Storm 1 Storm 2 Storm 4 Storm 3 Storm 5 Storm 6 Napa Storm 1 Napa Storm 2 Napa Storm 3 Napa Storm 4 Napa Storm 5 Napa Storm 6 Napa Storm 9 Storm Storm Kennedy Park encampment Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm
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Newspaper: Karabakh soldiers who showed necessary resistance to Azerbaijan military are rewarded

Armenia FM, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office tete-a-tete kicks off (PHOTOS)

Armenia deputy PM, USAID official discuss opportunities for deepening cooperation

Mher Grigoryan, Todd Robinson exchange views on ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia

Armenia FM to Derek Hogan: Provocation near Tegh village was another manifestation of Azerbaijan aggressive policy

shamshyan.com: Murder in Armenias Syunik Province, 6 gunshot wounds found on body of security guard, 57

US State Department on Armenias Tegh village incident: Use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable

MFA: France deeply concerned about violence that took place near Tegh village of Armenia

Legal entity from Armenia on list of those subject to US export restrictions

Russia MOD: 4 ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh

EU monitoring mission in Armenia not present in the area when Azerbaijan attacked

Armenia National Security Service Border Guard Troops commander dismissed

Armenia MOD: Tegh village incident that led to undesirable consequences was due to deployment adjustment

Mayor of Frances Lyon expresses unconditional support to people of Karabakh

Pashinyan: Armenian side had recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan

Criminal proceedings launched into Armenia soldiers being killed, wounded by Azerbaijan near Tegh village

Chairman-in-Office: OSCE supports continuation of Armenia-Azerbaijan direct contacts

MFA: Russia asked Armenia to explain information about participating in joint military exercises with NATO

Zakharova does not disclose details of Russian, Turkish FMs talks on Armenia-Turkey relations

Russia MFA spox: CSTO mission deployment details can be talked about when Armenia is ready

Zakharova: Russia favors complete unblocking of Lachin corridor

Russia MFA: Other players engagement will lead to Armenia-Azerbaijan relations destabilization

EU calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to intensify border delimitation talks, until then to respect 1991 line

Russia MFA spox: Yerevan, Baku accepted proposal to hold another bilateral talks

Pallone: This is another senseless provocation from Azerbaijani forces against Armenia

Zakharova: Russia Border Guard Service, army took measures to de-escalate situation near Armenias Tegh village

Armenia deputy defense minister on possible Azerbaijan provocations again: Nothing can be ruled out

Armenia MP: Azerbaijanis demanded not to do engineering work, our soldiers responded, battle started from that

Marukyan: This is continuation of attacks carried out against Armenia in May and November 2021, in September 2022

About 100 killed in airstrikes in rural Myanmar

Criminal proceedings to be launched against Armenia opposition MP Mher Sahakyan

Armenia MP: Army corps commander was there, talks were to be held but Azerbaijan resorted to provocation

Mher Grigoryan, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State discuss security issues in Armenia, region

Parliament observes minute of silence in memory of Armenia soldiers who died yesterday

Newspaper: How Europe reacts to yesterday's provocation by Azerbaijanis?

Anahit Manasyan is elected Armenia ombudsperson

Armenia MOD: No significant ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan recorded at night

MOD: 3 of wounded Armenia soldiers in satisfactory condition, other 3 in moderate, severe, critical condition

RA MOD announces names of soldiers killed by Azerbaijani Armed Forces

As of 10:15 p.m., the situation on the frontline is relatively stable. RA Ministry of Defense

The destruction of Artsakh and Syunik is a key issue for Turkey and Azerbaijan. David Babayan

Suren Papikyan interrupts his working visit and returns to Armenia

Azerbaijans provocation is another encroachment on the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia. MFA

Azerbaijan MOD publicizes data on own losses during latest Baku provocation

Russia MOD: 2 ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh

The reason for Azerbaijan's aggression is not being sanctioned by the international community. Edmon Marukyan

Four Armenian soldiers killed, six wounded because of Azerbaijani provocation. MOD

Video shows how Azerbaijani soldiers approach and open fire at Armenian soldiers

Armenia National Assembly cancels special session

Legislature deputy speaker on Azerbaijani infiltration into Armenia: Not case where accountability is implied

Azerbaijanis opened fire in direction of Sotk

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan army continues provocation, uses mortars

Azerbaijani shooting resumes in direction of Armenias Tegh village

Haykakan Zhamanak: Armenia Special Army Corps commander wounded in skirmish

MOD: Armenian side has casualties and wounded, according to preliminary data

Shots fired at Tegh village area, Armenia has casualty

Armenia parliament vice-speaker: Turkey border shall be open for 3rd countries citizens at summers beginning

Armenia lawmaker: Azerbaijan has violated mutual understanding on Karabakh issue

Sargis Khandanyan: Armenia does not play football on CSTO issue

Armenia Prosecutor General submits petition to parliament for consent to prosecute opposition MP

Ruling force MP: Before sending mission, CSTO must record Armenia territorys occupation

Photo traps of Armenias Khosrov Forest State Reserve capture grizzly bear again

Peskov calls information about Egypt president's covert shipment of rockets to Russia sensational lie

The Washington Post: Egypt planned to secretly send up to 40,000 rockets to Russia, leaked US document says

Earthquake hits Iran-Turkey border zone, also felt in Armenia

Sharm El Sheikh-Yerevan flight that landed in Turkey arrives in Armenia capital

Bortnikov: Terrorists want to destabilize the situation in Caucasus

15 more people from Karabakh transferred to Armenia medical centers, 10 patients return

Russia airspace to be closed for flights to Europe until 2029, Eurocontrol announces

Armenia defense minister visits NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (PHOTOS)

North Korea leader announces strengthening of war deterrence forces

AraratBank provides support to 100 children from underprivileged families

Foreign Affairs: External threat may force Iran to enter into open conflict on Armenias side

Foreigners make about 400 real estate sales transactions in Armenia in February

Russia emergency service: UAV falls in Belgorod city airport territory on Monday

Armenia becomes donor to International Development Association of World Bank

Bitcoin rises nearly 7% to $30,200

Sharm El Sheikh-Yerevan flight lands in Turkey

Karabakh authorities send proposal to hold meeting to Azerbaijani side

shamshyan.com: Man, 57, found dead at downtown Yerevan churchyard

Yerevan city council supposed to elect new mayor today but majority faction not attending session

Armenia legislature kicks off regular 4-day session

Newspaper: Armenia, Azerbaijan see further negotiations on Washington platform

Next-generation Countryman crossovers first photos surface

Scientific miracle: Atoms first photo is 5 years old

shamshyan.com: Man who returned from Moscow dies suddenly at Yerevan international airport

Woman who threw umbrella at Armenia PM is released from custody

Turkey FM: We coordinate every step with Armenia with Azerbaijan

Woman detained after throwing umbrella at PM Pashinyan in Armenia village

Tokayev: Kazakhstan supports Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process
The objective reality has changed dramatically with the active support of Azerbaijan, which continues to change it, saying that the Lachin corridorwhich links Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Armeniawill be open only for exits. Andrey Areshev, a Russian expert on South Caucasus issues, told about this to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

"This is an absolutely clear signal of departure to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. This is an alarming symptom. We understand that Baku is creating a humanitarian crisis in Artsakh in order to stimulate the authorities of Artsakh, if not to relocate, then, as they say, to integrate Nagorno-Karabakh into the economic life and activities of Azerbaijan," Areshev added.

According to him, the formal demands put forward by the so-called environmentalists are related to the monitoring of mines in Artsakh; that is, the confrontation for resources is added to the traditional ethno-political confrontationand with major international participation.

Areshev noted that this directly refers to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is guarded by Russian peacekeepers, and who are forced to act or not to act due to the lack of a written mandate.

The expert now considers the possible deployment of peacekeepers under the UN flag completely unrealistic, as it would require agreement, including from Azerbaijan.

"We realize that there will be no such agreement. It is necessary to try to work towards the creation of mechanisms that are designed to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Artsakh. The insufficiently active position of the Armenian side is a serious obstacle," the political scientist emphasized.

He drew attention to Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan's emphasis on the need for contacts between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, although in the current conditions it is not so clear how these contacts should be implemented, as well as to some impulses directed at the leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh, to which the latters state minister, Ruben Vardayan, responded.

According to Areshev, this only confirms the line formulated by Pashinyan, and which has been marked for a long time and is related to staying away from any issue of ensuring the security of Artsakh.

"The key security issue is to justify the Russian peacekeepers, who are quite constrained in their actions, and the other says that if Russia is not capable, then let the international peacekeeping forces come," added the analyst.

He emphasized that the previous negotiation logic within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group was violated back in 2018and not without Pashinyan's direct participation.

"As a result, we have a radically changed situation in terms of the legal and political status of Artsakh, which was de facto recognized by Yerevan as part of Azerbaijan. For that, the Alma-Ata declaration [of 1991] is used and even read in a very unique way," concluded Areshev.
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnsons loyal band of supporters continue to believe he is the only politician with the box-office appeal to turn around the Conservative Partys ailing fortunes, The Guardian reported.

Before he has any chance of plotting a comeback, however, he will have to endure another box-office encounter that represents his biggest obstacle.

In what will be a high-stakes spectacle, major broadcasters are planning to air the entirety of the former prime ministers testimony to parliaments privileges committee, which is examining whether he misled MPs about law-breaking parties during the Covid pandemic.

So much sensitive evidence has been submitted to the inquiry that the Observer has been told it is being kept in a strong room. Only those with proper passes and reasons for access are allowed in and out. One source said some of the claims about parties were decidedly weird, and that new information would come to light.

Meanwhile, Johnsons eagerly anticipated appearancewhich could be one of only a small number of public hearingswill happen later than originally planned as a result of the quantity of documents the committee has been given. He is now expected to appear before the cameras next month. This will be broadcast live on parliaments televised feed, and Sky News is already understood to have decided to show his whole evidence session.

The stakes have been raised in recent weeks as Johnson has broken cover with a series of speeches and appearances, some designed to keep his supporters onside and others to cash in since leaving officea process he has described to friends as putting hay in the loft before he can embark on a comeback.

Last week, he recorded a 1m donation to his office from Christopher Harborne, a Thai-based British businessman who had previously given millions of pounds to Nigel Farages Brexit party. He and his family are also being supported by the billionaire Bamford family, who have provided Johnson with two homes declared as costing 10,000 each for the month.

The events that took place in Whitehall during the pandemic are already being raised ahead of the privileges committee examination. Last week, Johnson was accused of joking at one leaving party during lockdown that this is the most unsocially distanced party in the UK right now. He repeatedly told MPs that he did not know gatherings broke Covid laws in place at the time.

A spokesperson for Johnson did not deny the comment but said the then prime minister had worked constantly to ensure the government did all it could to save lives and protect livelihoods during the pandemic.

Whatever happens during the live questioning of Johnson during the inquiry, some MPs believe there is also a serious problem ahead for Rishi Sunak over the parties inquiry. MPs will have to vote on any sanction on Johnson recommended by the cross-party committee. While it is likely to be a free unwhipped vote, some MPs said that, in reality, the Conservative Party would seek advice over how they should vote.
Excited passengers rush to reopened high-speed rail

Excited passengers rush to reopened high-speed rail
Republican demands visitor log over Biden documents

Representative James Comer was speaking in an interview with CNN. File photo: AFP

The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Sunday demanded visitor logs for President Joe Biden's house in Wilmington, Delaware, after classified documents were found in his office and garage.



"Without a list of individuals who have visited his residence, the American people will never know who had access to these highly sensitive documents," Representative James Comer said in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain dated Sunday.



Republicans have sought to compare the Biden documents case with that of former President Donald Trump, who faces a federal criminal probe of how he handled classified documents after he left the White House. But legal experts say there are stark contrasts between the two cases.



Comer said he would not seek visitor logs for Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, where more than 100 classified documents were found in an FBI search.



"I don't feel like we need to spend a whole lot of time because the Democrats have done that for the past six years," he said in an interview Sunday with CNN.



Trump has announced he would seek the presidency again in 2024, with Biden as his expected Democratic rival.



The Biden disclosures emerged last week after his legal team said it had found classified documents relating to his time as vice president in the Obama administration at his Delaware home. His lawyers on Saturday reported finding five additional pages at his home.



There is no legal requirement that US presidents disclose visitors at their home or at the White House. The Biden administration reinstated disclosures of official guests to the White House and released its first batch of records in May 2021. Former President Donald Trump had suspended the practice shortly after he took office in 2017.



Republicans in the US House of Representatives launched an investigation on Friday into the Justice Department's handling of improperly stored classified documents possessed by Biden. Comer's committee is also reviewing the case.



The investigation comes as Trump is under federal criminal investigation for mishandling classified documents after his presidency.



In the Biden case, the president's lawyers informed the National Archives and Justice Department about finding a small number of documents at a think tank in Washington and later at Biden's Wilmington home.



In Trump's case, the National Archives tried for more than a year after Trump left office to retrieve all of the records he retained, without success. When Trump finally returned 15 boxes of documents in January 2022, Archives officials discovered they contained classified materials.



After the matter was referred to the Justice Department, Trump's lawyers handed over more material from Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and said there were no more documents on the premises.



That turned out to be false. In the end, the FBI recovered an additional 13,000 documents, about 100 of which were marked classified, from the estate.



House Democrats introduced the "Mar-a-Lago Act" in 2017 that would require Trump to regularly disclose visitors to his Florida home, but it was never voted on in the chamber or full Congress.



Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, the outgoing House Intelligence Committee chairman, said Congress should seek an assessment from the US intelligence community on whether any documents, from either Trump or Biden, jeopardised national security.



"I don't think we can exclude the possibility without knowing more of the facts," Schiff said on ABC's "This Week." (Reuters)
The BSF fired 7 rounds at the drone after its movement was detected late on Saturday night in Kalia village of Tarn Taran district, alongside the India-Pakistan border.

A search operation has been launched in the area.

This is the second instance this month where a drone arms drop attempt was prevented by the BSF.

On January 3, the troopers fired 15 rounds at a Pakistani drone after hearing its noise in Kalia village and drove it away.

--IANS spt/fs/vd

( 124 Words)

2023-01-15-20:00:03 (IANS)
Along with Singh, his associate Hari Om was also arrested in a bribery case of Rs 50 lakh, CBI sources said.

Both were arrested from Delhi, the sources further informed.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
India's leading telecommunications services provider Bharti Airtel has announced the launch of its 5G services in Shillong. The telecom company has said Airtel 5G Plus services will be available to customers in a phased manner as the company continues to construct its network and complete the roll-out. Customers with fifth-generation mobile system (5G)-enabled devices would enjoy high-speed Airtel 5G Plus network from Saturday at no extra cost until the roll-out is more widespread, the service provider said in a statement. Rajnish Verma, Chief Executive Officer, Bharti Airtel Northeastern States, said, "I am thrilled to announce the launch of Airtel 5G Plus in Shillong. Airtel customers can now experience ultrafast network and enjoy speeds up to 20-30 times faster than the current 4G speeds. We are in the process of lighting up the entire city which will allow customers to enjoy superfast access to high-definition video-streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos and more." Currently operational at Laitumukhrah, Lapalang, Nongrah, Governor House, Lummawbah, Jaiaw Laitdom, Pines Colony (Laban Red Cross), Mawpat, Riat Sohkhlur and a few other locations, Airtel said it would augment its network making its services available across the city in due course of time. Airtel 5G Plus will bolster the entire portfolio of services that Airtel offers. In addition, it will allow superfast access to high-definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos and more, according to the company's statement. The launch is tipped to boost the country's economic growth as Airtel 5G Plus revolutionises education, health care, manufacturing, agriculture, mobility and logistics. Airtel, in one year, has demonstrated the power of 5G with a host of powerful use cases from India's first live 5G network in Hyderabad to India's first 5G-powered hologram to India's first 5G-connected ambulance, according to the company's statement. (ANI)
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), organised the Auto Trade Dialogue at the Auto Expo 2023 and discussed emerging policies and trends in the global automotive industry. The deliberations highlighted that with dynamically-changing automotive policy ecosystem, cooperation among the countries is of utmost importance in furthering the auto trade. The event witnessed distinguished policymakers from the ministry of commerce and industry, the ministry of heavy industries, and the Indian Auto Industry along with experts across various regions including from Bangladesh, Europe, Germany, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Africa and the United Kingdom, SIAM said in a statement, released on Saturday evening. Hanif Qureshi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, said, "With the auto industry's turnover of USD 123 billion, India is one of the largest markets globally. We hope to strengthen our relationship with governments, manufacturers and consumers, and build an ecosystem where the sector can thrive." Srikar Reddy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said, "With the ambitious target of reaching USD 1 trillion total trade exports by 2030, we look forward to the Indian auto sector to contribute USD 100 billion in exports by the year 2030." Anna Shotbolt, Deputy Trade Commissioner, British High Commission Indian and Nathalie Gminder, First Secretary, German Embassy were also present at the event. Rahul Bharti, Chairman, SIAM International Relations and Trade Policy Group, and Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki India, said, "The auto sector has seen a paradigm shift with the introduction of electric, hydrogen-based fuels and biofuels. Decarbonisation is our responsibility and even the government is participating in the transition by introducing subsidies." Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM, and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, VECV, said, "Auto trade policies have received desirable focus in the past years. As India becomes an important player in the global auto Industry, we aspire to be one of the leading economies with a strong export footprint." Cedrick Crowley, Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission of South Africa, said, "Trade will be the vehicle to cement the relationship between India and South Africa." (ANI)
Actor Mark Patton known for starring in the 2010 horror flick 'Nightmare on Elm Street 2' has reached out to fans for help with paying his medical bills. According to Fox News, a USA-based news outlet, Patton is currently under the care of a Mexican hospital. In a statement posted to a GoFundMe page set up by his agent, Peter Valderrama, on Thursday, he said, "Basically I am asking for help I will not be embarrassed. I just want to be healthy and at home with family." The outlet reported that on the page, Valderrama wrote that the 63-year-old actor has been purportedly "ill for quite some time now," initially believing he was experiencing COVID-19 aftereffects. However, he added that Patton's illness is "quite clearly AIDS-related." Patton is asking fans to help with his medical bills so as to be transported to an American hospital in Mexico where he can receive more specialized care because his current hospital is said to be overcome with COVID-19 cases at the moment and the staff speaks very little English, Valderrama wrote. The GoFundMe page has surpassed its USD 18,000 goal and fans have left heartfelt messages on the page, reported Fox News. As per the new outlet, Patton lives in Puerto Vallarta with his husband, Hector Morales Mondragon, where they own and operate an art gallery. (ANI)
Almost 60,000 people have died of Covid in China in the past five weeks, authorities have announced, according to a media report. China is in the grip of a major wave of the virus after abruptly lifting its zero-Covid restrictions in December last year, with some major cities estimating between 70 per cent and 90 per cent of their populations have been infected, The Guardian reported. Anecdotal reports and long queues at morgues and crematoriums point to a high death toll, but until Saturday the authorities had only officially recorded a few dozen Covid-19 deaths, the report said. The shortfall was due to stringent definitions of how a death is attributed to Covid. Only people who died of respiratory failure were counted. Last week, the World Health Organization had criticised the new definition as too narrow and an under-representation of the true impact of the outbreak. Chinese authorities responded that it was not necessary to attribute every death. On Saturday, however, Jiao Yahui, the head of the Bureau of Medical Administration, announced there had in fact been 59,938 Covid deaths between December 8 and January 12. It included about 5,500 who died of respiratory failure, while the rest also had underlying health conditions. The average age of those who died was 80, Jiao said, with 90.1 per cent aged 65 and above, The Guardian reported. The death toll given on Saturday includes only those who died in hospital and is likely still lower than the true total. There have been concerns about further spread of the virus ahead of the lunar new year holiday beginning next week. People have been urged not to visit their elderly relatives in order to protect them. Jiao also said that case rates are declining and the peak has passed in most areas. She said the daily number of people going to fever clinics peaked at 2.9 million on December 23, and had fallen by 83 per cent to 477,000 on Thursday, The Guardian reported. "These data show the national emergency peak has passed," she said. --IANS san/arm ( 360 Words) 2023-01-14-21:40:02 (IANS)
Officials said that the passenger was brought to a hospital after the flight landed at Indore airport. The doctors at the hospital declared him dead.

As per the information, the passenger -- Atul Gupta, was around 60-year-old. He was on board IndiGo Airlines flight 6E-2088, and was found bleeding from the mouth as his condition deteriorated mid-way through the journey.

Due to the medical emergency, the Madurai-Delhi flight was diverted to Indore and it landed there around 5.30 p.m.

Gupta was sent to a hospital from the airport where he was declared brought dead.

Initial information said that the passenger was suffering from some ailments including blood pressure and diabetes.

Officials said that the flight finally took off for Delhi at around 6.40 p.m. According to sources, Gupta was a resident of Noida.

--IANS kvm/pgh

( 165 Words)

2023-01-14-23:26:01 (IANS)
Hospitals have strong cleanliness and sanitation measures in place to protect patients from microorganisms that rarely affect healthy people but can be deadly to vulnerable patients who are already hospitalised with serious illnesses. Nearly 100,000 people die every year in U.S. hospitals of infections they develop after being admitted. But despite intense infection-control efforts, new strains of bacteria keep on emerging, seemingly out of nowhere, to sicken people in hospitals worldwide. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found evidence pointing to an unexpected source of such bacteria: the hospitalized patients themselves. Studying mice, the researchers discovered that urinary tract infections (UTIs) can arise after sterile tubes, called catheters, are inserted into the urinary tract, even when no bacteria are detectable in the bladder beforehand. Such tubes are commonly used in hospitals to empty the bladders of people undergoing surgery. In the mice, inserting the tubes activated dormant Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii)bacteria hidden in bladder cells, triggering them to emerge, multiply and cause UTIs, the researchers said. The findings, published January 11 in Science Translational Medicine, suggest that screening patients for hidden reservoirs of dangerous bacteria could supplement infection-control efforts and help prevent deadly infections. "You could sterilize the whole hospital, and you would still have new strains of A. baumannii popping up," said co-senior author Mario Feldman, PhD, a professor of molecular microbiology. "Cleaning is just not enough, and nobody really knows why. This study shows that patients may be unwittingly carrying the bacteria into the hospital themselves, and that has implications for infection control. If someone has a planned surgery and is going to be catheterized, we could try to determine whether the patient is carrying the bacteria and cure that person of it before the surgery. Ideally, that would reduce the chances of developing one of these life-threatening infections." A. baumannii is a major threat to hospitalized people, causing many cases of UTIs in people with urinary catheters, pneumonia in people on ventilators, and bloodstream infections in people with central-line catheters into their veins. The bacteria are notoriously resistant to a broad range of antibiotics, so such infections are challenging to treat and can easily turn deadly. Feldman teamed up with co-senior author Scott J. Hultgren, PhD, the Helen L. Stoever Professor of Molecular Microbiology and an expert on UTIs, to investigate why so many A. baumannii UTIs develop after people receive catheters. Most UTIs among otherwise healthy people are caused by the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli). Research has shown that E. coli can hide out in bladder cells for months after a UTI seems to have been cured, and then re-emerge to cause another infection. Feldman and Hultgren -- along with co-first authors Jennie E. Hazen, a graduate student, and Gisela Di Venanzio, PhD, an instructor in molecular microbiology -- investigated whether A. baumannii can hide inside cells like E. coli can. They studied mice with UTIs caused by A. baumannii. They used mice with weakened immune systems because, like people, healthy mice can fight off A. baumannii. Once the infections had resolved and no bacteria were detected in the mice's urine for two months, the researchers inserted catheters into the mice's urinary tracts with a sterile technique. Within 24 hours, about half of the mice developed UTIs caused by the same strain of A. baumannii as the initial infection."The bacteria must have been there all along, hiding inside bladder cells until the catheter was introduced," Hultgren said. "Catheterization induces inflammation, and inflammation causes the reservoir to activate, and the infection blooms." Since A. baumannii rarely causes symptoms in otherwise healthy people, many people who carry the bacteria may never know they're infected, the researchers said. As part of this study, the researchers searched the scientific literature and discovered that about 2 pc of healthy people carry A. baumannii in their urine. "I wouldn't put much weight on the precise percentage, but I think we can say with certainty that some percentage of the population is walking around with A. baumannii," Feldman said. "As long as they're basically healthy, it doesn't cause any problems, but once they're hospitalized, it's a different matter. This changes how we think about infection control. We can start considering how to check if patients already have Acinetobacter before they receive certain types of treatment; how we can get rid of it; and if other bacteria that cause deadly outbreaks in hospitals, such as Klebsiella, hide in the body in the same way. That's what we're working on figuring out now." (ANI)
The West Bengal government on Saturday has received a 493-page letter that sought details about utilisation of central funds for the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme. In the letter from the Union Ministry of Rural Development, according to state government sources, there are queries pertaining to allegations from the leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari about irregularities in the PMAY scheme. In the letter, the Union Ministry has maintained that their officials are not satisfied with the explanations sent by the state government earlier on this count. The state government has claimed that the first round of central funds is supposed to come this month only. However, an officer of the state panchayat affairs and rural development, said that following the fresh enquiry letter, now it is uncertain on when the first phase of central funds under the PMAY scheme will reach the state government kitty. In the letter, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has also sought queries on the details of expenditure under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme, meant for the development of rural roads in the country. The Trinamool Congress leadership has described this development as a deliberate move by the BJP and Union government to deprive the state government from the funds under these centrally-sponsored schemes. According to the Trinamool Congress state general secretary and the party spokesman in West Bengal, Kunal Ghosh, the Union government is resorting to new excuses regularly to deprive the state. "They are doing politics over the entire issue. The state BJP letters are making false accusations and on the basis of that, the Union government is blocking the funds," he said. Two field inspection teams from the Union Ministry of Rural Development have already conducted an enquiry on this count in East Midnapore and Malda districts. Another five field inspection teams from the same Ministry are scheduled to visit the state and review the situation in 10 districts. --IANS src/pgh ( 337 Words) 2023-01-14-21:38:02 (IANS)
Central agencies and the district administration in Mizoram are probing the reported bombing by Myanmar military jet fighters along the Tiau river, which divides the two countries, officials said on Saturday. An official from the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) said that the Indian territory remained unaffected after the Myanmar military's bombing on militants' camps of that country on January 10 and 11. "However, we are probing the incident," the official said. Champhai district Deputy Commissioner James Lalrinchhana said that he has sent a magistrate of the area concerned to verify the claims being made by some locals. He said a detailed report would be sent to higher authorities once the verification is done. Lalramliana, the President of Farkawn village council in Champai, however, claimed that a bomb was dropped near Tiau river on the Mizoram side. "A truck owned by a village council member has been damaged in the explosion when it was carrying river sand," he said. Meanwhile, the influential NGO Coordination Committee in Mizoram, in an urgent meeting discussed the matters relating to "violation of Indian air space and bombing of India's territories by Myanmar air force two times on January 10 and 11". The Committee strongly condemned the violation of Indian airspace and bombing of Indian territories by the Myanmar air force, a statement said on Saturday. It requested the Central government to safeguard the sovereignty of India, adding that it would pursue the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah for immediate action. The Indian army, however, denied any such bombing on Indian soil. Sources across the border said that the Myanmar jet fighter bombed the 'Camp Victoria', the military headquarters of the Chin National Army (CNA), one of the strong ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. The military believes that the CNA is assisting the pro-democracy protesters against the military government. Meanwhile, at least 30 refugees, including women and children, who fled from their homes following the bombings, reached Mizoram's Champhai district on Friday. Mizoram shares 510 km frontiers with Myanmar, which are guarded by the Assam Rifles. --IANS sc/arm ( 358 Words) 2023-01-14-22:34:01 (IANS)
In a joint operation, the Delhi Police along with the vigilance department of the airlines at the IGI airport have arrested 8 loaders working with ground handling agencies for stealing valuable items such as cash, jewellery, and electronics items from the flyers' baggage. The arrested individuals have been identified as Deepak Pal, Gautam Kumar, Moshin Khan, Rahul Yadav, Yashwinder, Pappi Kumar, Neeraj Kumar and Kamal Kumar. Police said that they all had formed the gang. According to Ravi Kumar Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI airport), on January 11, the joint teams apprehended one loader Deepak Pal, who attempted to pilfer from a registered check-in baggage of a passenger who was to board the flight. "On questioning, he disclosed that he was working as a loader in a ground handling assistance providing company since 2018. He started committing petty thefts from the baggage of the passengers whenever he got an opportunity," said the DCP. Slowly and gradually, he came in contact with seven other loaders and ground handling staff of other airlines and agencies. "As they all were living in close vicinity and were working in almost the same timing shifts, they all in active connivance and with ulterior motives formed a gang and started committing baggage theft at a large scale," said the official. "Raids were conducted and all other seven accused were arrested. A huge quantity of stolen articles was recovered from their possession including gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 10 lakh, 6 branded watches, Apple I-phone, cash of Rs 1,15,000 and other articles," said the official. Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, the DCP said that all the accused used to work in active connivance with each other. "The accused used to commit theft of items from the bags of the flyers and used to hide the stolen articles inside the lockers and other places within the airport. Later, whenever they got an opportunity, they used to hide the stolen articles inside their undergarments and slip outside from the airport," the official said, adding that efforts are being made to trace the other beneficiaries and purchasers of the stolen goods. The DCP further advised frequent flyers and air passengers to keep their valuable items such as cash, jewellery, and electronics items inside the checked-in baggage. "Valuable items should always be carried in hand held luggage to ensure its proper care," the police officer said. --IANS ssh/pgh ( 416 Words) 2023-01-14-22:44:02 (IANS)
The Indian Coast Guard has deployed its boats and aircraft to provide security in the ongoing Gangasagar Mela at the Sagar island of South 24 Parganas in West Bengal. Speaking about the elaborate security arrangements made by the Indian Coast Guard, Abhijit Dasgupta, Commanding officer of the Indian Coast Guard (Kolkata), said that the coast guard boats and aircraft have been deployed in the area to keep a strict vigil on the mela and prevent any untoward incident. "The maritime boundary with Bangladesh is nearby. Keeping this in view, the ships of the Coast guard has been pressed into action. Also, surveillance is being conducted from the sky," he said. "A total air-sea coordinated security cover is being provided by the coast guard," he said. "The devotees have come in large numbers to the mela. If any untoward incident happens during taking the holy dip, we will launch a search and rescue operation and bring that devotee out of water," said Dasgupta. He said that the Indian Coast guard is working in close coordination with the NDRF, SDRF and district administration to provide security at the mela. Apart from the Indian Coast Guard, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also deployed teams in the Gangasagar area to prevent any untoward incidents. Two sniffer dogs have also been deployed as part of search and rescue operations, if required. "It's a new initiative where we have deployed dogs for search operations in water. Two dogs have been trained for the purpose and we have also gained success from them," said, Sudhir Dwivedi, Assistant Commandant of NDRF. "A total of five teams have been deployed in Lot 8 of Kachuberia, Sagar Kapil Muni temple, Benuban and Namkhana," he said. On the other hand, West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose said around 14,000 police personnel have been deployed at the fair site for security reasons, adding that 31 lakh pilgrims had arrived, till Friday, for the auspicious occasion. The dip in the Ganges is believed to be sacred on January 14 and 15. Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious times in the year, marking the transition of the Sun from Dakshinayan to Uttarayan. Celebrated on January 14 every year, the festival is known by various names -- Pongal, Bihu, and Maghi. (ANI)
Former US President Donald Trump's 2024 presidential run could suffer a fatal blow considering a Georgia judge will begin hearing later this month arguments regarding the release of a grand jury report over his involvement in possible election tampering and may have no option but to follow the jury's verdict through. "This could be momentous," an election analyst was quoted by the US media as saying. The Georgia judge now handles the grand jury report which has recommended prosecution and has been made public damaging the ex-president's image, according to a report from the Guardian. The report could lead Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to follow through and drag the former president into court. The 23-member panel wrapped up their work last Monday requesting the report be made public -- something Trump's lawyers are trying to block, reports said. A legal expert Norm Eisen of the Brookings Institution, which issued its own report stating the former president is "at substantial risk of prosecution", said there is a wealth of evidence that could lead to prosecution for "improperly influencing government officials, forgery and criminal solicitation". Eisen claimed with the Guardian that it was "highly likely" Willis will follow the recommendations of the grand jury and proceed with prosecution. "The evidence is powerful and the law is very favourable to the prosecutors in Georgia," the attorney explained. "I believe the (special grand jury) report very likely calls for the prosecution of Trump and his co-conspirators." Eisen claimed that the Georgia case goes a step beyond DOJ's investigation of Trump over his part in the January 6 insurrection and obstruction of justice with regard to the taking of government documents and hoarding them at Mar-a-Lago. That means Trump could be in a Georgia courtroom long before the DOJ concludes its work. "If the grand jury's report recommends prosecution, a county district attorney in Atlanta, Fani Willis, will face the most consequential decision of her career -- whether, for the first time in American history, to charge a former president with a criminal offence." "That could result in Trump sitting behind bars in Georgia when he expects to be out on the campaign trail." The Guardian said: "Those who have worked with Willis say she is unlikely to shy from prosecuting Trump if she deems it appropriate. She is known to be a fan of anti-racketeering laws, having used them to prosecute public school teachers who were part of a cheating scandal. If Willis decides to press ahead with the case, she will need to convene a regular grand jury which has the authority to hand down indictments." --IANS ash/pgh ( 451 Words) 2023-01-14-23:06:04 (IANS)
Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader G Kishan Reddy on Saturday exuded confidence that people in Telangana are looking for a change in the state. "The people of Telangana want a change in the State and those who want change, want freedom from nepotism, whether they are from the village, poor family, labour class, farmers, women or Dalit, everyone wants a change. The party which will bring that change and freedom from Nepotism is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," Union Minister for tourism told ANI. To the question of would Telangana become a new political gateway in the South for BJP, G Kishan Reddy said, "When you go to Kashmir, you ask for Kashmir's importance for the government, when you go to North-East, you ask why North-East is important, in Uttar Pradesh, you ask why Uttar Pradesh is important. All states are important for development, for the government as well as for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The whole of India is our priority. There should be development in every village, every district, and every state." However, he adds that in Telugu states, Telangana is on our agenda. Union Minister for tourism, Culture and DONER G Kishan Reddy accompanied Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw during the pre-launch inspection of the newly built Vande Bharat Express train at Secunderabad railway station in Telangana. Talking to ANI during the inspection of Vande Bharat express, Reddy said that this train will start from my constituency, Secunderabad to Vishakhapatnam. More than 50 lakh people are from my home constituency-based, and the maximum belongs to Andhra Pradesh. "This train is very beneficial for those people, as well as tourism point of view also. When you will travel by this train, the city is Warangal, where the 100 pillars temple is situated. The temple got UNESCO recognition recently. After that, you will teach Vijaywada, which is the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. Then you can reach Rajahmundry and Vishakhapattanam. Therefore, this train is very beneficial for tourists as well as domestic passengers," he added. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express train connecting Secunderabad with Visakhapatnam on Sunday via video conferencing. It is pertinent to note that the train will be the eighth Vande Bharat Express to be introduced by Indian Railways and will be the first one connecting the two Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering a distance of around 700 km. It will have stoppages at Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Vijayawada stations in Andhra Pradesh and at Khammam, Warangal and Secunderabad stations in Telangana. The indigenously designed train set of Vande Bharat Express is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities and will provide a faster, more comfortable and more convenient travel experience to rail users. (ANI)
"A case has been registered against the former Mayor of Mumbai and the leader of Uddhav Thackeray group Kishori Pednekar and Kish Corporate Services Pvt Ltd for Fraud Forgery Cheating at Gomata Janata SRA Worli Mumbai," he said, adding that her family on Benami had illegally acquired four flats, that belonged to poor, slum dwellers.

Earlier in the day, the Mumbai Police filed an FIR against Kishori Pednekar, and Kish Corporate Services Pvt Ltd in connection with the alleged fraud forgery cheating case at Gomata Janata SRA Worli Mumbai.

"FIR registered against former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar Family and Kish Corporate Services Pvt Ltd for alleged fraud forgery cheating at Gomata Janata SRA Worli Mumbai," Mumbai Police said in a statement on Saturday.

Earlier on January 6, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Friday alleged that former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar and her family were involved in a forgery case in which a court issued summons against them.

"A special company court yesterday issued summons against Kishori Pednekar's son Saiprasad Pednekar, his firm Kish Corporate and four others for forgery and submitting false documents while registering the company in 2012," Somaiya said in a press conference.

Kish Corporate company was "formed by Kishori Pednekar by submitting false documents," he said, alleging that the company got Covid centre contracts worth crores of rupees. (ANI)
Former Chief Minister of Karnataka HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday questioned State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra's visit to Gujarat, around the time, from where the alleged Kingpin of human trafficking Santro Ravi was nabbed on Friday. HD Kumaraswamy said there is suspicion about Home Minister Araga Jnanendra's presence in Ahmedabad around the time, Santro Ravi was nabbed. Karnataka Police on Friday arrested Santro Ravi, an accused in dozens of cases including human trafficking. According to the police, Ravi was arrested from Gujarat after he fled from Karnataka. The cases registered against him pertaining to money transfer, fraud, and money lending, police said. Additional Director General of Police, Alok Kumar said that Ravi had escaped from the police and went into hiding in Gujarat, following which the police had ordered the formation of investigation teams under the leadership of senior police officers for his arrest. Earlier on Friday the Janata Dal-Secular leader Kumaraswamy also reacted to Santro Ravi's arrest from Gujarat. He alleged that state Home Minister Araga Jnanendra "might have taken" Santro Ravi, an alleged human trafficking kingpin, to Gujarat to "safeguard" him. "Let's see what's next. Now after the arrest of Santro Ravi some names should come out. In my opinion, who took him to Gujarat and Rajasthan? Who took him there? Who allowed him to go there from the Karnataka border? How was it possible to go at this situation? How did he go there? I feel that the home minister might have gone with him to safeguard him," Kumaraswamy said. Calling the entire episode "pre-planned", the JDS leader alleged that there is some "secret" behind the arrest of Ravi from Gujarat as both the states are BJP-ruled. "I don't know, let everything come out. They might have taken him to safeguard him. It looks like it was preplanned, there is a BJP here in Karnataka and there in Gujarat, there is some secret in his arrest," he said on Friday. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted the nation on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, Pongal and Magh Bihu. India is a land of immense devotion and festivities, where we have a plethora of cultures and traditions. When it comes to the Hindu culture, Makar Sankranti is one significant festival dedicated to Lord Surya or the Sun God. Makar Sankranti heralds the end of winter and the start of longer days as the sun moves northward. And this period is known as Uttarayan and is considered to be very auspicious. Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Modi said, "Happy Makar Sankranti. Greetings for the great festival of nature and culture. May this festival infuses enthusiasm and gaiety into everyone's life. May the blessings of Surya Dev be with all." In Tamil Nadu, people celebrate Pongal, the winter harvest festival with pomp and show. Pongal is a four-day harvest festival dedicated to the Sun God. The celebrations, associated with the sun, are celebrated by making colourful Kolams and preparing traditional food in Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister also extended greetings on the occasion of Pongal. "Pongal greetings to everyone, particularly the Tamil people worldwide. May this festival bring happiness and wonderful health in our lives," he tweeted. It is essentially a thanksgiving festival, wherein farmers thank nature, the Sun God and the farm animals for helping in the production of crops, while other people thank the farmers for producing the crops. To mark the festival, the Pongal sweet dish is prepared and is first offered to the gods and goddesses followed by, sometimes, an offering to cows. The word 'Pongal' in Tamil means 'to boil', it is also the name of a sweet dish made out of boiled rice, moong dal, milk and jaggery, which is prepared specially to mark the harvest festival. In Assam, people celebrate 'Magh Bihu'. It is also called 'Bhogali Bihu' as it is celebrated with community feasts after the annual harvest takes place. People began the day by gathering at a temple, offering prayers, reciting mantras and beating up the drums. They also took a walk around the bonfire. Extending his greetings, PM Modi said, "Best wishes on Magh Bihu. I hope this festival deepens our bond with nature and furthers the atmosphere of joy." Magh Bihu falls in the month of 'Magh' during mid-January. The highlight of this festival is the food, which is made from the abundance of grains after the harvest. (ANI)
The news report claimed that images taken by an ISRO satellite shows that Joshimath sank 5.4 cm between December 27 and January 8.

"They make one Constitutional institution attack another. Now, National Disaster Management Authority tells ISRO to shut up. But how can satellite images lie? This is New India where only one man knows everything, and will decide who will speak on anything," the former Union minister tweeted.

He also tagged the media report to his post.

The news report further states that government institutions concerned have been releasing data pertaining to Joshimath on social media, which, according to an NDMA letter that it quotes, is creating confusion and fear in the minds of the affected residents in the holy town. (ANI)
Highlighting the Centre's thrust on connectivity and infrastructure development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Vande Bharat Express is a symbol of the resolve and potential of New India and shows that the country seeks the best in everything. Prime Minister flagged off the Vande Bharat Express, connecting Secunderabad with Visakhapatnam, on Sunday via video conferencing. This is the eighth Vande Bharat Express to be launched by the Indian Railways. Addressing the occasion, the Prime Minister said, "Glad to flag off Vande Bharat Express between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam. It will enhance 'Ease of Living', boost tourism and benefit the economy. In this festive environment, it is a gift for the people of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh." He said Vande Bharat Express, in a way, will connect the shared culture and heritage of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. PM Modi said, "Vande Bharat Express signifies that India wants the best of everything. The Vande Bharat Express is a symbol of the resolve and potential of New India. It is a symbol of that India which wants to give better facilities to all its citizens. This is a symbol of an India which is heading toward self-reliance after coming out of its colonial mindset." "It is a symbol of that India which has started on the path of rapid change, an India which is restless to realise its dreams and aspirations, an India which wants to reach its goals swiftly," he said. PM Modi said connectivity expands the possibilities of development with it. Connectivity-related infrastructure, the Prime Minister said, not only connects two places but also connects dreams to reality. It connects manufacturing to the market and talent to the platform, he added. Prime Minister also paid tribute to soldiers and ex-servicemen on the occasion of Army Day. He said the Indian Army is known for its bravery and professionalism. "It is also Army Day today. Every Indian is proud of the Army. Indian Army's contribution towards the security of the nation and its borders, its valour is unparalleled," added PM Modi. The Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy were present in person on Platform No.10 of Secunderabad railway station from where the train was flagged off. Addressing the gathering, Railways Minister Vaishnaw said, "Vande Bharat is an outstanding train. It can travel 0-100 km in 52 seconds, whereas other trains in the world take 54 to 60 seconds. The designs of Vande Bharat are even better than that of an aeroplane, it can provide at most comfortable travelling." He said the development of the nation and Railways is above politics. "PM Modi is giving Telangana Rs 3,500 crore. We must use this opportunity and develop railways in Telangana in the best possible way," Vaishnaw said. He said the Secunderabad station will be developed into a world-class station. "PM Modi has sanctioned Rs 720 crore for this station along with that 35 other stations in Telangana will be developed," added the Railway Minister. According to the Ministry of Railways, the Vande Bharat Express connecting Secunderabad with Visakhapatnam is the first one connecting the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering a distance of about 700 kms. The train will have stoppages at Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Vijayawada stations in Andhra Pradesh and at Khammam, Warangal and Secunderabad stations in Telangana. The indigenously designed set of Vande Bharat Express trains is equipped with state-of-the-art passenger amenities. Railways said that it will provide passengers with a faster, more comfortable and more convenient travel experience. (ANI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday paid his last respects to party MP from Jalandhar Santokh Singh Chaudhary, who passed away on Saturday, during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'. Chaudhary, 77, passed away after collapsing in Ludhiana while walking alongside Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra's Punjab leg on Saturday amid a cold wave across North India. Chaudhary collapsed after suffering a heart attack. The yatra was suspended for the day. Chaudhary was rushed to a hospital in Phagwara, where he was declared brought dead. After the sudden demise of the party MP, Congress suspended the ongoing padayatra and cancelled Rahul Gandhi's press conference in Jalandhar scheduled for Sunday. Rahul Gandhi later met the family members of Santokh Singh in Jalandhar. "Shocked by the sudden demise of Santokh Singh Chaudhary. He was a down-to-earth hardworking leader, a pious person and a strong pillar of the Congress family, who dedicated his life to public service from Youth Congress to Member of Parliament. I express my condolences to the bereaved family," tweeted Rahul Gandhi in Hindi. Leaders across the party condoled the demise of Jalandhar MP. Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Pained by the passing away of MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary Ji. He will be remembered for his efforts to serve the people of Punjab. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti." Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge condoled the demise of Santokh Singh. "Deeply shocked and saddened to learn about the untimely passing away of our MP, Santokh Singh Chaudhary. His loss is a great blow to the party and organisation. In this hour of grief, my heart goes out to his family, friends and followers. May his soul rest in peace," tweeted Kharge. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed his condolences over Singh's demise."I am deeply saddened by the untimely death of Congress Member of Parliament from Jalandhar, Santokh Singh Chaudhary. May God rest his soul in peace," tweeted Mann. Former Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh also condoled the demise of the Congress MP. "Extremely saddened to hear about the sudden demise of MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary ji due to a heart attack today. My heartfelt condolences are with his entire family in their time of grief. May Waheguru Ji grant eternal peace to the departed soul," tweeted Capt Amarinder Singh. Expressing his condolences, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said, "Condolences on the demise of Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar Santokh Singh. In his long public life, he was always vocal on issues of public interest. Discipline in the House was the speciality of his personality. May God give peace to the departed soul. My condolences to the family members." Taking to Twitter, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "Saddened to learn about the passing away of Jalandhar MP Santokh Chaudhary Ji. My condolences to his son Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, family and followers. May Gurusahab bless his soul." Santokh Singh Chaudhary's son Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary is a sitting MLA from Phillaur constituency. (ANI)
Emphasizing that the Army has maintained a strong defence posture at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Manoj Pande on Sunday ascertained that the force is ready to tackle any contingency. The Army chief's remarks came almost a month after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector on December 9. "In the northern border areas, the situation has been normal and through established protocols and existing mechanisms, necessary steps have been taken to maintain peace. Maintaining a strong defence posture at LAC, we are ready to tackle any contingency," Pande said while speaking at the Army Day event here at Govindaswami Drill Square ground. "Despite difficult areas and rough weather, our brave jawans are deployed there. All kinds of arms, equipment and facilities are being given to them in adequate quantity. With combined efforts of local admin, other agencies and military there've been improvements in infra development," he said. Last year, Pandey said, the Army firmly faced security-related challenges and ensured the security of borders actively and strongly. "Army took steps to improve capability development, force restructuring and training. It also further strengthened its preparations for future wars," he had said. Pande also launched a scathing remark against Pakistan in a veiled attack, saying there has been a significant decline in "ceasefire violations in the border areas near the Line of Control (LoC) in the western border of the country while terror infrastructure is still intact across the border". "Ceasefire continues at LOC in western border areas and ceasefire violations have been brought down. But across the border, terror infrastructure still remains. Our counter-infiltration grid is continuously foiling the infiltration from there," said the Army chief. Addressing the gathering, the Army Chief also talked about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir saying the people have rejected violence and welcomed the positive changes by participating enthusiastically in government initiatives. He said, "Improvements have been seen in the areas inside Jammu and Kashmir as the local population has rejected violence, and welcoming positive changes enthusiastically participated in all government initiatives." Noting, although there has been a decline in violence with the efforts of security forces, Pande said "several proxy terrorist outfits have resorted to the technique of targetted killings to gain visibility", asserting that "Army, along with other security forces, is determined to foil all such attempts". On the security situation in the northeastern region, General Pande said Indian Army has played an important role in bringing down level of violence and making insurgents leave the path of violence. "Most insurgent groups have signed peace agreements with the government." Informing that the first time the Army Day parade and other events related to it are being held outside the national capital Delhi, the Army chief said "this has given a golden opportunity to Army to connect to the people". "I am confident this will make our relations even stronger," Pande said. Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year. On this day in 1949, General KM Cariappa took over as the first Indian Commander in Chief of the Army. (ANI)
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia wrote to the Delhi LG VK Saxena, demanding action against certain officers of the government. In the letter, he recommended suspension and FIR against officers who deliberately stopped funds for Mohalla Clinics in October and November before the MCD elections. In his letter to LG Vinai Kumar Saxena, the Deputy CM wrote, "Mohalla Clinics are built in every corner of Delhi, so people reach their nearby Mohalla Clinics very easily. Just before the MCD elections, a conspiracy was hatched to stall this entire system of mohalla clinics. Some officers posted in the Delhi Government deliberately moved the files around so that just two months before the MCD elections, i.e. in October and November, the doctors of the mohalla clinic were not paid their salaries." He wrote. "All the tests in Mohalla Clinic were stopped so that even if the doctors come to Mohalla Clinic despite not getting a salary and also want to treat the people, then the necessary tests for the treatment of the disease can not be done. Not only this but the electricity bills of Mohalla Clinics were also stopped and the rents of Mohalla Clinics which are running in rented buildings were also not deposited. All this was done so that the public would get upset and angry with our government, and the doctors get upset due to non-payment of salaries. So that this mess angers the public." Manish Sisodia further said that the officials of the Health Department and Finance Department kept moving the files from here to there by making one or the other excuse. They were moving the files around putting new queries, and two months before the election the files were released without disbursements. Sisodia continued, "The officials of the Health Department and Finance Department kept moving the files from here to there by making one or the other excuse. They were moving the files around putting new queries, and two months before the election the files were released without disbursements. When I talked to the officials about this, officially they kept on giving some technical reasons but in a subdued tone they also kept on saying that on behalf of the LG, there were strict instructions to not make payments before the elections or else they would be suspended. Since you have the services department, all the officers are afraid of you." He further wrote that the system of Mohalla Clinics has been running smoothly in Delhi for the last seven years. This type of problem has never come to the fore. Doctors have always been getting a salary under this system, and tests of common people have been done for free. "The interesting thing is that soon after the elections were over, in the month of December all the objections were suddenly removed and all the payments were made. How did this happen? It is clear from this that just two months before the elections, withholding the salary and other payments related to Mohalla Clinic was a part of a big conspiracy," he further wrote. He requested Delhi LG to identify the responsible officers behind this whole conspiracy and suspend them immediately. "If you do not take strict action against them then people will say that the officers were hatching this conspiracy just before the election on your instructions," said Sisodia. Manish Sisodia alleged that in order to hide the conspiracy and to escape from their accountability, the officers will definitely tell some story or the other, but they must be asked that the system under which the doctors of Mohalla clinics were getting their salary for seven years and the system under which the general public's tests kept on happening, just two months before the elections. "Why were various excuses put on it to rotate the files, even if there are some questions in the eyes of an officer, how can the treatment of people be stopped? How can doctors' salaries be stopped?" he further wrote. Sisodia said that stopping the treatment of the people of Delhi is a criminal act, if the officials posted in the government conspire against the government which has been elected by the people, then it is treason, if this conspiracy has been hatched by the officials, then it is very unfortunate. "It does not behove a person sitting on a constitutional post like Lieutenant Governor to hatch such a conspiracy against the elected government for political gains. And if some officials have conspired at their own level, then definitely you should take strict action against them and give a message that you believe in the constitution and do not tolerate any such action," the letter read. He concluded, "I request you (LG) to 1. Identify the guilty officers and suspend them immediately. 2. Register an FIR against them and arrest them. Otherwise, it will be proved that you have misused the powers of the services department for electoral gains. I hope that you will react to this as soon as possible by taking the strictest action." (ANI)
Congress on Sunday called an all-party meeting to discuss Remote Voting Machines (RVM) and all the political parties unanimously opposed the proposal of RVM by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The meeting was held a day ahead of the national parties' Election Commission meeting. Congress leader Digvijay Singh chaired the meeting. Addressing a press conference, Digvijay Singh said, "We are extremely grateful to all the political parties who have responded to our requests to meet and discuss about the proposal of the ECI on the remote voting machine. The political parties which attended were JDU, Shiv Sena, National Conference, CPI-M, JMM, RJD, PDP, VCK, RUML, and Kapil Sibal. NCP and SP have conveyed their views to me." "The overall view of all political parties who attended today, unanimously opposed the proposal of Remote Voting Machine because it is still very sketchy, the proposal is not concrete. There are huge political anomalies and problems in the proposal. The definition of migrant labour and the numbers of migrant labour are all not very clear. We have unanimously made up our minds to oppose the proposal of RVM," said Singh. "We have been asked to give our reply by January 31, so we have decided to meet again on January 25 to send our reply jointly or separately but our clear mandate and view is that we don't support RVM," he added. On TMC's absence, Singh said we are not yet aware of the stand of the party but will discuss and update about their view. On SP and NCP's absence, senior congress leader Digvijay Singh said Akhilesh Yadav and Sharad Pawar have given consent but they still want to get full clarity on RVM. CPI leader D Raja mentioned all those parties who attended today's meeting will raise the issue with the Election commission tomorrow. The leaders also revealed that on 25 January to deliberate on the same issue and get further consensus. Today BSP supremo Mayawati also raised the issue of EVM credibility and when asked about Mayawati's absence in the meeting Digvijay said, "one end she is questioning the EVM. and other ends not joining it. Every party is entitled to its view." A meeting of sixteen opposition parties was held in Constitution Club in Delhi to discuss the joint strategy for tomorrow's meeting convened by the Election Commission of India. The meeting was facilitated by the Congress party. ECI has called the meeting to demonstrate the concept of Remote EVMs for migrant voters to the representatives of political parties. Singh told that in the meeting held today, "the participant opposition parties deliberated on the questions to be placed before ECI regarding REVMs. It was decided that the ECI's response to the questions raised by the parties in tomorrow's meeting will be collectively be considered later and the opposition parties will take a joint stand on the issue." He also told that though Samajwadi Party and Nationalist Congress Party were not present in today's meeting due to unavoidable reasons, they had conveyed their solidarity with the meeting. Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal also attended the meeting on individual status. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Vijay Hansda, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja and CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu attended the meeting called by the Congress. Apart from this, the leaders of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), RSP, JD(U), and Muslim League were present at the meeting. The Election Commission has called the chairpersons, presidents, and general secretaries of all the national parties for a meeting to be held on January 16. The meeting pertains to the demonstration and discussion of the Remote Voting Machine. Notably, to encourage domestic migrants to exercise their franchise, ECI on December 29, informed about a prototype Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM), which would enable migrant voters to vote from remote polling stations. It said the inability to vote due to internal migration (domestic migrants) is one of the prominent reasons behind low voter turnout. The migrant voter wouldn't be required to travel to his/her home district to exercise his/her franchise. The Commission has also invited all recognised eight national and 57 regional political parties on January 16, 2023, to demonstrate the functioning of the multi-constituency prototype Remote EVM. Members of the EC's Technical Expert Committee will also be present during the demonstration. The Commission has also solicited written views of recognised political parties by January 31, 2023, on various related issues including changes required in legislation, changes in administrative procedures, and voting method/RVM/technology, if any other, for the domestic migrants, the release further stated. (ANI)
Opposition parties met in Delhi to hold a discussion over the Remote Voting Machines (RVMs) and EVMs but major parties like TMC, Samajwadi Party and NCP were not present in the meeting. After the meeting, Congress' Digvijaya Singh claimed that the migrant labour numbers are under question and will raise the issue with the Election Commission over the exact number of migrant labourers and the supplier of the chip in the RVM machine. On TMC's absence, Digvijaya Singh said we are not yet aware of the stand of the party but will discuss and update about their view. On SP and NCP's absence, senior congress leader Digvijaya Singh said Akhilesh Yadav and Sharad Pawar have given consent but they still want to get full clarity on RVMs. CPI leader D Raja mentioned all those parties who attended today's meeting will raise the issue with the Election commission tomorrow. The leaders also revealed they will meet on January 25 to deliberate on the same issue and get further consensus. Today BSP supremo Mayawati also raised the issue of EVM credibility and when asked about Mayawati's absence in the meeting Digvijaya said, "on one hand she is questioning the EVMs and on the other, she is not joining it. Every party is entitled to its view." Parties which attended the meeting were Congress, JD(U), Shiv Sena, CPI(M), JMM, RJD, National Conference, VCK, RSP, IUML and CPI. The Election Commission has called the chairpersons, presidents, and general secretaries of all the national parties for a meeting on January 16. (ANI)
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday issued an official statement on the CBI raid on his office, terming the whole exercise to be an act of malice. In his statement, the Deputy CM has termed the whole exercise to be an act of malice detailing how the CBI raided his office on a Second Saturday (an official holiday) and gave a handwritten notice to the Secretary to seize a computer from the conference room. He said, "CBI is trying to maliciously frame me, seized a computer without providing Hash Value." The official statement reads, "Yesterday was a Second Saturday, so my office was closed when some CBI Official telephonically informed my PS to come to the office and open the same. When my PS reached the office at around 3:00 pm, he saw that a team of CBI officials was already present at my office. The CBI Officials asked him to open the Office and to take them to the conference room." "As they reached the conference room, they saw a computer installed therein, asked my PS to switch it on, assessed the same, and, forthwith, handed over a Notice under Section 91 CrPc to the Secretary, Dy. CM (GNCTD) with reference to the investigation of RC0032022A0053" the statement reads. The statement further reads that as per the Notice, the Secretary was requested to produce the CPU of the system installed in my conference room. "Thereafter, the CPU from the conference room of my office was seized without following the due procedure laid down. From the perusal of the said notice, it was perceived that the notice was hand-written to the Secretary, and immediately the property (CPU) was seized which shows the mala-fide of the Officer," it read. "The said conduct/ act of the CBI Officials also shows their malice whereby the Notice was given and immediately the said property was seized that too without following the guidelines as laid down in Chapter XVI: Cyber Crimes, CBI (Crime) Manual 2020. As it is explicitly mentioned in the said CBI Manual in Chapter XVI, 16.19:" Sisodia said that CBI seized the computer without providing 'Hash Value'. The official statement reads, "Hash value is essentially an electronic fingerprint. The data within a file is represented through the cryptographic algorithm as a value known as hash-value. It is a string of data variables. Hash Value is the key to determining and validating the integrity of the data in question. As the integrity of the seized electronic device/digital device is quintessential to establishing the case, it is important to ensure the hash value of the data record is taken by the Investigating Officer at the time of seizure. The use of Hashing to authenticate electronic records is detailed in section 3(2) of the IT Act, 2000." "CBI Manual also mandates that at the time of the seizure of electronic document itself- an image of the same shall also be created and the said image shall also be hashed and tally with the hashing of the seized data to ensure data integrity. It is, therefore, a matter of record, as per the Seizure Memo provided to us by the CBI after the seizure that no 'HASH VALUE was taken and mentioned by the Officer in the seizure memo who had seized the CPU', nor CBI made an image of the seized document and hashed it" the statement reads further. He said that in the absence of recording "HASH VALUE" during the seizure, the CBI can change the record in the seized CPU at its convenience. According to the statement, "It appears that there is a scope for implanting, deleting and editing the record in the seized CPU by the team of CBI for making a frivolous case against me. In the absence of recording "HASH VALUE" during the seizure, the CBI can change the record in the seized CPU as per its convenience to maliciously frame me." Sisodia said in a statement, "I have clear apprehension that CBI has seized the CPU to destroy the confidential files/documents stored therein and will implant/edit files in the CPU and use the same to falsely implicate me as my name is not in the CBI chargesheet as an accused with respect to the afore-mention case." "Though the CBI/ED investigation in the Excise matter has been going on since last August 2022, it has not led to the discovery of any material against me. However, CBI is still continuing with its fishing and roving inquiry into the matter even after the chargesheet has been filed. This act clearly demonstrates that no procedural safeguards complied which would have ensured the integrity of electronic documents as mandated under the CBI Manual & IT Act. Therefore, the seizure of the electronic evidence yesterday has lost its authenticity and integrity in the eyes of law" Sisodia added in his statement. (ANI)
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Sunday said that there is no tension between him and the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) now. "There is no conflict (with the Kerala government). The CAA came on time when I reached there (as Governor). Of course, they could not digest that a constitutional office in Kerala would come in support of CAA. Though, my job is not to support, but to defend," Khan said at a conclave organised by RSS-linked weekly "Panchjanya" in Delhi Sunday. He further said that he has taken an oath to preserve the Constitution and it becomes his constitutional duty to defend something to which the President has given his assent. "It is my oath to preserve the Constitution and protect the law. So if there is an attack on that, something to which the President has given his assent, on wrong grounds and by spreading misinformation, then it is my constitutional duty to defend it," Khan said. He further said that he was performing only constitutional obligations in Kerala. "In Kerala, I am performing a constitutional obligation, I am performing my duty and the CM- his own, there is no conflict in this," he added. Khan further said that he had visited Vijayan during that time and told him that he was only discharging his constitutional duty and that if Kerala CM criticises him in public, he wouldn't feel bad. "I have clearly told the Chief Minister that I do not believe in organized religion but believe in spiritual religion. I told him my accountability is to the Constitution and President. I told him you publicly criticise me and I will not feel bad. You do your duty and I will do mine. But since then there has been no tension," he said. (ANI)
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday took a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) scheduled roadshow in the national capital, saying that the Prime Minister, is rattled by the huge success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, has got his party to organise a "joke of a road show". Notably, Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is a movement to unite the voices of the people of India, against injustice. The Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, will end at Srinagar on January 30, with Rahul hoisting the Tricolour there. "An insecure Prime Minister rattled by the huge success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra has got the BJP to organise a joke of a road show passing through a short distance in the national capital tomorrow. Such hollow, choreographed events will only keep his drum-beaters busy," Ramesh said in a tweet. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold a grand roadshow of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday in Delhi. The two-day BJP national executive meeting will be held at NDMC Convention Centre in the national capital on January 16-17. The roadshow will take place on the first day of the national executive meeting in honour of PM Modi. Earlier, the roadshow was planned for Tuesday, the second day of the key meeting. But the party changed the schedule and now the roadshow will be held on January 16. According to sources, the PM's roadshow will be of around one kilometre leading up to the meeting point. Artists from different states will perform cultural performances during the roadshow. Party workers would stand along the roads to welcome PM Modi. Pertinent to mention, this is the first major meeting of the party after the landslide victory in Gujarat. Earlier, in his home state of Gujarat, PM Modi organized a mega road show covering a distance of more than 50 kilometres for more than five hours. Meanwhile, Delhi Police has issued a traffic advisory in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in the national capital on Monday. "Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is organizing a road show having mass public participation on Sansad Marg from Patel Chowk to Sansad Marg-Jai Singh Road Junction on January 16 from 3 pm onwards. Prime Minister of India will grace the said road show with his presence. Special Traffic arrangements will be in place to ensure smooth traffic management in the vicinity of the roadshow route," said Delhi Police in a statement. The traffic advisory said Ashoka Road (Windsor Place to Jai Singh Road GPO Both Carriageways), Sansad Marg, Tolstoy Road (Janpath to Sansad Marg), Rafi Marg (Rail Bhawan to Sansad Marg), Jantar Mantar Road, Imtiaz Khan Marg and Bangla Sahib Lane will remain closed on January 16 from 2:30 pm to 5 pm. Delhi Police further informed that Baba Kharak Singh Road, Outer Circle Connaught Place, Park Street/Shankar Road, Minto Road, Mandir Marg, Barakhamba Road, Panchkuain Road, Raisina Road, Tolstoy Road, Janpath, Firozeshah Road, Rafi Marg, Rani Jhansi Road, DBG Road, Chelmsford Road, Bhai Veer Singh Marg, DDU Marg, Ranjit Singh flyover, Talkatora Road and Pandit Pant Marg are expected to experience a heavy volume of traffic during the roadshow. Traffic will be diverted at Gol Dak Khana, Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, Windsor, Rail Bhawan, Outer CC-Sansad Marg Junction, Raisina Road-Jantar Mantar Road Junction, Janpath-Tolstoy Road Junction and Tolstoy road KG Marg junctions. Delhi Police advised people to avoid the above-mentioned roads, stretches and areas the roadshow will cover. (ANI)
According to CRPF officials, a road accident took place due to a collision between two vehicles on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in the Kulgam district.

The injured were used to the hospital for treatment.

"CRPF personnel of the G/18 Battalion of Gufbal camp, Qaimoh rescued the injured and rushed them to Anantnag hospital for treatment," informed CRPF officials.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
With the arrest of four people, the Delhi Police claimed to have solved a blind murder case of a young man who was found dead in the national capital. The police said that the deceased identified as Deepu was a drug addict and was murdered while he went for committing theft. The arrested persons Rajeev, Kaushal, Vishnu and Sudeep Gupta beat up the deceased when he entered one of the accused's shops to commit theft. The weapons used in the commission of offence like Danda/PVC pipe have also been recovered, the police further said. "On inspection by the local police of the dead body found lying near mandir Budh Vihar, prima facie, external injuries marks were found on his back, legs and arms on the body of deceased. The crime team was called to the place of occurrence and exhibits were collected. The dead body of the deceased was further sent to the Hospital for the post-mortem to ascertain the cause of death," Rohini DCP Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said on Sunday. The police also said that further in the enquiry, it was stated by his family member that the deceased Deepu was a drug addict and he had last visited the home on January 10. A case has been registered against the accused under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. During the investigation, it was revealed that the deceased was a drug addict and thief who had entered the premises of the alleged persons for theft. "During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that on the intervening night of January 10 and 11 Deepu and Naveen went to Shyam colony of Budh Vihar for committing theft. "This was the shop/godown of a scrap dealer Sudeep Gupta. Three persons namely Rajeev Gupta, Kaushal and Vishnu were sleeping there in that shop/godown at that time. Deceased Deepu went inside the boundary wall and Naveen waited outside. At about, 6.00 AM one Shiva Kant Gupta came and knocked at the main door. He saw the unknown person (deceased Deepu) and shouted CHOR-CHOR," Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said. He further said that all three persons Rajeev, Kaushal and Vishnu woke up and caught hold of the deceased Deepu. "The deceased Deepu tried to steal the mobile phone of Kaushal. Then the deceased was beaten up badly by them. Further, they called Sudeep Gupta (owner), who also came to the spot. They all again had beaten up the deceased Deepu who later succumbed to the injuries resulting from the beatings by alleged persons," he added. Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
The Aizawl Battalion of 23 Sector Assam Rifles under the aegis of Inspector General Assam Rifles (East) carried out the operation with CID (SB), Aizawl based on specific information.

According to an official statement, the approximate cost of the recovered 98000 Triprolidine HCL & Pseudoephedrine Tablets is Rs 9,80,00,000.

"The seized consignment and apprehended individuals were handed over to Special Narcotics Police Station CID (Crime), Aizawl on 15 January 2023 for further legal proceedings," the statement said.

"Ongoing smuggling of illegal drugs is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram. Assam Rifles, rightly christened as the 'Sentinels of Northeast' have been successful in launching such operations against the smuggling activities in Mizoram," it added. (ANI)
Among the dead are a man, a woman and two children. The bodies have been sent to Asansol District Hospital for post-mortem.

A team from Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate, led by Deputy Commissioner Dr, Kuldeep SS arrived at the spot for inspection.

As the quarry was deep and filled with water, police initially faced difficulty in retrieving the bodies. However, the police finally took out the bodies with the help of divers and locals.

Police are investigating the matter to find out how the bodies reached there. (ANI)
The SERCHIPP Battalion of 23 Sector Assam Rifles under the aegis of Inspector General Assam Rifles (East) conducted the operation.

According to an official statement, the operation was carried out by a combined team of Assam Rifles, Police and Customs Department, LCS Champhai based on specific information.

The approximate cost of the recovered 6.35 Kg of Marijuana is Rs 4.69 Lakh. The seized consignment was handed over to Customs Department, LCS Champhai & Police on 15 January for further legal proceedings.

"Ongoing smuggling of illegal items is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram. Assam Rifles, rightly christened as the 'Sentinels of Northeast' have been successful in launching such operations against the smuggling activities in Mizoram," the statement said. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday took a jibe at Congress leader Kamal Nath and said that he should run an "apology campaign" for stalling the development work during his chief ministership. Addressing a public meeting here, Chouhan said, "Kamal Nath ji did nothing in his 1.25 year government. Now they tweet that I will do this, I will do that! Hey, why didn't you do anything in 15 months?" Listing out the reasons to apologise for, the Chief Minister said, "Kamal Nath ji should run an apology campaign. Kamal Nath took away the laptops, smartphones, and scholarships of the children, now apologise. Rs 51,000 not given for daughters' marriage, now apologise! Stopped the Sambal scheme, stopped the pilgrimage scheme, Kamal Nath, now apologise!" "As much development has been done in Dhar till now, it has been done by the BJP government. Last time our government was not formed in the municipality of Dhar. The Congress stalled the development work of Dhar," he added. Chouhan said that the investments which are being done in the state will provide employment opportunities to the youth. "Industrialists have gone to Indore promising to invest more than Rs 15 lakh crore in GIS. This will provide employment to 29 lakh people," he said. "Government Recruitment is on. The Ganges of development is also underway," Chouhan added. The Chief Minister assured the people to open a medical college. "A few days back, we had started the CM public service campaign. If any name is missing, it will be added," he said. The Chief Minister also promised to give land leases to poor families through the land-residential rights scheme in Madhya Pradesh. "It is our resolve that no poor of Madhya Pradesh will be allowed to live without a pucca house. We have made arrangements to teach medical and engineering studies in Hindi medium in Madhya Pradesh. Now the child of the poor will also move forward," he said, adding that it is his government's campaign to "change the lives of the people". "It is a request to you that all the works of development can be implemented on the ground, for this the city government of BJP should be formed," he said. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday expressed condolences over the tragic aircraft crash in Nepal in which 68 people have died including five Indians. Taking to Twitter, the Chief Minister said that instructions have been given to officials to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to make arrangements to bring the mortal remains of the deceased people of Uttar Pradesh to the state. "The plane crash in Nepal is very sad. A humble tribute to all the people who died in this, including the Indian citizens! My condolences are with the bereaved families. May Lord Shri Ram give place to the departed souls in his holy feet and speedy recovery to the injured," CM Yogi tweeted. "Officials have been instructed to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs to make arrangements to bring the mortal remains of the deceased people of Uttar Pradesh to the state," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed grief and prayed for the bereaved families of the Nepal plane crash. "Pained by the tragic air crash in Nepal in which precious lives have been lost, including Indian nationals. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families," PM Modi tweeted. An ATR aircraft had taken off from Kathmandu to Pokhara on Sunday morning and the plane crashed before landing at Pokhara. This flight carried 68 passengers including five Indians and four crew members. According to Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, a total of 68 passengers, on board the ATR-72 Yeti Airlines flight which crashed somewhere between the old airport of Pokhara region and the Pokhara International Airport, were dead. The plane was a 72-seater passenger aircraft. Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority said that 68 passengers on board the ATR-72 Yeti Airlines flight were confirmed dead. The notice issued by Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority reads that at around 10:30 am, the flight carrying 68 passengers including, five Indians, four Russians, and one Irish national took off. "Nepali Army, Police Force, Airport Rescue, and Fire Fighting and Nepal Police will be informed about the rescue operation. Total number 72 including crew female 25 male 30, standard, white. So far, the death toll is 68," the statement reads. The Nepal government has declared a national holiday tomorrow to mourn the deaths of the people on board the Yeti plane crash today. Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari took to her Twitter handle to offer condolences to the passengers and crew members who lost their lives. She also expressed condolences to the bereaved families. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also expressed grief over the incident and extended his condolences to the victims. He tweeted, "Deeply grieved on hearing about the air crash in Pokhara, Nepal. Our thoughts are with the affected families." Speaking to ANI, Nepal's Ambassador to India, Shankar P Sharma said, "This is very unfortunate we have already expressed our condolences. There were 5 Indians on the aircraft as per the press release shared by the airlines but details are yet to arrive." On being asked that all Indian families were informed by the Nepal government, Envoy said, "Kathmandu is in touch with the family concerned and will update accordingly." (ANI)
The choppers that were inducted into the IAF a few months back have started taking part in wargames with the Indian Army.

Talking to ANI, the Squadron Leader of IAF Dhanush Squadron, Raunak Dubey said "The 'Prachand' is one of the potent attack helicopters, its arsenal includes a 20 mm front cannon, 70 mm rockets and air-to-air and air-to-surface procession guided missiles."

He said that the choppers also have a modem and advanced pilot system.

"The 'Prachand' is one of the potent attack helicopters, its arsenal includes a 20 mm front cannon, 70 mm rockets and air-to-air & air-to-surface procession guided missiles'," he added.

Highlighting the qualities of the chopper, Squadron leader Tanmai Manan, said, "The helicopter is highly manoeuvrable, agile and responsive. It can carry lethal weapons & destroy a plethora of targets in altitudes in excess of 6 km," he said.

The Prachand Light Combat Helicopters were inducted into the Air Force on October 3 last year and have been flying extensively in the desert sector since then. (ANI)
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh on Sunday said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the number of radars has increased from 15 to 37 in the last eight years and 25 more radars are to be added in the next five years for the universal coverage of the country. While delivering the Keynote Address on the occasion of the 148th Foundation Day of India Meteorological Department (IMD) here, Singh dedicated 4 Doppler Weather Radar Systems to the Western Himalayan States of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. He also dedicated 200 Agro Automated Weather Stations to the Nation. The Minister also released eight publications of the IMD and gave away awards to school children and also felicitated the best performing offices and officers of IMD. Singh informed that Under Agro-Meteorological Services, it is targeted to establish 660 District Agro Meteorological Units (DAMUs) by 2025 and increase from 3,100 blocks in 2023 to 7,000 blocks in 2025. The Minister pointed out that the warning and advisory services are helping farmers and fishermen to improve their economy as found in the latest survey by National Centre for Applied Economic Research. For example, the investment in the monsoon mission programme has resulted in a return of 50 rupees for the investment of each rupee. The Minister further added that the farmers below the poverty line especially have benefited immensely as Agromet Advisories at District and Block Levels are used effectively by crores of farmers during various stages of farming and the service is being expanded. The web GIS services launched by IMD last year have been augmented further with the addition of hazard and vulnerability elements in collaboration with other state and central agencies is helping the public, disaster managers, and stakeholders to initiate timely response action to mitigate the disasters further, the Minister noted. Singh said, Climate Services are very important for short and long-term planning and strategy development and IMD has already initiated these services in five major thrust areas of Agriculture, Health, Water, Energy, and Disaster Risk Reduction and has lined up plans to expand them through the customization of products. He said, soon a National Framework will be created on priority to provide climate products and information for Sectoral applications. (ANI)
Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal said, "This plane crash that happened in Nepal is very sad. My condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones in this tragic accident. May God give strength and courage to all those affected families."

An ATR aircraft had taken off from Kathmandu for Pokhara on Sunday morning and the plane crashed before landing at Pokhara. This flight carried 68 passengers including five Indians and four crew members, which is 72 in total.

According to Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, a total of 68 passengers, on board the ATR-72 Yeti Airlines flight which crashed somewhere between the old airport of Pokhara region and the Pokhara International Airport, were dead.

The Nepal government has declared a national holiday tomorrow to mourn the deaths of the people on board the Yeti plane crash today. Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari took to her Twitter handle to offer condolences to the passengers and crew members who lost their lives. She also expressed condolences to the bereaved families. (ANI)
After land subsidence in the Joshimath area of Uttarakhand's Chamoli, cracks have also started to appear in houses in Sharana Chai village of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. Multiple cracks appeared on houses on Sunday. "Natural calamities like cloud bursts occur more often," Dalip Singh Pawar, one of the residents, said while talking to ANI. "In case of low magnitude earthquake whole village will be severely affected," said another resident. "Today, Joshimath is on the brink of collapse, tomorrow the whole of Uttarakhand will be destroyed," he added. Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha on Sunday inspected the landslide-affected areas in Uttarakhand's Joshimath and said that there has been an uptick in the number of cracks, but no new areas have faced damages. The Secretary inspected areas including Auli Ropeway, Manohar Bagh, Shankaracharya Math, JP Colony along with geologists and senior officials. Speaking to ANI, Sinha said that the teams are conducting tests to ascertain if there is any particular pattern of developing cracks. "Relief and rescue operations are being conducted. There has been an uptick in the number of cracks in some places. Cracks haven't developed in new areas. There is a minor increase in the cracks of approx 1 mm but we are monitoring them. We are also finding a pattern so that in the future there is no damage. All teams are conducting tests whether there is any pattern developing of the cracks. After the tests, we will take action based on it. The cracks have increased, but there is nothing to worry about," he said. "The Central and state governments are making combined efforts during this period. Our all teams have reached here for investigation & now their research will tell what is the reason behind it. After that action will be taken on the same accordingly," Sinha added. He informed that the geophysical study of the affected area is being done by the NGRI Hyderabad. NGRI is studying the underground water channel. After the study, the geophysical and hydrological maps will also be made available by NGRI. These maps will be useful for Joshimath's drainage plan and stabilisation plan. (ANI)
"An inquiry has been initiated into this matter," said Pradhan.

Rebuking the programme of 'Didir Rakshakawach' by the Trinamool Congress he said that the poor people of West Bengal are being deprived of the schemes of the central government.

"The poor people of West Bengal are being deprived of the schemes of the central government due to corruption of the Trinamool leaders. The funds sent by the central government for the welfare of the common people are spent here and there by the TMC government," he alleged.

"What RakshaKawach will they provide?," said the Union Minister.

Pradhan on Saturday had said that the central government will soon send a team to review the implementation of the midday meal scheme in different parts of West Bengal.

He further said that Central officials, state officials, and experts from the state will be part of the proposed Joint Review Mission team. (ANI)
Janata Dal (United) MLA Sanjeev Kumar on Sunday lashed out at Bihar Education Minister Chandrashekhar over his controversial remarks on Ramcharitmanas and said that the comments show that his mental state is not right. MLA Sanjeev Kumar said that the statement given by the education minister Chandrashekhar is very unfortunate as scripture teaches one a lot about our values, way of life, life of Lord Ram, and our duties. He said in a video posted on Facebook, "Chandshekhar's remarks on Ramcharitramanas are very unfortunate. I think he doesn't have adequte knowledge about Ramcharitramanas. Ramcharitramanas is a Hindu scripture and is deeply connected to our faith. It talks about our values, way of life, life of Lord Ram, our duties." "Tulsidas wrote it with a lot of thought. And if you talk nonsensical about it, I think his mental state is not really well," added Sanjeev. Sanjeev said that the Minister should either apologize or give up Hinduism. "There is still a lot of time for you. Go ahead and apologize, do not defend yourself. If you do not want to do so, It would be better if you adopt some other religion and give up on Hinduism," MLA Kumar said. Chandrashekhar stoked a controversy after he claimed that Ramcharitmanas, an epic Hindu religious book which is based on Ramayana, "spreads hatred in the society". The remarks made by Chandrashekhar on Ramcharitmanas have stirred outrage among Hindu religious leaders and BJP also. They have demanded his dismissal from the government. On Friday, Chandrashekhar refused to budge from his controversial statement on "Ramcharitmanas" and said that he stands by his statement. Speaking to media persons, the Bihar Minister said, "How many times do I say the same thing? I spoke the truth, I stand by it. What do I have to do with whatever anyone says?..." While addressing the students at the 15th convocation ceremony of Nalanda Open University, Chandrashekhar described Ramcharitmanas and Manusmriti as books that "divide society." "Why was Manusmriti burnt, because many abuses were given in it against a large section. Why was Ramcharitmanas resisted and which part was resisted? Lower caste people were not allowed to access education and it is said in the Ramcharitmanas that lower caste people become poisonous by getting an education as a snake becomes after drinking milk," Chandrashekhar had said. He had said that Manusmriti and Ramcharitmanas are books that spread hatred in society as it prevents Dalits-backwards and women in society from getting an education. "Manusmriti, Ramcharitmanas, Bunch of Thoughts by Guru Golwalkar... these books are books that spread hatred. Hatred will not make the country great, love will make the country great," added Chandrashekhar. (ANI)
As the country celebrated Army Day on Sunday, Major General of GOC, 19 Infantry Division, Ajay Chandpuria laid a wreath at Dagger War Memorial, Baramulla and extended wishes to soldiers, veterans, ex-servicemen and their families on the occasion. Major Gen Ajay Chandpuria said, "On this occasion, we had the wreath laying wherein we paid homage to brave hearts of Dagger Division who laid down their lives in the service of the nation. We also resolve to continue the rich tradition and legacy of the Indian Army in service of our nation." On being asked about the situation at Line of Control (LoC) this winter by the reporters, he said, "Things are under control. It comes every year. We will also take adequate precautions and we are well prepared both from the operational as well as logistical point of view." Earlier, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande conveyed felicitations and warm wishes to All Ranks of the Indian Army, Veterans and their Families on the occasion of 75th Army Day. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh saluted the indomitable courage, bravery, sacrifices and service of army personnel. "Greetings to all Indian Army personnel and their families on #ArmyDay. The nation salutes their indomitable courage, valour, sacrifices and service. We are proud of the Indian Army's efforts to keep India safe and secure," he tweeted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his wishes to army personnel and veterans and said that the countrymen are proud and grateful to the soldiers. On Twitter, PM Modi said, "On Army Day, I convey my best wishes to all army personnel, veterans and their families. Every Indian is proud of our Army and will always be grateful to our soldiers. They have always kept our nation safe and are widely admired for their service during times of crisis." President Droupadi Murmu also paid tribute to the sacrifice of the army personnel. "On Army Day, let us recall countless stories of Indian Army soldiers' sacrifices! They have always pushed the frontiers of valour and courage and also acted as saviours in times of calamities. I salute all brave soldiers of the Indian Army and their families on this occasion," tweeted Rashtrapati Bhavan. Indian Army Day is celebrated to acknowledge the importance of the Indian Army and to honour each soldier of our country for their selfless service. On this day in 1949, the Indian Army got its first chief after Field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa took over as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Francis Bucher, the last British person to hold the post. (ANI)
The secretary of the International Boundaries of Bhutan, Dasho Letho Tobdhen Tangbi, led a Bhutanese delegation to the 11th Expert Group Meeting (EGM) organised in Kunming city, China from January 10 to 13 to address boundary issues between the two countries, stated a press release by the Bhutanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade. The Chinses delegation was led by the Director-General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hong Liang. The two nations discussed the implementation of a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Three-Step Roadmap for expediting the Bhutan-China boundary negotiations. The release by the Bhutanese ministry added that in order to show goodwill and friendship, the Chinese government had donated a batch of supplies to Bhutan, which was appreciated by the Bhutanese government. During the meeting, both sides also agreed to the implementation of all the steps mentioned in the MOU. Further, both delegations also agreed to organise the meeting more frequently and communicate through all diplomatic channels the staging of the 25th round of Bhutan-China Boundary talks soon, on mutually-agreed dates, the release stated further. According to an earlier report by Epardafas.com, China and Bhutan used to share a good relationship but since Beijing invaded Tibet in 1949, the relationship strained. Chinese leader Mao Zedong's claim over Bhutan as their territory made the situation worst, the report said, adding that China's new maps of 1954 and 1958 and the illegal occupation of 300 square miles of Bhutanese territory further aggravated the apprehensions about Chinese designs on Bhutan. During that period, India helped Bhutan by deploying its Military Training Team (IMTRAT) to train the Bhutanese security forces in 1961 and it has since been providing security to the country, the report stated, adding the Doklam standoff between Indian and Chinese forces in 2017 made the security matter even more important and calls for better coordination and partnership between Indian and Bhutanese forces to secure the strategic areas. (ANI)




BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's total goods imports and exports hit record high again in 2022, expanding 7.7 percent year on year to 42.07 trillion yuan (about 6.25 trillion U.S. dollars), official data showed Friday.

Exports rose 10.5 percent to 23.97 trillion yuan, and imports went up 4.3 percent to 18.1 trillion yuan, according to the General Administration of Customs.

This aerial photo taken on Nov. 5, 2022 shows a view of the Yangpu international container terminal in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

This photo taken on July 11, 2022 shows a scene of the welcome ceremony for the 10,000th trip made by China-Europe freight train operated by the China-Europe Railway Express (Chongqing) in Duisburg, Germany. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

This photo taken on Aug. 18, 2022 shows a high-speed electric passenger train, customized for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, being loaded on a vessel in Qingdao Port of east China's Shandong province. (Photo by Jiang Chao/Xinhua)

A heavy truck is assembled on the production line at the Shaanxi Automobile Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Sept. 27, 2022. The heavy trucks produced here are exported to more than 130 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
The number of people injured in the shooting that occurred near a church in London on Saturday has gone up to six, London's Metropolitan Police has said. "We have now confirmed that six people were injured in a shooting in Phoenix Road, NW1 earlier this afternoon . Among them is a seven-year-old girl who is in a life-threatening condition in hospital," the Metropolitan Police said in an update on Twitter. On Saturday, the police said in a statement that four people - a seven-year-old child and three women, aged 48, 54 and 41 - were injured in a shooting that took place outside a church where a funeral service was taking place. According to the preliminary police investigation, shots were fired near the church from a moving vehicle that drove away from the scene. No arrests have been made so far and the investigation continues. Superintendent Ed Wells said: "Any shooting incident is unacceptable, but for multiple people, including two children, to be injured in a shooting in the middle of a Saturday afternoon is shocking." "An investigation into this dreadful attack is already well underway involving local officers and specialist detectives," he added. Superintendent Wells assured the communities of Camden and beyond that, the police will do everything possible to identify and bring to justice those who were responsible. (ANI)
A Pakistani court has greenlighted the two-day physical remand of a prominent journalist who was arrested for his alleged involvement in leaking the personal tax data of former army chief General (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa's family members. "There is evidence against Shahid Aslam which shows that the suspect was leaking information," the prosecutor was quoted as saying by The News International newspaper. However, senior journalist Shahid Aslam denied all the charges against him, saying that there was no evidence against him as he had done nothing wrong. In November last year, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar took notice of the "illegal and unwarranted" leakage of tax information of Bajwa's family. "This is clearly a violation of the complete confidentiality of tax information that the law provides," a statement from the Finance Division read. According to the Pakistan newspaper, Dar had said that he had received the interim report related to the leak of Bajwa's income tax records. He added that they have traced some people involved in the act. A damaging report last year shed light on the sharp rise of wealth of close family members of the former army chief of Pakistan, before the end of his tenure. Investigative publication Fact Focus unearthed how Bajwa's immediate and extended family members started a new business in a few years and became owners of farmhouses in prominent Pakistani cities, making billions of dollars in the process. The investigative report by Fact Focus was supported by data that looked into the financial dealing of Bajwa's family including his wife Ayesha Amjad, his daughter-in-law Mahnoor Sabir and other close family members. Based on tax returns and other financial statements, the report revealed how between 2013 and 2017, Bajwa revised the wealth statement for 2013 three times, after being appointed country's army chief. (ANI)
The United Kingdom will provide Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 tanks in the coming weeks, the British prime minister's office said on Saturday. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call on Saturday that London would send 12 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. "Sending Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine is the start of a gear change in the UK's support. A squadron of 14 tanks will go into the country in the coming weeks after the Prime Minister told President Zelenskyy that the UK would provide additional support to aid Ukraine's land war. Around 30 AS90s, which are large, self-propelled guns, operated by five gunners, are expected to follow," the UK government said in a statement. According to the release, more details on UK support for Kyiv will be revealed on Monday. "The UK will begin training the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the tanks and guns in the coming days, as part of wider UK efforts which have seen thousands of Ukrainian troops trained in the UK over the last six months," the statement specified. Sunk has tasked the Defence Secretary with bringing together European allies to ensure the surge of global military support is as strategic and coordinated as possible. "The Defence Secretary will travel to Estonia and Germany this week to work with NATO allies and other international partners to this end," UK Prime Minister's Office said. In December, the Chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said that Western countries had supplied more than 350 tanks, 700 artillery systems, and 100 multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine since the start of the conflict in February 2022, Sputnik news agency reported. Gerasimov said that total foreign financial assistance to Ukraine amounted to almost USD 100 billion. Moscow has consistently opposed military aid to Kyiv. (ANI)
Ambassador of France to India, Emmanuel Lenain on Sunday extended his "warmest greeting" to the Indian Army on its 75th Army Day. He said that the year 2023 also marks the 25th anniversary of the Indo-French strategic partnership. "Warmest greetings to #IndianArmy @adgpi on #ArmyDay 2023! Cooperation between France & Indian Armies will play an important role in this special year 2023 marked by the 25th anniversary of the Indo-French strategic partnership," tweeted Lenain. Relations between India and France have traditionally been close and friendly. With the establishment of strategic partnership in 1998, there has been significant progress in all areas of bilateral cooperation through regular high-level exchanges at the Head of State/Head of Government levels and growing cooperation and exchanges including in strategic areas such as defence, counter-terrorism, nuclear energy and space. France was the first country with which India entered into an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation Nuclear Suppliers' Group, enabling India to resume full civil nuclear cooperation with the international community. There is also a growing and wide-ranging cooperation in other areas such as trade and investment, culture, science & technology and education. France has consistently supported India's increasing role in international fora, including India's permanent membership of the UNSC. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also conveyed his wishes to army personnel on Army Day. "On Army Day, I convey my best wishes to all army personnel, veterans and their families. Every Indian is proud of our Army and will always be grateful to our soldiers. They have always kept our nation safe and are widely admired for their service during times of crisis," tweeted PM Modi. Meanwhile, while paying tribute to Army soldiers' sacrifices, President Droupadi Murmu tweeted, "On Army Day, let us recall countless stories of Indian Army soldiers' sacrifices! They have always pushed the frontiers of valour and courage, and also acted as saviours in times of calamities. I salute all brave soldiers of Indian Army and their families on this occasion." Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande also conveyed felicitations and warm wishes to All Ranks of the Indian Army, Veterans and their Families on the occasion of 75th Army Day. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh saluted to indomitable courage, valour, sacrifices and service of army personnel. "Greetings to all Indian Army personnel and their families on #ArmyDay. The nation salutes their indomitable courage, valour, sacrifices and service. We are proud of the Indian Army's efforts to keep India safe and secure," he tweeted. Army Day is celebrated every year on 15th January in India to commemorate the jawans and the Indian Army. Army Day is celebrated every year to honour the soldiers of the country, who have set the greatest example of selfless service and brotherhood and more than anything the love for the country. In celebration of Army Day, the parade is organised every year at the Cariappa Parade Ground of Delhi Cantonment. On 15th January 1949, Field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa, who was then a Lieutenant General, took over as the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British person to hold that post. (ANI)
People in their thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv on Saturday night against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the changes his government has proposed to the Israeli judicial system, CNN reported. Attendees carried placards comparing Netanyahu to Russian President Vladimir Putin and claiming that Israel was resembling semi-democratic Hungary and theocratic Iran. The protesters thronged central Tel Aviv's HaBima square and surrounded streets despite heavy rains, CNN reported, citing the local Israeli media. Several people also took to the streets in Jerusalem for similar protests. The proposed amendments, according to Esther Hayut, president of Israel's Supreme Court, are "an uncontrolled attack on the legal system" and "intended to force a deadly blow on the independence of the judicial system." Notably, the reforms introduced last week by Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin would aim to reform Supreme Court nominees through a review committee and give parliament the authority to reject Supreme Court verdicts. Protesters told CNN that they came out of concern for Israel's future and to send a message to Netanyahu that the public would not tolerate what they regard as the deconstruction of Israeli democracy. Recently, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's new far-right Minister of National Security ordered the police to remove Palestinian flags from public areas because they constitute 'terrorism', Al Jazeera reported. Following a significant anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv where some protesters carried Palestinian flags, Ben-Gvir issued his orders. Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as PM on December 29, hoping to deliver political stability after five general elections since 2019. Netanyahu, 73, took the oath after Israel's parliament, Knesset, passed a vote of confidence in his new government. Out of the 120 members, 63 voted in favour of the new government, The Times of Israel had reported earlier. This is the sixth government led by Netanyahu, who remains the country's longest-serving PM. The new government took shape following an alliance of the Likud Party with far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties. The government would be Netanyahu and the "country's most hardline to date", the report had claimed. (ANI)
Brazil's former minister for Justice, Anderson Torres, was arrested on Saturday after he returned from the United States (US), The NHK World reported. Torres is suspected of intentionally failing to stop the capital attack even when he had the knowledge, the report said, adding that he left the country before the riots broke out. The report further states that Torres, a close ally of former president Jair Bolsonaro, had been defeated by the current President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva in October last year. He had been in charge of Brasilia's public security when the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace were attacked during the riots of January 8. More than 1300 Bolsonaro supporters have been arrested for orchestrating the protest in Brasilia. The NHK World report quoted local police sources as saying that they found a draft decree in Torres' home overturning the results of October's presidential election. The prosecutors are expected to question Torres in connection to Bolsonaro's involvement in the riots, the NHK World reported, adding that he tweeted that he had always acted ethically and legally and believed that truth shall prevail. Earlier, Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court approved an investigation to determine whether Bolsonaro sparked the unrest in the nation's capital on January 8. The grant of permission for the probe was given on the request from the prosecutor general's office, which referenced a video Bolsonaro uploaded on Facebook two days after the disturbance. In the video, Bolsonaro claimed Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wasn't voted into office, but was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority, and now his supporters chant the same as they do not support Lula's narrow victory. Currently, Brazilian authorities are investigating who gave Bolsonaro's 'extremist' followers permission to invade the Supreme Court, Congress, and the presidential residence in an effort to void the results of the election in October. During the riots, supporters of the former Brazil president broke into the country's Congressional building, Supreme Court and the Presidential palace. The breaches came about a week after the inauguration of President da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in a run-off on October 30. (ANI)
Amid the ongoing violation of the rights of Afghan women under the Taliban regime - banned from universities, as well as, from working in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that overturning restrictions against women is not a priority for the group, reported Khaama Press. The Taliban said on Saturday that it would not permit any acts that violate Islamic law, and the concerns regarding restrictions on women's rights will be dealt with according to the established rule of the group in the country. Taliban chief spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that, "the Islamic Emirate tries to regulate all matters in accordance with the Islamic Sharia, and the ruling government cannot allow act against the Sharia in the country," reported Khaama Press. The latest action by the Taliban to ban women from working in NGOs generated protests by female university students and women activists in several regions of the country, as well as brought condemnations, globally. Some foreign governments, including those of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN), OIC, and other international aid organizations, strongly condemned the action and urged the Taliban caretaker government to lift the ban and permit Afghan girls and women to pursue their educations and continue their work with NGOs, Khaama Press reported. Since 15 August 2021, the de facto authorities have barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls' freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses. These restrictions culminate with the confinement of Afghan women and girls to the four walls of their homes. According to a UNICEF report released in August, the fact that girls in Afghanistan are deprived of secondary education has cost the country's economy at least USD 500 million over the past 12 months, which amounts to 2.5 per cent of GDP. Meanwhile, Mujahid also asked Afghanistan's partners and international aid organizations to understand the religious demands in Afghanistan and avoid tying humanitarian aid to politics, reported Khaama Press. On January 13, 11 countries urged the Taliban administration of Afghanistan to remove all restrictions against women and girls, allowing them to return to public life - to get an education and return to work. However, the Taliban authorities have shown no alteration in their rather strict policy regarding women's education, employment, and movement in the country. Meanwhile, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) an intergovernmental group consisting of all Muslim-majority countries, rejected the Taliban's claimed that its treatment of Afghan women and girls is in line with Islam's Sharia law, reported Khaama Press. OIC has repeatedly called on the Taliban officials to remove the gender-based restrictions and allow Afghan women and girls to benefit from the inherent fundamental rights, to get an education, work and appear in the public environment. The OIC will send a second team of "Ulama" to Afghanistan in the coming days to consult with the Taliban on matters violating women's and girls' rights. (ANI)
Two lake outbursts in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) Diamer's Tangir Valley have resulted in the complete destruction of four homes and around 40 homes partially damaged, reported Dawn. According to locals, an avalanche suddenly fell in the Gichhar and Labar lakes on Saturday morning, causing the outburst. The high discharge of water from the lakes caused flooding in nullahs, resulting in a disaster downstream. However, no loss of life was reported, as per the officials, reported Dawn. Under the supervision of Diamer Deputy Commissioner Fayyaz Ahmed, the district administration delivered relief items including food, water, coats, blankets, tents and other essential goods to the affected people. Almost all areas in GB have seen intense cold weather throughout the past week with continuous snowfall and below 0C temperatures. According to the Met Department, the temperature in Astore was -6C and -5C in Skardu on Saturday. Meanwhile, as climate change affects the ecosystem, the threat of lake outbursts in GB has heightened in the recent past as glaciers in the region were melting faster than before, reported Dawn. Glaciers in the Himalayas, Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountain ranges have melted rapidly, creating thousands of glacial lakes in the country's northern areas. In May 2021, a lake outburst from the Shisper Glacier swept away Hunza's iconic Hassanabad bridge on the Karakoram Highway. The construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Pakistan, the largest roller compact concrete dam in the world on the river Indus has alarmed the residents of Gilgit-Baltistan, once again raising the issue of environmental degradation, according to a report by the International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS). The report says that Pakistan's big dam model has come under the scanner in view of the recent floods in the country. "The country needs to look for alternative models which could be both economically viable as well environmentally safe and do not cause as much displacement and destitution." The dam is located in a highly seismic zone and thus is a source of great concern for the citizens as they will have to face the consequences of its construction while its benefits will go to the people living in Punjab and Sindh, the report said. Though Islamabad has been pushing for the dam's development, the recent floods in Pakistan have created a need to review the project and to construct it in a more scientific way that minimizes its adverse effects like loss of livelihood. (ANI)
Foreign Minister of Pakistan and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced that his party would support Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif if there is a vote of confidence by a President's order, reported The Express Tribune. Zardari said that he does not see a situation where the president will order a vote of confidence. Although if such a situation arises, the "PPP will complete the numbers" said Zardari, according to The Express Tribune report. The Express Tribune report further quotes him saying, "The mayor of Hyderabad will be from the PPP, while there is a desire to bring a mayor from Karachi too. If there are provincial elections, new governments will be formed there,". Responding to a question in the program about the Punjab province general elections he said that the parties competing and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) collation may make seat-to-seat adjustments, according to the same Express tribune report. As a political party PPP has always been ready for the elections he added. He also mentioned that it will be good if the government of Imran Khan ends in the Punjab Province and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) because a caretaker government and elections will be better for the people, the same report quoted. Zardari also claimed that "Due to the policies of Imran Khan, the problem of terrorism is resurfacing,". He further said that "We will take the people out of these difficulties and go to the general elections, God willing,". Referring to the ongoing economic crisis Zardari mentioned that Khan's government left behind an economic crisis. Although Saudi Arabia made a good announcement and the United Arab Emirates also helped, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program still needs to be completed, referring to the monetary help provided by these countries, according to The Express Tribune report. When asked whether he will conduct talks with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) he responded by saying that he will do that if the PTI chairman comes to the parliament and there is a presence of an opposition leader in the parliament, The Express Tribune reported. "When they will leave the field and run away, they will sit in their homes and give a speech on Zoom, then the conversation will not work in such a situation," he remarked. (ANI)
Indian leaders condoled the death of 68 people, including at least 5 Indians, in Nepal's Yeti Airlines ATR-72 plane crash on Sunday. Taking to Twitter, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said, "The loss of lives in a tragic plane crash in Nepal is extremely unfortunate. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the bereaved. Om Shanti." This is Nepal's worst plane crash in five years. In the viral video, a plane was seen sharply banking to one side and plummeting to the ground, Five Indians were confirmed dead. According to Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, a total of 68 passengers, on board the ATR-72 Yeti Airlines flight which crashed somewhere between the old airport of Pokhara region and the Pokhara International Airport, were dead. This flight carried 68 passengers including five Indians and four crew members, which is 72 in total. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also expressed grief over the incident and extended his condolences to the victims. "Deeply grieved on hearing about the air crash in Pokhara, Nepal. Our thoughts are with the affected families," Jaishankar tweeted. Meanwhile, Nepal's President Bidhya Devi Bhandari tweeted, "Taking to Twitter, Bhandari said, "I am shocked by the news that Yeti Airlines ATR-72 plane crashed in Pokhara. Expressing my deepest condolences to the passengers and crew members who lost their lives in the accident, I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families." Earlier, India's Ambassador to Nepal, Shankar Sharma expressed his deep condolences and said that their thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragedy. The rescue operation is still underway and providing the details about the same, the Indian embassy in Nepal revealed that 5 Indians were also among the victims who lost their lives in the plane crash. In the notice issued by Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, the incident took place around 11 am. It further reads, "On 15 Jan 2023, Sunday from Kathmandu at 10:32 am local time for Pokhara, Nepalese 53 foreigners, 5 Indians, 4 Russians, 1 Irish... NYT 691, 9N-ANC plane came into contact with Pokhara Tower at 10:50 am at Neet Beach, and after that, the plane crashed, 9NALX and 9NANA helicopters were mobilized for rescue from Pokhara and Kathmandu and Pokhara airports for search and rescue." " Nepali Army, Police Force, Airport Rescue, and Fire Fighting, and Nepal Police will be informed about the rescue operation. Total number 72 including crew female 25 male 30, standard, white. So far, the death toll is 68," it added. The embassy further informed that it was in contact with the local authorities. "We are deeply saddened by the crash of a plane carrying 72 passengers and crew members, including some Indians in Pokhara. We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with all those affected by this tragedy," Shankar P Sharma, the Indian ambassador to Nepal, tweeted. The India embassy helpline numbers -- Diwakar Sharma: +977-9851107021 for Kathmandu and Lt Col Shashank Tripathi: +977-9856037699 for the Pokhara region -- to help the kin of the deceased Indian passengers. Meanwhile, the Nepal government declared a day of national mourning tomorrow. The government has also announced that a five-member committee will be formed to investigate the crash. Newly elected Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane were scheduled to visit Pokhara after the crash but now, the plans have been cancelled according to Dahal's Chief Personal Secretary Ramesh Malla. Further, the Prime Minister directed Home Ministry, security personnel and all the government agencies to carry out immediate rescue and relief operations. Previously, a deadly air crash took place in Nepal in May last year in which 4 Indians died. A Tara Air 9 NAET twin-engine aircraft crashed in Kowang village of the Mustang district hours after it went missing in the mountainous district after taking off from Pokhara city. Mustang is one of the mountainous and fifth-largest districts of the Himalayan nation, which hosts the pilgrimage to Muktinath Temple. The district, also known as 'Land beyond the Himalayas', is located in the Kali Gandaki valley of the Himalayan region of Western Nepal. The world's deepest gorge that goes down three miles vertically between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountains runs through this district. Following the crash, an emergency mock drill on a plane crash rescue operation has been conducted at Tribhuwan International Airport in the Nepali capital Kathmandu on Wednesday afternoon. According to the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), every internationally recognized airport should conduct a 'full-scale emergency exercise' every two years. (ANI)
Iraqi students take the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), or the Chinese Proficiency Test, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), or the Chinese Proficiency Test, was held in Baghdad on Saturday for the first time, allowing Iraqi Chinese language learners to take the exam in the country without traveling outside.

The test was held at the Iraqi-Chinese Friendship Association in cooperation with the Chinese Testing International Co., Ltd, with the participation of 12 students, including three women.

The participants included merchants, engineers, doctors, and students who intend to obtain a master's degree from China, and who wish to improve their work or living in China and learn more about Chinese culture.

"Today, we have finished the Chinese language test in the Iraqi-Chinese Friendship Association. The move will open the door (to taking HSK exams) for all students who study Chinese or who intend to study the Chinese language, whether inside Iraq or students from neighboring countries where there is no (Chinese) examination center," Haider al-Rubaie, head of the Iraqi-Chinese Friendship Association, told Xinhua.

Holding the HSK test in Iraq will save the money and effort of those who study the Chinese language, and will help increase the number of students who want to learn Chinese, he said.

Conducting the HSK test in Iraq will also increase cultural exchanges and enable people to learn more about Chinese culture and China's ancient civilization, he added.

Dr. Sajjad al-Qazzaz, a teacher of the Chinese language and director of public relations at the Iraqi-Chinese Friendship Association, was filled with happiness, pride, and joy about the arrival of the Chinese language to Iraq and holding the HSK test in his country.

"In the past, we did not have a Chinese test center, which is (used for holding) the official HSK test, and now Iraqis can take the test in the Iraqi-Chinese Friendship Association, and by passing this test, Iraqis can apply for the opportunity to study in Chinese universities," he said.

"In the beginning, a few students came to the association to learn Chinese, but now more and more, learning Chinese is becoming more and more popular among Iraqis," al-Qazzaz said.

He hoped that Iraqis can better understand Chinese culture by learning the Chinese language and they can apply to study in China by taking the HSK test.

One of the students, Alaa Mohammed, an engineer and owner of an advertising company, told Xinhua that the Chinese language is very important in his field as "we import machines from China."

Learning the Chinese language has greatly facilitated his work, enabling him to communicate his thoughts and ideas with his Chinese partners directly instead of using another foreign language, said Mohammed, who has spent more than one year on Chinese learning.

He said he received a lot of help from his Chinese friends in learning Chinese. When he writes to them via Wechat, they help him correct his mistakes and encourage him to make more efforts.

Zahraa Hadi, a female student, travelled some 100 km from the city of Karbala to Baghdad to learn the Chinese language.

"I learned Chinese because I love it. I love China, and I love Chinese culture," she said, adding that she is planning to get a master's degree in China "because I like to live there to know many Chinese people and meet more people and acquire new cultures, customs, and other traditions."

Shams Haider, another female student who has been studying Chinese for about a year, said she wants to improve her Chinese skills and help enhance relations between China and Iraq.

"As I am a political science student specializing in international relations, I am very interested in working in the future on relations between China and Iraq, developing cultural relations," she said.

"These relationships are important to me and I study them. The Chinese language will do me a lot of good and make this thing (interrelations) easier in the future," she added. 

Iraqi students take the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), or the Chinese Proficiency Test, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
The Sri Lankan Navy welcomed the Indian Naval Ship (INS) 'Delhi', which arrived at the Port of Trincomalee on January 15. During the ship's stay, the crew will participate in several programmes organized by the Sri Lanka Navy to promote cooperation and goodwill between the two navies, according to the statement released by Sri Lankan Navy. "The Indian Naval Ship (INS) 'Delhi' arrived at the Port of Trincomalee on a formal visit this morning (15th January 2023). The visiting ship was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in compliance with naval traditions," the Sri Lankan Navy said in a statement. The INS 'Delhi' is a 163.2 metre-long destroyer and is manned by a crew of 390 and the ship is commanded by Captain Shiraz Husain Azad. The Commanding Officer of INS is due to meet Commander Eastern Naval Area and Commandant Volunteer Naval Force, Rear Admiral Dammika Kumara at the Eastern Naval Command headquarters on January 16. During the ship's stay, the crew is expected to go on a sightseeing excursion in Trincomalee. Furthermore, Sri Lankan Navy personnel will engage in a training visit onboard INS Delhi. INS Delhi is scheduled to depart the island on January 17. "In the meantime, the Commanding Officer of INS is scheduled to call on Commander Eastern Naval Area and Commandant Volunteer Naval Force, Rear Admiral Dammika Kumara on 16th January at the Eastern Naval Command Headquarters," the Sri Lankan Navy said in the statement. "During the ship's stay, the crew will take part in several programmes organized by the Sri Lanka Navy, with a view to promoting cooperation and goodwill between the two navies. They are also expected to go on a sightseeing excursion in Trincomalee," it added. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to visit Sri Lanka next week to discuss the debt restructuring process, according to Sri Lankan President Media Division statement. "India's Foreign Minister will be arriving in Sri Lanka next week. India is in debt restructuring discussions," Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said while addressing the "Pratibha Abhisheka 2022, on Wednesday. Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the island nation will receive USD 2.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund and USD 5 billion from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, according to Sri Lanka's President Media Division. He further said, "After that, we can get nearly 5 billion dollars from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The total will be USD 7.5 billion. Adding the USD 3 billion from the restructuring of unprofitable government agencies can add up to USD 10 billion, which will enable the economy to recover and bring the country out of this suffering." (ANI)
The Voice of the Global South Summit is India's long-term strategy of advancing by prioritizing the common agenda of all developing countries rather than advancing alone, Nepalese news website Epardafas.com said. According to the website, this is for the first time that India has organized a summit to focus the attention of the international community on the priorities, perceptions, and interests of developing countries. India hosted a two-day Voice of Global South Summit on January 12-13. The Summit was held in a virtual format, with 10 sessions in total. It saw the participation of Leaders and Ministers from 125 countries of the Global South In the virtual conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a 'human-centric globalization' at the Voice of Global South Summit, one that does not create a climate crisis or debt crisis. "We all appreciate the principle of globalization. India's philosophy has always seen the world as one family. However, developing countries desire globalization that does not create climate crisis or debt crisis," the Prime Minister said in his opening remarks at the Concluding Leaders' Session of the Voice of Global South Summit. PM Modi stressed that India wants globalization that does not lead to unequal distribution of vaccines or over-concentrated global supply chains. "We want globalization that brings prosperity and well-being to humanity as a whole. In short, we want a 'human-centric globalization'," he added. PM Modi announced the "Global South Centre of Excellence" to undertake research on developing solutions or best practices that would help the members of the developing world. "This institution will undertake research on development solutions or best practices of any of our countries, which can be scaled and implemented in other members of the Global South," he added. The Prime Minister said India's G20 Presidency will attempt to voice the views of the Global South on these important issues. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, at the Foreign Ministers Session, said that during its G20 presidency, India will articulate an agenda that will prioritize a new globalization paradigm focused on vulnerable populations and decentralization and bringing down walls in accessing opportunities around the world. Jaishankar also said India's G20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just its G20 partners, but also our fellow citizens in the Global South. "This is an opportunity for India to articulate an agenda and for the Global South to show the way," he said.The minister said India and the Global South not only have a common future but also a common past."We shoulder burdens of a colonial past, even as we face inequities of the current world order." (ANI)
Solomon Arokiaraj, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on Sunday said that the first infrastructure working group meeting of the G20 is going to happen in Pune and G20 delegates have already arrived. "The first infrastructure working group meeting of G20 is going to happen in Pune. Today is the welcome dinner for the delegates who have already arrived and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow that is the 16th and 17th will be the official proceeding of the G-20 infrastructure working group," Arokiaraj said on Sunday during a media briefing on the first Infra working group meeting of G-20. Arokiaraj said that the Infrastructure working group deliberates on various issues related to the infrastructure sector, the challenges, the financing options and various standardisations, and indicators. "So, during different presidencies, different themes have been selected," he said. "For India's presidency, we have selected the theme of "Building cities of the future that are sustainable, resilient and inclusive'," the joint secretary said. He said that: "We have chosen this topic because globally, urbanisation is a very important phenomenon and already more than 50 per cent of the population lives in the urban centres and more than 80 per cent of the global GDP is contributed by the urban centres." Arokiaraj said that in India as well as in various developing economies, urbanisation is going to be a major theme and trend which we are going to see for the next 20-30 years. It is a huge opportunity for economic growth. At the same time, there will be challenges. "To deliberate on the challenges, India has chosen the theme, building cities of the future that are sustainable, resilient and inclusive'," he said. The IWG meeting will bring together the member countries of the forum, guest countries and international organisations invited by India to discuss the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under India's G20 Presidency and will be hosted by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, along with Australia and Brazil as the co-chairs, the official statement of the Ministry of External Affairs read. The G20 Infrastructure Working Group will hold discussions on a range of topics related to infrastructure investments, such as establishing infrastructure as an asset class, supporting high-quality infrastructure investment, and locating novel methods for raising money for such projects. The discussions will focus on the agenda for the Infrastructure Working Group under the Indian Presidency, according to the official statement. The theme will focus on various facets of making cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, building future-ready urban infrastructure, and directing fiscal investments for unlocking private financing for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable infrastructure. (ANI)
Electricity from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan has been disconnected due to technical issues, the country's power distributor, Da Afghanistan Bereshna Sherkat announced on Sunday, TOLO News reported. Da Afghanistan Bereshna Sherkat (DABS) official Safiullah Ahmadzai said that Afghan officials were negotiating with Uzbekistan officials regarding the restoration of the power supply, as per the TOLO News report. He said that the company has started the Tarakhil thermal power station to address the issue of electricity shortage in Afghanistan's capital Kabul. "We activate thermal power stations for five and six hours at night which has a huge cost for us because our customers have electricity for one to two hours," TOLO News reported Safiullah Ahmadzai as saying. DABS official Safiullah Ahmadzai said that it is not clear when the electricity from Uzbekistan will be reconnected to Afghanistan. He stressed that they have not received a positive response from Uzbekistan about the reconnection of electricity to Afghanistan, as per the news report. "We didn't receive a positive response from Uzbekistan about when they will reconnect the electricity to Afghanistan," TOLO News reported Safiullah Ahmadzai as saying. Two weeks back, Uzbekistan had extended the agreement for supplying power to Afghanistan. As per the agreement, Uzbekistan will provide 450 megawatts of electricity to Afghanistan during winter which cost USD 100 million. Former DABS head Amanullah Ghalib said that Breshna must immediately connect the Turkmenistan electricity to Kabul and not wait for external help, according to TOLO News. Kabul residents have said that they are facing a tough situation due to continued blackouts during the winter. "Breshna has to immediately connect the Turkmenistan electricity line from Mazar-e-Sharif and the Pul-e-Khumri line to Kabul. And it should not wait for any external help," TOLO News quoted Amanullah Ghalib as saying. As per the Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, the import transmission lines for Kabul electricity were made in 2008. They have the capacity of transmitting 300 megawatts of power and Kabul requires over 700 megawatts of power. (ANI)
The Pakistani lawyers boycotted courts in Balochistan province on Saturday to protest against the arrest of Gwadar movement leader Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, Business Recorder newspaper reported. The boycott of lawyers came a day after the 'Haq Do Tehreek' (HDT) leader was arrested when he showed up on Friday at the court premises in Gwadar over the charges of killing a policeman, the Pakistani newspaper said. Tensions continued to simmer in the Pakistan port city with protests continuing after clashes with supporters of the HDT. The clashes occurred in the last two months between locals and security forces in Gwadar as protests against illegal fishing turned violent after some people were arrested. The Balochistan Bar Council condemned Maulana's arrest, saying that DPO Gwadar detained the HDT leader forcibly. The court urged Balochistan's chief secretary and inspector-general of police to take immediate notice of the incident. The Pakistani newspaper said that the HDT leader was in court with his lawyers to seek interim bail. The Bar said the Gwadar police have completely failed to protect the lives and properties of the citizens, Business Recorder reported. So far, more than 100 people have been arrested in Gwadar as the provincial government struck with an iron fist at protesters and imposed an emergency law that prohibits gathering five or more people. Last month, a London-based rights group has expressed alarm over reports of mass arrests and the imposition of emergency law in Gwadar following large-scale protests against "illegal fishing through trawlers". "Amnesty International is alarmed by reports of mass arrests and the imposition of emergency law following protests in Gwadar. People have the right to express discontent peacefully and the state has an obligation to facilitate this right," Amnesty International said in a statement posted on its Twitter handle. The group said putting a "blanket ban on all forms of public gatherings amounts to repression of the right to protest and sends a chilling message that there is no room for dissent." "It is imperative that the Government of Pakistan upholds the human rights of everyone, including their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly in the country," the statement added. (ANI)
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday said his government is discussing problems of the North and the Tamil people, in a step towards reconciling the island nation that has suffered three decades of war and insurgency. "We are discussing the problems of the North and the Tamil people. I called all the party leaders to the Parliament and said let us work to unite this country and restore harmony," he was quoted as saying by Sri Lankan President's media division in an address at the National Thai Pongal Festival on Sunday afternoon. "I also discussed with the Tamil Party MPs in Parliament. Also, I hope to announce to the country in February about the measures taken by the government to create Reconciliation in the country," he added. In a press statement, Wickremesinghe was quoted as saying that the Social Justice Commission will be established to build a country where everyone can live in harmony. Wickremesinghe vowed to solve the problems of the people belonging to all sections of the population, as he batted for a common Sri Lankan identity where all races coexist and achieve economic prosperity. "This country needs reconciliation. As well as 30 years of war and insurgency, our country has been divided by divisive, racist, sectarian and bankrupt politics. As we all have to live in one country, we must return to the Sri Lankan identity and build the economy that Late Mr. D. S. Senanayake created 75 years ago," he said. The Sri Lankan President stated that a statement on steps toward reconciliation will be made public in February and that a meeting of party leaders will be convened next week to discuss the matter. In his address, Wickremesinghe said his government is hoping to fully implement the 13th Amendment to its Constitution not only in the northern part of the country but also in the South. "We hope to fully implement the 13th Amendment of the Constitution. Not only in the North but also in the South, the Chief Ministers are demanding that it be implemented. We are continuing those activities," he said. The 13th Amendment provides for the devolution of power to the minority Tamil community which India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement. This amendment was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987. (ANI)
Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2019. NBC/Getty Images

Lin-Manuel's musical "In the Heights" put him on the map and "Hamilton" made him a phenomenon.

He spent time as a seventh-grade English teacher before making it big on Broadway.

Miranda, who turns 43 on January 16, is one award away from gaining the rare PEGOT title.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's name was inspired by a poem written about the Vietnam War.

Lin-Manuel Miranda waves the Puerto Rican flag in his final performance of "Hamilton" in the Puerto Rico leg of the tour on January 27, 2019. Gladys Vega/Getty Images

The name Lin-Manuel is derived from the poem "Nana roja para mi hijo Lin Manuel" written by Puerto Rican poet Jose Manuel Torres Santiago about the Vietnam war.

Miranda, who was born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, shared a photo of the poem  with a handwritten dedication from the poet himself  on Twitter in 2016, writing, "The story of my name."

In 2016, Miranda traveled to Puerto Rico and read his namesake poem at a poetry festival.

He was born a performer  a video he shared on his YouTube channel shows him dancing to "Footloose" as a kid.

A young Lin-Manuel Miranda dancing along to "Footloose." Unsavi/YouTube

Miranda is a sport for gifting the internet such a precious video of him passionately dancing in his childhood bedroom.

In the description of his YouTube video, Miranda even pokes fun at himself. "'He-Man' bed sheets. Nintendo AND Malcomn Jamal-Warner [sic] poster. Suppress your jealousy," he wrote. "'All In The Family' is on, in my room, so I occasionally space out and watch that, and check the lyric sheet that came with the album," he explained.

Miranda cofounded a hip-hop improvisational comedy troupe when he was in college.

Lin-Manuel Miranda (left) on stage performing with his troupe Freestyle Love Supreme which included actor Jeff Garlin in 2005. Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images

Back in his days as a student at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Miranda and a group of friends started the improvisational hip-hop comedy group Freestyle Love Supreme.

The group was conceived as early as 2003 during breaks from rehearsing Miranda's musical "In The Heights," according to a 2019 New Yorker article. With the help of a keyboardist backing them up, members beatboxed and freestyle rapped, occasionally using topics audience members wrote on little pieces of paper as inspiration.

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Freestyle Love Supreme performed a run on Broadway during the 2019-20 season and in 2020, a documentary, "We Are Freestyle Supreme," outlining the group's history was released.

Story continues

He wrote the draft of his first musical, "In the Heights," when he was a sophomore in college.

Lin-Manuel Miranda at the curtain call for the opening night of "In the Heights" in March 2008. Steven Henry/Getty Images

During a 2012 Q&A with The Harvard Crimson, Miranda said that he wrote the first draft of the musical  a hip-hop-heavy slice of life story about a primarily Latino neighborhood in Washington Heights, New York  during his sophomore year at Wesleyan University.

"I had the sort of dream-come-true situation of someone who wrote a show in school and actually got it up professionally, which does not happen often," Miranda told The Crimson.

"In the Heights" was on Broadway between 2008 and 2011. In 2021, it was made into a movie starring Anthony Ramos. Miranda played Piraguero in the film, which he also produced.

Before Miranda was a Broadway staple, he was an English teacher.

Lin-Manuel Miranda acts in a Saturday Night live "Substitute Teacher" sketch that aired on October 8, 2016. NBC/Getty Images

Miranda worked as a teacher at his alma mater, Hunter College High School in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, before making it big.

In the same Q&A with The Harvard Crimson, Miranda added that he finished "In The Heights" while teaching seventh-grade English. Miranda told Education and Career News that being a teacher was one of the most rewarding jobs he ever had.

"It wasn't about getting up in front of the class and having all eyes on you  that's not how great teaching happens," Miranda told the outlet. He continued, saying, "The finest moments of teaching are when you're not saying much at all; when you're lifting the discussion up and keeping the ball in the air for the kids to draw from each other. Like great actors, great teachers know how to listen. It's not about being in the center, it's about being part of the moment and being present."

Miranda also supported himself by writing campaign jingles for politicians.

Lin-Manuel Miranda poses for photographers at the 62nd Annual Tony Awards on June 15, 2008. Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Before Miranda was composing Tony and Grammy Award-winning musicals, he earned some cash to support his burgeoning career by writing jingles for politicians.

Miranda's father, Luis A. Miranda, Jr., is a political consultant in New York who advised former Bronx borough president and mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer and State Senator Adriano Espaillat, according to a 2012 New York Times article. Thanks to his father's political connections, Miranda's jingles were used by politicians including Ferrer, former state comptroller H. Carl McCall, and former governor Eliot Spitzer.

Lin-Manuel Miranda missed only one performance of "Hamilton'' in 2015. He also regretfully missed the biggest celebrity audience members.

Lin-Manuel Miranda pictured with Javier Munoz, his understudy at the time, at a "Hamilton" celebration on Saturday, July 18, 2015. Donald Traill/AP Photos

It was a rarity that Lin-Manuel missed performances of "Hamilton" where he played the title role of Alexander Hamilton in a majority of the US and Puerto Rico performances. But on October 21, 2015, Miranda was not able to perform since he was sick. In a December 20, 2018 interview on "The Graham Norton Show," Miranda said, "I got sick once in the year that I performed, and I missed Beyonce and Jay-Z."

Miranda told Norton that he tried to get out of bed to perform even with a 104-degree temperature. Javier Munoz, who went on to replace Miranda after he stepped down from the role on July 9, 2016, stood in his place.

Miranda's wife, the lawyer and scientist Vanessa Nadal, was his high school crush.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and his wife, Vanessa Nadal, pictured n 2016. Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

Both Miranda and Nadal attended Hunter College High School in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. According to a 2010 New York Times article, Miranda was infatuated with Nadal, who was two years younger than him, but he never had the guts to talk to her.

"She was gorgeous and I'm famously bad at talking to women I find attractive," Miranda told the Times. "I have a total lack of game."

After high school, Miranda went to Wesleyan, and Nadal to MIT. The two didn't speak until 2005 when Miranda reconnected with Nadal over Facebook. He reached out and invited her to one of his shows and five years later, the two were married. Miranda and Nadal now have two children together.

A video of Miranda singing to his wife at their wedding went viral.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and wife Vanessa Nadal pictured in 2009. Lars Niki/Getty Images

Long before he was known around the globe for performing Alexander Hamilton and even before playing Usnavi De La Vega from "In the Heights," Lin-Manuel Miranda was internet famous thanks to a viral wedding performance.

When he and his wife, Vanessa Nadal, were married in 2010, he surprised her by singing and dancing the song "To Life" from "Fiddler on the Roof." According to The New York Times, the video had 2.5 million views following Miranda's wedding; it now has over 7.4 million.

Miranda cameoed on an episode of "How I Met Your Mother" and, you guessed it, he had an awesome rap scene.

Lin-Manuel Miranda on "How I Met Your Mother" in 2013. How I Met Your Mother/Hulu

In "Bedtime Stories," the 11th episode of the ninth and final season of CBS' sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," Miranda guest-starred as Gus, a passenger on the same bus Marshall (Jason Segel) was riding cross-country to get to Barney and Robin's wedding.

When Marshall's son Marvin won't stop crying, Miranda's character lays down some slick rhymes to help the baby fall asleep.

"HIMYM" isn't the only show Miranda has appeared on. He's also starred on "House," "Modern Family," "Ducktails," "Saturday Night Live" as a host in 2016, and as himself for two hilarious episodes of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" in which he helps Larry David produce a musical.

Miranda, who composed the music for Disney's animated film "Moana," has said "The Little Mermaid" is the reason he started writing music.

Lin-Manuel Miranda at the AFI FEST 2016's premier of Disney's "Moana" on November 14, 2016. Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

Miranda is a huge Disney fan  he told "Good Morning America" host Lara Spencer in 2016 that "The Little Mermaid" is why he started writing music.

In 2016, he cowrote the score for "Moana" and got to work for codirectors Ron Clements and John Musker, the duo responsible for multiple Disney films including "The Little Mermaid."

Miranda told GMA it was important for him and his cowriters Opetaia Tavita Foa'i and Mark Mancina to create an authentic Polynesian soundtrack that would represent that region of the world.

"The thing that the directors really imparted to me was this is a part of the world that almost never gets represented onscreen, the Pacific Islands, so we want to honor them. We want to make a movie they can be proud of and that they can point to with pride," Miranda said.

But his love for Disney really came full circle in 2019, when he started writing lyrics for the live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid." He's working alongside the movie's original composer, Alan Menken.

He teamed up with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" director JJ Abrams to write the song "Jaba Flow."

Lin-Manuel Miranda and JJ Abrams rapping "Jaba Flow" in 2016. Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

On May 4, 2016 ("Star Wars" Day), Miranda and Abrams performed the song, which is written in "Huttese"  the language spoken by Jaba the Hutt  for a crowd of fans waiting outside the Richard Rogers Theatre hoping to score "Hamilton" tickets.

Miranda also revealed the song is a nod to the rapper Shaggy.

"I went to a website that had all of the Huttese glossary of terms and it translates as, 'No, lover, lover. It wasn't me,'" Miranda said to the crowd. "It's literally a Shaggy intergalactic remix."

Miranda and Abrams recorded and released the song "Jaba Flow" under the pseudonym Shag F. Kava. If you're a hardcore "Star Wars" fan you may have already de-coded the name, but for less intense fans, Miranda took to Twitter in 2019 to explain the deeper meaning.

"Here's the deepest Star Wars trivia: SHAG is @jjabrams and my kids' initials, KAVA the 1st syllables of our wives' names. But I had another kid. So now...they're SHAG F. KAVA," Miranda's tweet read.

Miranda is close to becoming the third person ever to win a PEGOT.

Lin-Manuel Miranda presenting at the 2017 Tony Awards. Theo Wargo/Getty Images

What is a PEGOT you might ask? It's like an EGOT  when someone wins an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award  with the addition of a Pulitzer Prize.

Miranda has won a Pulitzer, Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, and Grammys thanks to "In The Heights," "Hamilton," and "Moana."

Composers Richard Rodgers and Marvin Hamlisch are currently the only two people who have ever won a PEGOT. Miranda still needs to win an Oscar to enter this rare designation.

He was nominated for Oscars for best original song for his work on "Moana" in 2017 and "Encanto" in 2022, but he did not win.

Despite Miranda being popular on Twitter and often becoming a viral meme himself, the performer does not have an Instagram account.

While Lin-Manuel Miranda shares his performances and accolades on Twitter, he does not have an Instagram account. Chris Delmas/Getty Images

Lin-Manuel Miranda has an impressive follower count of over 3.5 million on Twitter. Manuel uses the platform to share words of encouragement, show comical glimpses into his life, promote his latest projects, and even share Spotify playlists that he curates for Freestyle Love Supreme.

Miranda's use of the platform even inspired him to release his book "Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You" in 2018, which is a collection of inspirational sayings, many of which came straight from his tweets.

Miranda has also became a viral meme on a few occasions, especially after he posted several lip-biting selfies. But despite his popularity on the internet, Miranda has yet to make an Instagram account.

Miranda has dipped his toes in many types of projects but finally fulfilled his dreams of being a director with "Tick, Tick Boom!"

Actors (from left to right) Robin de Jesus, Alexandra Shipp, Andrew Garfield, Vanessa Hudgens, and director (right) Lin-Manuel Miranda pictured at the Film Independent screening of "Tick, Tick... Boom!" on December 12, 2021. Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

The renaissance man that he is, Miranda has written and produced musicals, composed songs for several Disney movies, including most recently "Encanto," and acted both on stage and on the big screen. But it might surprise some that Miranda had not yet directed a movie until 2021.

His directorial debut was the film-adaptation of "Tick, Tick... Boom!" which is an adaptation of Jonathan Larson's off-Broadway musical and which was released on Netflix on November 12, 2021. In an interview with Netflix Film Club that was released December 8, 2021, Miranda said he's wanted to be a director since he was 3 years old.

But in regards to his career path, Miranda said, "I sort of majored in theater instead of film out of practicality."

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Atlanta police are investigating after a man was shot while walking from a store on Continental Colony Parkway SW.

According to police, they responded to the location around 4:16 p.m. on Saturday after reports of a person shot.

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When they got to the scene, officers located a 22-year-old man who told them he was walking from a store when a car started shooting at him.

The victim was alert, conscious, and breathing when he was taken to a local hospital.

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Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Atlanta police.

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Updated at 7:25 p.m. Kyiv time: Death toll in Russian missile attack on Dnipro rises to 30

Russias attack on an apartment building in Dnipro on Jan. 14 has killed 25 people and injured 73, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at 3 p.m. on Jan. 15. One of the killed was a child.

At least 73 people were injured, including 13 children. Forty-three people are still missing. The search for survivors continues.

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said in a morning Telegram post that more than 40 people are being treated in local hospitals.

Seventy-two apartments have been completely ruined, and 230 others have been damaged, Reznichenko said.

The building was hit during Russias 10th mass missile strike against Ukraine, maingly targeting the country's critical infrastructure. The attack damaged energy facilities in six Ukrainian oblasts, according to the Energy Ministry, causing emergency power cut-offs.

Russia hit the high-rise building in Dnipro with a Kh-22 missile, Ukraines Air Defense reported. Ukraines military said that the country currently has no firepower capable of shooting down this type of missile.

Search and rescue mission continues  now in its second day  as authorities fear 40 people are still trapped under the rubble.
JERUSALEM, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israel's President Isaac Herzog warned on Sunday of an impending "historic constitutional crisis" in the country over a controversial plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government to overhaul the judiciary.

Herzog said in a statement that he has been mediating over the past week between the involved parties, including Netanyahu, Justice Minister Yariv Levin who drew up the plan, and President of the Supreme Court Justice Esther Hayut.

"We are in the grips of a profound disagreement that is tearing our nation apart," he noted.

Herzog, whose role is mainly ceremonial and focused on unifying the divided Israeli society, said that his efforts are focused on "averting a historic constitutional crisis and stopping the continued rift within the nation."

At his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu dismissed the Saturday nationwide rallies, saying that in the elections held in November 2022, "millions of people vote on reforming the judicial system."

He said the reforms will be discussed "thoroughly" in a parliamentary review committee, which also includes members from the opposition.

"We will complete the reform of legislation in a way that will fully protect individual rights and restore public confidence in the judicial system," he added.

Last week, Levin announced a series of reforms, including giving the parliament the ability to override supreme court rulings with a simple majority. In addition, politicians will have greater influence in the appointment of supreme court judges and legal advisers to ministries.

Opponents of the plan, who rallied in Tel Aviv and other cities across Israel on Saturday night, argue that it would undermine the independence of the judiciary, harm minority rights and will make it easier for corrupted politicians to evade accountability.

On Thursday, Hayut described the plan as "an uncontrolled attack on the legal system." In rare public remarks, she said it "intended to force a deadly blow on the independence and impartiality of the judicial system." 
Five people were shot and at least one is dead after a group opened fire into a crowd of patrons standing outside a Houston-area club, Texas police said.

Deputies responded to the shooting in northwest Harris County after 2 a.m. on Jan. 15, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said during a news briefing at the scene.

A number of people were gathered outside the club when a vehicle pulled up, multiple armed people got out and started shooting, Gonzalez said, adding that over 50 shots were fired.

Two men and three women were hit, Gonzalez said, and one of the five victims was pronounced dead a short time later.

Gonzalez did not know the conditions of the remaining victims, who were all taken to hospitals for treatment.

Investigators were searching the scene for evidence, surveillance video and witnesses, Gonzalez said. As of Sunday morning, no suspects have been identified.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 713-222-8477.

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One luxury river cruise is making history on an all-new Indian voyage.

On Friday, Antara Cruises launched its MV Ganga Vilas ship, a vessel set to travel 1,988 miles of waterways in India and Bangladesh. The journey spans 51 days, making it the worlds longest river cruise, according to organizers. While on the course, passengers will travel along the Ganges, Indias holiest river, as well as other waterways through five states in western India. The ship will also venture into the neighboring South Asian country of Bangladesh, visiting its national parks, UNESCO World Heritage sites and big cities.

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The MV Ganga Vilas is designed to carry 36 passengers in 18 luxe suites, as well as 48 crew. Because the long-haul cruise was solely marketed in Europe, its initial round of passengers are from Switzerland, France and other countries. The ships interiors are inspired by 20th-century works by German painter Josef Albers, known for his vibrant color square paintings. The cruise was originally planned to set sail in 2020 but was delayed by the pandemic.

According to CNN, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees the cruise as one of the centerpieces of his governments infrastructure initiatives. He even made a speech in December that recognized the cruise as a trend that could bring more visitors to India, home of the Himalayas, the Golden Temple and the Holi Festival. This will be an unprecedented cruise of its kind in the whole world, Modi said in a statement. It will also be a reflection of the growing cruise tourism (industry) in India.

River cruises have been popular in Europe and North America for some time, with multiple companies regularly trailing the Danube, Rhine and Seine. But the concept is still fairly new in India seeing as the countrys riversmost notably the Gangescontinue to struggle with severe pollution. But there are plans underway to increase opportunities for river tourism in India. One of its incentives includes building 10 passenger ship terminals along National Waterway-2, an 891-kilometer section of the Brahmaputra River. The country also has eight river cruise ships that are capable of traveling between Varanasi and Kolkata.

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Kashif Siddiqui, Antaras director of sales and marketing, told CNN in an interview that the plan is to run the nearly 2,000-mile cruise on the Ganges twice a year between October and March when the weather is nice and the river water is high. Tickets to board the MV Ganga Vilas costs between 4.2 million to 4.5 million rupees, or $51,114 to $54,765 per guest. Siddiqui claims tickets for two scheduled 2024 voyages have already sold out.

Antara also offers several upscale cruise itineraries aboard the MV Ganga Vilas that are shorter in duration. One route from Kolkata to Murshidabad in West Bengal runs for eight days and costs 292,875 rupees, or $3,500, while a trip from Kolkata to Varanasi lasts 12 days and costs 437,250 rupees ($5,300). For more details, visit the Antara website.

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At least eight fighter jets and four cargo planes arrived from Russia at the military airfield in Baranavichy, Belarus, on Sunday, 15 January.

Source: Belaruski Hajun

Details: According to Belaruski Hajun, at least eight fighter jets of the Russian Air Force have flown to the military airfield in Baranavichy from the Russian Federation over the course of the last 24 hours, among them:

Four Su-34s of the Air and Space Forces of the Russian Federation with the following registration numbers:

RF-95001  arrived at 16:05,

RF-*****4  arrived at 16:05,

RF-81853  arrived at 16:40,

RF-81862  arrived at 16:50.

Four Su-30s of the Air and Space Forces of the Russian Federation with the following registration numbers:

RF-85805  arrived at 15:50 (probably Su-30),

RF-85806  arrived at 15:50 (probably Su-30),

RF-81874  arrived at 16:20 from Kursk,

RF-81875  arrived at 16:20 from Kursk.

All of them arrived in Baranavichy between 15:50 and 16:50 Kyiv time. It is known for sure that two Su-30SMs arrived from Kursk [Russian Federation]. Belaruski Hajun notes that two Su-34s of the Air and Space Forces of the Russian Federation were already stationed in Baranavichy before the arrival of the fighters on Sunday.

In addition, four cargo planes also arrived in Baranavichy on Sunday:

An-12 of the Air and Space Forces of the Russian Federation (RF-93586)  arrived at 12:46,

An-12 of the Air and Space Forces of the Russian Federation (RF-12560)  arrived at 17:05,

An-26 of the Air and Space Forces of the Russian Federation (RF-90319)  arrived at 17:10,

An-12 of the Air and Space Forces of the Russian Federation (RF-95409  arrived at 17:50.

Three of them came from the Russian Federation, and one (RF-93586) had been in Machulishchy since 11 January and flew to Baranavichy on Sunday, from where it departed at 14:05. According to Belaruski Hajun, at least some of those planes were carrying cargo, quite likely ammunition for fighters.

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Quote "Most likely, the planes arrived to participate in the joint aviation drills of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation which the Defence Ministry of the Republic of Belarus had announced on 5 January. It is expected that these exercises will take place from 16 January to 1 February."

Details: Belaruski Hajun reminded readers that 12 helicopters of the Russian Air Force arrived in Belarus on 8 January. At that time, it was assumed that aircraft of the Russian Air Force would be stationed at Machulishchy and Baranavichy airfields during future exercises. Belaruski Hajun also did not rule out that the Lida, Luninets and Babrujsk airfields could also be involved.

However, the number of airfields involved may turn out to be larger, as the Defence Ministry of Belarus announced on 8 January, "All airfields and ranges of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Belarus will be involved during aviation drills."

Earlier: On 8 January, the Belarusian Ministry of Defence announced that Russia and Belarus will hold joint tactical flight drills from 16 January to 1 February.

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Actor Jenny Slate offered her take on the high-pitched voice of Marcel, the title character in the critically acclaimed stop-motion animated film Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.

The former Saturday Night Live cast member talked with Deadline about her voice role in the Golden Globe-nominated A24 film, an adaptation of a series of shorts that she co-wrote with director Dean Fleischer-Camp.

Slate compared the voice of Marcel, a 1-inch-tall talking shell who lives with his grandmother Connie, to somebody making an abstract painting to try to describe a set of feelings that they have.

There are these moments in your daily life when you feel small and you feel needed, that you need to be heard, Slate said.

You feel insistent, and also gregarious and likable and ready to party. You put that all together and it comes out in this weird tight stream. And thats what that voice is.

She added that the character is her, if she were considerate of and connected to others except a little bit less freaked out by what they think of me.

And Marcels pretty relaxed into his own state of being, Slate said.

The film arrived over a decade after the original Marcel the Shell With Shoes On short premiered in 2010. The short, which has two sequels, has since garnered over 33 million views on YouTube.

The film, which currently has a 99% score among critics on film review site Rotten Tomatoes, has qualified for consideration in the animated feature category at this years Academy Awards.

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BEIJING (AP)  The World Health Organization has appealed to China to keep releasing information about its wave of COVID-19 infections after the government announced nearly 60,000 deaths since early December following weeks of complaints it was failing to tell the world what was happening.

The announcement Saturday was the first official death toll since the ruling Communist Party abruptly dropped anti-virus restrictions in December despite a surge in infections that flooded hospitals. That left the WHO and other governments appealing for information, while the United States, South Korea and others imposed controls on visitors from China.

The government said 5,503 people died of respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and there were 54,435 fatalities from cancer, heart disease and other ailments combined with COVID-19 between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12.

The announcement allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation, said a WHO statement. It said the WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, talked by phone with Health Minister Ma Xiaowei.

WHO requested that this type of detailed information continued to be shared with us and the public, the agency said.

The National Health Commission said only deaths in hospitals were counted, which means anyone who died at home wouldnt be included. It gave no indication when or whether it might release updated numbers.

A health official said the national emergency peak has passed based on an 83% decline in the daily number of people going to fever clinics from a Dec. 23 high.

The report would more than double Chinas official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official toll, which excludes many fatalities that might be attributed to the virus in other countries.

Meanwhile, high-speed train service resumed Sunday between China's mainland and Hong Kong under restrictions that allow 5,000 passengers from each side to make the trip daily and require a negative virus test within the previous 48 hours.

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The two sides are reopening travel links that were suspended under Beijing's zero-COVID strategy, which aimed to keep the virus out of China. Hong Kong imposed different but similarly severe restrictions that blocked most international travel.

Candice Zhong, a resident of the neighboring mainland city of Shenzhen who arrived in Hong Kong, said she planned to visit the citys two major theme parks.

I want to come to Hong Kong to see what its like now," Zhong said at the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway terminal. "I will go to Disneyland and Ocean Park.

___

Associated Press video producer Alice Fung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Rep. Crane said he "might wind up in the broom closet" over his opposition to McCarthy's speakership.

Crane told The New York Times he simply wanted to see Republicans move in a different direction.

He also told the newspaper that he declined Trump's personal push to secure support for McCarthy.

Before now-Rep. Eli Crane had even been sworn into Congress, he received a call from former President Donald Trump asking him to back Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California to become the next House speaker.

But the newly-elected Arizona Republican, who believed that McCarthy represented the brand of establishment politics that his voters sent him to Washington, DC to reject, turned down the former president's entreaties.

"Sir, I'm sorry, we love you out in Arizona, but I've been listening to my voters," Crane told Trump, per the lawmaker's recent interview with The New York Times.

After a five-day process and 15 rounds of balloting in which McCarthy was opposed by an array of conservative lawmakers who wanted to see the House GOP Conference move forward in a different direction, the Californian broke through and won the speakership vote 216-212 over Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

Crane told The Times that he had not sought a specific committee assignment nor was he looking for attention by holding out in casting a vote in favor of McCarthy.

In the first 14 ballots, Crane supported conservative alternatives to McCarthy before voting "present" in the 15th and final ballot.

"I did not want to come up here and be a representative who heard what my voters said and came up here and caved to the pressure," Crane said. "I didn't want anything, other than to do what I was sent here to do."

As the days went on, the congressman remarked on the intense pressure from fellow Republicans to end the voting process and coalesce around McCarthy as speaker.

"Everybody was pressuring," Crane told the Times, adding that "the pressure just kept escalating" once the initial group of roughly 20 holdouts was whittled down to just a few members.

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Crane told the newspaper that he'd like to serve on the Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, and Natural Resources Committees, but felt that he could be shut out due to his speakership vote.

"I expect it," Crane said, despite McCarthy's assurances that members would not receive any internal blowback for their votes.

"We'll see what happens. I might wind up in the broom closet," he added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WEST PALM BEACH  As early as May, a jury of 12 could decide whether Sheila Keen-Warren dressed as a clown and killed her lover's wife on her Wellington doorstep in 1990  or if, like her attorneys have said, prosecutors accused the wrong person.

Sheila Keen-Warren smiles at her defense attorneys as she is brought into court Friday, November 22, 2019 for a pretrial hearing in her first-degree murder case. Keen-Warren is accused of dressing as a clown and fatally shooting her lover?s wife, Marlene Warren, in Wellington in 1990.

Jury selection for the first-degree murder case is slated to begin May 12, Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer said Thursday. Deputies arrested Keen-Warren in 2017 after prosecutors said they obtained new DNA evidence linking her to the decades-old murder of Marlene Warren. She has remained in the Palm Beach County Jail ever since and has pleaded not guilty to the crime.

Sheila Keen-Warren, known as Debbie in southwest Virginia on the Tennessee border. She was dressed as a clown for one Halloween there.

Keen-Warren worked for the victim's husband, Michael Warren, repossessing cars in Palm Beach County at the time of Warren's murder. Years later, she and Michael Warren married and moved to Virginia.

Sheila Keen-Warren's defense: Evidence does not prove woman dressed as clown, killed Wellington mom in 1990

Killer clown: Meet the key players in the trial of woman accused of murdering Marlene Warren

Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer, seen here speaking to to defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld on Oct. 11, says he will consider sanctions against prosecutors for withholding key files in the Sheila Keen-Warren murder trial, as well as placing Keen-Warren on house arrest. She has ben in custody since 2017.

Suskauer gave Assistant State Attorney Reid Scott and Keen-Warren's defense team, Greg Rosenfeld and Amy Morse, until Feb. 15 to file all remaining motions and discovery before the case goes to trial. The attorneys will meet back in the courtroom on March 7 to discuss them.

A slew of logistical problems has delayed the trial several times from its original start date in early 2020, including COVID-19 and belated discoveries by prosecutors and Keen-Warren's attorneys. Tracking down witnesses, many of whom have since moved from Palm Beach County or forgotten key details of the case, delayed the trial further.

Sheila Keen-Warren is arrested in Washington County, Va., in the killing by a clown of Marlene Warren on May 26, 1990. She was living with Marlene's widower, Michael Warren, after they married in 2002.

The case has changed hands multiple times in the process  neither the original judge, defense attorney nor prosecutor remain. Those left in their stead will work to convince jurors of Keen-Warren's guilt or otherwise at trial, which will begin once a jury is selected.

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Judge: Lawyers in Wellington clown murder trial will select jury in May
Former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod said the discovery of classified documents in President Bidens Delaware residence and an old office is a gift for former President Trump.

It basically  is a huge gift to Trump, Axelrod told Reuters in an article published Saturday.

Axelrod added that the discovery of classified documents is an embarrassment for Biden because Biden previously criticized Trump for holding on to classified documents after leaving the White House.

The FBI searched Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate last August and recovered hundreds of classified documents.

Biden called Trumps retention of classified documents totally irresponsible in an interview with 60 Minutes in September. He emphasized at the time that he was not given notice of the FBIs search into Trumps residence, pledging that he did not want to get in the middle of the Justice Departments investigation.

Axelrod also told Reuters that the discovery will be a bump in the road for Biden.

Hes been on a huge run here, Axelrod said. And he had a lot of momentum going, and this is a bump in the road.

Multiple sources told The Hill earlier this month that Biden as his team were preparing to launch his reelection bid in the coming weeks, likely around the State of the Union address.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden delivered a sermon on Sunday at Martin Luther King Jr.s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, testing out themes hell need to drive turnout of Black voters in his expected 2024 re-election campaign.

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Georgia, which helped put Biden in the White House in 2020, remains a key battleground state. Biden was invited to speak by the churchs senior pastor, Senator Raphael Warnock, who was re-elected in November after keeping the president and his moribund approval rating at arms length during the campaign.

Ive been doing this for a long time, but this is intimidating. Yall are incredible, Biden joked to the congregation, which included Christine King Farris, the 95-year-old sister of the late civil rights leader.

With Biden planning to seek re-election  and Warnock not set to face voters again for six years  the political calculus has changed. Instead of potentially weighing down Warnocks re-election prospects, the president will now depend on the senator and Black voters in Georgia to return him to the White House.

Warnock said that while former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama visited the church, Biden is the first sitting president to deliver the Sunday sermon. He spoke the day before the US Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

I believe Dr. Kings life and legacy show us the way, and we should pay attention, Biden said.

At our best, the American promise wins out. At our best, we hear and heed the injunctions of the Lord and the whispers of the angels, Biden said. But I dont need to tell you that were not always at our best. Were fallible. We fail and fall. But faith and history teach us that however dark the night, joy cometh in the morning.

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A razor-thin margin of victory in Georgia in 2020  fueled by support from Black voters  helped Biden defeat former President Donald Trump, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in nearly three decades. Black people account for nearly half of the 1.9 million increase in Georgias eligible voter population between 2000 and 2019, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.

In 2019, the Black voting population in Georgia reached a record of 2.5 million eligible voters, making up a third of the states electorate, Pew found. A CBS exit poll found that 88% of Georgias Black voters backed Biden over Trump in 2020.

Yet some Black Americans are frustrated with Bidens progress on key issues, including voting rights and police reform. Some civil rights organizations in Georgia blasted Bidens initial student loan forgiveness proposal as too stingy, before it was stalled by legal challenges.

Outstanding Promises

There are promises that have been left outstanding, and he would be better served to make good on those promises, said Gerald Griggs, president of the nonpartisan Georgia NAACP, and an Atlanta civil rights attorney.

Bidens approval ratings fell to 43% last year among Black voters, according to an October Morning Consult poll, only a slightly higher average than for voters overall.

Tammy Greer, a political scientist at Clark Atlanta University, said Georgias Black voters still deeply support Biden, but how strongly they turn out in 2024 depends on whether he can clearly lay out his accomplishments.

Greer said court obstacles for his student loan program and the states Republican governor, Brian Kemp, claiming credit for spending federal stimulus dollars have left some voters confused.

Its muddied the waters for Biden, she said.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, a senior Biden adviser and former Atlanta mayor, defended Bidens record on voting rights, saying hes done as much as he can.

The president has done and will continue to do all that he can do in his executive powers, but theres only so much that he can do, she told reporters Friday. We need Congress to act.

With Republicans in charge of the House, there is hardly any chance Democratic proposals to expand access to the ballot will make it into law before 2024.

Primary Power

Biden backed changes to the Democratic primary calendar that make South Carolina  where support from Black voters helped revive Bidens then-flagging 2020 campaign  the first state to vote and move Georgia ahead of Super Tuesday.

The reshuffle will elevate Black voters impact in future races and could play in Bidens favor in 2024.

The Biden folks obviously think that Black voters continue to provide a strong base for the president, said Brian Robinson, a Republican consultant in Atlanta.

Before South Carolinas primary in 2020, in which Biden placed first by a large margin, his campaign was circling the drain, and they corked it, Robinson said.

Warnock praised Biden on Sunday for the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2022 package of health-care, energy and climate initiatives, and other legislation passed during his presidency.

That, my friends, is Gods work, and Georgia had a little something to do with it, Warnock said.

Warnock won re-election in November over Republican challenger Hershel Walker in a tight race that went to a Dec. 6 runoff. His victory expanded Democrats narrow Senate majority to 51 seats.

Biden, whose approval rating was near 40% for much of 2022, avoided traveling to Georgia on Warnocks behalf. Before the runoff, he instead flew to Boston to participate in a get-out-the-vote phone bank for the senator.

Warnock never made a secret that he supported Joe Biden, said Kevin Harris, former chief of staff for Bidens 2020 campaign. But, in the context of that campaign, he understood what it was about. It had to be about Raphael Warnock.

The Democrat won despite a decline in Black turnout compared to the 2018 midterms and an increase in turnout among White voters, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice, a left-leaning think tank at New York University.

--With assistance from Justin Sink and Josh Wingrove.

(Updates with Biden speech starting in third paragraph.)

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Mourners carry the body of Ahmad Kahla during his funeral, in the village of Rammun, east of the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Jan. 15, 2023. Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man amid a stabbing attempt in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man amid a stabbing attempt in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported that the Palestinian man arrived with a car at a guard post outside Ofra, an Israeli settlement near the city of Ramallah. He hurled stones at the Israeli soldiers at the guard post, ran toward them carrying a knife, and attempted to stab them.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the casualty as Ahmad Kahla, 45, who was killed by a bullet to his neck.

The incident was the latest in a surge of violence between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank, a territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Israel has kept controlling it ever since, despite the Palestinian struggle to establish there their future state.

The recent tensions have been triggered by daily military raids in the West Bank, which often lead to clashes and fatalities. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 224 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in 2022.

Israel maintains that the raids aim at arresting suspects in a string of attacks against Israelis that began in March and killed 19 people. 

People mourn during the funeral of Ahmad Kahla, in the village of Rammun, east of the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Jan. 15, 2023. Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man amid a stabbing attempt in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)
President Joe Biden on Sunday paid tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and called for "community over chaos," as he became the first sitting president to speak at Ebenezer Baptist Church's Sunday service.

"I've spoken before Parliament, kings and queens, leaders all over the world. I been doing this for a long time. This is intimidating," Biden said, speaking at the Atlanta church where King was a pastor ahead of the holiday honoring the civil rights leader.

The speech reiterated Biden's stated focus on redeeming "the soul of America," a theme he's returned to in his first two years in office as a shorthand for both policy priorities and a rejection of far-right election denialism.

Specifically, work remains on economic rights, voting rights and protecting American democracy, Biden said Sunday, on what would have been King's 94th birthday.

"This is a time of choosing. ... We have to choose community over chaos," he said.

King is one of Biden's two heroes, along with late Democratic Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Biden said. Both were assassinated in the spring of 1968.

We come to contemplate his moral vision and commit ourselves to his path, the president said of King.

Biden's presence in Georgia was a contrast from the midterm elections, during which he distanced himself from the politically crucial state as his approval ratings lagged, the Associated Press noted Saturday.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) spoke at the service before Biden. On ABC's "This Week," Warnock said Sunday he was "honored" Biden would speak in King's "spiritual home."

Warnock, himself a senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist, largely focused on bipartisanship rather than allegiance to Biden during the lead-up to last year's election, in which Warnock eventually earned his first full six-year term in office.
President Joe Bidens visit marked the first time in history that a sitting U.S. president delivered an address during a Sunday service at the historic Atlanta church.

President Joe Biden honored Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the civil rights leaders historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday, urging Americans to remember Kings fight for justice and racial equality.

Bidens visit marked the first time in history that a sitting U.S. president delivered an address during a Sunday service at Ebenezer, where King served as co-pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. The president was personally invited by Ebenezers current senior pastor, Senator Raphael Warnock.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo: YouTube/Ebenezer Baptist Church)

Who other than Martin Luther King can get the president of the United States [to Ebenezer]?, said Warnock, who also welcomed his fellow Georgia U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff to the church.

Biden, a devout Catholic, admitted to the mostly African-American audience at Ebenezer, Ive spoken before Parliament, kings and queens, leaders all over the world. I have been doing this for a long time, [but] this is intimidating. As the crowd laughed at the notion, he added, I stand here humbled.

The president delivered a 25-minute sermon with a mix of religious and political messages centered on democracy, justice, and love for mankind. Biden praised King for his work toward equality and for changing the Soul of America  a play on Bidens 2020 presidential slogan.

The soul of America is embodied in a sacred proposition that were all created equal to the image of God. That was the sacred proposition for which Dr. King gave his life, said the president. A sacred proposition rooted in Scripture and enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. A sacred proposition he invoked on that day in 1963 when he told my generation about his dream in which were all entitled to be treated with my fathers favorite words: dignity and respect.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking before crowd of 25,000 Selma To Montgomery, Alabama civil rights marchers, in front of Montgomery, Alabama state capital building. On March 25, 1965 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Photo by Stephen F. Somerstein/Getty Images)

While most of his message was hopeful in nature, President Biden acknowledged theres a lot of work that has to continue on economic justice, civil rights, voting rights and protecting our democracy.

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Biden last visited Atlanta in January 2021 when he and other Democrats led a push to pass federal voting rights reform to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which has become weakened by rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court. MLK, through his activism and lobbying at the White House, was instrumental in getting the Voting Rights Act passed into law.

President Biden delivered a speech on the HBCU campuses of Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University last year, urging Congress to pass the John Lewis Advancement Act and Freedom to Vote Act. However, Republicans ultimately blocked the bills in the United States Senate.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden speaks during a drive-in rally for U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock at Pullman Yard on December 15, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Bidens stop in Georgia comes less than a month before the January 5 runoff election for Ossoff and Warnock as they try to unseat Republican incumbents Sen. David Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Progress is never easy, Biden admitted on Sunday.

While the president did not make any direct commitments to renew his push to pass voting rights reform on the federal level during Sundays remarks, Democrats in the new 118th Congress have already signaled it will be a priority for the party. But the chance of such legislation being sent to Bidens desk is unlikely as Republicans hold a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next two years.

On Friday, Bidens senior advisor and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Keisha Lance Bottoms, told reporters, the president has been very clear that voting, the right to vote, the access to vote is a core component of our democracy, and hes going to continue to push for that.

President Bidens visit back to Atlanta and to Ebenezer Baptist were significant for a number of reasons. During the 2020 presidential election, thanks to mostly Black and brown voters in the Atlanta metro area, Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state of Georgia in nearly 30 years. The city is also the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., and the historic church is where the funerals of King and the late U.S. Congressman John Lewis were held.

Its a sacred place, Svante Myrick, president and CEO of the advocacy group People For the American Way, told theGrio. If there is a sacred American place, its Ebenezer Baptist. Dr. King, though he would still be fighting for equality and he would be fighting against injustice if he were alive today, I know his heart would soar to see a sitting American president visiting a sitting United States senator who was the pastor of Ebenezer.

Myrick added, I believe it would give him fuel as motivation to continue the fight and it should do the same for all of us.

Biden will continue his commemoration of the MLK federal holiday in Washington on Monday. The president will deliver the keynote address at Al Sharptons annual MLK Breakfast hosted by his organization, the National Action Network. Lance Bottoms said many civil rights leaders will be in attendance and will have an opportunity to connect with the president.

WASHINGTON, DC  JANUARY 21: Former Vice President Joe Biden is greeted by Rev. Al Sharpton during the National Action Network Breakfast on January 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. Martin Luther King III was among the attendees. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

The former Atlanta mayor declined to say whether the president would be discussing any specific policy measures with civil rights leaders, such as voting rights or police reform. However, she noted that this is not a one-time engagement.

Rev. Al and some of the other civil rights leaders, I believe from eight other organizations, were in the White House a few months ago, sitting down with the president [and] sharing their concerns, said Lance Bottoms.

Were hearing in real-time, what our challenges are  [and] we are doing what we can do and well continue to do more as we can to make sure that the needs of our communities are met.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Biden marks MLK Day at Kings Ebenezer Baptist Church: Progress is never easy appeared first on TheGrio.
Federal prosecutors have dropped charges against an NYPD cop accused of spying on the citys Tibetan communities for the Chinese government.

Court filings do not explain the decision by Brooklyn federal prosecutors, except to say their investigation had obtained additional information bearing on the charges.

The feds filed the papers dropping the case on Friday.

Baimadajie Angwang, 35, was arrested in September 2020 on allegations that he used his job at as cop in the 111th Precinct in eastern Queens as a means of spying on the citys Tibetan communities on behalf of the Chinese government.

Angwang was also accused of giving the Chinese an inside look at the operations of the police department, prosecutors alleged.

The defendant was well-suited to the task, prosecutors wrote in court papers filed in August.

They noted that Angwang was a community liaison officer and was fluent in Mandarin. federal prosecutors wrote in a motion filed in August.

The feds wanted the jury to hear wiretapped talks between Angwang, and his Chinese handler detailing how he could best serve his foreign bosses.

According to court papers, Angwang once suggested to his Chinese handler that he cite his status in the NYPD as a selling point to climb the career ladder in China.

Let them know, you have recruited one in the Police Department, Angwang allegedly told the handler in 2018 in a wiretapped conversation.

Angwang, who joined the NYPD in 2014, received asylum in the U.S. after he claimed he was tortured in China because he was ethnically Tibetan, the criminal complaint alleged. In truth, Angwangs parents were both members of the Chinese Communist Party, court papers say.

China has occupied Tibet since 1951. Though the occupation is more than 70 years old, there still exists an active Tibetan independence movement.

Angwang faced up to 55 years in prison for the charges which included acting as an illegal agent of China, wire fraud and making false statements.

A call to Angwangs lawyer was not returned on Saturday.
In the last year, multiple insiders have substantially increased their holdings of Olam Group Limited (SGX:VC2) stock, indicating that insiders' optimism about the company's prospects has increased.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Olam Group

Olam Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Co-Founder Sunny George Verghese for S$780k worth of shares, at about S$1.56 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is S$1.58. 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. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

Olam Group insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Olam Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Olam Group

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Olam Group insiders own about S$269m worth of shares (which is 4.4% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

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What Might The Insider Transactions At Olam Group Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Olam Group shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Olam Group insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Olam Group (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.

Of course Olam Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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.

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Metalheads have defended Margot Robbie after Cate Blanchett expressed surprise over her fellow Australian actors taste in music.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Robbie told host Norton she had a goth, very emo phase, during which she listened to heavy metal music, dyed my hair black and only cut it with a razor blade.

Blanchett, who was also being interviewed by Norton, interjected to ask Robbie: Does anyone like heavy metal music?

Was that something you genuinely liked? the Academy Award winner continued.

Robbie, 32, confirmed she still genuinely likes heavy metal music, before Blanchett quipped: Do you like monster trucks and things like that?

Robbie, who can currently be seen in Babylon, then revealed she has never had as many people recognise her as at a Slipknot concert she attended while starring in Neighbours.

It wasnt monster trucks and Slipknot; it was Neighbours and Slipknot, she continued, explaining the intersection of people who liked metal music as well as the Australian soap opera.

Thats quite the Venn diagram, Norton joked.

Rolling Stone editor Marlow Stern tweeted a clip of their interaction, with the caption: Love Cate Blanchett totally mystified that Margot Robbie was an emo girl into metal music.

love cate blanchett totally mystified that margot robbie was an emo girl into metal music:



"does *anyone* like heavy metal music?"



"do you like monster trucks, and things like that??" pic.twitter.com/QoUKXsQAbj  Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) January 14, 2023

Metal fans on Twitter defended Robbie and branded Blanchetts remarks condescending, with one person writing: I love how Cate Blanchett has no clue about what metal fans are like IRL.

Another dubbed Robbie the metal representative for Hollywood, while a third suggested Blanchetts comment was rather judgemental.

As a metalhead, this is the worst thing Ive ever heard someone ask about metal. Smh [shaking my head] Cate Blanchett. Do better, someone else wrote.

The Independent has reached out to Blanchett for comment.
A state attorney is working to protect animals in Central Florida.

State Attorney Bill Gladson has established an Animal Cruelty Task Force for Citrus, Hernando, Marion, Lake, and Sumter counties.

The task force was created to effectively investigate and prosecute animal cruelty crimes throughout the Fifth Judicial Circuit in Florida.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

The task force includes the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, county animal services and local law enforcement agencies.

Along with the task force, Gladson has created an animal cruelty unit within the State Attorneys Office, made up of assistant state attorneys with the interest, experience and knowledge necessary to bring justice to animal victims.

Members of the community will also play a pivotal role by alerting police and animal services when animal neglect and abuse are suspected.

Read: Central Florida Supervisor of Elections announces 4 college scholarships

My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting animal cruelty cases, and I am grateful for the team which shares our commitment, Gladson said. The reach of these crimes goes beyond harm to innocent animals; these criminals pose a risk to the entire community.

According to a news release, animal cruelty is commonly linked with violence against people, domestic violence, and criminal enterprises.

Read: Orange County Public Library System debuts new services, escape room for 100-year celebration

Nearly 70% of animal abusers have criminal records and animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

For more information regarding the link between animal abuse and other forms of violence, CLICK HERE.

Read: 9 ways to protect yourself from fraud this tax season

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.
BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -At least five people were killed and 15 wounded in a suspected Islamist militant bomb attack during a Sunday service at a Protestant church in the eastern Congolese city of Kasindi, on the border with Uganda, the military said.

An army spokesman said the attack during a Sunday service was likely carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan militant group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

"Despite the security measures put in place, the first indications show that it is the ADF which is behind this bomb attack," Anthony Mualushay told Reuters by phone.

The ADF could not be reached for comment. It has not claimed responsibility for the bombing.

"I just came back from the scene, where I saw the bodies of children on the ground," said Kasindi resident Alain Kitsa by phone, describing the atmosphere in the town as tense.

This would be the first time the ADF targeted Kasindi since the group stepped up attacks in the region in 2014, local territorial administrator, Charles Omeonga told Reuters, who said the estimated death toll was at least 10.

Kasindi is in a province where Congolese and Ugandan forces have launched a campaign against the ADF, which began as an uprising in Uganda but has been based in Congo since the late 1990s.

It pledged allegiance to Islamic State in mid-2019 and is accused of killing hundreds of villagers in frequent raids over the past two years.

(Reporting by Fiston Mahamba and Erikas Mwisi KambaleWriting by Alessandra PrenticeEditing by Sonia Rolley, Mark Heinrich and Raissa Kasolowsky)
CircleCi, a software company whose products are popular with developers and software engineers, confirmed that some customers' data was stolen in a data breach last month.

The company said in a detailed blog post on Friday that it identified the intruder's initial point of access as an employee's laptop that was compromised with malware, allowing the theft of session tokens used to keep the employee logged in to certain applications, even though their access was protected with two-factor authentication.

The company took the blame for the compromise, calling it a "systems failure," adding that its antivirus software failed to detect the token-stealing malware on the employee's laptop.

Session tokens allow a user to stay logged in without having to keep re-entering their password or re-authorizing using two-factor authentication each time. But a stolen session token allows an intruder to gain the same access as the account holder without needing their password or two-factor code. As such, it can be difficult to differentiate between a session token of the account owner, or a hacker who stole the token.

CircleCi said the theft of the session token allowed the cybercriminals to impersonate the employee and gain access to some of the company's production systems, which store customer data.

"Because the targeted employee had privileges to generate production access tokens as part of the employees regular duties, the unauthorized third party was able to access and exfiltrate data from a subset of databases and stores, including customer environment variables, tokens, and keys," said Rob Zuber, the company's chief technology officer. Zuber said the intruders had access from December 16 through January 4.

Zuber said that while customer data was encrypted, the cybercriminals also obtained the encryption keys able to decrypt customer data. "We encourage customers who have yet to take action to do so in order to prevent unauthorized access to third-party systems and stores," Zuber added.

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Several customers have already informed CircleCi of unauthorized access to their systems, Zuber said.

The post-mortem comes days after the company warned customers to rotate "any and all secrets" stored in its platform, fearing that hackers had stolen its customers' code and other sensitive secrets used for access to other applications and services.

Zuber said that CircleCi employees who retain access to production systems "have added additional step-up authentication steps and controls," which should prevent a repeat-incident, likely by way of using hardware security keys.

The initial point of access  the token-stealing on an employee's laptop  bears some resemblance to how the password manager giant LastPass was hacked, which also involved an intruder targeting an employee's device, though it's not known if the two incidents are linked. LastPass confirmed in December that its customers' encrypted password vaults were stolen in an earlier breach. LastPass said the intruders had initially compromised an employee's device and account access, allowing them to break into LastPass' internal developer environment.

Updated headline to better reflect the customer data that was taken.
Colin Farrell, left, and Brendan Gleeson attend the 2022 Governors Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. (Jordan Strauss / Invision/AP)

"The Banshees of Inisherin" co-stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson have tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be attending the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Representatives for Farrell and Gleeson did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment.

Last month, the Irish actors each received Critics Choice Award nominations for their acclaimed turns as feuding best friends in "The Banshees of Inisherin." Farrell, who plays sensitive nice-guy Padraic Suilleabhain, is nominated this year for lead actor; while Gleeson, who plays gruff fiddler Colm Doherty, is up for supporting actor.

"The Banshees of Inisherin"  a dark comedy set on a fictional island off the coast of Ireland during the Irish Civil War  is nominated for a total of nine Critics Choice Awards, including best comedy and best picture. Rounding out the film's individual acting nominees are Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan, while the entire cast is in the running for best ensemble. Writer-director Martin McDonagh is also nominated for director and original screenplay.

On Tuesday, Farrell won the Golden Globe Award for lead actor in a musical or comedy for his work in "Banshees." Gleeson was also nominated for supporting actor but lost to Ke Huy Quan of "Everything Everywhere All at Once." The following day, Farrell and Gleeson each picked up Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for their "Banshees" performances.

Farrell, 46, and Gleeson, 67, are not the only Hollywood stars caught in the latest wave of coronavirus cases. On Friday, Jamie Lee Curtis announced that she too would be skipping the Critics Choice Awards this year after testing positive for COVID-19. Curtis, 64, is nominated opposite Condon in the supporting actress category for her work in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." She, Farrell and Gleeson all attended the Golden Globe Awards on Tuesday.

"I was SO looking forward to going to the ... @criticschoice awards as a nominee and member of a motley crew!" Curtis wrote on Instagram. "I'm so proud of these people, and I look forward to cheering them on through my TV set. Stay safe out there people."

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On Sunday, Michelle Pfeiffer shared that she also would be missing the Critics Choice Awards after contracting COVID-19. The actor added that she was "especially disappointed not to witness" her "Fabulous Baker Boys" co-star Jeff Bridges receive a lifetime achievement award at the show.

"Congratulations Jeff and to all the nominees!" Pfeiffer, 64, wrote on Instagram.

Recent reports of celebrity COVID-19 cases surfaced shortly after the number of coronavirus deaths reported weekly in Los Angeles County hit a season-high of 164  the worst tally in 10 months.

Though the number of reported cases in L.A. County was declining as of Friday, officials have warned that might soon change now that the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5  perhaps the most infectious strain yet  has started spreading in California. Officials have also urged Angelenos to wear masks again to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, the flu and other respiratory illnesses during the winter season.

I think the question on just about everyones mind is how concerned should we be about XBB.1.5," L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday.

"I suggest we should be cautious. Its a new strain. It spreads rapidly and it can evade prior immunity. However, I dont think anyone has a clear picture yet of what the impacts will be."

The 28th annual Critics Choice Awards will take place Sunday at Fairmont Century Plaza in L.A. The ceremony will air on the CW from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern time, while the West Coast broadcast will be delayed according to local listings.

Times staff writers Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Jan. 15TUESDAY

Southern Colorado Women's Business Luncheon  Topic is Women's Leadership Panel, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Garden of the the Gods Resort & Club, 3314 Mesa Road, $38-$50. Registration: tinyurl.com/y2we2m7.

Tri-Lakes Chamber Business After Hours  5-7 p.m., Woodmoor Barn Community Center, 1691 Woodmoor Drive, Monument, free for first-time visitors. Registration: trilakeschamber.com.

WEDNESDAY

Southern Colorado Women's Chamber Young Professional Happy Hour  5-7 p.m., Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center, 530 Communication Circle. Registration: tinyurl.com/36dycc2w.

THURSDAY

Tri-Lakes Chamber Networking Breakfast  With Ricardo Cordova of Healthy Mind, Healthy Body and Healthy Business, 7:30-9 a.m., 166 Second St., Monument, free for first-time visitors. Registration: trilakeschamber.com.

Southern Colorado Women's 2023 Committee Essentials Meeting  5-7 p.m., SCWCC Office, 2424 Garden of the Gods Road, Building C, Auditorium. Registration: tinyurl.com/22trr9u3.

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Jan. 24: Are You Making Money? Understanding Financial Statements  11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 166 Second St., Monuments. Registration: trilakeschamber.com.

Jan. 26: Southern Colorado Women's Chamber Sunset Meet & Greet  5-7 p.m., Pine Creek Vision Clinic, 9475 Briar Village Point, Suite 200, $15-$20. Registration: tinyurl.com/5da8d63f.

Feb. 2: Tri-Lakes Chamber Networking Breakfast  With Heidi Petak of Speak Eagle Communications Strategies, 7:30-9 a.m., 166 Second St., Monument, free for first-time visitors. Registration: trilakeschamber.com.

ONGOING

Virtual Apple Club Meeting  With Q&A and presentations, 6-8 p.m. second Mondays; smmug.org. Email for virtual meeting credentials: jeffj@smmug.org.

Colorado Springs Toastmasters  5:55-7:15 p.m. second and fourth Mondays, Wild Goose Meeting House, 401 N. Tejon St.; 720-989-8944, southad4@d6leaders.org.

Story continues

Resume Clinic  10 a.m.-noon Tuesdays, Hanifen Employment Center, 14 W. Bijou St.; 719-866-6445.

Customer Service Certification Training  2-4 p.m. First Tuesdays, Hanifen Employment Center, 14 W. Bijou St.; 719-866-6445.

Interview Skills  10 a.m.-noon Thursdays, Hanifen Employment Center, 14 W. Bijou St.; 719-866-6445.
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif urged the civil servants of Pakistan to work hard to steer the country out of the challenges it has been facing.

Addressing the passing-out ceremony of probationary officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service on Saturday in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, Sharif appreciated the active service of the new civil servants during their training period in the areas which were affected by the devastating floods last year.

The prime minister said that he had visited several flood-affected areas of Pakistan including the under-developed southwestern Balochistan province, and personally witnessed the tremendous work carried out by the civil servants.

He said Pakistani public servants can serve the nation very well given that they are provided with a conducive working environment and their services are properly acknowledged.

Sharif reminded the young officers that after assuming their basic responsibilities in practical life, they would be confronted with issues like unemployment, poverty, disease, lack of education and delayed response to public problems.

The prime minister expressed hope that they would be able to deal with these challenges successfully. 
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you'd have done very well indeed. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?

So, the natural question for Arizona Metals (TSE:AMC) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. Let's start with an examination of the business' cash, relative to its cash burn.

Check out our latest analysis for Arizona Metals

How Long Is Arizona Metals' Cash Runway?

You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. When Arizona Metals last reported its balance sheet in September 2022, it had zero debt and cash worth CA$57m. Importantly, its cash burn was CA$22m over the trailing twelve months. So it had a cash runway of about 2.6 years from September 2022. That's decent, giving the company a couple years to develop its business. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

How Is Arizona Metals' Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Because Arizona Metals isn't currently generating revenue, we consider it an early-stage business. Nonetheless, we can still examine its cash burn trajectory as part of our assessment of its cash burn situation. Over the last year its cash burn actually increased by a very significant 56%. Oftentimes, increased cash burn simply means a company is accelerating its business development, but one should always be mindful that this causes the cash runway to shrink. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.

How Easily Can Arizona Metals Raise Cash?

While Arizona Metals does have a solid cash runway, its cash burn trajectory may have some shareholders thinking ahead to when the company may need to raise more cash. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate).

Arizona Metals has a market capitalisation of CA$505m and burnt through CA$22m last year, which is 4.3% of the company's market value. That's a low proportion, so we figure the company would be able to raise more cash to fund growth, with a little dilution, or even to simply borrow some money.

Is Arizona Metals' Cash Burn A Worry?

It may already be apparent to you that we're relatively comfortable with the way Arizona Metals is burning through its cash. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. While its increasing cash burn wasn't great, the other factors mentioned in this article more than make up for weakness on that measure. Looking at all the measures in this article, together, we're not worried about its rate of cash burn; the company seems well on top of its medium-term spending needs. On another note, Arizona Metals has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow.

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.

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The Telegraph

The precise veracity of the large cache of intelligence documents that have apparently been leaked from the Pentagon might be open to question, but there can be little doubt about the negative impact that they are having on Ukraines war effort. Even if the release of the documents turns out to be part of a clever disinformation campaign by the Kremlins cyber-trolls, it could nevertheless prompt Ukraines high command to rethink its long-planned counteroffensive against Russian forces.
Florian Teichtmeister, the Austrian actor who recently rose to international prominence for his performance as Emperor Franz Joseph in the Oscar-shortlisted film Corsage, has been charged with possession of child pornography. The news was first broken by The Hollywood Reporter.

Austrian authorities reportedly found over 58,000 digital images of sexualized minors in Teichtmeisters possession. The pornographic content featured participants that were as young as 14 years old.

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In a statement, Teichtmeisters lawyer Michael Rami said that the actor plans to plead guilty to all charges. He confessed throughout the investigation and always cooperated with the authorities, Rami said. His trial is set to begin on February 8, and could result in a prison sentence of up to two years. IndieWire has reached out to Teichtmeisters representatives for further comment.

The news comes as Corsage, an IFC Films release, attempts to get its award season campaign across the finish line. Marie Kreutzers film is Austrias official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, and was recently named one of 15 finalists for the prize.

We have just been made aware of the charges against Florian Teichtmeister and are deeply shocked and appalled, an IFC Films spokesperson said in a statement to THR. We will not let the actions by one supporting actor minimize or invalidate the incredible work and achievements of the entire cast and crew of Corsage.

In his IndieWire review of Corsage, Adam Solomons wrote: Spanning the birth of Mozart in 1756 to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the First World War, the golden age of Vienna was  to paraphrase Darlene Madison Cox  an important and exciting time. Yet the Empress Elisabeth of Corsage isnt feeling it. During that time, Europes second city of culture  it was never Paris  housed Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Strauss, Klimt, and Freud. And, though Beethoven died a decade before her birth, Fur Elise sure hits different when it accompanies one of Elisabeths breakdowns. Although Corsage makes a worthy attempt to recast Elisabeth as independent of her constraints, its final note leaves it feeling a little too much like its own sort of requiem.

Story continues

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The worlds decision-makers are gathering in Switzerland this week for the World Economic Forum meeting. The annual event of business and government leaders is expecting a solid turnout as it returns to its traditional winter time slot following two years of covid disruptions.



According to the official list, which is accurate as of Jan. 10, 2,658 attendees are registered for the event. Among them are heads of state, business royalty, actual royalty, media honchos, and academics. There are hundreds more participating on the sidelines, whether organizing, catering, or attending corporate events along the promenade that cuts through the center of Davos.

Read more

Lets take a brief look at the breakdown of official participants who might be spotted on the Swiss slopes in the coming week.



 International participation in Davos

Over 100 countries and regions are represented this year at Davos. With 703 people registered, Americans constitute 27% of all participants. All told, two-thirds of the attendees are from 10 nations.



datawrapper-chart-G6AiX



 Wealth at Davos

While there will be plenty of wealth concentrated in the mountain resort, nine of the worlds ten richest people will be missing. The exception: Gautam Adani, chairman of Indias Adani Group and currently the third-richest person in the world, according to Forbes. He also attended the 2022 WEF meeting, which was delayed until May because of covid.

 Political leaders at Davos

Its common for heads of state and other high-level government officials to show up in Davos. This year, there is only one G8 leader: Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany. He wont be lonely, though; the heads of at least 40 nations will make an appearance, including Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Iraq, Korea, Mozambique, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.

Other public figures planning to attend include:



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 Former UK prime minister Tony Blair

 Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.

 US climate change envoy John Kerry

For the most-represented nations, however, the majority of attendees are not public officials.



datawrapper-chart-FJlBS



 Business leaders at Davos

There will be at least 634 CEOs in Davos this year, or nearly one in four attendees. Big names include:



 Wael Sawan (Shell)

 Andy Jassy (Amazon)

 Jane Fraser (Citigroup)

 Stephane Bancel (Moderna)

 Laurence Fink (BlackRock)

Some companies send large delegations to the event. Ten organizations have seven or more participants registered. One of the top ten is Stanford University.

datawrapper-chart-XFf99



 Members of the media at Davos



Hundreds of journalists from around the world will descend on Davos this week. In fact, two of the ten companies with the most representatives are media organizations: CNBC and the Wall Street Journal.

 Top editors: Sally Buzzbee from the Washington Post, Matthew Murray of the Wall Street Journal, and David Walmsley of the Globe and Mail

 Well-known reporters: Martin Wolf from the Financial Times and Ina Fried from Axios

 Quartzs own executive editor Heather Landy and global news editor Samanth Subramanian (sign up for their Need to Know: Davos newsletter)

 Other interesting Davos attendees

Additional attendees include a handful of well-known names, and a bit of royalty:



 British actor Idris Elba, and his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba, who is a UN goodwill ambassador

 Donald Trumps son-in-law, and founder of private equity firm Affinity Partners, Jared Kushner

 Member of the Black Eyed Peas and CEO of i.am/Angel Foundation, will.i.am, also known as Will Adams



 Maxima (queen of the Netherlands), Mathilde (queen of the Belgians), and Albert II of Monaco (prince of Monaco)

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Gabriela Trejo-Garcia, 44, called her friends phone on Jan. 7, as she often did to gab about the kids, but this time she had an unusual request.

I told my boyfriend that I wanted to introduce him to my best friend, Trejo-Garcia said. So what are you doing today?

Lizeth Orozco, whod known Trejo-Garcia for eight years and referred to her as a sister, replied in shock. She had never been asked to meet a man her friend was seeing. The two single mothers were rarely lovestruck.

Orozco invited the couple over to help celebrate a brothers birthday, but Trejo-Garcia declined, opting to stay home with her new boyfriend, 26-year-old Juan Avila.

Hours later, Avila was dead. Two days later, so was Trejo-Garcia.

The couple were involved in a fatal crash early Sunday morning that began with a police pursuit in Kansas City, Kansas, and ended at a Kansas City intersection where the SUV being driven by the suspect slammed into their car. Authorities say the couple were innocent bystanders, and prosecutors have filed charges against Charles Matthews, 30, who allegedly fled police at speeds up to 100 miles per hour in a stolen SUV, before crashing into their car.

Orozco said she knew the couple deeply cared for each other. Though its unclear when they started dating, Orozco said, her friend told her at least five times how happy she was in the relationship. It felt like a big moment, according to Orozco, who had seen her friend as a shoulder to lean on since the day they first met at a birthday party for Trejo-Garcias youngest daughter.

I know my friend was really, really happy. Thats the one thing that gets me through, that she left happy.

Over the past week, Orozco said friends have struggled to come to grips with the reality that Trejo-Garcia is gone, leaving behind three children.

Her many friends have made efforts to connect with Avilas family and friends, who live in Honduras. Theyre organizing raffles and a Jan. 20 dance party at the Crystal Night Club to raise money for Trejo-Garcias children and help Avilas family get his body home.

Story continues

A dancer and her partner

Orozco remembers being nervous to meet Trejo-Garcia for the first time. The two had mutual friends, but Orozco had shown up to a birthday party, thrown by Trejo-Garcia, with her son, not knowing whether shed be welcome.

But Trejo-Garcia appeared to sense their anxieties.

You could just tell what a loving mother she was, Orozco said.

She offered them food, repeatedly thanked them for coming and encouraged them to dance, even if there was no music playing.

Then came the Bachata music.

Thats how we clicked because she was like, Oh my god, I cant believe you like the same songs that I like!

From that point on, whether it was Trejo-Garcias smooth Cumbia footwork, or her wriggling to the beats only she could hear, the dancing never stopped, according to Orozoco.

Neither did the enchiladas. Trejo-Garcia often cooked and sold them to raise funds for friends unable to pay a bill or to buy presents for her children.

If she didnt have it shed make it, Orozoco said.

Her mindset resonated with Orozco, who could share in all the triumphs, turmoil and relentless demands that came with being a single mother.

Kids ask for anything and everything without knowing how hard some things are for us. But if thats what the kids want, thats what they are getting. Its always about the kids.

The only reprieve was a shot of tequila, or two, and a chat with her best friend Orozco.

Gabriella Trejo-Garcia and her friend Lizeth Orozco take a picture together.

Trejo-Garcia, originally from Guadelejara, Mexico, rarely spoke to Orozco about her past. All anyone needed to know was that she had a beautiful childhood, Trejo-Garcia would say. Her dream was to return to Mexico and see family, but she never said how long it had been.

Now, her life revolved around three children, two daughters and one son. Shed work late hours, jumping between jobs cleaning banks and working shifts at the now shuttered Palmeras Disco. Most recently the mother of three worked at El TaPatio, a Mexican restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas.

The pair always saw each other on Virgin Marys Birthday. Trejo-Garcia dressed her 10-year-old daughter as a dancer, as she did every year. But in 2022, the event became one of the last times Orozco saw her friend.

The pair wished each other a Merry Christmas over shots of tequila on Dec. 28. Then on Jan. 7, they nearly met up so Orozco could meet the new boyfriend, Juan Avila.

But that meet-up never happened.

In the days following the fatal crash, Orozco has tried to learn more about Avila, only to realize that he had come to the United States without any family.

He was here alone, Orozco said. I dont even know who he lived with or where he was staying.

A burial and mass for Trejo-Garcia took place Friday. Orozco said she felt overwhelmed seeing such a large group of people celebrate the life of her friend.

It was amazing and I even told her, Orozco said, referring to Trejo-Garcia. I got to the casket and Im like, in the way that we talk, Biiitch, theres a lot of people here for you. Oh my god, do you see?

That made my heart so happy She was so loved.

Robbery at knifepoint

On Jan. 7 around 11:45 p.m., Kansas City, Kansas police officers began investigating a case of an armed carjacking in the 400 block of North 18th Street after a man reported that his GMC Terrain was stolen at knifepoint from his 13-year-old nephew, who had gone outside to warm up the engine.

Later, two KCKPD officers spotted the SUV and attempted to pull the driver over. They crossed into Kansas City around 2 a.m. on Interstate 70 at Broadway and eventually drove over city thoroughfares, at one point traveling at 100 miles per hour down Independence Avenue.

Trejo-Garcia and Avila were headed north through the intersection of Independence and Hardesty when they were struck by the GMC.

Avila was pronounced dead at the crash site. Trejo-Garcia was taken to the hospital and died two days later.

Matthews, the man charged in Jackson County, was also taken to the hospital with serious injuries. He has since been booked in the Jackson County jail and is being held there on a $150,000 bond.

According to charging documents, Matthews allegedly admitted to stealing the SUV in KCK and evading police when they tried to pull him over. During the police interview, Matthews allegedly said he got on the highway and crossed over to Missouri because he thought the officers would stop chasing him.

Matthews also allegedly admitted to drinking all day and smoking meth before the crash.

On Thursday, Jackson County prosecutors announced that Matthews was charged with two counts of felony murder, a crime applied in cases where an underlying felony act directly contributes to the death of another person. He is scheduled to appear for a bond review hearing Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court.

KCKPD pursuit policy

Under Kansas City, Kansas Police Department policy, officers are advised to weigh the risks of harming themselves or the public in police pursuits. They are also instructed to only engage in cases where a suspect is believed to have committed an inherently dangerous felony.

Any pursuit should be stopped or avoided entirely if it poses a risk to life or property, documents said. Other factors such as road conditions, time of day and population density also need to be considered by officers.

Earlier this week, Kansas City, Kansas Police Chief Karl Oakman said an internal review would be conducted to make certain that the officers followed department procedure during the police chase.

Oakman also described the crash as tragic and offered sympathies on behalf of the department to the families of Trejo-Garcia and Avila.

The suspect in this case committed a violent felony and in the process of eluding arrest crashed into two innocent people, Oakman said in a statement. It is never acceptable when the reckless actions of the suspect result in serious injury or death of others.
By Maha El Dahan

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) -Big oil firms came under pressure at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from activists who accused them of hijacking the climate debate, while a Greta Thunberg-sponsored "cease and desist" campaign gained support on social media.

Major energy firms including BP, Chevron and Saudi Aramco are among the 1,500 business leaders gathering for the annual meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos, where global threats including climate change are on the agenda.

"We are demanding concrete and real climate action," said Nicolas Siegrist, the 26-year-old organiser of the protest who also heads the Young Socialists party in Switzerland.

The annual meeting of global business and political leaders opens in Davos on Monday.

"They will be in the same room with state leaders and they will push for their interests," Siegrist said of the involvement of energy companies during a demonstration attended by several hundred people on Sunday.

The oil and gas industry has said that it needs to be part of the energy transition as fossil fuels will continue to play a major role in the world's energy mix as countries shift to low carbon economies.

On Monday, a social media campaign added to the pressure on oil and gas companies, by promoting a "cease and desist" notice sponsored by climate activists Thunberg, Vanessa Nakate and Luisa Neubauer, through the non-profit website Avaaz.

It demands energy company CEOs "immediately stop opening any new oil, gas, or coal extraction sites, and stop blocking the clean energy transition we all so urgently need", and threatens legal action and more protests if they fail to comply.

The campaign, which had been signed by more than 660,000 people, had almost 200,000 shares on Monday morning.

Sumant Sinha, who heads one of India's largest renewable energy firms, said it would be good to include big oil companies in the transition debate as they have a vital role to play.

Story continues

"If oil people are part of these conversations to the extent that they are also committing to change then by all means. It is better to get them inside the tent than to have them outside the tent," Sinha, chairman and CEO of ReNew Power, told Reuters, saying that inclusion should not lead to "sabotage".

Rising interest rates have made it harder for renewable energy developments to attract financing, giving traditional players with deep pockets a competitive advantage.

As delegates began to arrive in Davos, Debt for Climate activists protested at a private airport in eastern Switzerland, which they said would be used by some WEF attendees, and issued a statement calling for foreign debts of poorer countries to be cancelled in order to accelerate the global energy transition.

(Additional reporting by Kathryn Lurie; Editing by Alexander Smith and Alex Richardson)
Nemanja Matic rejoined Chelsea in 2014 (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Archive)

Jose Mourinho said he felt he had brought a much-improved player back to Chelsea after completing the signing of Nemanja Matic on this day in 2014.

The Serbia midfielder, who left Stamford Bridge as part of the deal which saw David Luiz move to west London from Benfica three years earlier, agreed a deal reported by the Portuguese club to be worth 25million euros (20.75million).

I am very pleased that Nemanja is returning to Chelsea, said Mourinho.

He has grown as a player in Portugal and has become a fantastic all-round midfielder. I am sure he will become a very important member of the squad and help us to achieve our ambitions.

The 25-year-old had struggled to make an impact during his first spell at the club, spending a season on loan at Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem before heading to Portugal.

And he faced a battle to hold down a place against fellow midfielders like Ramires, John Obi Mikel, Frank Lampard, Luiz and Michael Essien.

He has grown as a player in Portugal and has become a fantastic all-round midfielder. I am sure he will become a very important member of the squad and help us to achieve our ambitions

Jose Mourinho on Nemanja Matic

Matic told chelseafc.com: I am very happy for this opportunity to be back at this club.

I feel very good because of that and just want to say I will give my best to help the team and make the Chelsea fans happy.

Matic went on to enjoy a relatively impressive three years in his second stint at Stamford Bridge before moving on to join his former boss Mourinho at Manchester United.
Rescue workers reported in the morning of Sunday that the death toll following the Russian missile attack on the city of Dnipro has risen to 18 people.

Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine; Valentyn Reznichenko, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration

Quote from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine: "As of 06:00, 15 January, 38 people had been rescued, including six children. 17 people have been killed, including a child. 73 people sustained injuries, including 14 children."

Details: The State Emergency Service has reported that they [emergency workers - ed.] are still putting out small fires in the rubble.

In addition, they are conducting search and rescue operations and removing dangerous structures.

Updated. Quote from Reznichenko: "As of this morning, we have 18 people who have been killed by a Russian missile in their own homes in Dnipro city. 73 people sustained injuries; more than 40 of them are in hospital, and four of them are in intensive care.

The rescue operation is ongoing. The fate of more than 40 people is still unknown"

More details: According to preliminary information, the Russian strike on a residential building on Saturday destroyed 72 apartments and damaged more than 230.

The dismantling of the destroyed structures in the building continues. Almost 3,500 tonnes of rubble have already been taken away.

Background:

The Russians hit an apartment building in the city of Dnipro with a Kh-22 missile designed to destroy aircraft carrier groups at sea.

The authorities have announced three days of mourning for those killed in the Russian missile strike in the city of Dnipro.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
TOKYO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government's latest radioactive wastewater discharge plan scheduled for this spring or summer is facing an angry backlash among the public, especially those in the fishing industry, who felt uneasy about the decision.

The Japanese government on Friday said a controversial plan to release radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan's northeast into the Pacific Ocean will start in the spring or summer.

Japan's dumping of the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea is suspected of violating the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, as well as the 1996 protocol to the convention, Masahide Kimura, member of a Japanese anti-nuclear campaign group, told Xinhua.

Such a plan also violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as Japan's foreign ministry admitted that the area where the discharge occurred is not of inland waters, Kimura said.

Kimura believed that spreading radioactive materials should not be allowed, as only storage is the means of prevention, and efforts should be prioritized to stop the inflow of groundwater and prevent the continued increase of nuclear-contaminated water.

Japan's environment ministry has not yet assessed the environmental impact of the decades-long discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water into the North Pacific Ocean, he noted.

"The opposition to the discharge of treated water into the ocean has not changed in the slightest," Masanobu Sakamoto, president of the National Fisheries Cooperative Federation of Japan, said in a statement on Friday, demanding a serious response from the government.

Government support for the fishing industry is essential to make up for the damage done to its reputation, Takuya Tasso, governor of Japan's Iwate Prefecture, told the press.

Despite strengthened information released by the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) since last December, the discharge plan at present has not yet gained the "full understanding of citizens and fishery stakeholders," according to Hiroyuki Uchida, mayor of Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.

Uchida hoped that the government and TEPCO would earnestly fulfill their original commitment, which meant no disposal of the nuclear-polluted water will be carried out without the understanding of relevant parties.

An official with the Miyagi Prefecture Fisheries Co-operative told the press that they will continue to express opposition, ensuring that fishermen do not suffer losses while firmly stating what is necessary to sustain their livelihoods.

In fact, the government's plan to dump the contaminated water into the sea has been opposed by civil groups in Japan since it was launched in April 2021.

Last September, a joint petition of 42,000 people opposing the discharge plan and demanding other ways to deal with the contaminated water was submitted to TEPCO and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry by representatives from livelihood co-operative societies in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures as well as the fisheries association of Miyagi.

About 51 percent of respondents were "against" and "relatively opposed" to the idea of discharging the filtered wastewater into the sea after diluting it to national standards, according to a survey by the country's public broadcaster NHK at the end of 2020.

A poll published by the Asahi Shimbun in early 2021 showed that 55 percent surveyed were opposed to the disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea after treatment. 
The Russian missile attack that destroyed a section of an apartment building in Dnipro killed at least 30 people, Natalia Babachenko, an advisor to the governor of Dnipro Oblast, said on national TV.

At least 75 people have been injured. At least one child has been killed.

The rescue operation has been underway for over 24 hours now.

As of mid-day on Jan. 15, some 40 people were still missing.

A Russian missile hit an apartment block in a residential neighborhood in Dnipro, a city of 1 million people in central Ukraine, on the early afternoon of Jan. 14.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Full Year 2022 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: US$50.6b (up 69% from FY 2021).

Net income: US$1.32b (up 371% from FY 2021).

Profit margin: 2.6% (up from 0.9% in FY 2021).

EPS: US$2.07 (up from US$0.44 in FY 2021).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Delta Air Lines EPS Misses Expectations

Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) missed analyst estimates by 2.2%.

Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 2.9% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 8.7% growth forecast for the Airlines industry in the US.

Performance of the American Airlines industry.

The company's shares are up 6.0% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Delta Air Lines (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.

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.

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Statue at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2022.

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas is just the latest conservative lawmaker to misuse the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to judge a person on character and not race.

In the protracted battle to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House, Roy, a Republican, nominated a Black man, Byron Donalds, a two-term representative from Florida who had little chance of winning the seat. Considered a rising star in the GOP, Donalds has opposed the very things that King fought for and ultimately was assassinated for  nonviolent demonstrations and voting rights protections.

More:Fayetteville's Martin Luther King Jr. park continues to grab attention of local residents

Calling Donalds a dear friend, Roy noted the selection by Democrats of another Black man, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and invoked Kings words.

Hajar Yazdiha is an assistant professor of sociology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

For the first time in history, there have been two Black Americans placed into nomination for speaker of the House, Roy said. However, we do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin, but rather, the content of their character.

More:Myron B. Pitts: MLKs legacy includes his call for a guaranteed, government-provided income

As a scholar who researches social movements, racial politics and democracy, I have seen the consequences of the misuse of Kings words play out everywhere from the halls of Congress to corporate diversity training sessions to local school board meetings.

More:Pitts: Martin Luther King re-enactor living his own dream

In Roys case, the invocation of Kings legacy was an attempt to hide Donalds outspoken right-wing political views, including his vote with 146 others to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Roys speech also omits Donalds support for voting reform laws in Florida that many Black civil rights leaders understood as efforts to disenfranchise minority voters.

Jan 6, 2023; Washington, DC, USA; Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., during the House of Representatives session Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, trying to elect a Speaker of the House. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY

As scholars, civil rights activists and Kings own children have long pointed out, uses of Kings words, especially by right-wing conservatives, are too often attempts to weaponize his memory against the multicultural democracy of which King could only dream.

Story continues

A sanitized MLK

As every Martin Luther King Jr. Day nears on the third Monday in January, politicians across the political spectrum  including those who opposed establishing the national holiday in 1983  issue their heartfelt dedications to King or quote him in their own speeches.

Yet January is also a month that commemorates a darker, more recent memory of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists.

The two issues  misuses of Kings memory and the Jan. 6 attacks  may seem like unrelated phenomena.

Yet in my book, The Struggle for the Peoples King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement, I show how there is a direct line from distortions of Kings words and legacy to right-wing attacks on multicultural democracy and contemporary politics.

The misuses of King are not accidental.

Nov. 2, 1983, Rep. Katie Hall (second from left) witnesses President Ronald Reagan signing bill to nationalize Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a sanitized version of King was part of a conservative political strategy for swaying white moderates to support President Ronald Reagans reelection by making Kings birthday a national holiday.

Even after Reagan finally signed the King holiday into law in 1983, he would write letters of assurance to angry political allies that only a selective version of King would be commemorated.

That version was free of not only the racial politics that shaped the civil rights movement but also of the vision of systemic change that King envisioned. In addition, Reagans version left out the views that King held against the Vietnam War.

Instead, the GOPs sanitized version only comprises Kings vision of a colorblind society  at the expense of the deep, systemic change that King believed was needed to achieve a society in which character was more important than race.

Weaponizing Americas racist past

This interpretation of Kings memory would become a powerful political tool.

Increasingly through the 1980s, right-wing social movements  from the gun rights and family values coalitions to nativists and white supremacists  deployed Kings memory to claim they were the new minorities fighting for their own rights.

These groups claimed that white Christians were the real victims of multicultural democracy and in fact were the new Blacks.

This false version of social reality eventually evolved into the great replacement theory, the far-right conspiracy theory, espoused by public figures like Tucker Carlson on Fox News, that white people are being demographically and culturally replaced with nonwhite peoples and that white existence is under threat.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson

In these distortions, gun rights activists called themselves the new Rosa Parks, anti-abortion activists declared themselves freedom riders and anti-gay groups claimed themselves protectors of Kings Christian vision.

These distortions of the past were not just rhetorical.

Over time, these political strategies had powerful effects and generated what appears in my view as an alternative social reality that, for many white Americans, began to feel like the only reality.

Misinformation threatens democracy

Through the making of these alternative histories, right-wing strategists such as Steve Bannon could stir up white right-wing voters to reclaim and take back America.

Such was the politics that led to Donald Trumps 2016 election and shaped a presidential administration that rolled back civil rights, emboldened white supremacists and banned anti-racism training.

Through the misrepresentation of the racial past, this alternate social reality hardened.

Ultimately, these revisionist narratives have fractured the collective understanding of who we are, how we got here and where we go next. In my view, moving forward means honestly confronting the often ugly past and the deep roots of white supremacy that shaped it then and now.

It is only by facing, rather than ignoring, the complexity of Americas history that the beloved community that King once envisioned can be realized.

Hajar Yazdiha is an assistant professor of sociology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Distorting Martin Luther Kings vision increases racial division
By Herbert Villarraga

DNIPRO, Ukraine (Reuters) - The chances are "minimal" of pulling more survivors from the wreckage of an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro that was hit by a Russian missile strike on Saturday, the city's mayor told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.

"I think the chances of saving people now are minimal. As of 11:00, 21 people are dead, but 40 are missing," said Borys Filatov.

"May God help us find several of them. I think the number of dead will be in the dozens."

The Dnipro City Council reported after Filatov made his comments that the death toll had risen to 23, while 43 people had been reported missing.

The building was hit during a wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine on Saturday, the latest of missile attacks in recent months on critical infrastructure that have plunged the country into darkness and killed civilians.

As Filatov spoke, rescue workers were digging through smashed concrete and twisted metal from a portion of the building. He said 72 apartments had been destroyed.

Filatov said he believed the missile, which he described as an "absolutely inaccurate" X-22, was likely aimed at a power station nearby.

"But the missile flew by and hit a residential building," he said.

(Reporting by Herbert Villarraga; Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Even as one Republican acknowledged distinctions Sunday between Bidens handling of documents and former President Donald Trumps, most reactions broke among party lines.

Granted theyre different, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said on ABCs This Week. What strikes me, though, is having President Biden be highly critical of President Trump, calling him irresponsible.

Bacon was referencing a September "60 Minutes" interview, in which CBS Scott Pelley asked Biden about the discovery of classified materials at Trumps Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago; at the time, Biden questioned how that could possibly happen  a statement Republicans have repeatedly highlighted in the past week.

Apart from Bacon, however, reactions to the revelations of sensitive documents discovered in private, Biden-associated places this week depended mostly on party affiliation. Both sides cried of unfair standards.



My concern is how theres such a discrepancy in how President Trump was treated, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the new chair of the House Oversight Committee, said Sunday on CNNs "State of the Union."

Both Comer and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the same committee, called verbatim for equal treatment in appearances Sunday on CNN.

Comer sent a letter Sunday to White House chief of staff Ron Klain requesting more information related to the searches for documents and a visitor log of Biden's Delaware home.

"We want to know the visitor logs to the residence," he said. "We want to know who had access to the Biden Center for Diplomacy, because this is the same type of investigation that the Democrats were so outraged and launched and demanded happened to President Trump."

Comer has not announced any similar call for visitor logs of Mar-a-Lago.

No ones been investigated more than Donald Trump. Who hasnt been investigated is Joe Biden, said Comer, who has spoken publicly about a wish list of House investigations against Biden and his associates.



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Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) used harsher rhetoric on "Fox News Sunday": "I think Biden has highlighted his incompetence for the world to see," Gonzales said.

But Raskin and other Democrats argued that there are significant differences between the document situations with Trump and Biden that should be handled accordingly, as Biden allies have said repeatedly in recent days.

We should keep a sense of proportion and measure, Raskin told host Jake Tapper.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) on CBS' "Face the Nation" urged host Margaret Brennan to look at the big picture: "Broad cooperation from the president who clearly takes this very seriously," he said.

Biden has had a smaller volume of out-of-place sensitive documents discovered than Trump, and unlike Trump, he appears to have cooperated with authorities in turning over the materials.

"Its an embarrassment, no doubt about it. Is there more to it? I doubt it," Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), a member of the progressive caucus, said Sunday on "Fox News Sunday."

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) on NBC's "Meet the Press" agreed the revelations were "embarrassing," while maintaining it was "totally different" than Trump's situation.

Both serious in terms of having classified documents, but the president is doing the right thing," Stabenow said.

Republicans have said it is too early to tell the true extent of what occurred.

Both Raskin and Comer pointed to a need to figure out procedures regarding former officials taking documents in the future.

Rod Rosenstein, a deputy attorney general during the Trump administration, said Attorney General Merrick Garland really had no choice in appointing a special counsel to investigate Biden, after naming one to investigate Trump.



The special counsels appointed to investigate Trump and Biden  Jack Smith and Robert Hur, respectively  have sterling reputations, Rosenstein said.

But youre in the political arena, where its inevitable youre going to be attacked, Rosenstein said, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, agreed with the attorney general's decision to appoint a special counsel, he said on ABC's "This Week."

Schiff said he couldn't "exclude the possibility" that national security might have been compromised in Biden's documents "without knowing more of the facts"; however, he accused Comer of attempting to interfere with the Justice Department's investigation.

Biden aides found five additional documents in this presidents Delaware home this week, the White House announced Saturday. They were then turned over to the Justice Department, which had appointed a special counsel to investigate the matter.



Earlier last week, a lawyer for Biden confirmed that personal lawyers to the president in November discovered Obama administration documents in a Biden-associated Washington think tank. Days later, Bidens legal team found additional documents in Bidens residence in Wilmington, Del., one of Bidens lawyers announced.

For his part, Bacon said the discovery of classified documents in Biden's possession called to mind an old saying.

"If you live in a glass house, do not throw stones," he said. "And I think that President Biden was caught throwing stones."
Domain Holdings Australia (ASX:DHG) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 12% over the last week. We, however wanted to have a closer look at its key financial indicators as the markets usually pay for long-term fundamentals, and in this case, they don't look very promising. Specifically, we decided to study Domain Holdings Australia's ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for Domain Holdings Australia

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Domain Holdings Australia is:

3.6% = AU$40m  AU$1.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every A$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of A$0.04.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

A Side By Side comparison of Domain Holdings Australia's Earnings Growth And 3.6% ROE

It is quite clear that Domain Holdings Australia's ROE is rather low. Not just that, even compared to the industry average of 16%, the company's ROE is entirely unremarkable. As a result, Domain Holdings Australia's flat earnings over the past five years doesn't come as a surprise given its lower ROE.

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As a next step, we compared Domain Holdings Australia's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 0.1% in the same period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Domain Holdings Australia fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Domain Holdings Australia Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Domain Holdings Australia has a very high LTM (or last twelve month) payout ratio of 102% over the last last three years, which suggests that the company is dipping into more than just its earnings to pay its dividend. The absence of growth in Domain Holdings Australia's earnings therefore, doesn't come as a surprise. Paying a dividend higher than reported profits is not a sustainable move. That's a huge risk in our books. To know the 2 risks we have identified for Domain Holdings Australia visit our risks dashboard for free.

Moreover, Domain Holdings Australia has been paying dividends for five years, which is a considerable amount of time, suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 67% over the next three years. As a result, the expected drop in Domain Holdings Australia's payout ratio explains the anticipated rise in the company's future ROE to 7.3%, over the same period.

Summary

Overall, we would be extremely cautious before making any decision on Domain Holdings Australia. Although the company has shown a fair bit of growth in earnings, yet the low ROE and the low rate of reinvestment makes us skeptical about the continuity of that growth, especially when or if the business comes to face any threats. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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.

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KABUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A new package of 40 million U.S. dollars in cash as humanitarian aid has been delivered to Afghanistan and deposited in one of the commercial banks in Kabul, said a statement from Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the country's central bank, released here Sunday.

The cash aid arrived on Saturday and DAB, appreciating the assistance, would welcome any support that strengthens the banking sector in Afghanistan, the statement said.

Last month, two aid packages, each with 40 million U.S. dollars in cash, arrived in Afghanistan and had been deposited to one of the country's commercial banks. 
CAIRO (AP)  An Egyptian court on Sunday handed down life prison sentences to 38 people, including a self-exiled businessman whose social media posts helped to spark anti-government protests.

Public protests are rare in Egypt where President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has overseen a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent. But a series of video and other social media posts by Egyptian businessman Mohamed Ali, who now lives in Spain, led to scattered street demonstrations in September 2019 over allegations of corruption and other issues.

Twenty-three of those who got life terms were tried in absentia, including Ali, according to an Egyptian criminal court handling terrorism-related cases.

The court also sentenced 44 others including children to terms ranging from five to 15 years in prison over the same charges. Twenty-one were acquitted, according to defense lawyer Ossama Badawi.

Those sentenced were convicted of a set of charges that included inciting violence against security forces and state institutions. The case stemmed from the 2019 protests in the port city of Suez that sits at the mouth of the Suez Canal.

Authorities arrested hundreds of people at the time in Cairo and across the country. Many were released but others were referred to trials.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticized such mass sentencings in Egypt and called on authorities to ensure fair trials.

Egypts government has in recent years jailed thousands of people, mainly Islamists, but also secular activists involved in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.
In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Nedap N.V. (AMS:NEDAP) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Nedap

Is Nedap Fairly Valued?

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. 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, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) 18.0m 21.0m 24.0m 26.8m 29.5m 31.3m 32.7m 33.8m 34.5m 35.1m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 6.23% Est @ 4.42% Est @ 3.15% Est @ 2.26% Est @ 1.63% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 6.7% 16.9 18.4 19.7 20.7 21.3 21.2 20.7 20.1 19.2 18.3

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 197m

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. 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 (0.2%) 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 6.7%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 35m (1 + 0.2%)  (6.7% 0.2%) = 537m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 537m ( 1 + 6.7%)10= 280m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is 476m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of 60.7, the company appears about fair value at a 17% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own 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 Nedap 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 6.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.089. 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.

SWOT Analysis for Nedap

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Electronic industry.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Electronic market.

Opportunity

Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the Dutch market.

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Threat

Dividends are not covered by earnings and cashflows.

Moving On:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Nedap, we've put together three relevant factors you should further research:

Risks: Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Nedap you should be aware of. Future Earnings: How does NEDAP's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Dutch 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

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Tyre Deandre Nichols, 29, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, in Memphis, three days being stopped and detained by Memphis Police. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the death.

Four days after the death of Tyre Nichols, his family told reporters they had not been allowed to see Nichols the night officers from the Memphis Police Department showed up at his parents' doorstep to tell them he had been hospitalized.

The statements came during a Saturday afternoon balloon release to honor Nichols and marked the family's first time addressing the public.

"They came knocking on my door about 9 o'clock that night," said Nichols' stepfather, Rodney Wells. "We didn't see him until the next morning around 6. We didn't even know where he was. [Officers] told me that he was hospitalized and one of the officers got our phone number. They called us the next morning."

'He loved Tennessee': Friends remember Tyre Nichols, man who died after MPD arrest

Nichols died Tuesday after an MPD traffic stop on the evening of Jan. 7. According to police, officers made a traffic stop at the corner of Raines Road and Ross Road for reckless driving.

"As officers approached the driver of the vehicle, a confrontation occurred and the suspect fled the scene on foot," a statement from MPD said. "Officers pursued the suspect and... While attempted to take the suspect into custody another confrontation occurred."

Police say Nichols "complained of having a shortness of breath," and an ambulance was called.

The Shelby County District Attorney's Office has called the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to investigate the "use of force" by officers.

It is still unclear what the "confrontation" consisted of and the cause and manner of death for Nichols are still pending.

Nichols' older sister Keyana Dixon also spoke at Saturday's balloon release. According to Dixon, the officers who pulled Nichols over were in an unmarked vehicle and the only way she could imagine her brother running was if he were scared.

"If he did run, it was because he was scared," Dixon said. "A traffic stop is supposed to be a traffic stop for anybody, and they were in an unmarked vehicle, so I already knew what he thought. We just found that out. They weren't even in a Memphis Police car, it was an unmarked vehicle, with hoodies on."

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Tyre Deandre Nichols, 29, of Memphis, described by family and friends as a "skater," died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, three days after being detained by Memphis Police. The death is under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The events described by the family could not be independently confirmed, and the Memphis Police Department on Saturday said the "investigation is being handled by the TBI. Please direct any questions to their office."

TBI said it is still investigating the incident and some of the questions asked by The Commercial Appeal were part of that investigation.

Tyre Nichols:A 29-year-old man died after being arrested by Memphis Police. Here's what we know

At the balloon release, along with the subsequent protest at the Memphis Police Department's Ridgeway Precinct about 2 miles from the corner where the traffic stop occurred, family and protesters hoisted an image they said was taken of Nichols at the hospital.

The image shows Nichols  from the middle of his chest and up, laying in a hospital bed and intubated  his eyes apparently swollen shut and nose bent in nearly an "s" curve. Blood can also be seen on the hospital bed's sheets, along with what appear to be stitches to the side of his right eye.

In the days since his death, Nichols has been remembered by his friends as a "free spirit" who was in love with Tennessee. He had moved to Memphis in 2020 from Sacramento, California, for a fresh start. He had a passion for skateboarding and photography, but also worked at FedEx.

"He was a very loving kid," Wells said Saturday. "He likes to skateboard, he likes to take pictures and he likes to watch the sun set  that's his favorite thing to do. He used to leave work early to go watch the sun set."

After a service Tuesday, the family will work to get Nichols' body back to Sacramento for another service with his friends and family across the country who could not make the Memphis service. The family is accepting donations to fund those services.

The fundraiser can be found by going to AngeLink.com and searching "Tyre Nichols."

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Family of man who died after MPD traffic stop speaks out
Photo Illustrations by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

By the summer of 81, the warring in my head was near constant. I had sharp memories about the day I was raped, and, at times, I awoke screaming in the dark. I was afraid to go outside, went days without bathing and rarely ate. My tangled, unwashed hair fell out in clumps. I dont remember crying or even talking much. I mostly kept to myself. It was safer that way, I thought.

I was scared that somebody might touch me.

Me and Mama were like ships passing in the night until the day I used a razor blade to arch my eyebrows. In a bizarre attempt to look like Farrah Fawcett, I also used a hot comb to straighten my hair and lopped off the front left section with a pair of her sewing scissors. I wanted feathered bangs like the white girls at school. I nicked my eyelid with the razor.

When she got home from work that night, she took one look at the blood trickling down my face, shook her head, and hauled off and slapped the daylights out of me. Cowering in the corner, I hollered out for my father.

What did you say? What did you say?!

I want my daddy! I want my daddy! I want my daddy!

I wanted her to hear me. I wanted her to feel my rebuke. I shouted it over, and over again, until she jammed her finger in my face and screamed, Your father is dead! And he aint never coming back!

My Childhood Rape and My Life That Might Have Been

Mama was bleary-eyed and angry, angry that hed left her and angry that Id unwittingly hurled his murder in her face. She unwrapped a fresh razor blade, tossed the white paper, and tilted my head back. By the time she was finished, I had a few wisps of brow hairs left.

When I think about how small I was and how little I understood about the world, I admit, its easy to be angry now. Trembling and scared, I wanted something different. Our world was full of slapping, drinking, cussing, and shooting. I wanted at least a pleasant house and a pleasant family like the Farrells had.

I cried myself to sleep.

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One Saturday morning, Mama woke me early, told me to pack a bag and drove me to Auntie Geralds house in East St. Louis. She said little along the drive as she listened to the news on public radio. It was supposed to be another weeklong visit.

No matter how much time I spent living under my mothers roof, for as long as I could remember, the house on Tenth Street had always felt like home. Despite having paid every debt he ever owed on time, and proudly serving his country in the U.S. Army, in 1969, Uncle Ross was Black and, thus, could not qualify for a bank loan. He was forced to take out a contract-for-deed mortgage, a high-interest predatory agreement backed by real estate investors out to profit off redlining.

Situated along the easterly banks of the Mississippi River in central Illinois, East St. Louis was once predominantly white. A massacre unfolded in 1917, ignited by labor disputes, when white people feared they would be forced from their well-paying jobs in nearby factories by Black migrants who emerged from the South beginning in the late 1800s. In the end, an estimated two hundred fifty black people were killed and approximately six thousand were left homeless, burned out of their brick bungalows and rooming houses.

When it was over, remaining residents picked up the pieces. The mayor pushed for reparations, paying white people for the property they lost to the fires and forcing insurance companies to pay out policies held by Black residents. Civil rights leaders came to town, mounting investigations into the massacre. But, otherwise, the city would go on about its business as one of the nations most important stops along rail lines and barge routes.

However, white people began to abandon the cityfirst in trickles, then in droves as more Black people were drawn to its seemingly boundless economic opportunities. Between 1967 and 1970, nearly every remaining white family left East St. Louis for the suburbs.

Four decades before Uncle Ross put his name on the deed, the city lines were redrawn. The smokestacks and factories at the edge of town were de-annexed around 1926, so the companies wouldnt have to pay taxes into an increasingly Black town. That year, the City of Monsantonow named Saugetwas incorporated just south of town. National City, to the north, was home to the St. Louis National Stockyards Company. Industry swelled and, by 1945, it was called the Hog Capital of the Nation. At one time, there were forty-three packing plants processing upward of one hundred thousand head of cattle and hogs a week.

Photo Illustrations by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

The house sat well within sniffing distance of the putrid-smelling stockyards. By the time Auntie Gerald and Uncle Ross moved in, only a single white family remained on the block in the ExchangeN. Fifteenth Section of the city. Originally built in the late 1800s, there were three well-laid bedrooms, not counting the squat room in the basement, and a single oversize bath where Auntie Gerald hung up decorative towels that nobody ever dared dry their asses with.

When the expansive front porch could use a few well-placed nails or the living room needed a fresh coat of paint, Uncle Ross did all the work himself. Every Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Fourth of July, the man who once boosted his age by two years to qualify for military service on behalf of a country that didnt think he was worthy of pissing in a bathroom stall next to a white man or sharing the same water fountain, would proudly hoist an American flag into its place on the center porch pillar. He hung an English red cedar porch swing along the far-left end, suspended by cast-metal chain links attached to S-hooks, and planted shrub roses along the front edge.

When we got to Auntie Geralds house, my cousin Booky met our car at the curb. We took off down the street toward the corner store. There were new owners by then. The Cochrans from across the street rented the shuttered store, reopened it, and installed a Pac-Man machine in hopes new customers might also spend money on overpriced cans of Vess soda, single rolls of toilet paper, loose cigarettes and Red Hot Riplets potato chips. They sold the spicy pickles my cousin Bug adored so much from a jar on the counter and let her have the leftover juice. Along the way, we passed a woman sitting in a fold-out lawn chair on the porch of a duplex. I was all at once alarmed and amused, if not insanely curious. Miss Whatever-Her-Name-Was was buck naked from the rooty to the tooty, hooting and hollering like she was watching some funny picture show that only she could see. Skinny as a beanpole, her little brown children, one of them wearing nothing but a diaper and a nose full of snot, scampered around the yard while their mamas slack titties swayed in the wind when she let out a laugh.

She caught sight of me and Booky, and hollered out, Yall going to the stow? Bring me sumpin back, hear?

She disappeared into the house.

Did you hear what she said?

Dont know and dont care, Booky said, and you shouldnt either, Go Go.

Plenty of folks had been hit running across Tenth Street, which was deemed a state highway back then. I worried about the children in the yard.

Whos watching her kids?

What did I just say? Them her kids.

Okay, but she wasnt wearing any underwear!

At the store, we had to wait in line behind a twentysomething white lady, which was strange in and of itself. She was yelling at the cashier because they didnt have a business license and wouldnt take food stamps as payment.

This is money! she said waving the stapled booklet in front of the Plexiglas window. You out here breaking one law. Who gives a good got-damn if you break another one?

We waited our turn, then bought a sack full of Now & Laters, Chick-O-Sticks and Mary Janes. On the way back, I noticed the kids were gone and there was no sign of the naked lady or her husband when we passed again. The woman on the porch was an addict, I would later learn. We sometimes saw her roaming the block, making it up to the corner of Tenth and Pennsylvania before her husband, beset with the same addictions, took her home.

Who was that white lady in the store?

You know they be tricking over in those apartments.

Whats tricking?

Hoeing.

Whats that?

Booky chuckled and said, Here, Go Go, shut up and eat a Chick-O-Stick.

We spotted Old Man Ford coming out the alley and took off running down the street. He haunted the numbered blocks between Summit and Pennsylvania Avenues, carrying an empty five-gallon paint bucket and a brown, sawed-off broomstick. Hed raped one of the girls from across the street and everybody knew hed strangled Miss Cherry, the blind shopkeeper, to death.

He never made it to jail. Somebody said he was found dead in the alley behind the Sanders house. Hed been back there in the weeds for a long time, they say, the stench of his decomposing body masked by the odor coming out of the stockyards.

When we got back, Mama was gone. I was used to my mother coming and going without so much as a hello or a goodbye, so I thought nothing of it at the time. It was a week or more before my mama came back. She called me out to the car. Dressed in her work clothes, she seemed to be in a hurry.

Take this stuff in the house.

My clothes, stuffed into brown paper bags from the grocery store, were piled into the truck.

How long am I staying here?

As long as I say so.

She didnt stay but a few minutes, just long enough to trade pleasantries with Auntie Gerald and hand her a check, which my aunt folded and tucked into her brassiere.

Even then, as my mama backed out of the gravel driveway, I did not realize what was happening until I overheard my cousin Bug tell somebody on the telephone that Id been dumped. I ran upstairs and locked myself in the bathroom. Thats when I noticed my shorts were soaked in blood. The first full menses came on like a rolling mudslide.

You so smart you stupid, Bug said. Your mama didnt tell you nothing about getting your period?

Im not stupid. I know what a menstruation is. I guess you do, too.

Bug was twenty and her son, Marceo, a burly stump of a boy who everybody called Fat Man, was five. Shed gotten pregnant at fourteen and went into labor a few months before her fifteenth birthday in 1976.

Shut up before I bust you in your damn face, she said, sneering.

Auntie Gerald handed me a bag of Kotex pads.

Here, clean yourself up and put one on. And wash between your legs real good. Dont get no blood on my floor.

I put the thick white pad on upside down, the adhesive sticking to my pubic hair. A while later, when Grandma Alice saw blood running down my leg, she took me back into the bathroom and gave me a new one.

Stick it to your drawers, she said.

It was Uncle Ross, though, who took me into their upper bedroom and gave me the talk that night. He warned me about sexual contact during certain days of the month. Though he wouldnt say exactly why, it all matched up with what Id read in Mamas medical book and remembered from Miss Seigels filmstrip. He was very clear about how a young lady should comport herself in public. He admonished me to dress modestly.

Keep yourself clean, Red, he said, especially when your period comes on.

Although he was quick to mete out discipline with thick leather belts and sometimes a souvenir wooden paddle from an amusement park, Uncle Ross was a kind man. We all knew the fullness of his compassion and never once doubted his devotion to us. Just as hed promised Daddy, he eagerly stepped in my fathers shoes.

Auntie Gerald went to church three or four times a week: Sunday school, followed by morning and afternoon services, Wednesday-night prayer meetings, and choir rehearsal every Friday. Fifth Sundays were for communion, testifying and baptizing. Unlike my mother, her elder sister dressed modestly, never touched a drop of alcohol, and could cut a rug down to the padding. She never uttered an expletive.

For her part, my aunt was a marvelously plump woman who was shaped like a hedgehog and stashed money in her bosom. She cinched her hefty flesh with the triple-bolted girdle and, with the record player needle dropped on the right song, Mamas Bible-thumping sister would swing and swag the Lindy Hop. My mother eschewed such displays of piety, weighed all of a hundred pounds on a full stomach, and couldnt dance.

Most of the sweet footing went on in the formal living room next to the floor model, midcentury Zenith color television. Situated behind pocket doors and a grand entryway trimmed in ornate crown molding, the room also had wall-to-wall plush red carpeting, yellow-and-white embroidered sofas encased in custom plastic slipcovers and decorative mirrors on the textured damask wallpaper. The room was off-limits, except on holidays and sometimes Sunday if good company came over for supper. The whole thing smelled like Scotts Liquid Gold furniture wax and Woolite rug cleaner.

Auntie Gerald, who integrated the staff at Norwoods Country Club on Lucas and Hunt Road in north St. Louis County, did the family shopping at Grandpa Pidgeons and a Venture store up on Collinsville Road, and sometimes at Famous-Barr in the sprawling mall over in Belleville. She called it going up the highway. She loved a Kmart blue-light special almost as much as she enjoyed cornbread soaked in buttermilk. She bought her groceries in bulk, including the box loads of chicken wings and hotdogs that she kept in a deep freezer alongside loaves of Wonder Bread. Every so often, we drove out to a farm beyond Cahokia Mounds to pick turnips, collards, and pole beans.

Photo Illustrations by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

Uncle Ross lugged in the groceries, saw after the dogs and the yard, and burned the garbage in a fire pit when the city went bankrupt and stopped door-to-door trash collection, while my aunt wrung out the laundry and pinned our unmentionables on a clothesline out back. Uncle Ross didnt believe in store-bought dog food or letting his mutts in the house. When the old hounds died, as they commonly did after diets of table scraps and spoiled meat, he buried them in plots around the back garage.

On a block possessed with rooming houses, prostitutes, and drug addicts, we seemed to be better off than most others, except the Sanders siblingsa white judge, lawyer, and librarianand the friendly loan shark who lived across the street. After we might get caught up in whatever was going on out in the street, Auntie was a strict disciplinarian. Running in the house was forbidden, as were a lot of things, and getting caught either meant a tongue lashing or the business end of Uncle Rosss strap. Which one depended on whether Auntie Gerald was around, in which case the punishment would always be more severe.

A hard head makes for a soft behind, shed often say.

When she was feeling good, Auntie would laugh like a schoolgirl, an uncontrolled burst of glee that made her belly jiggle like a bowl of gelatin.

But, that summer, something in Auntie Gerald had changed. She seemed to be angry about everything and at everybody. She had a mean streak that ran as long and deep as the Mississippi. And, for the first time in my life, I was scared of her. The mere sound of my name coming out of her mouth was terrifying.

Composite by The Daily Beast/Courtesy of HarperCollins

Every night, as the adults took to their rooms, me and a band of cousins gathered sheets from a closet and slept on the living room floor. Linens were on a first-come-first-serve basis and pillows were in short supply. Most nights, I was left with nothing. So, I started stashing my pallet in Grandma Alices closet hours before bedtime. I woke up that next morning soaked in blood and urine. Shame washed over me. I was afraid my cousins would see the bloody clothes and laugh at me. So, I sneaked upstairs, washed myself up, stuffed the wet sheets in a trash bag and tucked them into Grandma Alices closet. Later that day, I heard her calling me from top of the stairs.

Goldie Taylor! Get your behind on up here!

I was shaking when I entered her room. She was sitting on the edge of the bed. Bug was in there too, her arms folded and smirking.

Let me tell you one thang, Auntie Gerald said, jamming her fat finger at me. You gone quit pissing on my floor!

I didnt mean to.

Your mama didnt say nothing about you pissing on yourself. You dern near thirteen years old. Piss on my carpet again and Im gone bust your behind, you hear me?

I nodded my head.

Say, yes maam, my cousin chided.

Yes, maam, I muttered.

Pissy Annie, Bug said. Thats what we gone call you.

Thats not my name.

Whatchu say, Pissy Annie? You sound like one of them hunkies out in St. Ann.

So what? Thats not my name.

She dived at me, grabbing my neck with both hands. I felt my head hit the floorboards. I couldnt breathe.

Janice! Jannie-Bug, let that child go! Grandma Alice screamed. I said let her go!

Bug kept choking me, tightening her grip, repeatedly banging my head against the wood slats until I blacked out. I vaguely remember somebody carrying me. I woke up that night in Grandma Alices bed. The house was silent. I got up and tiptoed downstairs.

Alone in the darkened kitchen pantry, among the stacked canned goods, the canisters of sugar, flour, and dehydrated milk, I braced the telephone on my shoulder. I knew the collect long-distance call would register on the next bill from Southwestern Bell, revealing the time and duration. Making long-distance calls, whether to St. Louis County or down to Florida, was strictly forbidden. It would mean another flogging and more chores. But, right then, I didnt care about getting another whipping. I just wanted to go back to St. Ann. I was desperate to sleep in my own bed again, even if it meant being alone most of the time. While I still harbored a rash of resentment for Mama, I felt like an orphan and didnt want to wake up to somebody elses mother. The operator announced my name and connected the lines.

Mama, please come get me, I whispered.

Do you know what time it is? Whats wrong with you?

I heard the creaking floorboards. Somebody was coming up the basement stairs. The noise grew louder. I could hear their feet padding across the dining room now, just on the other side of the wall.

Mama, please, I said. Please come get me.

The line went dead. The first blow to my temple, a closed fist, knocked me into the shelving. I remember how it stung, then the numbness and sound of my screams filling my ears.

Who was you talkin to? Bug demanded to know.

I could feel myself trembling. Trapped in the small alcove, I braced myself against the shelving. Nobody, I mumbled.

I could taste my own blood, the salty tears.

Who was you talkin to?

Nobody.

Bug grabbed the receiver and reared back as if to swing it. I flinched. She laughed.

Get-cho stupid ass out that closet.

I stayed awake in the kitchen that night. Afraid to go to sleep, I didnt crawl into my pallet until sometime near dawn.

Excerpted from The Love You Save by Goldie Taylor; on sale Jan. 31, 2023. Copyright  2023 by Goldie Taylor. Published by arrangement with HTP Books, a Division of HarperCollins.

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Floridas agriculture commissioner said citrus growers are ready to meet the challenges that resulted in the lowest crop yield in over 80 years.

Commissioner Wilton Simpson announced Thursday that the latest crop forecast is now worse than the original estimate.

The biggest issues were freezes, tree disease and inflation.

Read: Temperatures to plunge into 30s as cold front moves into Central Florida

Florida is expected to produce 18 million boxes of citrus.

Read: US Coast Guard in Florida stops hundreds fleeing Cuba, Haiti by sea, returns most

Thats the smallest amount since 1937.

Read: Heres where cold weather shelters are opening in Central Florida this weekend

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.
Baggage claim. Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

The smartest insight and analysis, from all perspectives, rounded up from around the web:

After canceling nearly 17,000 flights over the Christmas holiday, Southwest Airlines may have gained the distinction of creating "the worst service disruption" ever experienced by a major U.S. carrier, said Joseph Guinto in Texas Monthly. This was "an unforced error" with deep roots in years of Southwest management philosophy. The airline, while beloved by customers, was known for its "penny pinching," and legendary founder and CEO Herb Kelleher believed that Southwest "didn't need to buy every 'shiny new' tech toy on the market." Southwest's "open seating" is well known; less well known is that with its rigid, aging reservation systems, "Southwest couldn't have assigned seats even if it wanted to" until just a few years ago. Long before this disaster, "Southwest's top brass" knew that its flight-tracking and scheduling software "could be overmatched in the event of an unusual weather or air traffic event." Southwest has long been a "shameful" example of a company "incurring technical debt," said Zeynep Tufekci in The New York Times  the fancy term for corporations trying to make do with old and deficient software. And without greater accountability, "we may see more fiascoes like this one."

The Dallas-based carrier can't be blamed for "the magnitude of the storm" that initially triggered the debacle, said Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times, but one has to ask why the airline performed "so much worse than its rivals"  on some days accounting for 90 percent of all cancellations. The answer is that Southwest is an extreme example of corporate thinking that's focused on "handouts to shareholders instead of spending on workers and infrastructure. There's not enough give in the system, so when crisis comes, it doesn't bend, but breaks." When it could have been improving its systems, the airline simply took out more profits. Just weeks earlier, the airline lifted its dividend and launched a $2 billion share buyback plan. The 11 members of Southwest's board have "evaded the finger-pointing"  though they are "the guiltiest of the guilty parties."

The airline has also let itself down by abandoning the "'people first' culture" that once defined the way it dealt with customers and staff, said Beth Kowitt in Bloomberg. Executives should follow Southwest's late founder's advice and "listen to employees' ideas on how to improve operations." Just don't bet on Southwest, or any other airline, listening to its customers, said Kevin D. Williamson in The Dispatch. The reality is that "in the great calculus of the airline industry, the typical passenger  his plans, his interests, his convenience  doesn't amount to squat." That's because most customers make their decisions on which airline to fly based almost entirely on price. That encourages the airlines' continued incompetence and mismanagement, despite billions of dollars in federal bailouts. "An airline isn't going to spend $100 to do a good turn for a flier who will choose a different airline next time around to save $12.42." Southwest has taken this principle to heart, and now what was once one of the most admired companies in the U.S. is known for "treating its customers with contempt and cruelty."

This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.

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ISLAMABAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least six people, including four children, were killed late Saturday night in a gas cylinder blast in Pakistan's southwest provincial capital of Quetta, local media reported on Sunday.

According to the reports, the blast occurred when a family member attempted to light a heater in the Satellite Town area of Quetta, the provincial capital of the country's southwest Balochistan province.

Rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the bodies to a hospital.

According to the rescue personnel, all the deceased, including a couple and their four children, died on the spot following the blast.

Local police told the media that the blast occurred due to gas leakage from the cylinder, which also damaged the house seriously.

Most parts of Balochistan, including Quetta, are facing intense cold weather with temperatures dropping up to minus 15 degrees centigrade. 
EUROPEAN PRAVDA  SUNDAY, 15 JANUARY 2023, 18:27

Oleksii Makeiev, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, has called on Berlin to hand over Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv as soon as possible.

Source: German state-owned international broadcaster DW, reported European Pravda

Quote: "German weapons, German tanks are vital," the ambassador said.

"We have very little time for discussions. We expect our allies to understand this and do the right thing," he added.

Details: Makeiev noted that further liberation of Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia would be impossible without Leopard tanks.

He made it clear that any further delay would cost more lives of Ukrainians: "German weapons save lives".

"German anti-aircraft systems help us intercept missiles, and German tanks will help us liberate the territories. And there will be fewer atrocities committed by the Russian occupying forces," Oleksii Makeiev is convinced.

Background: Head of the German arms manufacturer claimed that it would not be able to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine before 2024, even if the German government decides on their transfer tomorrow.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said on Saturday that Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) will have to face the congressional ethics process over fabrications about his background and questions about his finances, but shouldnt be subject to shunning by his fellow members of Congress.

George Santos represents over 700,000 people in New York, Gaetz told CNNs Michael Smerconish. And whether people like that or not, those people deserve to have members of Congress collaborating with the person who serves them.

Gaetz added that he doesnt want to judge Santos before the congressional ethics process has run its course.

I think he deserves the chance to at least make his case, the Florida Republican said.

Santos has faced calls to resign, including from within his own party, following revelations last month that he fabricated much of his resume. The first-term lawmaker admitted to lying about where he went to college and his previous professional experience throughout his campaign for Congress.

However, questions about Santoss background go beyond his resume. During his unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2020, Santos reported a salary of $55,000 and no assets. However, just two years later, he loaned himself more than $700,000 for his 2022 campaign.

Gaetz questioned Santos about the source at the $700,000 loan while hosting a recent episode of Steve Bannons podcast War Room. However, Santos dodged the question, simply saying, Ill tell you where it didnt come from  it didnt come from China, Ukraine, or Burisma.

The Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan ethics watchdog, filed a complaint against Santos with the Federal Election Commission earlier this week, accusing him of violating campaign finance laws.

Particularly in light of Santoss mountain of lies about his life and qualifications for office, the Commission should thoroughly investigate what appear to be equally brazen lies about how his campaign raised and spent money, the organization said in its complaint.

Story continues

Two House Democrats have also filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee over allegations that Santos filed inaccurate financial disclosures.

However, Santos has so far refused to resign. While several Republicans have called on him to step aside, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has declined to call for his resignation, even though he has not appeared particularly enthusiastic about the embattled congressman.

The voters of his district have elected him. He is seated. He is part of the Republican conference, McCarthy said on Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Repair and refurbishment of the Leopards in question will take several months and will cost several hundred million dollars, which the company cannot allocate until a contract will be signed, he explained, while readying mothballed tanks will take at least a year.

Read also: Ukraine plans to create Leopard tank brigade, FM Kuleba says

"The vehicles will not only be repainted, but will have to be rebuilt for wartime use, Papperger told Bild.

Read also: Why we need Leopard 2A5 tanks

They will be completely taken apart and then rebuilt. Even if the decision to send our Leopard tanks to Kyiv came tomorrow, it would take until the beginning of next year to deliver the tanks.

Papperger noted that Leopard 2 tanks are "enormously important" for offensives and reclaiming territory. With the help of these tanks, Ukrainian troops will be able to break through the enemy defense lines and bring the war of position to an end, he said.

Polands President Andrzej Duda said during his visit to Lviv on Jan. 11 that his country will supply Ukraine with a company of Leopard 2 tanks. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto also indicated willingness to supply a small number of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Read also:

However, Germanys acquiescence will be necessary for these deliveries, as it has final say over the re-export of German-made arms.

Rheinmetall currently stores 22 Leopard 2 and 88 Leopard 1 tanks. German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said a week prior that Berlin will not stand in the way if Warsaw decides to send their own Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kyiv, though German Chancellor Olaf Scholz claimed his country will continue to weigh every step carefully on further weapons supply to Ukraine.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Its one thing to get laid off from a prestigious bank like Goldman Sachs. Its another to have that happen after showing up for what you thought was a routine meeting.

On Wednesday, Goldman eliminated 3,200 jobs, or roughly 6.5% of its workforce. That came as no surprise as CEO David Solomon had already warned staff last month he anticipated that headcount reduction will take place in the first half of January, citing tightening monetary conditions that are slowing down economic activity.

But getting fired did apparently surprise some employees who showed up for what they thought was a routine meeting, according to insiders who spoke to the New York Post, as the paper reported Friday.

Those employees had reportedly been emailed calendar invites for fake meetings, some as early as 7:30 a.m., at the banks New York headquarters. But when they showed up, they told they were being laid off, with their manager looking on.

Wednesday was internally dubbed Davids Demolition Day, according to the Post.

When Fortune asked Goldman Sachs about the Post report, Global Head of Communications Tony Fratto replied:

"We know this is a difficult time for people leaving the firm. Were grateful for all our peoples contributions, and were providing support to ease their transitions. Our focus now is to appropriately size the firm for the opportunities ahead of us in a challenging macroeconomic environment.

Etiquette surrounding layoffs has come to the fore of late, especially in the tech sector, which has seen dramatic workforce reductions in recent months, even as overall the U.S. unemployment rate remains low.

At Salesforce earlier this month, CEO Marc Benioff came under fire for dodging questions during an all-hands meeting about mass layoffs announced only the day before. One employee questioned whether the Hawaiian concept of Ohanathe idea of family bonds that encourage people to be responsible for each othershould still be core to the companys culture, as Benioff made it at Salesforces founding.

Story continues

Elon Musk was heavily criticized in November over the way layoffs were conducted at Twitter after his chaotic takeover. As Fortune reported, some employees found out their jobs were being eliminated after they couldnt log on to their company email or messaging system. Others learned their fate via an (unsigned) email sent after the workday.

HR professionals did not mince words when weighing in on the tactics. I have worked in HR for over a decade and seen many different sizes and types of companies handle layoffs, one tweeted. From where Im sitting, Musks Twitter is going about theirs terriblylegally, ethically, and humanely speaking. Infuriating and heartbreaking.

On the other hand, one CEO received widespread criticism in August after attaching a teary-eyed selfie to a LinkedIn post in which he described the guilt he felt over firing staff. Detractors called it a PR stunt and accused him of fishing for sympathy.

The article has been updated with the comment from Goldman Sachs.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Bob Iger just put his foot down and told Disney employees to come back into the office
Hawaiian Airlines passengers were injured after a flight experienced turbulence in December. Hawaiian Airlines

A Hawaiian Airlines pilot says a cloud "shot up" and caused flight turbulence, per New York Times.

25 passengers were injured on the flight, a federal investigator's account reportedly said.

The "extreme turbulence" occurred on a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu in December.

A Hawaiian Airlines pilot said a cloud "shot up" vertically like a plume of smoke in just seconds and caused severe turbulence on a flight, according to a federal investigator's preliminary report cited by The New York Times.

The severe turbulence on the flight from Phoenix to Honolulu in December injured 25 passengers, per the report. Officials had previously said that some 36 passengers had been injured, with one being knocked unconscious during the turbulence.

The newspaper said the investigator's report stated: "A cloud shot up vertically (like a smoke plume) in front of the airplane in a matter of seconds, and there was not enough time to deviate."



Another passenger told Hawaii News Now in December that her mother "flew up and hit the ceiling" as she had just sat down when the turbulence hit.

The pilot said flying conditions before the cloud shot up were "smooth with clear skies", the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found, the Times reported.

The captain notified the chief flight attendant to prepare for turbulence and seconds later there were multiple injuries on the plane that was carrying 281 passengers, per the report.

Hawaiian Airlines said in December that 13 passengers and three crew members were taken to hospital and others treated for minor injuries at the airport.

Jon Snook, the airline's chief operating officer, previously blamed the "extreme turbulence" on a rare "air pocket" that could sometimes occur without warning.

According to the Times, the NTSB report said a thunderstorm warning had been issued by the National Weather Service.

The board was expected to issue its final report within 12 to 24 months, the report said.

Hawaiian Airlines and the NTSB did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider
IPO Edge hosted a fireside chat at the 2023 ICR Conference with the Jason Cohen, CEO and Co-Founder of MyBundle.TV. The in-person interview was joined by IPO Edge Editor-in-Chief John Jannarone and Editor-at-Large Jarrett Banks. Watch the full recording below:

About MyBundle.TV

MyBundle.TV is simplifying the streaming TV experience. With so many choices of what to watch and where to watch it, the streaming world is overwhelming. Our platform simplifies all of it so you can get back to watching the channels, shows, and movies you love while saving money & time in the process.

So, whether youre looking to cut the cord and save money, find what service your favorite movie is located on, find that next great show to binge, or manage all your streaming services, were here to help. Watching TV shouldnt be hard. We make it easy.

About Jason Cohen, CEO and Co-Founder of MyBundle.TV

Prior to starting MyBundle.TV, Jason was a Portfolio Manager at Buckingham Capital Management, where he researched and invested in the Media/Telecom Sector with a special focus on how streaming TV was disrupting the traditional ecosystem. Jason not only believed consumers would benefit from the increasing choice afforded by streaming, but that a new golden age of broadband providers was around the corner due to the separation of broadband and video delivery. However, with all that choice came new challenges and Jason started MyBundle.TV to help simplify streaming for consumers, streaming services and broadband providers. Jason graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree from the Macaulay Honors College at The City University of New York and lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with his wife and two children.

Contact:

IPO Edge

www.IPO-Edge.com

Editor@ipo-edge.com
SAN DIEGO (AP)  Jaelen House scored 29 points, including three clutch 3-pointers down the stretch, and Jamal Mashburn Jr. had 22 for New Mexico, which used a 12-0 run to take control in beating No. 23 San Diego State 76-67 on Saturday night.

House, who played better the more he was booed by the crowd, had 10 points during the 12-0 run that gave the Lobos a 60-49 lead, and 13 points in a span of about three minutes. He scored 21 in the second half.

House was whistled for a technical with about five minutes to go for staring at the crowd.

"I don't like them, they don't like me, House said. I like big-time moments.

New Mexico won its first 15 games before losing 71-67 at Fresno State on Jan. 3.

We weren't hungry these past few games and I feel like we came out hungry tonight, House said.

Morris Udeze had 10 points and 15 rebounds, and Javonte Johnson had 10 points for the Lobos (16-2, 3-2 Mountain West). The Lobos fell out of The Associated Press Top 25 after two losses last week while the Aztecs jumped back into the poll.

The Lobos were ready to go, coach Richard Pitino said. They were juiced up for this game.

Matt Bradley scored 14, Adam Seiko 13 and Keshad Johnson 10 for the Aztecs (13-4, 4-1), who had their six-game winning streak snapped.

SDSU was leading 49-48 when 6-foot-10 Nathan Mensah, the reigning MWC Defensive Player of the Year, was whistled for his fourth foul, and then hit with a technical foul for reacting angrily and appearing to make a move toward a referee before a teammate stepped in. House made both free throws and then hit a 3-pointer for a five-point possession and a 53-49 Lobos lead.

Mashburn made a jumper and House made a 3-pointer and another jumper for a 60-49 lead with 6:01 to go. SDSU's Micah Parrish made one of two free throws to end New Mexico's run before House made another 3-pointer for a 63-50 lead.

Mensah fouling out changed the tone of the second half.

I'd say that was a big part because he's a big body down there and he's affecting shots, House said. "They don't really have a backup that's doing the same things he's doing.

Story continues

The Aztecs scored five straight points after House was called for a technical but it wasn't nearly enough.

We've both got learning experiences in our locker room. Celebrate after the game, Pitino said. House was terrific, but sometimes you've just got to like stun gun him a little bit and slow him down. But he was so good. Those refs, when you celebrate like that, they're going to get you."

The Aztecs pulled within four points before Udeze scored inside. Mashburn hit a jumper and two free throws in the final 1:20.

Mashburn and Udeze led the Lobos to a 38-28 halftime lead before the Aztecs tightened their defense and caught up seven minutes into the second half. Keshad Johnson scored six points for the Aztecs early in the second half and Parrish's putback tied it at 45.

The Lobos twice led by 11 points in the first half.

BIG PICTURE

New Mexico: The Lobos had been the last undefeated team in the nation before losing at Fresno State on Jan. 3. They're 2-1 since.

San Diego State: The Aztecs went from having perhaps their best first half of the season in a 74-65 win against Nevada on Tuesday night to having one of their worst. The Aztecs allowed the Lobos to shoot 48.5% while making only 37.5% of their shots in the first 20 minutes. The Aztecs made just one of seven free throws.

UP NEXT

New Mexico: Hosts San Jose State on Tuesday night.

San Diego State: At Colorado State on Wednesday night.

___

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
MOSCOW/KIEV, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis:

The death toll from a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 20, the regional governor said Sunday.

At least 73 people were injured, with four in intensive care, Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said on Telegram.

- - - -

On Saturday, a missile attack was launched by the Russian forces against Ukraine's military command and control system and energy facilities, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a daily briefing on Sunday.

"All assigned objects were hit. The targets of the strike have been achieved," he said.

- - - -

Russian President Vladimir Putin positively assessed the process of the special military operation in an interview with the Rossiya-1 television channel on Sunday.

"Everything is developing within the framework of the plan of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff," Putin said.

- - - -

The Russian forces are preparing for a lasting conflict with Ukraine, the main intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Saturday on Facebook.

According to the observations of the military intelligence of Ukraine, Russia is "preparing for a long-term war," it said. 
UNITED STATES - JULY 7: Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, attends a ceremony to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to 17 recipients at the White House on Thursday, July 7, 2022. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Hunter Biden has requested a judge stop his 4-year-old daughter from taking his surname.

Biden said the name would rob the child of a "peaceful existence," the New York Post reported.

He fathered the child with a stripper in 2018.

Hunter Biden asked a judge to stop his four-year-old daughter, who he had with an Arkansas stripper, from taking his surname, the New York Post reported.

President Joe Biden's son made the request to an Arkansas court on January 6, arguing that the name would rob the child of a "peaceful existence."

The child's mother, Lunden Roberts, had asked Circuit Court Judge Holly Meyer on December 27 to allow daughter Navy Joan Roberts to take Biden's name, arguing that she would benefit as the name is "now synonymous with being well educated, successful, financially acute and politically powerful," the paper reported.

The child remains "estranged" from the Biden family, the filing said, and suggested that giving her the Biden name could rectify this "misconduct or neglect," per Dailymail.com.

The request regarding the child's name was made amid an ongoing case in Independence, Arkansas.

Biden, in September, asked to have child support payments reduced because his financial circumstances had undergone a "substantial, material change," according to Dailymail.com.

In the name change filing, Roberts' attorneys also asked for information about Biden's finances, among other things, and claimed that Biden is "attempting to stifle discovery into his financial affairs while simultaneously reducing his child support obligation on the claim that he now earns less income," per Dailymail.com.

When the child was born in August 2018, Biden initially denied being the father. Roberts filed a petition for paternity and child support, and a DNA test later proved he was.

Biden claimed in his 2021 book "Beautiful Things" that he had fought the paternity suit because he had no recollection of the sexual encounter that led to the pregnancy, according to the New York Post.

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The child was conceived while Biden was in a relationship with Hallie Biden, his brother Beau's widow.

Biden married South African filmmaker Melissa Cohen in May 2019, and the pair have a son, Beau, born in 2020. Biden also has three daughters from his first marriage.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) on Saturday claimed Republicans are investigating President Bidens alleged mishandling of classified documents from his time as vice president as part of a political game and not because they care about following security protocols.

What I find interesting is that Republicans who have defended [former president] Trump after he literally stole classified documents, refused to turn them over, lied about having them, made up some story about how he declassified them, had to have his house raided in order for those documents to be found, are now only interested in investigating Biden, who has cooperated, whose own staff and former staff have themselves turned these documents in, the progressive Squad member told MSNBCs Symone Sanders-Townsend.

You have to understand, Republicans arent really interested in upholding the law, in following security protocols. What theyre interested in is playing a political game in now only wanting to investigate Biden, Omar added.

A set of classified records from Bidens time as vice president were first recovered by Bidens lawyers on November 2 at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank that served as Bidens private office from 2017 to 2019, after his time as vice president came to an end.

The White House Counsels office then searched Bidens homes in Delaware this week and discovered a small number of additional Obama-Biden administration records with classified markings, the vast majority of which were found in a storage space in Bidens Wilmington garage, White House lawyers said earlier this week.

Special Counsel Richard Sauber then said Saturday that he discovered five additional pages with classified markings at the presidents Wilmington, Del., on Thursday. Sauber said after Bidens personal attorneys discovered one classified document at Bidens home on Wednesday, they ended their search because they did not have the appropriate security clearances to view the materials.

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Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document the Presidents personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department, Sauber said. While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of a special counsel on Thursday to investigate Bidens handling of classified documents.

Im glad that there is a special prosecutor thats been appointed to investigate this because any time there is a deviance in regard to security protocols, that should be taken serious, it should be investigated, Omar said Saturday.

Meanwhile, The FBI raided Trumps residence at Mar-a-Lago in August as part of an investigation into the former president for his alleged removal or destruction of records, obstruction of an investigation, and violation of the Espionage Act, according to the search warrant for Trumps home.

Republicans have questioned why the Biden investigation has seemingly differed from the investigation into Trump.

We would never have known about the possession of the classified documents were it not for investigative reporting by CBS that somehow got a leak to determine that this had happened prior to the election, House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) told CNN. So the administration hasnt been transparent about whats going on with President Bidens possession of classified documents. And we just want equal treatment here with respect to how both former President (Donald) Trump and current President Biden are being treated with the document issue.

More from National Review
Two Illinois paramedics have been charged with first-degree murder after the death of their patient. YouTube/Sangamom County Government

Two paramedics were charged in the death of a patient who was strapped facedown to a stretcher.

Earl L. Moore, Jr. died after the incident on December 18, 2022.

The paramedics, Peter Cadigan and Peggy Finley, are both charged with first-degree murder.

Prosecutors in Illinois have charged two paramedics with first-degree murder in the death of one of their patients, a man experiencing alcohol withdrawal who died after the paramedics strapped him facedown on a stretcher.

Peter Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Finley, 44, are both being held in the Sangamon County jail on a $1 million bond. They each have preliminary hearings scheduled for January 19, according to court records.

The Springfield Police Department said the incident began around 2 a.m. on December 18, 2022, when officers arrived at a residence and found that the 911 caller "was suffering from hallucinations due to alcohol withdrawal," according to a police statement.

Body camera footage released by the police department shows the man, who has since been identified as Earl L. Moore, Jr., in apparent discomfort and speaking incoherently to officers. Moore can be seen throughout the footage writhing on his bed and later on the floor.

Shortly after that, the paramedics arrived at the home and instructed the man, who was lying on the floor, to walk to the ambulance.

"You're gonna have to walk, because we ain't carrying you," Finley told the patient. "Cause I am seriously not in the mood for this dumb s---."

Finley also ordered the patient to "get up, or you can stay here."

The police officers eventually helped Moore out of the house. Then, an officer and Cadigan placed Moore onto a stretcher, where he lay facedown. Cadigan and Finley can then be seen in the footage wrapping a sheet and straps around Moore, still facedown on the stretcher.

The Springfield Police Department's statement said officers were "later notified the patient had passed after arriving at the hospital."

The Illinois State Police has taken over the investigation into Moore's death.

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'Indifference is not a crime,' says one of the paramedics' attorneys

An autopsy report cited by CNN listed Moore's cause of death as "compressional and positional asphyxia due to prone facedown restraint on a paramedic transportation cot/stretcher by tightened straps across back and lower body in the setting of lethargy and underlying chronic alcoholism."

Finley's attorney, W. Scott Hanken, told Insider his client intends to plead not guilty to the murder charge, adding that he had "no earthly idea how anybody in good faith could bring these charges based on what I've seen," and that his client committed no crime that night.

When asked about Finley's remarks heard on the body camera footage, Hanken said "indifference is not a crime."

"If they're criminalizing someone having a bad attitude, then they better build bigger prisons," he said. "Call it bedside manner, call it whatever you want. That's the red herring here. Whether or not somebody comes off as uncaring or unconcerned or comes across as a b----, that's open to everybody's interpretation."

Hanken noted that the police body camera footage only shows the officers and Cadigan placing Moore on the stretcher  not Finley. He said Finley only placed the sheet over Moore and brought up one of the stretcher's straps around Moore. Hanken said Cadigan was the one who could be seen on footage securing and tightening the straps.

"There is no evidence that she committed any affirmative act that could in any way, shape, or form be attributable or deemed to be responsible for that gentleman's death," Hanken said.

Court records for Cadigan did not name any legal representative or state whether he has retained an attorney. The Springfield Police Department noted in its statement that the police officers at the scene were not trained or equipped to assist in transporting patients and relied on the paramedics to ensure his safety.

"The Springfield Police Officers who responded to this incident recognized the patient's need and requested medical assistance for the patient," the statement said, adding that the paramedics "acted indifferently to the patient's condition."

Hanken declined to comment on any specific actions the officers took that night, asking only, "Have you ever heard  ever  a scenario where a first-degree murder occurred in front of three law enforcement officers and they did nothing?"

Read the original article on Insider
Police are investigating the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old male in East St. Louis on Saturday.

Members of the Illinois State Police Public Safety Enforcement Group responded to the 800 block of North 80th Steet at 3:27 p.m. to an apparent homicide. According to a release from state police, the man was found fatally injured, having been struck by gunfire.

St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. identified the victim as DeJuan Tate, of the 800 block of Plum Street, Cahokia Heights. He was pronounced dead at 4:33 p.m. at Memorial Hospital, Dye said.

Police continue to investigate the circumstances.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting or has any knowledge of the incident is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 314-725-8477 (TIPS) or PSEG agents at 618-343-5239. Witnesses can remain anonymous.
A look at the shareholders of Fluence Corporation Limited (ASX:FLC) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 55% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, individual investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by AU$20m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Fluence.

View our latest analysis for Fluence

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Fluence?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Fluence already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Fluence, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Fluence. RSL Investments Corporation. is currently the largest shareholder, with 25% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.7% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.1% by the third-largest shareholder.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 17 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Fluence

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Fluence Corporation Limited. In their own names, insiders own AU$14m worth of stock in the AU$146m company. This shows at least some alignment, but we usually like to see larger insider holdings. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 55% of Fluence. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 25%, private equity firms could influence the Fluence board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Fluence better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Fluence that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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.

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Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty

Within hours of Sen. Debbie Stabenow announcing her retirement last week, Michigan Democrats were scrambling to find a candidate who could win in a state that Joe Biden took in 2020 by less than three points.

In the hours and days following, many prominent Democrats from the Great Lakes State have passed on running. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI), and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan have all said they have no interest.

But according to three Democratic campaign strategists involved in early discussions, two Democrats have quickly emerged as favorites for the nomination: Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

My sense with Elissa has probably been the boldest without announcing, and I think she will garner a lot of attention inside and outside of the state, one of the Wolverine State strategists told The Daily Beast.

Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow Will Not Run Again in 2024

While Slotkin is already considering a run, according to a Democratic source familiar with internal discussions, McMorrow has also been taking calls from supporters about jumping in. But, according to another operative involved in the conversations, she hasnt made a decision.

McMorrow capitalized on a viral floor speech to lead a $2.35 million fundraising haul for state Senate campaigns, where Democrats were able to flip the chamber for the first time since 1984.

While Whitmer and Buttigieg would instantly be favorites to take the Democratic nomination, neither of them are expected to change their minds, according to two sources in contact with their staffs.

For both of them in some ways it would be a step down, and I cant imagine why any governor would run for U.S. Senate, another Democratic operative told The Daily Beast.

Yet another Democratic strategist recalled a story from within Whitmers inner circle, where a top adviser said Slotkin is too smart to run for Congress. The back-handed compliment was, indeed, taken by some in the room as praise, but also by others as a dig that the congresswoman and former CIA analyst would struggle to connect with the statewide electorate.

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Joceyln Benson have also been mentioned by campaign consultants as possible candidates, with the first Wolverine State operative saying Benson would be the more likely of the two to jump in.

Aside from Slotkin, Rep. Haley Stevens is considered the other most likely Representative to enter the raceso much so that someone bought a pair of Senate-related domain pages under Haley for Senate on Jan. 9.

On the GOP side, the picture is much murkier.

Democrats have plenty of options at their disposal, but most of the GOP chatter upon Stabenows retirement immediately turned to Rep. John James, the newly sworn-in GOP congressman who lost Senate bids in both 2018 and 2020.

Cant Vote Trump. Or Biden. Justin Amash, Here I Come!

Other names in the mix include former Rep. Peter Meijer, one of the 10 impeachment votes against Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 insurrection. Meijer subsequently lost his 2022 re-election bid in a primary challenge from a Trump-endorsed candidate. Tudor Dixon, the DeVos family-backed GOP challenger who lost to Whitmer for governor in 2022, is also considered a possibility.

Democrats have a deep, deep bench in Michigan, and it is full of stars, one of the Democratic consultants said. Republicans have the opposite problem, and the fact that the first name that came out of peoples mouths is John James proves that.

One wildcard hanging over the race is former Republican Rep.-turned-independent-turned-Libertarian: Justin Amash. Amash left Congress in 2021, handing over his seat to Meijer. But the conservative lawmaker, who personally despised Donald Trump and left the GOP over the partys hard turn toward MAGA policies, could draw votes from both Democrats and Republicans if he chooses to run.

A source close to Amash told The Daily Beast Thursday night that he was seriously looking at the Senate race and weighing how he would run. Michigans state laws make it difficult for anyone outside the two parties to win, so Amash could end up running for the Republican nomination. But he also has been looking at running as an independent or perhaps just serving as an independent in the Senate if he were elected.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The fear was palpable in the small town of Newport News, Virginia, on the afternoon of January 6 as reports rolled in of a shooting at Richneck Elementary School.

As the dust settled  the children all accounted for, the lone adult victim on her way to the hospital  the police identified an unlikely perpetrator: a 6-year-old boy, accused of deliberately shooting his first-grade teacher.

Officials said the boy, whom they've not named because of his age, shot Abigail Zwerner through her hand and into her upper chest as she taught a classroom of about 20 children. The officials said the boy brought a 9 mm Taurus firearm from his home and that his mother had purchased the weapon legally.

Steve Drew, the city's police chief, said at a news conference on Monday that as Zwerner taught the class, the boy pointed the firearm at her and fired one round. "The shooting was not accidental," Drew said. "It was intentional."

But what does "intentional" mean to a 6-year-old, whose brain is still in the earliest stages of development? Scientists told Insider that neurobiology indicates a child of that age doesn't understand morality, consequences, or the law. They also suggested that instead of arrest, young offenders need rehabilitation  and courts are finally starting to listen.

A developing brain means young kids physically can't make rational decisions

Arielle Baskin-Sommers, an associate professor of psychology and of psychiatry at Yale, told Insider that a single act of violence, however horrific, is not enough to merit a psychiatric diagnosis. While researchers have observed pathological traits in kids as young as 2, gun violence is correlated more with access to guns than mental illness.

At age 6, the brain's emotional structures, known as the limbic system, are further along in development than its rational decision-making chambers, in the prefrontal cortex. Though the brain is already 90% developed in terms of size, many of the neural connections formed during early childhood will be eliminated and then replaced with stronger connections.

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Throughout childhood and adolescence, the brain does its own version of a Marie Kondo cleanup: Connections that are repeatedly used are strengthened, while excessive synaptic links are eliminated.

"It's really about learning how to cope with those emotions  having the experiences and the failures and an unconditionally loving environment, too  that helps us learn right from wrong," BJ Casey, a professor of neuroscience at Barnard College, told Insider.

Most of this pruning happens by your early to mid-20s, though the brain is never completely done changing. By adulthood, we're capable of reflecting on the past and weighing the consequences of an action. Young kids physically aren't.

"When infants can't walk and talk, we don't think of that as deviant," Casey said. "But by late childhood and adolescence, when they make a bad decision or engage in bad behavior, we call that deviant. We have to keep in mind that there's continued development there, too."

Wilfredo Lee/AP

The law has only recently started recognizing brain development as a factor in crime

The Virginia police have described the 6-year-old's actions as intentional  but science suggests the boy likely didn't understand the full consequences of his actions.

Moral decision-making requires myriad cognitive abilities that are still developing during adolescence, Casey said. Children may struggle to grasp social norms and legal consequences while processing information about their environment, so they're more likely to act out.

"If you just take the behavior alone, this kid showed an extreme form of aggressive behavior," Baskin-Sommers said. "It's really important to remember that despite this behavior seeming very calculated and planned out, it is immature compared to someone who is older."

It's only in the past decade that the highest court in the land has started recognizing how neuroscience and brain development affect criminal intent.

A 2012 amicus brief written by the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry highlighting the latest neuroimaging research helped convince the Supreme Court that life without parole was an unconstitutional mandatory sentence for anyone under 18.

Justice Anthony Kennedy acknowledged in the court's opinion in another case involving youth in 2016 that "children are constitutionally different from adults in their level of culpability."

Developmental psychologists have established what's known as the age-crime curve: Across racial and economic backgrounds, criminal behavior tends to peak during adolescence and decrease by the mid-to-late 20s.

"There's so much potential for change, particularly during these early stages of development," Casey said. "Neuroscience shows us throughout our life that our brain doesn't stop changing."

Child advocates say differences in brain development should inform criminal charges

Kaia Rolle was 6 when the police arrested at her school in Florida in 2019. Courtesy of Meralyn Kirkland; Samantha Lee/Insider

The Virginia boy's tender age makes his interactions with law enforcement an anomaly, but not unprecedented. In 2019, the police in Orlando, Florida, arrested a 6-year-old named Kaia Rolle at school after a temper tantrum, escorting her out of the building in restraints as she sobbed.

An analysis by USA Today published last year found more than 2,600 arrests in schools involving 5- to 9-year-olds from 2000 to 2019. An investigation published by the Center for Public Integrity in 2015 found that for years Virginia led the nation in sending students to courtrooms, adding that an outsized percentage of those students had learning disabilities.

There's no federal minimum age for arrest, so each state sets its own bar. In 25 states, including Virginia, there's no minimum age for juvenile prosecution, though Virginia's juvenile-detention facilities have an age minimum of 11. Kids as young as 12 have been tried as adults in the US, spending years in prison for crimes they committed as children.

Young people of color in the criminal-justice system face especially severe and disproportionate repercussions. Joshua Rovner, the director of youth justice at The Sentencing Project, said the organization's research has found that Black children are 2  times as likely to be arrested as white kids and 4 times as likely to be incarcerated, despite no quantifiable difference in their behavior. Black children are also more likely than white kids to be charged as adults, Rovner said.

Such discrepancies in treatment combined with the science supporting age-appropriate adjudication have led many advocates to draw a line in the sand. "Our position is that no one under 18 should be charged in adult court regardless of the circumstances," Rovner said.

"We've drawn that line of age of 18 in this country in so many ways: when you can join the military, when you can get married, and when you can buy lottery tickets," he added. "But we've decided that under the extraordinary circumstances that a young person is accused of a very serious crime, we're comfortable pretending that that young person is an adult."

Children's malleable brains mean rehabilitation is better than incarceration

The police in Virginia have not said whether the boy, who's being held at a medical facility under an emergency court order, or his mother will face charges. A representative for the Newport News Police Department told Insider on Friday that the boy had not been charged and was in the custody of the city's human-services department.

But legal experts and criminal-justice advocates have told Insider that the 6-year-old is unlikely to be charged or prosecuted in the shooting.

They suggested his brain is young and malleable enough that he'd likely be receptive to interventions. (Cognitive-behavioral therapy, for example, has been found to be an effective intervention for young people who've committed a crime.) They added that it's unlikely he'd go on to become a dangerous criminal in adulthood.

"The single event by itself, while horrific, is not enough to label someone as having systematic personality or behavioral differences," Baskin-Sommers said. "As unbelievable as it may seem, it is possible that this was a singular event that got out of control, by a young kid who had access to a firearm that they shouldn't have had access to."

Scientists and criminal-justice advocates who spoke with Insider argued that incarceration overwhelmingly makes matters worse for juveniles.

One study of 141 young people who'd scored highly on a psychopathy checklist found that those who served time in a juvenile correctional setting were more than twice as likely to commit another act of violence during a two-year follow-up period than those who got specialized mental-health treatment.

Xavier McElrath-Bey, 47, was the same age as the boy in Virginia the first time he was placed in the back of a cop car. As a young teen, he found himself locked away for 25 years, convicted of murder for his role in a gang-related killing. Now he serves as a co-executive director for the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, advocating for young people in the system.

McElrath-Bey told Insider that kids have an extraordinary capacity for change.

"No child is born bad," he said. "No child should be regarded as irredeemable or without hope."

Read the original article on Insider
Iran hanged a former high-ranking defense official accused of spying for the British, the countrys state media reported Saturday.

Alireza Akbari, a 61-year-old British and Iranian citizen, was convicted in a closed-door trial. The date of his execution was not announced.

This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people, said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Akbari was deputy defense minister in Iran between 2000 and 2005. He was also known for helping to enforce a 1988 cease-fire that ended the vicious eight-year Iran-Iraq War.

According to Iranian authorities, Akbari also worked for MI6, the British intelligence agency, and gave U.K. officials information on at least 178 Iranian figures, CNN reported.

Iran blamed Akbari in part for the 2020 killing of the countrys top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, according to CNN. No evidence against Akbari was revealed to the public.

British foreign minister James Cleverly warned, This will not stand unchallenged. Irans prosecutor-general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, was sanctioned by the U.K. on Saturday night.

Akbari had no known connection to the ongoing protests that have roiled Iran since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody on Sept. 16. Iran has also executed four people connected to the movement in recent months.

With News Wire Services
(This Jan. 15 story has been corrected to remove the reference that Sumitomo Corp and KDDI have stakes in MPT in paragraph 8)

By Fanny Potkin and Poppy McPherson

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Israel's Cognyte Software Ltd won a tender to sell intercept spyware to a Myanmar state-backed telecommunications firm a month before the Asian nation's February 2021 military coup, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.

The deal was made even though Israel has claimed it stopped defence technology transfers to Myanmar following a 2017 ruling by Israel's Supreme Court, according to a legal complaint recently filed with Israel's attorney general and disclosed on Sunday.

While the ruling was subjected to a rare gag order at the request of the state and media cannot cite the verdict, Israel's government has publicly stated on numerous occasions that defence exports to Myanmar are banned.

The complaint, led by high-profile Israeli human rights lawyer Eitay Mack who spearheaded the campaign for the Supreme Court ruling, calls for a criminal investigation into the deal. It accuses Cognyte and unnamed defence and foreign ministry officials who supervise such deals of "aiding and abetting crimes against humanity in Myanmar."

The complaint was filed on behalf of more than 60 Israelis, including a former speaker of the house as well as prominent activists, academics and writers.

The documents about the deal, provided to Reuters and Mack by activist group Justice for Myanmar, are a January 2021 letter with attachments from Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) to local regulators that list Cognyte as the winning vendor for intercept technology and note the purchase order was issued "by 30th Dec 2020".

Intercept spyware can give authorities the power to listen in on calls, view text messages and web traffic including emails, and track the locations of users without the assistance of telecom and internet firms.

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Representatives for Cognyte, Myanmars military government and MPT did not respond to multiple Reuters requests for comment. Japan's Sumitomo Corp and KDDI Corp which have a telecoms joint venture in Myanmar that provides technical and marketing support to MPT's operations, declined to comment on communication intercept matters, saying they were not privy to such details.

Israel's attorney general did not respond to requests for comment about the complaint. The foreign affairs ministry did not respond to requests for comment about the deal, while the defence ministry declined to comment.

Two people with knowledge of Myanmars intercept plans separately told Reuters the Cognyte system was tested by MPT. They declined to be identified for fear of retribution by Myanmar's junta.

MPT uses intercept spyware, a source with direct knowledge of the matter and three people briefed on the issue told Reuters although they did not identify the vendor. Reuters was unable to determine whether the sale of Cognyte intercept technology to MPT was finalised.

Even before the coup, public concern had mounted in Israel about the country's defence exports to Myanmar after a brutal 2017 crackdown by the military on the country's Rohingya population while Aung San Suu Kyi's government was in power. The crackdown prompted the petition led by Mack that asked the Supreme Court to ban arms exports to Myanmar.

Since the coup, the junta has killed thousands of people including many political opponents, according to the United Nations.

COGNYTE UNDER FIRE

Many governments around the world allow for what are commonly called lawful intercepts to be used by law enforcement agencies to catch criminals but the technology is not ordinarily employed without any kind of legal process, cybersecurity experts have said.

According to industry executives and activists previously interviewed by Reuters, Myanmar's junta is using invasive telecoms spyware without legal safeguards to protect human rights.

Mack said Cognyte's participation in the tender contradicts statements made by Israeli officials after the Supreme court ruling that no security exports had been made to Myanmar.

While intercept spyware is typically described as "dual-use" technology for civilian and defence purposes, Israeli law states that "dual-use" technology is classified as defence equipment.

Israeli law also requires companies exporting defence-related products to seek licenses for export and marketing when doing deals. The legal complaint said any officials who granted Cognyte licenses for Myanmar deals should be investigated. Reuters was unable to determine whether Cognyte obtained such licenses.

Around the time of the 2020 deal, the political situation in Myanmar was tense with the military disputing the results of an election won by Suu Kyi.

Norway's Telenor, previously one of the biggest telecoms firms in Myanmar before withdrawing from the country last year, also said in a Dec. 3, 2020 briefing and statement that it was concerned about Myanmar authorities plans for a lawful intercept due to insufficient legal safeguards.

Nasdaq-listed Cognyte was spun off in February 2021 from Verint Systems Inc, a pioneering giant in Israel's cybersecurity industry.

Cognyte, which had $474 million in annual revenue for its last financial year, was also banned from Facebook in 2021. Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc said in a report Cognyte "enables managing fake accounts across social media platforms".

Meta said its investigation identified Cognyte customers in a range of countries such as Kenya, Mexico and Indonesia and their targets included journalists and politicians. It did not identify the customers or the targets.

Meta did not respond to a request for further comment.

Norways sovereign wealth fund last month dropped Cognyte from its portfolio, saying states said to be customers of its surveillance products and services "have been accused of extremely serious human rights violations". The fund did not name any states.

Cognyte has not responded publicly to the claims made by Meta or Norway's sovereign wealth fund.

(Reporting by Fanny Potkin in Singapore & Poppy McPherson in Bangkok; Additional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo and Dan Williams in Tel Aviv; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's president warned on Sunday that the country faced a constitutional crisis over a contested plan to rein in the judiciary and said he was mediating between parties.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, now in his sixth term, wants to put controls on the Supreme Court, which members of his religious-nationalist coalition accuse of overreach and elitism.

Proposed legislation would limit High Court rulings against government moves or Knesset parliament laws, while increasing politicians' sway over the selection of judges.

Critics of the Supreme Court, particularly on the right, accuse judges of encroaching increasingly into the political sphere and overstepping their authority to pursue a left wing agenda.

Opponents, who held nationwide protests on Saturday, say it would cripple judicial independence, foster corruption, set back minority rights and deprive Israel's courts of credibility that helps fend off war-crimes charges abroad.

"We are in the grips of a profound disagreement that is tearing our nation apart. This conflict worries me deeply, as it worries many across Israel and the (Jewish) Diaspora," President Isaac Herzog said in a statement.

Herzog, whose post lacks executive powers and is designed to unify an often fractious Israeli society, said he was working non-stop with the relevant parties to promote dialogue.

"I am now focused on ... two critical roles that I believe I bear as president at this hour: averting a historic constitutional crisis and stopping the continued rift within our nation."

NETANYAHU DEFENDS PLAN

In televised remarks at his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu made no mention of Herzog's overture.

Judicial reforms, he said, had been sought by previous governments of various political stripes "and no one then thought about talking about an end to democracy".

Promising a "delving discussion" in a parliamentary review committee where the opposition has representation, Netanyahu said: "We will complete the reform legislation that will fix what needs fixing, will fully protect individual rights and will restore the public's trust in the justice system."

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A survey published by the Israel Democracy Institute on Sunday noted a decline in public trust in the Supreme Court.

The study revealed that 80% of left-wing Israelis, 62% of centrists, and only 29% of right-wingers trust the court.

It also found that most Israelis, (55.6%), support the court having the ability to strike down laws passed by the Knesset parliament if they contradict principles of democracy.

Yair Lapid, centrist head of the opposition contested Netanyahu's claim that the judicial reforms reflect the views of the general electorate but said he was open to a measure of reform that would allow change only with a parliamentary super majority.

Whereas Netanyahu, whose coalition controls 64 seats, wants to empower the 120-seat Knesset to override some Supreme Court rulings with a 61-vote majority, Lapid suggested raising that to 70 - including 10 opposition lawmakers.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Jane Merriman and Andrew Cawthorne)
When Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador this month called to dismiss a case against an activist who defied a COVID-19 order, questions were raised about the role of the states top attorney in local prosecutions.

Its not unusual for the attorney general to take over local prosecutions under similar circumstances, former attorneys general told the Idaho Statesman. But its important that the states attorney maintain cooperative and cordial relationships with local law enforcement, and Labradors office fell short in this case, they said.

Sara Walton Brady was charged with misdemeanor trespassing after she refused to leave a Meridian playground, which was closed over health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. An Ada County judge dismissed the charge Wednesday and said the court has no power to prosecute without the support of the attorney general.

Meridian officials said they were caught off-guard by Labradors motion to dismiss the case, after years of work by his predecessor. Mayor Robert Simison called the move abhorrent, while Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea accused Labrador of political grandstanding.

Im disappointed that more harmonious relations werent achieved, said David Leroy, Idaho attorney general from 1979 to 1983, who endorsed Labradors campaign and supported his decision to drop the case.

Leroy said Simison is a good public relations man, and hed value the mayors support to the maximum extent possible if he were in Labradors position.

Hopefully that can be achieved in the future, he said.

In an emailed statement, Labrador said he followed his prosecutors recommendation, his office communicated with local law enforcement and the dismissal served the ends of justice.

All this hand-wringing over a misdemeanor dismissal simply shows what everyone knew all along, Labrador said. The original decision to prosecute was about virtue signaling, not law and order. Our office has moved on, Idahoans have moved on, and now its time for former attorneys general to move on.

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Why Idaho AG was involved in local court case

Walton Brady, an anti-vaccine activist, was arrested on April 21, 2020, at Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park.

The Meridian mom urged local police to arrest her when she and other protesters brought their children to a playground closed over coronavirus concerns. After her arrest, dozens of protesters, including political agitator and former independent gubernatorial candidate Ammon Bundy, picketed the arresting officers home.

Labrador, who defeated 20-year incumbent Lawrence Wasden in last years GOP primary, filed the motion to dismiss the case on Jan. 5, during his first week in office. In a news release, Labrador said Walton Brady should never have been prosecuted.

It has been a profound waste of precious taxpayer resources, he said. Going forward, we will focus the peoples resources on prosecuting child exploiters and other serious criminals  not mothers who take their kids to the park.

The Boise city attorneys office, which handles misdemeanor cases from Meridian, was initially assigned as prosecutor for Walton Bradys case. But Boise attorneys asked the state attorney generals office to take over on April 24, 2020, citing a conflict of interest.

Wasdens office successfully opposed multiple motions by Walton Brady to dismiss the case, but it dragged on for years until a jury trial was set for Jan. 24. Labrador took over as prosecutor on the case when he took office.

Local prosecutors seek assistance, from the state or another city or county, when conflicts arise or when they lack experience in a particular subject, said Jim Jones, Idaho attorney general from 1983 to 1991, who later served as chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court.

It doesnt happen a great number of times, but it happens fairly frequently, Jones said by phone.

City and county prosecutors have authority over local cases absent a particular statute, such as the Consumer Protection Act, Jones said. That statute directs local law enforcement to aid the attorney general.

If county or city prosecutors think that the AG is not going to pursue their cases with diligence, they may decide that the place to go is somewhere else besides the AGs office, Jones said.

Jones was a vehement critic of Labradors attorney general candidacy and worked as campaign treasurer for his Democratic challenger, Boise attorney Tom Arkoosh.

During Leroys tenure, the attorney generals office created a local assistance division to help cities and counties with complicated cases, Leroy told the Statesman by phone. Relationships between state and local law enforcement are very significant, Leroy said, pointing to the city, county, state and federal investigation that led to an recent arrest in the Moscow quadruple homicide.

The coordination of law enforcement efforts between the state level and the county levels are vital in terms of setting the tone for the rule of law in the state, he said.

Diverging opinions on whether to dismiss

Jones and Leroy diverged on Labradors decision to dismiss the case. Leroy backed Labradors decision to drop it.

I think its time as a society to put COVID prosecutions and COVID mandates behind us, Leroy told the Statesman.

Last year, Leroy endorsed Labradors campaign, citing the candidates promise to bring back to the office a solicitor general, a staff attorney who litigates high-profile cases, which Labrador did.

Ultimately, Walton Bradys case was a minor matter, but it may have greater implications, Leroy said. Hes hopeful the decision doesnt harm public perception that Labrador is pro-law enforcement.

It should not be viewed as either a political statement or an unfriendliness to law enforcement by the attorney generals office, he said.

Jones, on the other hand, said Labrador should have declared a conflict of interest and sent the case back to local prosecutors. Walton Brady was a public supporter of his as well as a strong opponent of COVID-19 restrictions, he said.

Attending election parties last year, she wore a dress adorned with Labradors campaign logo.

In a recent column published by the Idaho Falls Post Register, Jones slammed Labrador for having a clear conflict, and Jones warned an equally troubling decision awaits Labrador in a Bonneville County debt collection case between high-profile Republicans, in which one side contributed a slew of donations to Labradors campaign.
Jan. 14Kennesaw State stormed back from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat North Florida 86-72 on Saturday and remain unbeaten at the KSU Convocation Center.

The Owls (13-6, 5-1) shot a blistering 67.6% (23-of-34) in the second half and 56.3% (36-of-64) for the game. They improved to 8-0 at home.

The win, coupled with Stetson's loss to Eastern Kentucky, also allowed Kennesaw State to take a share of the ASUN lead with the Hatters and Colonels, as well as Liberty.

After Kennesaw State got into an early lead to begin the game, North Florida (7-10, 2-3) took charge and led for the remainder of the first half. The Ospreys led 40-32 at the break after Carter Hendricksen's jumper just before the horn.

Trailing 43-34 with 19:21 left to play, the Owls made their move, going on 19-4 run over the the next 5 minutes to lead by six. From there, the Ospreys never trailed by less than four.

"We needed to get connected defensively in the second half," Kennesaw State coach Amir Abdur-Rahim said in a release. "In the first half, we were a little bit spread out, and UNF is a good, well-coached team. The second half was about supporting each other better, getting in the gaps, and that helped our offense when we could get out and run the ball."

Kennesaw State was able to avenge its lone conference loss, an 89-86 setback Jan. 5 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Six players reached double digits for Kennesaw State, including each of the starting five. Brandon Stroud scored a team-high 18 points, followed by Terrell Burden's 13, Demond Robinson's 12, Kasen Jennings' 11 and Chris Youngblood's 10.

Alex Peterson had 12 points off the bench, while Quincy Ademokoya narrowly missed double digits with eight.

Hendricksen led all scorers with 20 points.

Kennesaw State will head into the Sunshine State for a pair of games, facing Stetson on Thursday and Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Austin Peay 65, Kennesaw State 59: The Owls were unable to rally past the Governors and saw their three-game winning streak halted Saturday in Clarksville, Tennessee.

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After trailing for much of the first three-plus quarters, Kennesaw State (7-9, 3-2) took a 57-55 lead on Amani Johnson's two free throws with 2:29 left to play.

However, Austin Peay's Yamia Johnson made a 3-pointer and drew a foul, completing the four-point play and giving the Governors (9-6, 4-1) a 59-57 lead with 1:58 remaining.

Kennesaw State could not get any closer, missing its last six shot attempts. For the game, the Owls were 32.2% (19-for-59) from the field.

"It was a battle throughout, and we knew that coming in," Kennesaw State coach Octavia Blue said in a release. "We didn't shoot the ball from 3 particularly well and made a couple of errors in the fourth quarter that were costly, as well as not hitting free throws down the stretch. That was a good team that we played today and just had to battle to try and get the win but came up short."

Carly Hooks scored a game-high 17 points for Kennesaw State, with Stacie Jones adding 15 and Jah'Che Whitfield 11.

Yamia Johnson had 14 for Austin Peay.

Kennesaw State will face Jacksonville State for a home-and-home this week  hosting the Gamecocks on Thursday, then traveling to Jacksonville, Alabama, on Saturday.
St. Eugene Catholic school Principal Celynda Kingsby welcomes students, teachers, administrators and parents back to the South Los Angeles school on Sept. 6. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

When the time came to select her daughter's elementary school, Inglewood resident Nichole Celistan searched for a campus that fostered community, a school where her child would thrive.

Class size, quality instruction and extracurricular activities were important. But more than a year into the pandemic that upended education, Celistan, who was raised Baptist and considers herself non-religious, turned in a direction she hadnt expected. In 2021, her daughter Akira started first grade at St. Eugene Catholic school in South Los Angeles.

When I researched local public and private schools, I of course checked the academics and test scores, but I also asked about the campus community, Celistan said. I just didnt want my daughter to attend school but to feel welcomed, to grow spiritually and to develop special bonds that were broken during the pandemic.

Celistan is among the parents of some 3,000 students who have decided to enroll their children in a school within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which takes in 255 elementary and high schools from Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

The archdiocese has a modicum of reason to celebrate this academic year after decades of enrollment declines were accelerated by an alarming pandemic-fueled plunge that threatened many schools in one of the largest private education systems in the nation.

The archdiocese reported a 2.05% increase for this school year during its October survey, contributing to total growth of 4.58% in enrollment since June 2020.

St. Eugene Catholic school Principal Celynda Kingsby welcomes parents, teachers, staff and students on the first day of school. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Although the two-year upswing is encouraging, archdiocesan schools are not close to erasing the effects of the massive student exodus during the pandemic  with overall enrollment down 8.9% when compared with that of fall 2019. The plunge prompted the closure of 10 elementary schools and one high school in mostly working-class communities, including Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Hollywood and Pomona.

Much is at stake during this winter's admission season as the pressure mounts on schools to intensify recruitment efforts in the hopes of regaining enrollment losses to keep teetering schools open. But parochial schools face the same enrollment challenges as public schools in Los Angeles and throughout the state: a smaller school-age population. In 2022, California public school enrollment dropped for the fifth year in a row  a decline of more than 110,000 students.

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Archdiocese enrollment cratered at the end of the 2020-21 school year to 64,685 students, marking a 12.24% loss of about 9,000 students. Total losses mounted to almost 10,000 students since the pre-pandemic school year of 2018-19, when there were 74,404 students.

The pandemic drops were compounded by two decades of a cumulative 25% decline. In 2000, nearly 100,000 students attended Catholic schools.

Paul Escala, Los Angeles Archdiocese superintendent, said affordability has been at the heart of enrollment declines for years. But pandemic shutdowns, hardships and layoffs stung many of the school system's working-class families  70% of whom are low-income  forcing parents to pull their children out.

Even with scholarships, families have been unable to pay tuition  which ranges from $3,500 to $6,000 for elementary education in most parts of L.A. And free options abound at public and charter campuses as all schools compete for a shrinking number of school-age children.

The spiral prompted Catholic schools to reach out to families that had left as well as broaden their outreach.

"We saw communities, particularly those hardest hit, rally around their schools," Escala said. "These were some of the few places during the pandemic where parents and students could connect, where spirituality and faith during a real dark time were cultivated."

The Los Angeles gains were in line with an overall 2.73% private school one-year enrollment increase in Los Angeles County for the 2021-22 academic year, with 145,077 students attending non-public schools. National Catholic schools also gained 3.8% during the same school year, which marked the first enrollment boost in two decades.

John Beltramo, a lecturer at Santa Clara University and diocese director of San Jose and Monterey programs that develop Catholic school teachers, credits fast-acting dioceses around the country, including Los Angeles, for their success in getting "students back into the classroom much quicker than public schools." He said those actions made Catholic schools "attractive to families that haven't considered them."

Yet that good news is not enough, he said.

"The questions shifted to, 'OK, now what?' and 'How do we keep this going?' " Beltramo said. "This is still a very critical time for schools, and they need to take advantage of this opportunity."

Only Catholic elementary schools experienced enrollment gains; the archdiocese's 50 high schools lost about 500 students over the last two years.

Some of the elementary schools with the highest increases are in working-class communities, including St. Jerome School in Westchester (36%), Holy Spirit STEM Academy in Mid-City (27.74%), St. Eugene (23.2%) and St. Odilia (21.67%), both in South Los Angeles, and Sacred Heart Elementary School in Lincoln Heights (17.32%).

Celynda Kingsby, principal at St. Eugene, said her school, which charges $3,900 tuition for the first child, crashed from 207 students during the 2019-20 school year to 162 the following year.

Kingsby doubled down on efforts to promote "belonging, family and community" to families hit by the pandemic.

Kingsby gave her cell number to parents, posed for selfies with students and welcomed community members. She promotes weekly Mass and prayer discussions on a campus that is 60% non-Catholic. She has invited alumni to enroll their children and plans to speak about her school to community parent groups, such as the Mocha Moms organization, where Celistan served as a previous chapter president.

As of October, the efforts paid off as St. Eugene erased its deficit and now has 211 students enrolled. Kingsby said she's "happy, but not satisfied."

"We have to let the community know we're here and we have something great to offer," she said. "Otherwise, we may not be here one day."

At St. Jerome in Westchester, a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school, fifth-year Principal Tom MacDonald said his campus bounced back from its 2020-21 enrollment of 94 to 147 at the October enrollment check.

MacDonald pitches the school's ratio of 12 to 14 students per class, which is difficult to find elsewhere. While the numbers were attractive, he said, bonding and spirituality resonated more with parents, who pay about $6,000 in tuition per child.

"Families tell me they feel isolated and broken from the pandemic and they want to reconnect," MacDonald said. "We're letting them know St. Jerome is the place to heal and feel this sense of family. If we can't be that place, we're in trouble."

Although many of the biggest enrollment successes have taken place in Los Angeles Unified territory, where only 30% of likely voters polled in March thought positively of the 500,000-plus-student school district, there were also gains in highly competitive areas.

Kiah Adolphus, 4, smiles on her first day of in-school classes in September at St. Eugene Catholic school in South Los Angeles. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

St. Bede is located in affluent La Canada Flintridge, where La Canada Unified was just ranked the fourth-best school district in California by Niche.

Since June 2021, the campus has grown 14% to its current total of 265 students. During that time, St. Bede opened a transitional kindergarten classroom and expanded foreign language classes from only two grades to a curriculum now spanning transitional kindergarten through eighth grade.

While each grade averages about 32 students, core subjects such as literature, math and science are split into two classes that serve 16 students each.

Although the academic push was important in enticing La Crescenta parents Krista and Justin Pagliuso, who enrolled their two school-age children in St. Bede from nearby high-performing public schools, community and faith were paramount.

"The religious component was ... important and getting to know most classroom parents was really special," Krista Pagliuso, 36, said.

She added, "When we looked at the public schools around us, they were very nice, but they were twice as big."

Beltramo said the last 18 months offer Catholic schools a road map for recruitment success. Rather than compare campuses with public schools, they should promote what a public school can't offer: faith and spirituality.

"Schools shouldn't focus as much on secular goals but, rather, on building this sense of belonging," he said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles police are facing scrutiny following the in-custody death of a cousin of a key figure in the Black Lives Matter movement. Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old Washington school teacher who was visiting Los Angeles, died early this month hours after officers repeatedly shocked him with a Taser.

Police said that when they arrived at the scene of a traffic accident on Jan. 3, in the L.A. neighborhood of Venice, they found Anderson running into the street and exhibiting "erratic behavior."

The release Wednesday of dramatic body-camera footage of the incident has sparked angry demands for greater accountability by a police force that has faced past accusations of needless brutality.

In the footage, Anderson is seen lying on a pavement, held down by officers as another repeatedly shouts, "Turn over or I'm gonna Tase you" and "Stop it or I'm gonna Tase you!"

A clearly agitated Anderson shouts back, "They're trying to George Floyd me... They're trying to kill me" and "Help, please  I'm not resisting, I'm not resisting."

Anderson's death  he was the third person to die in police custody in L.A. so far this year  sparked angry reaction.

Mayor Karen Bass demanded the immediate suspension of the police officers involved, pending the outcome of an investigation.

And Rep. Barbara Lee of California tweeted: "I am outraged and heartbroken for Keenan... senselessly murdered by the police."

She called for "systemic reform."

In a video statement before the bodycam footage, LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz, a spokeswoman, said investigations into officers' use of force can often take up to a year to complete.

"Our understanding of the incident may change asadditional evidence is collected, analyzed and reviewed," Muniz said.

Anderson's cousin Patrisse Cullors co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 amid outrage over the videotaped killing in Minneapolis of Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a White police officer.

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Anderson, who was eventually handcuffed and shackled, was taken to a hospital and died four hours later.

No cause of death has been officially established.

A statement from LAPD said Anderson had resisted arrest.

"Officers struggled with Anderson for several minutes, utilizing a TASER, bodyweight, firm grips, and joint locks to overcome his resistance," it said.

But Cullors and others questioned that version of events.

"My cousin, Keenan, was actually really scared and he was asking for help repeatedly, and unfortunately that's not what he received from LAPD," Cullors told the Los Angeles Times. "Why wasn't there help? Why wasn't my cousin offered medical attention" at the scene.

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If anything could jump-start the stalled effort to reform the role of money in politics, one might think it would be an epic scandal involving an overnight billionaire who suddenly became one of the nations biggest political donors.

But while the collapse of Sam Bankman-Frieds crypto empire is already prompting changes in the crypto industry and beyond, it is unlikely to change the loophole-ridden campaign finance rules that allowed the 30-year-old executive from a controversial new industry to buy friends and influence people in Washington, despite widespread public frustration with perceived corruption, anytime soon.

"I dont think its going to change anything in Washington," said Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard Law professor and activist who ran for president in 2016 as a protest candidate to push for campaign finance reform. "The reality is Congress likes to have access to large amounts of money. Its an insiders game that theyre all happy to play."

Even money-in-politics critics accepted Bankman-Fried's checks, including a major campaign finance watchdog group and progressive lawmakers allied with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

For example, the Campaign Legal Center, a leading Washington group that has pushed for reform for two decades after its founding by a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, took $2.5 million from Bankman-Fried, which it now says it will return because Bankman-Frieds alleged actions ... betray CLCs mission.

The group told NBC News that it took Bankman-Frieds money after careful vetting that included conferring with other nonprofit organizations who vouched for his apparent legitimacy at the time.

We cannot change the past, but we can change the future, the group said in a statement. CLC will now move forward, continuing our decades long work to ensure every eligible voter can participate in and affect the democratic process.

A sense of pessimism has set in after repeated attempts at change have died in Congress in the 13 years since the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to unlimited and undisclosed dark money donations. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, which long championed campaign finance reform, got so good at the game that it used more dark money than Republicans during the 2020 presidential campaign. Democrats last legislative package aimed at overhauling elections and campaign financing, H.R. 1, never had a real shot at making it out of Congress and stalled out like many previous bills.

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"We all wish we could fly like Superman, but we dont leap off tall buildings," Lessig said, summing up why so few have pushed for change since Bankman-Fried's arrest.

Bankman-Fried, now awaiting trial on fraud and money laundering charges related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange he ran, FTX, spread his money widely as he became Democrats second biggest donor in 2022 and mused about spending $1 billion in 2024, which would have easily made him the biggest political giver in American history.

He was also charged with campaign finance violations, allegedly using "straw donors" to circumvent contribution limits by giving money to allies who would then donate to politicians in their own names.

Lawmakers and regulators moved quickly to impose new rules on the crypto industry, but there has been hardly any discussion  let alone action  in Washington to prevent the next Bankman-Frieds from using their wealth to bend politics to their personal interests.

There have been no campaign finance bills introduced in the new Congress, no new policies from regulators and barely even any discussion about reform.

Lawmakers who received campaign cash from Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives have given a collective shoulder shrug about the system at large, even as some donate the equivalent of his contributions to charity or wait for the legal case to play out to reimburse FTX customers.

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan Federal Court (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images file)

Speaking to NBC News on the condition of anonymity, one member of Congress who Bankman-Fried donated to said he never spoke with Bankman-Fried and instead believes he was a beneficiary of his funding because of a working relationship he had with Bankman-Frieds brother, Gabe, and his organization Guarding Against Pandemics. (Some critics insisted to NBC News that Bankman-Frieds pandemic preparedness efforts were nothing more than a way to generate good publicity that, in the end, was useful in advancing his crypto agenda.)

"Im not sure what we could have done differently," the lawmaker said. "I probably have tens of thousands of contributors.  I dont have intimate knowledge of every person who contributes."

"So if anyone had known that he was a fraud, no one would have accepted his contribution," the lawmaker continued. "I feel like whenever you accept a contribution from an individual, theres a risk that the individual might not be who he or she claims to be. And Im not clear how you escape that risk." While you can stop fundraising, the lawmaker said, that wouldn't be practical.

The pervasiveness of big moneys influence in politics has contributed to many Americans dim view of the political system.

Polls  including some commissioned by the Campaign Legal Center  show the overwhelming majority of Americans believe there is too much money in politics. Large portions of voters in both parties see the system as corrupt and not responsive to ordinary Americans.

"I am disheartened that this hasnt been more of a topic of conversation. It should be. But Im not so surprised," said Sheila Krumholz, the executive director of OpenSecrets, which tracks political donations, of Bankman-Frieds use of the campaign finance system. "This is yet another example of how lax campaign finance rules allow someone with money to throw their weight around and build influence and maybe it is not gaining traction because its just one of many stories like this."

"I fear and believe that the political class, and really the American public, to the degree that theyre concerned about this, is growing inured to these stories," Krumholz added. "Im not saying all hope is lost. But as time marches on, any rule or status becomes ingrained and the norm, we run the risk of it just becoming accepted."

Still, some activists believe Bankman-Frieds demise could create a unique opportunity to get normally skeptical Republicans on board for reform, since Bankman-Fried primarily supported Democrats.

Bill Cortese, a Republican campaign veteran who is now executive director of American Promise, a cross-partisan, nonprofit group advocating for a constitutional amendment that would allow for states to individually regulate federal campaigns within their borders, said the latest scandal may be just whats needed to get the ball rolling.

"I think that Republicans are waking up to say, 'Listen, this is something the dynamics here have changed,'" he said. "Its something that we have to be aware of. And something we have to be concerned about and potentially address now that they have control of at least one body in D.C."

Jeff Hauser, founder and director of the Revolving Door Project, said he does believe that the Bankman-Fried scandal could lead to more narrowly tailored reforms around straw donors  a major piece of the Bankman-Fried indictment  and how think tanks and other influence groups raise money.

"I dont think that they will get written into law in 2023," he said. "But I think that there will be a response that will lead to reforms that are written into law the next time an even bigger scandal happens.

"I feel like were on the cusp," he continued. "There are a lot of reforms that have a fair amount of momentum. But you need so much momentum to pass something that in the short run, cynicism is not unwarranted."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Does the January share price for Copperleaf Technologies Inc. (TSE:CPLF) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Copperleaf Technologies

Crunching The Numbers

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. 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 (CA$, Millions) -CA$18.1m -CA$15.1m CA$7.56m CA$12.6m CA$18.5m CA$24.7m CA$30.6m CA$35.9m CA$40.4m CA$44.1m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x5 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Est @ 66.47% Est @ 47.04% Est @ 33.43% Est @ 23.91% Est @ 17.24% Est @ 12.58% Est @ 9.31% Present Value (CA$, Millions) Discounted @ 7.6% -CA$16.8 -CA$13.1 CA$6.1 CA$9.4 CA$12.8 CA$15.9 CA$18.3 CA$19.9 CA$20.9 CA$21.2

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CA$95m

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The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.7%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.6%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = CA$44m (1 + 1.7%)  (7.6% 1.7%) = CA$759m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CA$759m ( 1 + 7.6%)10= CA$364m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CA$459m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of CA$5.9, the company appears about fair value at a 10% 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. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own 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 Copperleaf Technologies 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 7.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.984. 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.

SWOT Analysis for Copperleaf Technologies

Strength

Currently debt free.

Weakness

Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

Has sufficient cash runway for more than 3 years based on current free cash flows.

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Significant insider buying over the past 3 months.

Threat

Not expected to become profitable over the next 3 years.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess for 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. For Copperleaf Technologies, we've compiled three fundamental factors you should explore:

Risks: For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Copperleaf Technologies that you should be aware of. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for CPLF'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 Canadian 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

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Does the January share price for Ricardo plc (LON:RCDO) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Ricardo

Crunching The Numbers

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. 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 discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK7.22m UK18.3m UK22.3m UK21.8m UK26.3m UK28.3m UK29.9m UK31.2m UK32.3m UK33.1m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 7.72% Est @ 5.70% Est @ 4.29% Est @ 3.30% Est @ 2.60% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 7.6% UK6.7 UK15.8 UK17.9 UK16.2 UK18.2 UK18.2 UK17.9 UK17.3 UK16.6 UK15.8

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK161m

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. 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 (1.0%) 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 7.6%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = UK33m (1 + 1.0%)  (7.6% 1.0%) = UK502m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK502m ( 1 + 7.6%)10= UK240m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is UK401m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of UK5.2, the company appears about fair value at a 20% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. 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 Ricardo 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 7.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.972. 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.

SWOT Analysis for Ricardo

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Professional Services market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the British market.

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Ricardo, there are three additional factors you should further research:

Risks: Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Ricardo , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. Future Earnings: How does RCDO's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. 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
It might be dark and cold here in the UK, but never fear  Love Island is here to shine some much-needed sun into our lives.

The ITV2 dating show is returning to our screens for its second winter series filmed in South Africa.

Among the contestants on the winter 2023 series, which is hosted by Maya Jama, are the shows first partially sighted star, a contestant with Vitiligo, and a former body double for Emma Watson.

One of the biggest names on this series (at least to TikTok users) is Will Young. Find out more about Will below

What is Will famous for?

Hailing from Buckinghamshire, 23-year-old TikTok star Will has racked up more than one million followers and 32 million likes on the video-sharing platform with his farming content.

Posting under the nickname Farmer Will, Will shares videos to social media of his day-to-day life surrounded by animals on the farm he grew up on.

What is Will looking for on Love Island?

Not much  just a woman to spend the rest of his life with. Living on a farm has made dating hard for Will and he says hes looking forward to getting away and focusing on romance for once.

I think Im at the time of my life where Im mature enough to go and find a wife, he said. A love of animals isnt a necessity, as my mum didnt step on the farm for the first 20 years of my mum and dads marriage.

What attracts me is energy, if the energy is there, she can do whatever she wants, he says. As long as she respects what I do and my busy times of the year, then thats all I need. If she loves it, bonus! But its not a big issue for me.

What will Will bring to the villa?

Will says hes a wholesome boy whos lots of fun to be around.

Hes got some unexpected interests (he loves techno music and says Boris Johnson would be one of his dream dinner party guests) and likes to light a candle and meditate for 20 minutes every night.

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A girl I was seeing told me to meditate, I tried it and loved it. I stopped seeing her and carried on meditating! he says. Its a nice way to self reflect, taking a minute on my day/ week. Its really nice and sets me up for a nice sleep.

In the villa, hell need all the relaxation he can get

What is Wills Instagram and TikTok?

You can find Will on Instagram at @farmer_will_ and on TikTok at @farmerwill_. However, you wont see him posting as all the contestants have been asked to disable their pages while in the villa.

For the first time since the show began in 2015, ITV has asked the islanders to make their accounts dormant while they are on the show so that nothing can be published on their behalf, in efforts to prevent the adverse effects of social media.

Usually, friends or family of the islanders will run their accounts for them.

Wills bio currently reads: Im off to find love in the @loveisland villa. See you soon!

Love Island returns Monday 16 January at 9pm on ITV2.
Watch: Love Island reveals line-up for 2023 winter series

Winter Love Island winners Paige Turley and Finley Tapp believe that the show's brand new ban on islanders having active social media accounts is a good idea.

For the first time ever this year, contestant social media pages will be paused while they are in the villa, rather than having them maintained by friends and family.

Read more: Find out more about the cast of Winter Love Island 2023

Paige and Finn won the first ever winter series of Love Island in 2020 and said that the management of their social media pages was a "full time job" for the friends and family who took them on.

The couple told Mail Online that families will now have a "less stressful" time while their loved ones are looking for romance on the ITV2 show.

Finley Tapp and Paige Turley won the inaugural winter series of Love Island in 2020. (WireImage)

Turley said: "What I found was that it's your family on the outside who are seeing all the commotion and what everyone is saying online, and they're being left on cliffhangers with the show too. So our families had more of a rollercoaster than us with it."

She added that the situation was "quite challenging" for those friends and family members, given they were often not social media professionals.

Read more: Where are the Love Island winners now?

Tapp said that, when he left the show, the friend who he had asked to run his social media revealed that he had been forced to enlist other friends and family to lighten the load.

He added: "It was like a full time job and was quite consuming so I think [the ban] will be less stressful for the families."

Paige Turley and Finn Tapp revealed their friends and family struggled with the job of running their social media accounts. (ITV)

The social media ban is part of an enhanced duty of care approach described by Dr Matthew Gould, one of those involved with overseeing it, as demonstrating ITVs commitment to evolve protocols "to minimise harm, where possible".

Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be just the second ever winter series of Love Island and will see Maya Jama replace Laura Whitmore in the hosting role.

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Read more: Which items are banned from the Love Island villa?

Love Island starts on 16 January, with 10 contestants set to enter the villa in South Africa as the dating competition gets going.

The format's first twist has already been revealed, with viewers asked to vote between two potential bombshell newcomers to enter the villa and shake things up.

Watch: Maya Jama kept Love Island news from her family
Timothy DaShaun Taylor, a Black man who nearly confessed to killing a white woman, hoping to protect his family from death threats, is now telling his story publicly after investigators identified the real killer. DaShaun Taylor and his father Timothy Shaun Taylor were falsely accused of raping and murdering 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel in 2009 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Speaking to ABC News 4, DaShaun Taylor said his family was threatened, fired from jobs and constantly harassed while facing accusations. The family didnt find relief until the real killer, registered sex offender Raymond Moody, was arrested in May after he confessed to the crime and led authorities to Drexels remains.

You know the movie 12 Years A Slave? Living under that stuff, it felt like 13 years a slave, DaShaun Taylor, who was 16 when Drexel went missing, told ABC News 4.

According to the Atlanta Black Star, there were no charges brought against the father and son, but they still remained under investigation.

During a court hearing in 2016, the FBI said the pair killed Drexel and fed her to alligators in a swamp. A jailhouse informant also told investigators that he saw DaShaun raping Drexel with a group of Black men.

The informant failed the polygraph test. Still, the FBI proceeded to say that DaShaun killed Drexel after seeing her missing person flyers.

In his testimony, the informant said he was conducting a drug deal with Taylor at a stash house when he saw Drexel running out of the house. The informant added that he saw Drexel being caught and pistol-whipped, then heard gunshots as he left the house. Adding to his claim, the informant said he later saw the girls body wrapped in a carpet which was then disposed in an alligator-infested swamp.

The familys lawyer, Ryan McKaig, said the FBI tried to pressure DaShaun Taylor into making a confession.

The whole point of them bringing that prosecution was to put his name in that to put pressure on him, McKaig said according to the Black Star.

When Moody confessed to the crime, he said he strangled her and hide her body near a boat landing before burying it in Georgetown County.

The Drexel girl was walking on the sidewalk, Moody said. I was smoking pot and she noticed that and walked over to the door and said something about, It smells like good weed. I said, Hey yeah you want some? Get in. She hopped right in the back without a problem.
Ammaar Reshi with his AI-generated children's book, "Alice and Sparkle." Ammaar Reshi

Ammaar Reshi wrote and illustrated a children's book in 72 hours using ChatGPT and Midjourney.

The book went viral on Twitter after it was met with intense backlash from artists.

Reshi said he respected the artists' concerns but felt some of the anger was misdirected.

Ammaar Reshi was reading a bedtime story to his friend's daughter when he decided he wanted to write his own.

Reshi, a product-design manager at a financial-tech company based in San Francisco, told Insider he had little experience in illustration or creative writing, so he turned to AI tools.

In December he used OpenAI's new chatbot, ChatGPT, to write "Alice and Sparkle," a story about a girl named Alice who wants to learn about the world of tech, and her robot friend, Sparkle. He then used Midjourney, an AI art generator, to illustrate it.

Just 72 hours later, Reshi self-published his book on Amazon's digital bookstore. The following day, he had the paperback in his hands, made for free via another Amazon service called KDP.

"Alice and Sparkle" was meant to be a gift for his friends' kids. Ammaar Reshi

He said he paid nothing to create and publish the book, though he was already paying for a $30-a-month Midjourney subscription.

Impressed with the speed and results of his project, Reshi shared the experience in a Twitter thread that attracted more than 2,000 comments and 5,800 retweets.

Reshi said he initially received positive feedback from users praising his creativity. But the next day, the responses were filled with vitriol.

"There was this incredibly passionate response," Reshi said. "At 4 a.m. I was getting woken up by my phone blowing up every two minutes with a new tweet saying things like, 'You're scum' and 'We hate you.'"

Reshi said he was shocked by the intensity of the responses for what was supposed to be a gift for the children of some friends. It was only when he started reading through them that he discovered he had landed himself in the middle of a much larger debate.

Artists accused him of theft

Reshi's book touched a nerve with some artists who argue that AI art generators are stealing their work.

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Some artists claim their art has been used to train AI image generators like Midjourney without their permission. Users can enter artists' names as prompts to generate art in their style.

An update to Lensa AI, a photo-editing tool, went viral on social-media last year after it launched an update that used AI to transform users' selfies into works of art, leading artists to highlight their concerns about AI programs taking inspiration from their work without permission or payment.

"I had not read up on the issues," Reshi said. "I realized that Lensa had actually caused this whole thing with that being a very mainstream app. It had spread that debate, and I was just getting a ton of hate for it."

"I was just shocked, and honestly I didn't really know how to deal with it," he said.

Among the nasty messages, Reshi said he found people with reasonable and valid concerns.

"Those are the people I wanted to engage with," he said. "I wanted a different perspective. I think it's very easy to be caught up in your bubble in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, where you think this is making leaps, but I wanted to hear from people who thought otherwise."

After learning more, he added to his Twitter thread saying that artists should be involved in the creation of AI image generators and that their "talent, skill, hard work to get there needs to be respected."

He said he thinks some of the hate was misdirected at his one-off project, when Midjourney allows users to "generate as much art as they want."

Reshi's book was briefly removed from Amazon  he said Amazon paused its sales from January 6 to January 14, citing "suspicious review activity," which he attributed to the volume of both five- and one-star reviews. He had sold 841 copies before it was removed.

Midjourney's founder, David Holz, told Insider: "Very few images made on our service are used commercially. It's almost entirely for personal use."

He said that data for all AI systems are "sourced from broadly spidering the internet," and most of the data in Midjourney's model are "just photos."

A creative process

Reshi said the project was never about claiming authorship over the book.

"I wouldn't even call myself the author," he said. "The AI is essentially the ghostwriter, and the other AI is the illustrator."

But he did think the process was a creative one. He said he spent hours tweaking the prompts in Midjourney to try and achieve consistent illustrations.

Despite successfully creating an image of his heroine, Alice, to appear throughout the book, he wasn't able to do the same for her robot friend. He had to use a picture of a different robot each time it appeared.

"It was impossible to get Sparkle the robot to look the same," he said. "It got to a point where I had to include a line in the book that says Sparkle can turn into all kinds of robot shapes."

Reshi's children's book stirred up anger on Twitter. Ammaar Reshi

Some people also attacked the quality of the book's writing and illustrations.

"The writing is stiff and has no voice whatsoever," one Amazon reviewer said. "And the art  wow  so bad it hurts. Tangents all over the place, strange fingers on every page, and inconsistencies to the point where it feels like these images are barely a step above random."

Reshi said he would be hesitant to put out an illustrated book again, but he would like to try other projects with AI.

"I'd use ChatGPT for instance," he said, saying there seem to be fewer concerns around content ownership than with AI image generators.

The goal of the project was always to gift the book to the two children of his friends, who both liked it, Reshi added.

"It worked with the people I intended, which was great," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Martin Lewis, the popular TV money-saving expert, has outdone himself in 2022, helping millions of Britons to navigate a desperately bleak cost of living crisis by dishing out vital personal finance tips at a time when many are in need of all the practical help they can get.

Bringing compassion and expertise to his appearances on his ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, via his BBC podcast, his website and newsletter and through his regular media interviews, Lewis is providing a welcome public service to those struggling to make ends meet.

No concern is too small to warrant his attention and, in the latest episode of The Martin Lewis Podcast, the financial guru revealed an ingenious approach to drying wet clothes for just 7p an hour without switching the central heating on or running a dryer, a very welcome tip when energy bills are so high.

He suggested using a dehumidifier for the job instead, which promises significant savings this Christmas  so long as you factor in the cost of purchasing one in the first instance, as Lewis himself acknowledged.

Many dehumidifiers have different wattages, the one I checked out was 200 watts (w), he explained on the show.

Once we know its 200w and we know a kilowatt (kw) is 1,000w, which is how electricity tends to be priced, we know this is a fifth of a kilowatt.

And you pay roughly 34p per kw per hour. A fifth is 7p so youre going to pay roughly 7p per hour to run a dehumidifier at 200w assuming it uses full power the whole time. Which is generally far, far cheaper than putting the heating on.

If a dehumidifier does work for you it will definitely have lower electricity bills but of course you do have the initial capital outlay of buying a dehumidifier and see how that works for you.

In a similar vein, he encouraged listeners to consider whether acquiring an air fryer might likewise prove cheaper than cooking with an oven or a microwave on the same basis.

The problem with the equation for heating equipments is an oven is going to be about 2,000w, he said.

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A microwave I believe, from memory gives you consistent heat whereas an oven is warming up to full temperature and then topping it up so it isnt running at full power the whole time.

But if youre doing a jacket potato for 10 minutes its going to be far cheaper than doing a single jacket potato in an oven and keeping it on for an hour and a half.

However, if you were doing a full roast dinner and you were cooking many of them, that is where its probably cheaper than putting five or six jacket potatoes in a microwave because each additional object you put in a microwave, you need to keep it on longer because a microwave just heats the individual object.

He concluded: The general equation is: find the wattage of an item, then work out how many kilowatts or what fraction of a kilowatt its using, then multiply that by 34p per hour of use.

If you had a 1,000w microwave and you put it on for 10 minutes, one kilowatt for a sixth of an hour, a sixth of 34p is about 6p, shall we say? So its 6p turning the microwave on for that amount of time. So yes its a very useful equation.
Today we're going to take a look at the well-established Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). The company's stock saw a significant share price rise of over 20% in the past couple of months on the NYSE. With many analysts covering the large-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stocks share price. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Mastercards outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for Mastercard

Is Mastercard Still Cheap?

According to my valuation model, Mastercard seems to be fairly priced at around 14.43% above my intrinsic value, which means if you buy Mastercard today, youd be paying a relatively fair price for it. And if you believe that the stock is really worth $328.18, then there isnt really any room for the share price grow beyond what its currently trading. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Mastercards share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

Can we expect growth from Mastercard?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so lets also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to grow by 51% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Mastercard. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in MAs positive outlook, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we havent considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below its fair value?

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Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on MA, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for the company, which means its worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Mastercard you should know about.

If you are no longer interested in Mastercard, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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
Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage

Filmmaker Michael Bay is in extreme anguish over a story that claims he was charged in Italy for killing a pigeon, according to his lawyer.

In a legal letter, Bays attorney is demanding The Wrap retract or correct the reckless and false story that reported the director was charged in Italy for killing the bird on the set of 6 Underground.

As you know, Mr. Bay was never accused, much less charged, with killing an animal, Bays lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, wrote in the letter to the publication, obtained by Variety. Further, as you also know (but failed to publish), the only charge at issue in Italy concerns whether, in his capacity as the films director, Mr. Bay failed to properly supervise crew members (whom he did not even have the ability to hire) responsible for handling the animals on set.

Rosengart went on to say there is video evidence that proves no animal was ever even harmed.

Bay is currently involved in a legal case over the matter, which he feels so strongly about that he refused to settle even for the measly amount authorities had proposed, according to Rosengart.

The Wrap reported this week that their sources said a pigeon was killed by a dolly on the set of the Netflix film, with someone then snapping a photo and sending it to Italian authorities.

Its illegal to capture, harm, or kill pigeons in Italy, where the animals are a protected species. Bay has vehemently denied any involvement in the alleged pigeon death, telling The Wrap when the story came out: I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist.

No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production Ive worked on in the past 30 years, he added.

The legal letter takes strict aim at The Wrap, which Rosengart accuses of intentionally ignoring Bays innocence to paint him as a pigeon killer.

Your story is therefore extremely damaging to Mr. Bay personally and professionally (he has publicly discussed his love of animals and his desire to make a film about saving African elephants, another fact of which you had prior notice but ignored) and has tarnished his reputation as someone who fiercely supports animals, financially and otherwise, causing him extreme anguish, Rosengart wrote.

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Rosengart also claimed The Wrap knew and were expressly told that their headline was false, as Bay never killed an animal and wasnt charged with causing any such death.

The Wrap has stood by its reporting.

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.
Miss Laos Payengxa Lor at the Miss Universe competition. Benjamin Askinas/Miss Universe

Miss Laos Payengxa Lor traveled 48 hours to compete at Miss Universe.

Lor's voyage to the competition, which is in New Orleans this year, included five layovers.

Lor is the first Miss Laos to make the top 16 in Miss Universe history.

The Miss Universe competition brings together incredible women from all over the world  and some have to travel much farther distances than others to make it to the pageant stage.

During the beginning of the 71st annual Miss Universe competition on Saturday, it was revealed that Miss Laos Payengxa Lor had the longest journey.

Miss Laos during the National Costume Show. Josh Brasted/Getty Images

Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and "Access Hollywood" star Zuri Hall, who served as backstage correspondents for the show, revealed that Lor traveled 48 hours to make the pageant  which is taking place this year in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lor's voyage included five layovers.

The Miss Universe hosts added that Miss USA R'Bonney Gabriel had the shortest journey of all the contestants, driving four hours from her hometown in Houston, Texas.

Lor is the first Hmong woman to compete in the Miss Universe competition. The Miss Universe Organization

Miss Universe hosts Olivia Culpo and Jeannie Mai-Jenkins revealed during the broadcast that Lor was in the top 16, becoming the first Miss Laos to make the semifinals in Miss Universe history.

Lor is the first Hmong woman to compete in the Miss Universe competition, according to her bio.

The pageant queen taught herself English and became an English teacher. She works as a motivational speaker, volunteers for underprivileged people, and has a silver medal in taekwondo.

Read the original article on Insider
"I wonder where they fired these missiles from, he said.

Read also: Ballistic missiles may have been launched at Kyiv, from the north, Air Force says

Because if they fired missiles with a range of 200 km from the Russian territory, even from the place where the borders of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus converge, they still could not have reached the Holosiiv and Darnytsa districts, where they fell. That is, the attack was carried out from the territory of Belarus with 99% [certainty].

According to the expert, the capital could have been struck using S-300 or S-400 missile systems:

"For Kyiv, this is the first attack with anti-aircraft missiles, said Romanenko.

Read also: Local authorities report damage in several districts of Kyiv after morning missile attack

More long-range missiles were used against Kyiv, if indeed these are anti-aircraft missiles that flew on a ballistic trajectory. These are 48H6 missiles, which are not only more long-range, but also carry a heavier warhead."

The expert also suspects that Russia may have used Iranian missiles against Ukraine for the first time.

Read also: Russia launched only half of 36 deployed Kalibr missiles on Jan. 14

Russian troops attacked the Ukrainian capital with S-400 (S-300) anti-aircraft guided missiles on Jan. 14, reported Ukraines top general, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.

Meanwhile, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat specified that the Russian military attacked Kyiv with missiles flying from the northern direction on a ballistic trajectory.

Read also: Ukraine unable to shoot down Kh-22 missiles, says Air Force

"We do not have the capabilities to detect and shoot down ballistic missiles," Ihnat said, explaining why explosions in Kyiv were heard prior to the commencement of an air raid alert.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
This week, a Cass County judge could hear arguments about why a man incarcerated for a nonviolent drug offenses should be released from prison. Were watching closely, as should every Missourian who voted for Amendment 3, the state constitutional amendment that legalized recreational cannabis use for those 21 and older.

And the entire state is awaiting a ruling that could pave the way for other people who were convicted of minor drug crimes involving marijuana.

Adam Mace is three years into a five-year prison sentence for possessing more than 35 grams of marijuana, slightly more than one ounce. If the law rules in his favor, he could be released soon. Mace is the first person in Cass County and among the first in the state to test a provision under Missouris new recreational marijuana law. He wont be the last.

His case is significant because it could set the precedent for how the state will proceed, according too Maces attorney, Justin Ortiz. The intent of the law was to have (pot) become legal for everyone and get people out of prison for simple possession, Ortiz said.

Prosecutors working on behalf of the state must keep the intent of the law uppermost in mind.

Cass County prosecutors could object to Maces release from Algoa Correctional Center, a state penitentiary in Jefferson City, Ortiz said. But keeping the prisoner behind bars would ignore voters intent.

Mace was arrested under Missouris archaic drug law, a patchwork system that targeted small-time dealers and pot users  the lowest-hanging fruit in the states pointless war on drugs. The result sent scores of nonviolent people to state prison for a drug now legal in Missouri  albeit with much-needed restrictions to regulate the market, as well as the substances chemical makeup.

As part of Amendment 3, incarcerated low-level offenders such as Mace can petition the court for post-conviction relief. He has. As of last week, the Cass County prosecutors office was undecided on opposing Maces request for expungement, according to court records. Cass County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Butler did not respond to requests for comment.

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If his request were granted, Mace would be freed within days  or possibly weeks  after serving more than half his term for a crime voters clearly wanted off the books: minor possession of pot.

Maces case is complicated, which is one of the reasons it has drawn media interest.

In his 2008 arrest for minor possession of marijuana, Mace, who was 18 at the time, had no weapon and was not a drug dealer, Ortiz, his lawyer, said. Mace pleaded guilty to the crime and received a five-year prison sentence. He was placed on probation, but at 19 faced more serious criminal charges.

Then, Mace was intoxicated when he caused a crash that killed 44-year-old Denise Lero Greene on Highway 291 in Harrisonville. Convicted of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison. The conviction automatically meant that his parole in the marijuana case would be revoked. As a result, after serving 85% of his manslaughter sentence, he then started his five-year punishment for his marijuana conviction.

Mace said he seeks relief only for the pot conviction  something the judge and prosecutors in Cass County must consider without using his previous crime against him, according to Ortiz. Under Missouri Department of Corrections guidelines, he is eligible for conditional release.

Nobody disputes the involuntary manslaughter case against Mace. He should serve his time as mandated under state law. But keeping him locked up one day longer  taxing a U.S. incarceration system that is already stretched beyond its capacity, with more than 20% of the entire worlds prison population  is an injustice, and a screaming alarm about the states upside-down marijuana policy.

Prosecutors and judges must not ignore the will and intent of Missouri voters. The minor conviction records of every nonviolent cannabis offender must be wiped clean. And our states leaders need to undertake a top-to-bottom review of a drug enforcement system based on decades of incorrect assumptions and unfair targeting of people who have simply used a substance that is now legal for any adult Missourian.

Adam Maces case is a good place to start.
Sixty years after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I Have a Dream speech, racial justice advocates say that dream has not been achieved. As Black Americans continue to face economic, social and systemic racism, those advocates point to social and policy changes that could push the country closer to Kings vision.

To start, political organizer DaMareo Cooper told The Hill its important to acknowledge that Kings dream has been misconstrued.

Its been perverted in our society to just talk about how [King] was the greatest peaceful demonstrator, and all that stuff is true, but we dont want to talk about radical King, said Cooper, co-executive director of the multiracial organizing network The Center for Popular Democracy.

We pretend that the dream was just that Black and white folks can hang out together or go to school together or that society allows interracial marriages and stuff like that, he continued. But what he was really talking about is how do we create a society where everyone has economic opportunity  about being able to not only sit at the counter but to be able to pay for the food.

For Kings dream to come to life, Cooper said, certain issues need to be addressed  with injustices in the criminal justice system being among the most pressing.

Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at more than five times the rate of white Americans in the United States, according to the Sentencing Project. Additionally, Black men consistently receive harsher prison sentences than white men who commit the same crimes, according to a 2022 report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

The result of the disparities directly affects families financial stability. Mass incarceration has increased the U.S. poverty rate by an estimated 20 percent. In addition, the probability of a family being poor is 40 percent greater if the father is incarcerated. For Black Americans, once they are released from incarceration, they are less likely than white Americans to see their earnings recover, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

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Supporting communities, whether it be financially investing in predominantly Black public schools or improving health outcomes and access to health care, is the first step toward change, agreed Rev. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor Peoples Campaign.

Dr. King did not die because he was part of a movement that won the crucial victories of citywide desegregation, the desegregation of public schools, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act, Barber said in a statement to The Hill.

No, he died because he insisted that those victories were not enough. Dr. King was murdered because he refused to accept a military industrial complex that destroyed lives half a world away, an economic system that was willing to throw away millions of poor and low wage people right here at home, and the continuing public policy racism that he called triune evils.

Barber said in order for Kings vision to be reached, ideological differences must be put aside.

So much of the problem in our public life isnt about which side is right in any given debate, but the fact that were not even talking about the things that matter to the people who are hurting the most, said Barber. That includes topics like health care, voting rights and the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

But another important part to achieving Kings dream is dismantling three big myths about race, said Ben Jealous, former national president and CEO of NAACP.

The first myth is that racism only hurts Black people and people of color.

If you accept that racism is used to divide people, then it follows that it hurts everybody trapped in poverty because if they cant unite, they cant change their position, said Jealous, author of Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing.

Theres almost twice as many whites trapped in poverty than Blacks, he added. Ergo, it hurts numerically even more whites than Blacks in the biggest way, which is to impoverish people for generations.

The second big lie, he said, is that only white people have paid for discrimination. In truth, Jealous said, Black Americans lost thousands of businesses and homes when segregation ended.

The last lie, Jealous said, is that division between races has always existed in America.

The notion of race that we grew up with, as a color caste and a vestige of an old colonial order, was created in the early 1700s, Jealous explained. The Virginia Colony was started in the early 1600s. The American Experiment had been going for 100 years before we switched from a very old definition of race, which basically meant tribe, and applied it to this color caste system.

As Jealous explores in his book, when European indentured servants and African slaves were rebelling together, race became a way to divide the servants and enslaved people.

Still, Jealous acknowledges these truths might be hard for some to accept, particularly as challenges are underway in state legislatures across the nation about what can be taught in schools.

This is American history and we all need to know our history, said Jealous. It is important to the sons and daughters of confederates to understand the full history of their ancestors. Its important to the sons and daughters of slaves to know the full history of our ancestors. And its especially important that we understand that our ancestors understood they were part of the same family. It affirms Dr. Kings assertion that we are all one American family.

Barber added that in order to truly honor the Kingian tradition this weekend, the goal should not be to find ways to pat oneself on the back.

Instead, as King said, we must [be] dissatisfied until justice rolls down like water and we are one nation under God indivisible with Liberty and justice for all.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Mykhailo Mudryk has spoken out for the first time since his stunning 89m transfer to Chelsea, describing the Blues under new owner Todd Boehly as a very attractive project.

Mudryk, 22, has signed an eight-and-a-half year contract at Stamford Bridge and becomes Chelseas fifth January signing following striker David Datro Fofana, centre-back Benoit Badiashile, Brazilian attacking midfielder Andrey Santos and the on-loan Joao Felix to west London.

Arsenal had been pushing to sign Mudryk and were confident of getting a deal done until recently, when Chelsea upped the ante to offer Shakhtar Donetsk a bigger fee than the Gunners - and doubled the wages on offer to Mudryk himself.

The Independent has been told that Mudryk will be paid over 100,000 a week, with Arsenal having initially gone up to 50,000 a week.

Im so happy to sign for Chelsea, Mudryk said after signing. This is a huge club, in a fantastic league and it is a very attractive project for me at this stage of my career. Im excited to meet my new team-mates and Im looking forward to working and learning under Graham Potter and his staff.

Boehly, the Chelsea chairman, and Behdad Eghbali, the clubs co-controlling owner, said: We are delighted to welcome Mykhailo to Chelsea. Hes a hugely exciting talent who we believe will be a terrific addition to our squad both now and in the years to come.

He will add further depth to our attack and we know hell get a very warm welcome to London.

Chelsea will pay an initial fee of 70m (62m) to Shakhtar, with a further 30m dependent on team performance.

Boehly has been extremely active in the transfer market since he and the Clearlake consortium took over the club, with the likes of Denis Zakaria, Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Carney Chukwuemeka all brought in over the summer too under Thomas Tuchel before the German boss was sacked and replaced by Graham Potter.

Potter, however, has struggled to implement his preferred style at the club and still earn positive results along the way, resulting in unrest from some areas of the supporter base and a renewed push from the hierarchy to bring in fresh players to suit the new boss.

Mudryk becomes the latest of those and pushes Chelseas total outlay for the January window to over 150m, once all payments and add-ons are included.
Former Neighbours star Madeleine West has said she was sexually abused as a child.

The actor, now 42 years old, said that she was abused over a period of five years, beginning at the age of five.

I knew from the beginning that it wasnt right, she told Australian news organisation News Corp. Youre told that you are at fault. That you somehow enjoy it, that you brought it on.

A child can never consent.

West played Dee Bliss on Neighbours between 2000 and 2003. She later returned to the soap opera in a different role, playing Andrea Somers from 2017 to 2020.

She went on to say that the abuse was a factor that motivated her to pursue acting.

Part of the reason I went into acting was to wear someone elses skin, to hide what was actually happening in my life, she said.

You carry a lot of scar tissue.

Madeleine West photographed in 2014 (Getty Images)

West hosts an eight-part podcast series called Predatory, alongside former detective Gary Jubelin. The series tackles the issue of paedophilia, and has seen West call for Australia to adopt several law changes, including the implementation of a national public child sex register.

This monster ruined my life, West said. [But] I feel like Ive come full circle. I can stand up and say this happened to me and Im moving beyond it, and there are people out there who need to be answerable for what theyve done.

Justice can be achieved. It was never, and never will be, your fault, you are not to blame.

Additional reporting by PA

If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331.
A north Georgia man is facing a dozen child sex crime charges after deputies found child porn on his computer.

Deputies say the Department of Community of Supervision and GBI -Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office were conducting an investigation in Rabun County in early December.

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

During the investigation, deputies searched William Paul PJ Taylors home. Inside, they found child porn on an electronic device.

As investigators continued looking into Taylor, they found enough evidence to charge him with:

One count of child molestation

Two counts of trafficking of a person for labor or sexual servitude

Two counts of obscene internet contact with a child

One count of sexual battery against a child under the age of 16

Two counts of solicitation of sodomy

Two counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes

Two counts of criminal solicitation

TRENDING STORIES:

Taylor is currently being held at the Rabun County Jail without bond.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
New Mexicans in every region of the state allegedly opposed storing high-level nuclear waste in their state, according to a recent poll, as a New Jersey company hoped to build a facility to do so near Carlsbad.

The poll, commissioned by Albuquerque-based Southwest Research and Information Center in a partnership with the Center for Civic Policy surveyed 1,015 voters across the state from Dec. 7 to 14.

It found 60 percent of those surveyed were in opposition to the project, with 30 percent supporting and 10 percent undecided.

More:Legality of nuke waste storage at Texas, New Mexico border questioned during court hearing

Holtec International applied in 2017 for a license from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build and operate what it called a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in a remote area near the border of Eddy and Lea counties.

Last year, the NRC published its final environmental impact statement (EIS), contending the project would have little impact on the environment, and recommending the license be issued.

The CISF would temporarily store up to 100,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel rods, expected to be brought into the site via rail from nuclear power plants around the country through a 40-year license with the NRC.

More:What is consent? Nuclear waste site near Carlsbad opposed by State, supported by locals

The 1,000-acre plot of land where the facility would be built was owned by the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance, a consortium of local leaders from the cities of Carlsbad and Hobbs, and Eddy and Lea counties.

The Alliance recruited Holtec and set up a revenue-sharing agreement with the company once the CISF goes into operations.

Despite the poll, Holtec officials argued the project was largely supported by New Mexico, after spokesman Gerges Scott said representatives traveled to local governments throughout the state.

More:Nuclear repository partners with Holtec to transport waste to federal site near Carlsbad

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Ed Mayer, Holtec project manager of the CISF said the company had adequate support for the project, after he and other representatives met with local leaders and first responders both around the site and along the rail lines.

We are educating the affected populations, not only from the facility perspective in southeast New Mexico, but from a state perspective on the rail lines, Mayer said. They asked very thoughtful questions on the project and how the project would positively or negatively affect their communities. Im able to address all of their concerns.

Local support for nuclear waste conflicts with recent poll

Leaders from four southeast New Mexico governments supported the project, arguing it would bring economic diversity to the oil- and gas-dependent Permian Basin region.

More:Feds push plan to dispose plutonium using nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad

Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway, a supporter of the project, argued the poll appeared biased against Holtecs proposal after the citys initial review.

Our preliminary review of this survey certainly indicates that it was highly biased and not an objective method of obtaining feedback, Janway said in a statement.

Mayer questioned the poll question itself, specifically a passage that said, Experts predict that up to 13 accidents will occur during the 10,000 rail shipments.

More:Lawmakers demand reparations for New Mexicans imperiled by nuclear bomb testing

He pointed to the NRCs EIS, and a section that said while there could be up to 13 accidents amid the shipments, the likelihood of them being severe was one in 10 trillion.

Even in a severe accident the NRC concluded no release of (spent nuclear fuel) would occur, read the EIS.

Unsubstantiated is that an accident will harm human health and the environment. It seems disingenuous. If youre going to put a poll together, it should be a substantiated question, Mayer said.

The opposition said each of those accidents will cause a release of radioactive material. Thats just not the case.

More:Nuclear history in New Mexico celebrated in national stamp collection, despite impacts

But opponents, including Southwest Research  a frequent critic of Holtec and the nearby Waste Isolation Pilot Plant repository for transuranic (TRU) nuclear waste  maintained the project would bring an undue risk to New Mexicans nearby and Americans along the waste transportation routes.

Thats why opposition was spread across political parties, gender and ethnicity, said Nuclear Waste Program Manager Don Hancock at Southwest Research and Information Center.

The poll showed more than half of those surveyed in the region were against the project, with opposition also coming irrespective of political affiliation.

More:New Mexico seeking input on nuclear waste permit for repository near Carlsbad

About 70 percent of Democrats polled opposed Holtec, along with 51 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of Independents.

When broken down by gender, more men supported the project than women, according to the poll.

A majority of Republican men polled were in favor at 51 percent, while 61 percent of Republican women were against the project, read the poll.

More:Air projects at nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad move forward after delays

White men were mostly for the project overall at 49 percent of voters polled in favor, while 71 percent of white women were against.

Hispanic men and women both mostly opposed the project at 51 and 78 percent against, respectively read the poll.

Central, northeast and southwest New Mexico showed opposition of 60 percent or more, while more conservative regions in the southeast and northwest showed 57 and 56 percent against, respectively, the poll showed.

More:Nuclear waste sits undisposed at site near Carlsbad as feds figure out what to do

Critics argue storing nuclear waste puts undue risk on New Mexico

Hancock said the poll showed temporary nuclear waste storage was not supported by New Mexico voters, arguing it was opposed through decades of proposals like Holtecs.

Im not surprised by the results because for more than 45 years New Mexicans have strongly opposed high-level waste in New Mexico, whether the waste is proposed for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in the 1970s and 80s, for Mescalero Apache land in the 1990s, or by Holtec, he said.

Opposition to the project also came from some of New Mexicos highest-ranking state officials, and its Congressional delegation, with New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham calling the proposal economic malpractice for its potential, she said, of imperiling nearby oil and gas and agriculture industries.

More:Nuke waste rules proposed for Carlsbad-area site critiqued by watchdogs, local leaders

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) co-sponsored a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate last year to block any federal funds from supporting such a project.

At the state level, New Mexico Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-36) was a lead opponent of Holtecs in the Legislature.

While Texas lawmakers recently passed a bill to ban high-level waste storage in their state, Steinborn said New Mexico policymakers should consider a similar measure to prevent the project coming to fruition.

From the very beginning this has been a dangerous plan pushed on New Mexico, with real risks for all of our communities, and no end in sight, Steinborn said. It's time for this project to be canceled and be replaced by the federal government committing to a true consent based siting process for the permanent storage of this waste.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Nuclear waste project in New Mexico opposed in recent statewide poll
New York City Mayor Eric Adams traveled to the Texas border city of El Paso over the weekend to implore the federal government to provide additional funds and support to American cities receiving tens of thousands of migrants seeking refuge from economic crises and political tumult in Latin America.

During the trip, his first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border as mayor, Adams said cities like New York and El Paso were on the "front lines" of an unprecedented migrant crisis that recently prompted the Biden administration to adopt a new strategy designed to discourage illegal border crossings.

Adams, a Democrat who issued an emergency declaration in October over the migrant arrivals in New York, said cities across the U.S. are shouldering most of the operational and financial burden of accommodating migrants released from federal border custody.

"What is happening in Chicago right now, and New York, and Houston, and Los Angeles, and Washington, our cities are being undermined. And we don't deserve this," Adams said during a Sunday press conference. "Migrants don't deserve this. And the people who live in these cities don't deserve this."

"We expect more from our national leaders to address this issue in a real way," Adams continued.

The New York City mayor called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to "step up" and launch a nationwide operation to coordinate assistance and funding to cities and other local communities receiving migrants processed by U.S. border authorities.

New York City "cannot take more" migrants, Adams stressed, noting the depleted shelter space there. "We can't."

On the ground in El Paso last night. This is a national crisis and we need a national solution. Mayors like @OscarLeeser and I are on the front lines and we need federal support. pic.twitter.com/MkD8xZelNf  Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) January 15, 2023

For the past few months, El Paso has struggled to handle a sharp increase in arrivals of migrants, mainly from crisis-stricken countries like Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The Democratic-led Texas city has converted a convention center and two vacant middle schools into makeshift migrant housing facilities to alleviate overwhelmed city shelters. Many migrants have still found themselves sleeping on El Paso's streets.

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New York City, for its part, has also received tens of thousands of migrants in recent months who entered the U.S. along the southern border. Some of them traveled to the city with the help of volunteers or family members in the U.S. Others have been bused to New York by Texas' Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been transporting migrants to Democratic-led cities to protest President Biden's border policies.

For several months last year, El Paso city officials also sent dozens of buses of migrants to New York. But its operation was designed to reduce overcrowding in local shelters, not to send a political message.

Since last year, Adams has warned that New York would face dire fiscal and operational challenges without increased state and federal help to welcome migrants. The city has set up 74 shelters and four processing centers to accommodate the new arrivals, including at repurposed hotels. In all, New York has offered roughly 40,000 migrants shelter, food and other services, an effort city officials project will cost over $1 billion.

Last week, Adams told New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat, that the situation was "pushing New York City to the brink" and urged state officials to help shelter 500 migrants.

"We are at our breaking point," Adams said. "Based off our projections, we anticipate being unable to continue sheltering arriving asylum seekers on our own and have submitted an emergency mutual aid request to the State of New York beginning this weekend."

A Nicaraguan family crosses the Rio Grande river from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico to El Paso, Texas, US to ask for political asylum on December 27, 2022. - / Credit: / Getty Images

During his trip to El Paso on Saturday and Sunday, Adams met with local volunteers, shelter officials, migrants and city leaders, including Mayor Oscar Leeser, another Democrat who also asked for, and secured, assistance from the Biden administration to shelter, feed and transport arriving migrants.

On Sunday, Adams elicited cheers and applause from a group of migrants when he told them he would fight for their ability to work in the U.S. and fulfill the "American dream," video of the encounter shows.

One of the main frustrations Adams has voiced is that migrants arriving in New York City can't legally work because of a federal law that prevents them from obtaining work permits until after their asylum applications have been pending for several months. While he has asked the federal government to lift that requirement, it can only be changed by Congress, which has not passed a major immigration law since the 1990s.

In his remarks Sunday, Adams acknowledged that only Congress can offer a long-term plan to manage migration along the southern border. "Real, true immigration reform is going to come through the Senate, Congress and the White House," he said.

Other Democrats have joined Adams in calling for additional federal action to help cities accommodate migrants who have been allowed by border officials to stay in the country while their asylum cases are adjudicated.

On Sunday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she "wholeheartedly" agreed with Adams' call for increased federal support. While she expressed appreciation for the Biden administration's efforts to deal with the humanitarian crisis along the southern border, she said additional steps needed to be taken to help address the "urgent needs" of migrants arriving in Chicago, where Texas state officials have also been busing migrants.

"Months and thousands of migrants later, we continue to strain under the challenge of how to accommodate the rise in asylum-seekers and the escalating associated costs, which have been left primarily to cities to manage," Lightfoot wrote on Twitter.

The Biden administration earlier in this month unveiled its most comprehensive strategy yet to deal with the unprecedented number of migrant arrivals along the southern border. It announced it would expand expulsions of migrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally, while expanding opportunities for certain migrants to enter the country legally, including through a program for those with U.S.-based financial sponsors.

Biden administration officials have insisted the federal government has been assisting local communities receive migrants, including by issuing funding grants through a FEMA program.

Mayor Adams gets first-hand look at migrant crisis in Texas

An update on our Counting the Vote story | 60 Minutes

Rick Rubin: The 60 Minutes Interview
Montgomery County ADAMHS is receiving a grant of over $800,000 from the Ohio Department of Mental and Addiction Services, according to a spokesperson.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Montgomery County ADAMHS hosting free online event

The funds were awarded as part of the State Opioid Stimulant Response Grant (SOS) 3.0.

A key initiative of the grant is to fund programs in Montgomery County ADAMHS partnership with the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and offer training opportunities to residents in the Psychiatry Program, a spokesperson said.

The residents in medical school today, are the front-line doctors of tomorrow who will be treating individuals who are dually diagnosed with both addiction and general psychiatric concerns, said Helen Jones-Kelly, Executive Director of Montgomery County ADAMHS. This grant will continue this important work in our community.

Another key initiative is in Montgomery County ADAMHS partnership with the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities as it supports the full continuum of prevention, harm reduction, education, treatment, and recovery support for individuals with developmental disabilities, according to a spokesperson.

We have identified certain gaps in the continuum which include early screening and linkage to treatment, said Kimberly Farrier, Director of Treatment and Supportive Services for Montgomery County ADAMHS. We are grateful for the financial support to allow us to better serve those living with developmental disabilities and their families.
A 21-year-old man has died and a 20-year-old remains in the hospital in stable condition after an early Saturday shooting in downtown Turlock.

The man who died is Romeo Portillo, according to a Turlock Police Department news release. The release did not identify the 20-year-old. The two were passengers in a car driven by 22-year-old Gary Jackson. Both were taken to the hospital, but Portillo later died.

The release said all three men are Patterson residents. Police arrested Jackson, according to the release, and he was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on suspicion of possession of a loaded and concealed firearm. The Sheriffs Department inmate log did not show him in custody Sunday morning.

The preliminary investigation indicates the shooting involved two groups of people and more than one firearm.

Turlock police dispatch received a 911 call at 2:06 a.m. from a man reporting a shooting in the area of Market Street and South Broadway in downtown. Responding officers found evidence that at least one person had been shot, but the people involved in the shooting were not at the scene.

The motive for the shooting is not yet clear, according to the release, but evidence further suggests the shooting stemmed from an altercation at a local bar and does not appear to be a random act of violence.

Officers found a gray 2018 Honda in the area of East Main Street and Bonita Avenue. That is about two miles east of where the shooting was reported. The release states Jackson was the driver and the two other Patterson men were his passengers.

A Modesto Fire Department incident summary report states firefighters were dispatched at 2:15 a.m. to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at East Main and Bonita.

This investigation is a top priority for our detectives and we ask that anyone who may have information about the identity of any involved Individuals to please come forward, Detective Sgt. Victor Barcelos said in the news release.

Turlock police ask anyone with information to call Detective Gina Giovacchini at 209-668-6539. People also can contact the Police Departments tip line at 209-668-5550, ext. 6780 or tpdtipline@turlock.ca.us.

The department also participates in the Crime Stoppers program. Callers can leave an anonymous tip by calling 209-521-4636 and may be eligible for a cash reward.
What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in P.A. Resources Berhad's (KLSE:PA) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for P.A. Resources Berhad, this is the formula:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.18 = RM46m  (RM286m - RM33m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

Therefore, P.A. Resources Berhad has an ROCE of 18%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 11% generated by the Metals and Mining industry.

See our latest analysis for P.A. Resources Berhad

roce

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for P.A. Resources Berhad's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating P.A. Resources Berhad's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

The Trend Of ROCE

The fact that P.A. Resources Berhad is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 18% on its capital. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 270% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, both common traits of a multi-bagger.

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On a related note, the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets has decreased to 11%, which basically reduces it's funding from the likes of short-term creditors or suppliers. So this improvement in ROCE has come from the business' underlying economics, which is great to see.

The Bottom Line

In summary, it's great to see that P.A. Resources Berhad has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. And with a respectable 75% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

One more thing: We've identified 3 warning signs with P.A. Resources Berhad (at least 1 which is a bit unpleasant) , and understanding these would certainly be useful.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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.

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As she grew up and carved out a life in Washington state, Malie Chanel remembers filling out forms and applications and having to identify herself as Asian, or at best, Asian Pacific Islander.

The thing was, as a Samoan American, she wasnt Asian and certainly didnt feel that way. Asian Americans didnt consider her such, even though much of larger society considered her to be.

It really destroys who you are as your Indigenous self, said Chanel, elder services director for the Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington in Federal Way. Its an honor to call myself Pasifika.

The growing use of the term "Pasifika" reflects a push within the community to recognize Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders as distinct from Asian Americans  not only as an expression of identity but as a means of addressing inequities between the two populations. Lumping them together, advocates say, places Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders at a disadvantage when it comes to health and economic resources given the communitys small numbers and unique concerns.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden host a reception to celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 17, 2022.

According to the U.S. Department of Human and Health Services, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders comprise just 0.4% of the U.S. population, including about 355,000 in Hawaii.

Where did the term originate?

Pasifika  a transliteration of a word meaning Pacific  has its roots in New Zealand, where government agencies created the term in the 1980s to describe growing communities of Indigenous migrants representing the Pacific diaspora  places like Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, the Cook Islands and other areas of Oceania.

For the purposes of census counting, Pasifika is a significant category of people in New Zealand, behind Europeans, Maori and Asians, said Roland Hwang, a professor of Asian/Pacific Islander American studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Though the term also has been adopted in Australia, its use in the U.S. is in part a statement of identity reflecting a broader trend of Americans questioning the terms thrust upon them by outsiders. For instance, the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Oceanian subregions of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia, were all named by European explorers.

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For so long, Pacific communities have been  and continue to be  framed by other people looking in, said Lana Lopesi, an assistant professor of Indigenous race and ethnic studies at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Its really important for Pacific diasporic communities in the U.S. to take control of their own representation. The growing use of the term Pasifika is part of that.

Where is the term being used?

Pasifika is largely a West Coast phenomenon, reflecting where the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders population is concentrated.

I dont hear it a lot out here on the East Coast, said Stephen Sheehi, director of the Asian & Pacific Islander American studies program at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

It has been used by organizations serving the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population and by community advocates. In its 2022 report about how immigrants are portrayed on American television, Los Angeles-based Define American noted that while Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrant characters were on the rise, Pacific Islander, of Pasifika, representation is lacking and often erased from broader AAPI discourse.

Brandon Fuamatu, development manager for United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance, or UTOPIA, an organization serving queer and transgender Pacific Islanders in South King County, Washington, said the word is a beacon signaling those who recognize and acknowledge Pacific Islander identity.

It encompasses us as people of the Pacific, Fuamatu said, adding that from his observation, the word has been embraced mostly by those of Polynesian background. Its not a perfect word; it wont be adopted by every single Pacific Islander culture. Were constantly trying to figure out ways to connect to each other that dont erase the differences we have that are unique.

Why is the distinction important?

Community members say that beyond being a statement of identity, Pasifika is a term of empowerment differentiating Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders from Asian Americans, with whom they have often been lumped ever since the U.S. Census Bureau broadened the Asian American category to Asian Pacific Islander in the 1980s.

Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., speaks as she stands with fellow Asian American and Pacific Island members of Congress, during the 2016 Democratic National Convention at Wells Fargo Center. on July 27, 2016, in Philadelphia.

The community has fallen under umbrella terms such as Asian Pacific American and Asian American Pacific Islander. Meanwhile, said Hwang of the University of Michigan, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, headed by Native Hawaiian Krystal Kaai, has popularized use of the term AANHPI.

Such groupings, while initially designed to promote inclusivity, have instead produced disparities.

The amount of funding that goes to AAPI groups is small, and the amount that goes to Pacific Islanders is even smaller, said Fuamatu, who is Chinese and Samoan. A lot of groups receive funding that is supposed to go to both, but theres no NH/PI representation. Not to fault those groups, but its because of those terms that the funding is uneven. Its an uphill battle.

The COVID-19 pandemic, too, illustrated the disparity as Pacific Islanders faced vastly higher mortality rates than most populations  but with little data to illustrate the crisis because of the overlap.

In June 2021, the National Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Policy Council, a group of state-based Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander coalition leaders advocating for community health and social justice, issued a statement calling disaggregation of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander data from that of Asian American communities one of its main priorities.

The group asked other entities with such umbrella terms to consider rebranding and noted that President Joe Biden last year renamed the countrys AAPI Heritage Month celebration Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Last February in Seattle, leaders of the Seattle Asian American Film Festival apologized to the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community for using the term in its programming as an umbrella description of the overall Asian American community when it had no actual meaningful equitable relationships with Pasifika communities.

We deeply apologize for not doing our due diligence and are committed to being supportive allies to the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community, the organization's statement said.

Erika Moritsugu, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) senior liaison, reads a statement from President Joe Biden to members of the Sikh community on May 1 at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis.

Ellison Shieh, the festivals co-director, said that while the gesture inspired similar self-examination among other organizations serving the Asian American population, it also prompted backlash from other community members who felt strongly about the historic activist efforts that had brought recognition to both populations.

The response, while largely local, still serves as a steppingstone into a larger conversation with the work the Asian American community needs to do to help uplift and support NH/PI folks both locally and nationally, Shieh said.

What can Pasifika mean for the NH/PI community?

Fuamatu acknowledges the historical challenges to gaining recognition for the AANHPI community.

Before that, there was nothing, he said. But were at a time and space where disaggregation of that term needs to happen, because we see so much inequity in funding.

Chanel, of the Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington, said that before the organization launched three years ago, many in the community refrained from seeking necessary services because they felt uncomfortable going to Asian-focused agencies.

They felt neglected, she said. A lot of people were being marginalized and not feeling able to find resources to strive and survive. When this organization opened, it was a like a beacon of light for the diaspora of Pacific Islander people here. We were bombarded.

Chanel said that for those like her who recognize the partnership they share with Asian Americans but at the same time seek a separate identity, embracing the term "Pasifika" is a powerful step toward shedding the damage of colonialism.

Here on the West Coast, its where the land meets the sea, and the sea is us, Chanel said. When we look to the Pacific Ocean, thats home. Thats where our ancestors navigated and windsurfed, so Pasifika is a wonderful way to embrace our identity.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: For Pacific Islanders, Pasifika a statement of identity, independence
Connecticut State Police are asking for the publics help in identifying a wrong-way driver spotted on Interstate 91 northbound early Sunday.

Police received several 911 calls about 2:45 a.m. reporting that a dark colored car was driving in the wrong direction in the northbound lanes of I-91 near Exit 33, according to Connecticut State Police Troop H.

Then, as a state trooper was responding to the calls, the wrong-way vehicle appeared in front of the troopers vehicle, now headed north in the southbound HOV lane, police said.

The trooper made contact with the drivers side of the wrong-way vehicle, but the driver continued driving north across the highway and took Exit 35. See the dash cam video here.

Police are looking to identify the driver of what was described as a dark colored 4 door sedan with drivers side damage. No license plate information was obtained, police said. Wrong-way driving is a key issue in the current session of the Connecticut General Assembly.

Anyone who witnessed the wrong way driver or has any information is asked to contact Troop H at 860-534-1000. Calls may remain anonymous.
Des Moines Police have charged one man with murder after a 33-year-old man was stabbed in the chest on Saturday.

Fire department personnel and officers were called to the 3200 block of 30th Street around 11:30 p.m. Saturday to investigate a report of a stabbing. Police located the 33-year-old, who died after being transported to a hospital, according to a police news release.

Early Sunday morning, police charged 28-year-old Jason Gene Parker with first-degree murder after finding him at a nearby residence.

Police said that Parker stabbed the victim with a knife recovered from the crime scene. There were multiple witnesses to the stabbing and Parker was seen fleeing on surveillance camera footage, according to a news release.

This is Des Moines' third homicide of 2023.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Police make arrest after 33-year-old stabbed to death in Des Moines
Donavin Copeland, the man police suspect as the perpetrator of four violent robberies in Fort Worth and Saginaw, was arrested on Saturday night.

Police in Fort Worth said Copeland was arrested on multiple aggravated robbery warrants at an apartment near the 6200 block of Vega Drive in southwest Fort Worth.

Fort Worth police with the intel, fugitive and SWAT units set up surveillance on the location and arrested him and his brother, 21-year-old Billy Don Copeland. Billy Copeland was in possession of a handgun that Donavin Copeland had stolen during one of the robberies, according to police.

Police said the two men arrived in a car together at the apartment. When the two were leaving the complex, police approached and arrested both men, according to police. During a search of the apartment, police also found a rifle.

Donavin Copeland is facing charges of aggravated robbery, but other charges from various jurisdictions may be filed later. Billy Copeland is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and harboring a fugitive.

Police said more charges may be filed as the investigation continues.

Detective Brian Raynsford, who has been investigating robberies for 12 years with the Fort Worth Police Department, said he hasnt seen anyone like this suspect before.

He is one of the most dangerous and violent individuals Ive seen, Raynsford said.

Copeland is suspected of four aggravated armed robberies from Dec. 7, 2022, to Jan. 11, 2023. In three of the robberies, Copeland is suspected of acting alone. In all three, police said he fired a gun.

The first robbery Fort Worth police said Copeland carried out was Dec. 7. Police said Copeland went into a store at 501 North Saginaw Blvd. in Saginaw and fired a gun at the clerk, missing. He then took cash and stole the clerks vehicle, which was recovered the next day in west Fort Worth, according to Raynsford.

On Dec. 27, Raynsford said, Copeland and another man went into a game room at 117 Longhorn Road. There, police said one of the men was armed with a knife and the other with a gun. A witness was pistol-whipped and the robbers took cash and the clerks vehicle, which was recovered the next day in west Fort Worth.

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Raynsford said Copeland struck again on Jan. 2, when he opened fire at a convenience store at 6001 N. Main St. and killed a small dog before stealing the clerks car. The car was again recovered the next day in west Fort Worth.

The store clerk, Jacki Anderson, told KXAS-TV that she had the dog, named Peanut, for 12 years.

Everybody says I am lucky to have my life, but he pretty much stole it from me right then, Anderson told the NBC station in a written statement. My baby girl was my best friend, and that store that I can longer step foot in after practically living there for nine years was my life. All those people I saw every day that I can no longer speak to because I dont want to relive it.

The most recent robbery police have attributed to Copeland was Wednesday, when, according to Raynsford, Copeland went into a convenience store at 101 Longhorn Road in Fort Worth and fired shots into the ceiling. The clerks car was stolen and recovered Thursday, again in west Fort Worth.

Police said Copeland did not cover his face when committing robberies and did not seem to care if witnesses saw him. All the robberies happened in daylight, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Copeland was identified after police received anonymous tips about who he was based on surveillance images that were published showing his face.

On Thursday, Fort Worth SWAT executed a search warrant on Copelands apartment in Saginaw with the help of local police, Raynsford said. In the search, police found multiple firearms and physical evidence they believe connects Copeland to the string of offenses.

Other suspected crimes

Police said that while they are not able to comment on specifics, Copeland had run-ins with police as a minor.

More recently, Copeland was arrested in Denton County on suspicion of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, unlawfully carrying a weapon and tampering with evidence on Sept. 9, according to Fort Worth police.

On Oct. 30, police said, Copeland was stopped by the Parker County Sheriffs Office for a traffic violation. Copeland fled on foot and escaped, but sheriffs deputies searched the car and found a handgun reported stolen in a vehicle burglary in Saginaw along with drugs believed to be fentanyl and marijuana.

Most recently before the robberies started, Raynsford said, Copeland was a motel in White Settlement with a girl when he assaulted her, destroyed some property and stole the girls car, which was later discovered in Parker County.

Because of those incidents, Copeland is wanted in Parker County on charges of theft of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance and in White Settlement for assault causing bodily injury, criminal mischief and auto theft.

Police emphasized multiple times that if anybody sees Copeland they should avoid him and immediately call 911 from a safe place.

Im most worried that the public will try to detain Mr. Copeland and get hurt, Raynsford said. He is extremely dangerous and a clear and present danger to both the public and law enforcement.
The search for Nova, a clouded leopard that went missing from its habitat at the Dallas Zoo, ended on Jan. 13 when the animal was found and secured.

But the search for answers is ongoing. Investigators have determined that the leopard's mesh habitat appeared cut into, not torn, prompting Dallas Police to open a criminal investigation, according to KXAS, an NBC affiliate.

"It is our belief that this was an intentional act," Sergeant Warren Mitchell said.

The rare leopard was found on zoo grounds at around 4:40 p.m. on Jan. 13, close to the habitat it had escaped from. The cat, weighing in at around 25 pounds, was returned to its original enclosure, home to its sister, Luna.

We are thrilled to report we located clouded leopard Nova on-grounds at the Zoo this afternoon at approximated 4:40 p.m. She was located very near the original habitat, and teams were able to safely secure her just before 5:15 p.m. pic.twitter.com/XucvBrQO4V  Dallas Zoo (@DallasZoo) January 13, 2023

The Dallas Zoo wrote in a tweet on Jan. 14 that Nova spent the day with Luna "perched up on a high branch while oh-so-many guests stopped by to wish her well." The leopard shows no signs of injury, according to the zoo.

The search for the leopard shut down the zoo Friday. Many across the Internet became invested in the story after the Dallas Zoo announced the news with a simple, attention-grabbing tweet: "The Zoo is closed today due to a serious situation."

The leopard was not found in its habitat that morning, sending the zoo into a Code Blue, a status for escaped "non-dangerous" animals. The animal primarily lives in the treetops, and the zoo said it expected the leopard to be nearby rather than off the zoo's property.

"This animal isnt a greater risk for pets than animals native to North Texas that roam our neighborhoods," the zoo wrote in a tweet on Jan. 13 while the search was underway.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  A former Afghan female lawmaker and her bodyguard have been shot dead by unknown assailants at her home in the capital, Kabul, police said Sunday.

Mursal Nabizada was among the few female parliamentarians who stayed in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

It is the first time a lawmaker from the previous administration has been killed in the city since the takeover.

Local police chief Molvi Hamidullah Khalid said Nabizada and her guard were shot dead around 3 a.m. Saturday in the same room.

He said her brother and a second security guard were injured. A third security guard fled the scene with money and jewelry.

She died on the first floor of her home, which she used as her office. Khalid said investigations are underway. He did not answer questions about possible motives.

Abdullah Abdullah, who was a top official in Afghanistan's former Western-backed government, said he was saddened by Nabizada's death and hoped the perpetrators would be punished. He described her as a representative and servant of the people.

A former Kandahar parliamentarian, Malalai Ishaqzai, also offered her condolences.

Nabizada was elected in 2019 to represent Kabul and stayed in office until the Taliban takeover.

She was a member of the parliamentary defense commission and worked at a private non-governmental group, the Institute for Human Resources Development and Research.
DOVER  A resident was arrested Saturday following gunfire at the Olde Madbury Lane Apartments, according to police. No one was injured.

Chief William Breault said Dover police responded to a disturbance report at 8:24 a.m., and the first officer to arrive heard gunfire from within apartment No. 19. He said multiple officers arrived and made contact with the 42-year-old man in the apartment. The man came out of the apartment with a firearm in his hand, Breault said, and was taken into custody.

The Dover Police Department in investigating a gunfire incident.

Police said the suspect fired multiple rounds in his apartment, "some of which penetrated at least one adjoining unit." Police checked with neighbors and determined no one had been injured, according to Breault. The apartments are located at 19 Olde Madbury Lane.

More local news:Need an affordable home? What to know about cottages in Dover under construction now

The suspect was charged with reckless conduct, a felony. He was being held without bail pending arraignment Tuesday, Jan. 17 at Strafford County Superior Court. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney.

This investigation is ongoing, police said, asking anyone who has information to call the Dover Police Department at 603-742-4646 and ask for the shift commander.

More local news:Rochester man charged with fatally shooting Berwick, Maine, man. Here's what we know.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover NH: Gunfire at Olde Madbury Lane Apartments leads to arrest
Jan. 14BETHEL  A Portland man was charged Thursday night with assaulting three Oxford County deputies by throwing saw blades and other items at them at a home on West Bethel Road, Chief Deputy James Urquhart said Friday.

Chance Bellanceau, 29, of Portland was charged with three counts of assault on an officer and one count each of reckless conduct with a weapon, aggravated criminal mischief, refusing to submit to arrest and violation of conditions of release, Urquhart said in a news release.

Bellanceau is being held at the Oxford County Jail in Paris.

The Sheriff's Office received a call at 8:45 p.m. Thursday from the homeowner at 339 West Bethel Road for a reported unwanted, out-of-control person identified as Bellanceau.

According to Urquhart, Bellanceau was confronted by deputies and was highly agitated and combative. During the incident, he began throwing saw blades, shovels and other items at them. After deputies called for additional law enforcement units, Bellanceau was taken into custody after a physical altercation with officers.

During the altercation and arrest, three deputies were injured. They were either treated at the scene or at a local hospital and released and are back on duty, Urquhart said.

Bellanceau was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the arrest.

Investigation into the incident is continuing, Urquhart said.
The Poulsbo city prosecutor resigned in October when the citys police officers union took a no confidence vote in her after she disclosed that a detective filed a document in court containing false information.

I was expected to cover it up, Alexis Foster told the Kitsap Sun in an interview.

Foster said the pushback from police officers, which was joined by the mayor and police chief, was meant to punish her for taking official notice of flawed documents signed under the penalty of perjury and filed March 17, 2022 in Kitsap County Superior Court by Detective Erik Peffer.

No major negative consequences arose from the filing, or findings of intentional dishonesty. It was not the kind of error that would typically end a police officers career. An investigation found it was likely the result of the departments social worker adding false information to the court form and inattention on Peffers part for not catching it.

Despite the relatively low stakes, the blowback against Foster was strong and sustained, resulting in a veteran law enforcement attorney quitting and the city losing its own prosecutors office.

Mayor Becky Erickson and police Chief Ron Harding sided with the police union against Foster, with Harding lobbying Foster to not report Peffer. He later sent Erickson a list of additional tasks he wanted Foster to perform, unrelated to the issue with Peffer.

For her part, Erickson wrote in a memo obtained by the Kitsap Sun that she sided with the police because she believed Peffers false statement in court was not intentional.

The conversation I had with Alexis was very heated, Erickson wrote in notes written in April. I was reacting to someone casting aspirations (sic) toward another employee without having proof and without even questioning what rationale the officer had for acting the way he did.

As the dispute dragged on for months, Foster said she believed that Erickson and Harding were building a case to push her out or have her fired.

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I resigned because it was no longer tenable for me to do my job, to do it to the fullest extent of my abilities, Foster said. It became a hostile work environment and my hands were being tied in retaliation for following my ethical obligations.

Foster served as the citys prosecutor for about six-and-a-half years  prior to that she spent 10 years as a criminal and civil deputy at the county prosecutors office. At the time she quit, Foster was the only Black attorney regularly practicing criminal law in Kitsap County courts.

The reaction from police and Erickson suggested a racist motive, with Foster noting that County Prosecutor Chad Enright, who is white, took the same action as she did regarding Peffer.

And there was no vote of no confidence against him, Foster said.

When Foster gave notice via email that she was resigning, Erickson responded that she wanted to talk to her: This email made me deeply sad, but maybe I understand?

When Foster spoke to her, she said she raised the issue of racism, which angered Erickson, who yelled at her: Im not racist. I hired you before BLM (Black Lives Matter) was even a thing.

This screen shot of a text from former Poulsbo City Prosecutor Alexis Foster, obtained through a public records request, shows her telling another city employee about a contentious meeting with Mayor Becky Erickson.

Poulsbo had contracted with the county for misdemeanor prosecution services until 2015, when Erickson suggested the city was overpaying for the services and the city hired its own prosecutor.

After Foster quit, the city resumed its contract with Enrights office to prosecute misdemeanors inside the city limits at the cost of $131,500 a year.

Enright backed Fosters legal analysis, saying Foster did the right thing disclosing Peffers false statement.

Like Foster, Enrights deputies will also be disclosing Peffers false statement to defense attorneys in Poulsbo Municipal Court.

She made the right decision, Enright told the Kitsap Sun. I made the same decision.

Officials asked for questions, didnt respond

When contacted by email, Peffer requested questions be sent to him. Instead of responding to the questions, his attorney, Alan Harvey, contacted the Kitsap Sun to say Peffer was unable to respond because of department policy.

Harding did the same: requested questions be emailed and then did not respond. Instead, he sent the questions to the citys Human Resources department and to have attorneys review them. He said Thursday he didnt know when the city would respond.

Erickson wrote Thursday in an email to a request for an interview that she was in a meeting and said it would be helpful if questions were given to her in writing. The Kitsap Sun gave her until 10 a.m. Friday to return a telephone call requesting comment. Erickson did not respond.

Foster did not request questions in advance when contacted, she gave multiple interviews to the Kitsap Sun and responded promptly to requests for comment on documents received by the newspaper.

Brady list

Central to the upheaval is the unsuccessful effort to prevent Peffers name from being added to the countys Brady list.

The 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brady v. Maryland requires prosecutors to give people charged with crimes all evidence that could be used in their defense, including information that could be used to impeach the credibility of the states witnesses.

Kitsap County prosecutors maintain a two-tier list of officers or other states witnesses, the so-called Brady list. One tier is for those whose acts of dishonesty essentially preclude prosecutors from calling them as witnesses in trial.

The second tier of the list  which has far more names  consists of law enforcement officers and other state witnesses who were not necessarily caught in a lie or found to have committed misconduct, but have something documented in their past that is potentially impeachable.

Prosecutors still call as witnesses those on the second tier of the list and many continue to work in law enforcement.

The list obtained by the Kitsap Sun from the prosecutors office in response to a Public Records Act request, updated in July, shows Peffers name on the second tier.

Poulsbo police Detective Erik Peffer signed this court document under the penalty of perjury when he should have known it contained inaccurate information, prosecutors say, leading to Peffer's inclusion on the county's 'Brady list.'

Conflict started with a review of records

While reviewing police records in March 2022, Foster noticed that Peffer had signed an extreme risk protection order under the penalty of perjury and submitted it to Kitsap County Superior Court.

The petition for the order, which allows for the seizure of guns from people who pose a significant danger, described a .38 caliber pistol that police wanted to seize and stated it was inside the residence of a suicidal woman. Earlier that month the woman had shot herself in the leg and officers didnt want her to have access to guns when she returned home from the hospital.

However, another document reviewed by Foster showed that Peffer had personally seized that gun at the time police were called to the womans residence.

Foster said that in keeping with a prosecutors duty under Brady v. Maryland, she added Peffers name to the citys Brady list. Records show she consulted with county prosecutors, who conducted a review and added Peffers name to their list.

She also notified Harding, saying an investigation into the reason for the discrepancy was warranted.

Though Harding initially resisted starting an official investigation, one later found the departments behavioral health navigator Jamie Young, a social worker, had prepared the petition. It was the first time she had done so, and others in the department were similarly unfamiliar with filling out the petitions.

The investigation also found that while Peffer did not intend to mislead the court, the document he signed and filed was inaccurate and it likely affected the judges decision.

While preparing the order and casting about for assistance, Young wrote an email to Foster, saying: Hi! I have a question about ERPO when you have a moment. Foster did not respond.

Peffer told the investigator hired to look into the matter that when he was in court for the first hearing on the petition, he told the judge the gun in question was in possession of police  apparently accurate information but contradicting the information in the document he submitted with his signature.

Foster said her belief was that Peffer had not vetted the petition thoroughly before filing it with the court  rather than intentionally trying to mislead the judge.

However, intent does not matter, she said, when it comes to making demonstrably false statements in court. Foster said the fact that Peffer signed and submitted a document under the penalty of perjury containing information he should have known was false required her to disclose it to defense attorneys under the requirements of Brady.

Harding did not see it that way, and urged Foster to change her mind.

I do not believe we are anywhere close to a situation that would require you to take any action regarding Brady, Harding wrote in an April 14, 2022 email to Foster, obtained by the Kitsap Sun, where he told Foster there were extenuating circumstances she should consider and he would not investigate further. I think this is a situation where no one had any intent to be deceptive in order to achieve an outcome based on that deception.

Making no mention of the underlying issue of Foster noting Peffers false statement, records show that in July, Harding sent Erickson a list of items and agreements needed from the prosecutor.

In those documents, Harding complained that Foster was not responding quickly enough to inquires about seizures and forfeitures and was not providing training to officers in a timely manner.

Harding did not respond to a question from the Kitsap Sun about the timing of his requests.

Foster took this as retaliation, saying Harding was drumming up a list of tasks and grievances about her, with Foster saying she believed the true intent was Harding and Erickson crafting reasons to fire her.

In Ericksons notes, obtained through the Public Records Act, she admits to threatening to fire Foster when she raised the issue with the mayor.

I said if she is wrong, and (Peffer) sues us, and we lose it would lead to her termination, Erickson wrote.

Read: Kitsap County's Brady list

Police union votes no confidence

In a June letter to Erickson, Sgt. Shawn Ziemann, president of the citys police union, wrote that an overwhelming majority of members of the Poulsbo Police Officers Association voted that they had no confidence in Foster.

Ziemann requested that Erickson provide officers competent outside counsel on all issues relating to legal advice that Foster had previously provided. The Kitsap Sun obtained the letter through a state Public Records Act request.

This is based upon a severe deficit in trust and confidence that the city prosecuting attorney is incapable of aiding the members of the association, Ziemann wrote.

Officers were upset because Foster had contacted county prosecutors about Peffers false statement  leading Peffer to be added to the countys Brady list  before the internal affairs investigation was completed, Ziemann wrote.

Ziemann also cast blame on Foster for Peffers error because she did not respond to Youngs email.

Documents show that in June 2020, Peffer completed a two-hour course from the state Criminal Justice Training Commission on extreme risk protection orders.

Reached by phone Jan. 6, Ziemann told the Kitsap Sun he was en route to a call for service and to phone him back in an hour. Ziemann did not answer and did not respond to messages.

Foster said she would not have been able to offer much help to Young and Peffer, as Peffer had more training than her on the orders.

Further, Foster said: I would not have thought to advise them to tell the truth.

Documents provided by the city in response to the Kitsap Suns Public Records Act request do not show Foster alleging that Peffer intentionally misled the court.

Rather, in an April 2022 email to Harding, she characterized Peffers petition as containing significant discrepancies that could be viewed as false or misleading statements.

However, in records written by Erickson and Lt. Howard Leeming, Foster is said to have accused Peffer of being intentionally dishonest.

Nope, nope, Foster said, denying she accused Peffer of intentionally dishonesty. I think this is when they originally started setting me up, in my opinion.

Poulsbo police Detective Erik Peffer was investigated twice within about six months by the same attorney while he was working for Bainbridge Island police and then Poulsbo police. This is the first page of the Bainbridge investigation.

Chief relented and hired an investigator

Though he initially said he would not investigate further, Harding hired an attorney to look into Peffers false statement, Brenda Bannon, the same investigator who months before had investigated Peffer when he was accused of harassing a female officer at his last agency, Bainbridge Island Police Department.

At the end of her investigation, Bannon found in June 2022 that Peffer had not intentionally misled the court with his false statement, but the petition he filed was not completely accurate and that the inaccurate information likely affected the judges decision granting the order.

Despite the investigators findings, Harding opted not to discipline Peffer, though he wrote that Peffers false statement is a perfect example of what can happen when an officer casually approaches their responsibility to ensure information in court documents is accurate.

Poulsbo police Detective Erik Peffer was investigated twice within about six months by the same attorney while he was working for Bainbridge Island police and then Poulsbo police. This is the first page of the Poulsbo investigation.

Same attorney called to investigate Peffer twice

It was the second time in about six months that Bannon, an attorney at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart, investigated claims against Peffer.

Bannon was hired in 2021 by the Bainbridge Island Police Department, Peffers previous workplace, to investigate allegations that Peffer had harassed a female officer while they traveled together to Colorado to extradite a defendant. For that investigation, she interviewed Peffer in November 2021.

Bannon found that numerous factual disputes exist between accounts given by Peffer and the female officer, who was not identified in records obtained by the Kitsap Sun.

Transcripts show the female officer made specific allegations against Peffer and he denied them.

On Dec. 9, 2021, Bainbridge Chief Joseph Clark found the allegations against Peffer were not sustained. Peffer was hired by Poulsbo police seven days later, Dec. 16, 2021.

Bannon then interviewed Peffer in May 2022 for the false statement he filed in court as a Poulsbo officer.

The harassment allegations followed criticism Peffer received in 2018 as Bainbridge police investigated the shooting death of Donald Duckworth.

Defense attorneys argued that Peffer made errors while applying to judges for search warrants and did not properly log a gun and ammunition seized by detectives from Brian Glaser, who was later convicted of Duckworths murder.

Peffer did not respond to questions about the harassment investigation or the criticism he received for his work on the Duckworth case.

Foster said she enjoyed being a prosecutor because she was able to directly have a positive impact on cases and help people.

I always said I was in two worlds, Foster said of being Black and a law enforcement official. I was sort of a bridge between those two worlds. And its gone. And that is unfortunate.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Poulsbo prosecutor pressured to cover up officer's false statement
Six  the smart, sexy and self-empowering pop musical that turns English history on its head  rules The Bushnell this week.

The first national tour of the Broadway hit by British writers/composers/directors Toby Marlowe and Lucy Moss visits Hartford Jan. 17-22. Six takes the famous, and famously tormented, six wives of King Henry VIII and presents them as modern-day pop stars, expressing themselves through songs and dances that chronicle their royal painful marital woes while evoking girl-power styles associated with Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Sia, Adele and others.

One of the Six regal pop icons could be found on a Connecticut stage just over a year ago. When Florida native Jasmine Forsberg last performed in the state, in A Grand Night for Singing at the Goodspeed Opera House in the fall of 2021, she had just graduated from the Musical Theater program at Penn State University. Her schooling had been interrupted earlier because her career was already taking off  she was involved in two projects from composer Joe Iconis, creator of the viral sensation Be More Chill.

A Grand Night for Singing was a significant show for the Goodspeed, the first indoor mainstage musical at the opera house since COVID happened. Its director Rob Ruggiero says he wanted a discovery, a fresh talent to place amid the more seasoned musical theater veterans in the cast. Forsberg even played guitar in a few scenes.

The Six creators, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, have their own Goodspeed connection. The pair worked on a post-Six project, Why Am I So Single?, at the Goodspeeds Johnny Mercer Writers Grove retreat and also appeared on an episode of the theaters video podcast In the (Home) Office, still viewable on YouTube.

There are some neat similarities between the Goodspeeds A Grand Night for Singing and the tour of Six. Both are small-cast ensemble shows: A Grand Night had five performers and Six has (duh) six. The Goodspeed sought a multi-racial cast, which is also a key element of Six. Forsberg is Filipino-American.

Jasmine Forsberg as Jane Seymour in the national tour of the Broadway musical Six. Connecticut audiences may recognize Forsberg from A Grand Night for Singing at the Goodspeed Opera House in 2021.

As Henry VIIIs third wife Jane Seymour in Six, Forsberg sings pop ballads in a style that has been compared to Adele. Other characters in the show may evoke anyone from Britney Spears to Jennifer Hudson to Nicki Minaj. The pop references have changed over time to allow for styles associated with more recent hitmakers such as Lizzo.

The women share their struggles, romantic and otherwise, with songs such as The One Youve Been Waiting For, Dont Lose Ur Head (sung by the Anne Boleyn character) and Haus of Holbein. Jane Seymours signature song is Heart of Stone.

Thats what Six is doing: giving women a voice, Forsberg says. These are all women of color. The energy we want to leave people with is empowerment.

Forsberg hadnt seen Six before auditioning for it and didnt catch it until just before rehearsals for the tour began. She considers that a plus.

Its nice to be able to have my own fresh interpretation. Jane is seen in the show as matronly, making mom jokes, but I like to make her more of a goofball. Some historians say that Jane Seymour is the only one [Henry] truly loved. Who knows? My interpretation is that she wasnt alive long enough for the relationship to go sour.

We were encouraged to find our own way into these Queens, Forsberg says of the touring cast. She came well-prepared for that challenge. Her Goodspeed experience involved delivering show tunes from a variety of different musicals as if they were stand-alone scenes with their own little stories. She also says that she had to learn to circumstance a pop song at her Penn State classes, and that a lot of musicals now are drawing from pop elements.

The writers do a phenomenal job of intertwining the history with the songs, Forsberg continues. One of the things we were asked to do before rehearsals started was to see a documentary about Henrys wives and read a book pertaining to our queen. Its interesting to see how all these characters were related  Katherine Howard and Anne Boleyn were first cousins.

Forsberg is contracted to play Jane Seymour on tour for one year, and that year is nearly up, ending with a multi-week run in San Francisco in March. Going on tour has been a dream of mine for so long, she says. There are two Six tours crisscrossing the country right now. Hartfords getting the Aragon tour. Its cast has remained the same for the entire tour: Forsberg plays Jane Seymour, Khaila Wilcoxon is Catherine of Aragon, Storm Lever is Anne Boleyn, Olivia Donalson is Anne of Cleves, Didi Romero plays Katherine Howard and Gabriela Carrillo plays Catherine Parr.

When shes off the road, Forsberg hopes to work on her songwriting and solo performances. She also hopes to work with Joe Iconis again. The thing I love about Joe Iconis is that he is very loyal to his people. When hes in town doing a 54 Below show, I always go support him. I appeared on his album, singing back-up.

The Broadway run for Six started in 2021 and is still playing at the Lena Horne Theatre on 47th Street in New York City, but the show was around for years before it became it hit America. Six was written for the Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society to be staged at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe festival in Scotland. It was so well received that it was staged in Londons West End later that same year, a run which expanded from Monday-only performances to full weeks, then moved to a years-long run (interrupted by COVID) at larger theaters. Meanwhile, there have been tours of the UK, Ireland, Australia and Holland. The show has even already been seen in the U.S. outside of New York, having played several regional theaters in 2019 (including the A.R.T. in Boston), prior to opening on Broadway.

Still, Six seems as eternally fresh as its reinvented royal spouses.

Some people have no idea what theyre about to see, Forsberg says. Its the Spice Girls meets Broadway. I hope the people of Hartford are ready to party.

Six runs Jan. 17-22 at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m. $51-$167. bushnell.org.

Reach reporter Christopher Arnott at carnott@courant.com.
Eddie Mulholland - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Welcome to this weeks edition of Royalist, The Daily Beasts newsletter for all things royal and Royal Family. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Sunday.

Is reconciliation the only way forward?

Prince Harrys claim that he has enough material to write a second memoir is being seen as a threat to King Charles, Prince William, and the rest of the royal family.

Right now, hes holding a gun to their heads, a royal source tells todays U.K. Sunday Times of Harry. And nobody knows what will be acceptable to him as appeasement. His goalposts are constantly shifting and the family is always going to question some of his versions of events.

However, sources speaking to the paper also say that a reconciliation is the only way forward for the royal familyif both sides can wave the white flag.

A royal source, who has the kings ear and who knows the Sussexes well, believes a reconciliation meeting is possible, but would need to happen before the May 6 coronation.

All Prince Harrys Memoir Revelations Spare No One, Including Himself

Its going to take flexibility on all sides, but it can be done, its fixable, the source told the paper. It needs Harry over here, in the room with the King and Prince of Wales, a couple of other family members, some of his people he trusts who always had his back, so he doesnt think hes being ambushed. Someone like Elf [Ed Lane Fox, Harrys former private secretary] and Christopher [Lord Geidt, the late Queens former private secretary who advised the Sussexes]. Both sides need to hold their hands up and admit we didnt get everything right, and we got a lot wrong, and we have to say to him We understand the pain youve been through. The King can do it.

William, who is Harrys true focus of fury in the memoirfrom fights to so many alleged slightsis loyal to the throne and understands what needs to be done for the country, the source added. Not everyone here behaved well, but Harrys got to be able to sit down and say We didnt behave well either. That takes a lot of academic flexibility, which Harry isnt great at.

Story continues

A close friend of both William and Harrys believes a reconciliation is a must, telling the paper, The silence for now has been the right thing, but this is not going to go away. This has to be resolved and neutralized, so that when William has the top job, his brother isnt still sniping from the sidelines. I genuinely dont think this is the end of things. Harry simply cannot do without his brother.

Now, there is a need for speed, the source said: Weve got to move on it, and get it done by April. Then, we need to get the wives in. The King needs a clear run for the coronation.

They have to invite them in before the coronation, or it will become such a circus and distraction, another source told the paper.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William and Kate pictured at Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2020. PHIL HARRIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The paper says the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, may be the best mediator.

The paper says chief among the topics at any royal summit would be an insistence that Harry cease dishing on the family. A source told the paper: They have to now be quiet and get on with their thing in America and Harry has got to realize that it might all go down better there, but here in the UK, people have taken it very badly. Youve said your piece, but why are you trying to torch the whole house?

Charles is apparently miffed that Harry didnt mention the weekly care packages he sent him while Harry was on active duty as a soldier. He used to delight in sending Harry care packages to Afghanistan. He would send a weekly package, injected with humor and his favorite things. He thought long and hard about them, says the friend. Why does Harry not want the world to see that side of his father?

After the tumult of the last few daysthe leaks, the lurid stories, the TV interviews, the threat of more revelations to comethe wishful thinking at the palace, the paper says, is that Harry will shut up. However, the issue of titles for Archie and Lilibet, Harry and Meghans children, remains unresolved. They should be prince and princess respectively, but are still known as Master and Miss Mountbatten-Windsor on the royal familys website.

The Times points out that Harry, in two TV interviews this week, did not dismiss a future role promoting the royals in the Commonwealth. Not so fast, a source told the Times: In time, perhaps. There could still be an opportunity down the road, but it will need time for them to settle down and be quiet.

Whatever, the palace is feeling pretty OK at the end of Harrys storm of revelation and titillation. Theyre buoyed that the tide has turned here on Harry and people think its all so petty. They feel vindicated that much of the public are not taking it all in.

A former royal aide added: Its a bump in the road. Its not an abdication. When the Princess of Wales died, people said it would lead to the end of the monarchy. It didnt. This is a knock, its not Armageddon.

Delivering the bad news

Conflicting with the Times suggestion, noted above, that the royals are thinking about a peace conclave with Harry is a story in the Mail on Sunday which suggests that what is actually occupying minds at the palace this weekend is who can be made to do the not-inviting-of-Harry to the coronation.

Palace sources are saying its the governments call, and that Rishi Sunak should step up and do a Churchill (Winston forbad the former Edward VIII, who abdicated, from attending Elizabeths coronation in 1953).

The government are saying the palace can do their own dirty work.

The papers palace source, described as well-placed, said: The coronation is a state event and funded by the state. So, in the same way that Winston Churchill advised the Duke of Windsor to stay away [from Elizabeth IIs Coronation], the decision of whether to invite Harry, who has no official royal role and no state function at the ceremony, will be down to the government rather than just his father.

Not so fast, said the government, with a source briefing: Traditionally, the royal household provides us with the number of royal guests, without giving their identity, and we construct the arrangements on that basis.

Meghan, Camilla, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, and Princess Charlotte during the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II in September. Samir Hussein/WireImage

Fashion wars

A fascinating report in the Daily Telegraph this weekend suggested that tension between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton was fueled by the fact that Kate got offered all the best dresses from top designers first, with Meghan only getting the rejects.

The reporter Camilla Tominey (who has also responded to being singled out for criticism in Harrys book) said that Meghan was particularly aghast at such humiliating treatment in part because, owing to her previous TV career and her website, The Tig, she was used to getting VIP treatment from designers.

But, the report said, the problem once again came down to the pecking order, and Kate always appeared to get first dibs on designers.

Erdem seems to have been a particular flashpoint, with the label being a favorite of Kate and Meghan, Tominey writes, saying: Erdem Moraloglu was one of Meghans absolute favorites, but even after Harry had put a ring on it, Kate, who was already a client, continued to get priority.

Subscribe here to get all the latest royal news and gossip with Tom Sykes and Tim Teeman.

Missed any of our Harry memoir coverage? Here you go:

Pre-publication of book

Harry: I lost my virginity to an older woman who spanked me

Harry says red mist descended on William in dog bowl brawl

All Harrys memoir revelations so farand one big omission

William burning, Charles heartbroken by memoir

Harry says royals are abusers he wants to reconcile with

Harry: Camilla was dangerous, and left bodies in the street

Harry: Diana would have been heartbroken over Williams behavior

Post-publication

All Prince Harrys revelations Spare no one, including himself

When Meghan told Harry: I dont want to live any more

Kate told Meghan: I know I was the one that made you cry

Spare is a royal riot, but what does Harry really want?

Camillas friends insist: She didnt scheme to be queen

After the Harry hurricane, the royals attempt business as usual

Harry: Think this is bad? You should see what I left out

One step at a time

There is a sense of rather desperately trying to find sticks to beat Harry with this weekend as the truly outrageous sections of his memoir have been thoroughly excavated by now. As a somewhat confected case in point, witness the Telegraphs enthusiastic endorsement of the opinion of Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection, who claims that Harry has put the royal familys safety at risk by describing, for example, how many steps there are in a staircase at Clarence House. In the offending section highlighted by the Telegraph, Harry describes going down a long corridor and up the creaky staircase, which rose three steps before jogging right, up another twelve steps, then jogged right again.

Davies says: Historically, there have always been people who have tried to access parts of royal palaces. Whether they are fixated individuals with mental health problems or terrorists, this information could prove very useful.

Really?

Prince William and Kate during a visit to Royal Liverpool University Hospital in January. Karwai Tang/WireImage

Baffled Kate moves on from Harry drama

The Daily Beast reported this week that the strategy emerging from the royals over Harrys book is becoming very clear: keep calm and carry on. This week, Charles, William and Kate were all out busily pressing the flesh as if nothing had happened, buoyed by polls showing Harrys book has made him extremely unpopular in the U.K.

Now a report in the Mirror says Kate has dismissed and already moved on from the drama, and is focused on the launch of a new early years campaign in the coming weeks. Sources said she was baffled by Harrys attacks on her but was totally immersed in her work and therefore hadnt taken much notice.

A royal source said: Of course there have been other distractions but the princess has had far more important things on her mind. Its an important and exciting time. The campaign she has been working on really is the result of several months behind the scenes (and) will launch a new three to five year program.

This week in royal history

On Tuesday, January 17, it will be a happy 9th birthday to Mia, Zara and Mike Tindalls daughter. Zara is Princess Annes daughter. Musclebound ex-rugby player Mike was recently seen in Speedos in ITV celebs-in-the-jungle show, Im a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

Unanswered questions

Can a royal reconciliation really be brokered, and if so how quickly? What else was Harry planning on dishing on Willy and Charles that he decided not to? What might he be saving up for a second volume of memoirs?

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Prince Harry, and Highgrove House. WireImage/Getty Images

A former head of protection for the royals criticized Prince Harry for details revealed in "Spare."

In his memoir, Harry describes several rooms in royal residences, including Balmoral in Scotland.

"Only a fool would reveal this kind of detail about the royals' inner sanctums," Dai Davies said.

The former head of protection for the royal family has spoken out about Prince Harry's decision to include details of royal residences in his new memoir.

Dai Davies criticized the Duke of Sussex's decision in an interview with The Telegraph, saying that "only a fool would reveal this kind of detail about the royals' inner sanctums."

"There is a reason Buckingham Palace never discusses any detail about its security operations, big or small," he told the newspaper. "It would never expect someone with such an intimate knowledge of private royal residences to disclose such information."

Throughout "Spare," Harry shares several behind-the-scenes details about what it was like to grow up in royal homes. For example, he discusses wine cellars at Highgrove House, the home of King Charles where he and William spent their most of their childhoods, where Camilla, the Queen Consort, would keep expensive bottles of wine and "absurd gifts from foreign governments and potentates."

Charles with princes William and Harry at Highgrove in 1999. Getty Images

Elsewhere he details the layout of Balmoral Castle, one of the late Queen's favorite residences, Clarence House, and how to find a room in Highgrove House nicknamed "Club H" where he and William would hang out as teenagers.

Davies called the revelations "problematic" and potentially compromising for the royal family's security operations.

"There have always been people who have tried to access parts of royal palaces," he said. "Whether they are fixated individuals with mental health problems or terrorists, this information could prove very useful."

The former protection officer also voiced concern over the details Harry revealed about how his security detail operated. While describing his first years at Eton, Harry wrote that he carried an electronic tracker and panic alarm with him at all times.

Story continues

Royal residences have been broken into

Break-ins to royal residences have occurred, with a 22-year-old man gaining access to Buckingham Palace in 2019, according to Metro UK.

The best-known incident of royal trespassing occurred in 1982 when the palace faced one of its biggest security breaches in modern history.

Michael Fagan gained access to the Queen's bedroom at Buckingham Palace in 1982. Getty Images

Michael Fagan, an unemployed house painter, broke into the royal residence and entered the Queen's bedroom, where he is said to have exchanged a few words with Her Majesty before security arrived.

Fagan was committed to a psychiatric hospital after the incident, and "was in and out of jail on drug and other charges" in the years after, The Washington Post reported.

After the incident was portrayed in season four of "The Crown," Fagan discussed what he said actually happened in an interview with The Sun.

"She was wide awake when I got in there," Fagan said, referencing the Queen. "She sat up in bed and said, 'What are you doing here?' and then went off to fetch someone."

He also denied asking the Queen for a cigarette, which was shown in the drama, as that would've been "cheeky and disrespectful and something I just wouldn't do."

Buckingham Palace and representatives for Prince Harry did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
The Prosecutor General's Office asserted that the Kh-22 missile that hit a residential building in the city of Dnipro on Saturday, 14 January, could have been launched by only one Russian unit, the 52nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment.

Source: Prosecutor Generals Office

Quote: "According to preliminary information, a Kh-22 missile was used. This type of missile leads to the greatest human casualties, because the missile is extremely inaccurate, has a huge deviation rate [from its course  ed.]. Therefore, the use of such weapons for targets in densely populated areas is clearly a war crime.

This type of missile was used in Serhiivka and Kremenchuk. It can be launched by one Russian unit only, the 52nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment."

Details: On Sunday, Yurii Belousov, Head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in Conditions of Armed Conflict, and of the Prosecutor General's Office, together with the leadership of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office and investigators of the central apparatus of the Security Service of Ukraine, inspected the site of the missile attack by the Russian Armed Forces on a residential building in the city of Dnipro.

The Prosecutor General's Office emphasised that there are no military targets around the place where the Russian missile hit.

Quote from Belousov: "This tragedy is not just a war crime, it is a crime against humanity. A large-scale killing of civilians in Ukraine. Every important piece of evidence will be documented. The investigation and prosecutors will establish and bring to justice both those who directly launched the missiles and their commanders who gave this criminal order. The entire Russian military leadership."

Background:

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
A proposed opioid treatment center in Lynnwood continues to draw controversy from the public.

Protesters gathered at the potential site Saturday to voice their concerns, fearing that if the facility does become a reality, safety will be a big issue  especially since the site is just around the corner from a Boys and Girls Club and a youth baseball field.

KIRO 7 was at the Lynnwood City Council meeting on Monday where plenty of people were upset not just about the facility, but the overall history of Acadia Healthcare and how it has allegedly treated patients in the past.

City leaders at Saturdays protest hope the Department of Health listens to peoples concerns about this, and also hope other branches of government step in.

Id like to see the governor and state legislature stop this for now, said Lynnwood City Councilmember Jim Smith. Put it on pause, let us figure out what we can do again to come up with a situation that people on drugs can be helped and the city, the community is not hurt.

Despite the issues, council president George Hurst said the council may not be able to stop the facility from opening. Hes been told there is already a waitlist of 300 patients.

Protesters say the facility is needed, but not in this location.
Aetna is slated to take over Jan. 1, 2025, as the third-party administrator for the State Health Plan from Blue Cross NC, which held that role for more than 40 years.

The health plans board of trustees made the decision to oust Blue Cross during a closed-session meeting on Dec. 14 after a months-long, secretive bidding process, in which the board, State Treasurer Dale Folwell and others involved signed nondisclosure agreements.

The state plan oversees health care spending of more than $17.5 billion across five years and covers 740,000 teachers, state employees, retirees and their dependents.

Many questions remain about what this transition will entail and why the change is occurring, especially as the contract with Aetna and other documents have not been publicly released. A silent period in place until appeals are exhausted prevents their disclosure, according to the legal staff at the state treasurers office.

Heres what we do know so far, including answers to questions on deductibles, premiums, prescription drugs and provider networks.

What is a third-party administrator?

A third-party administrator handles all of the administrative tasks associated with health insurance, which include issuing cards, processing claims, setting up technological systems and more. For this, the state pays a fixed per-member cost.

In the case of North Carolinas State Health Plan, the administrator also lays out contracts with a network of providers and negotiates the prices paid to them for health care services.

It does not pay claims as a typical insurer would. The administrator sends claims to the state, which is on the hook for covering health care costs.

Claims paid out by the state to the administrator are different from the prices paid by state plan members, who pay the rates fixed by the state.

Could the list of in-network providers change?

Yes.

Third-party administrators each have their own network of providers for which they have negotiated contracts. With a change in administrators, its entirely possible that some providers could fall out of the network or become part of the network. However, Matthew Fielder, a fellow with the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy, said he would expect that most providers in North Carolina would stay in-network because Aetna is such a large provider.

Story continues

Folwell said he hopes the new deal with Aetna will expand the number of providers in the network. He said his office was looking into how much overlap there is between Blue Cross and Aetnas network of providers.

Jim Bostian, Aetnas North Carolina president, wrote in a Charlotte Observer opinion article that more than 98% of Blue Cross NCs claims came from providers currently in Aetnas network.

We will continue to work to bring more providers into the network that can offer the high-quality care that state employees deserve, Bostian wrote.

Meanwhile, Blue Cross NC, in a protest filed Thursday appealing the states decision to replace it with Aetna, wrote that its statewide network of total provider locations appears to be 38% larger than Aetnas.

A smaller network could result in a significant number of teachers and state employees across the state to change doctors theyve built relationships with for years and travel farther for in-network care, they wrote.

Fielder said its possible that both statistics are true but that Aetnas measure is probably the most relevant one to plan members.

However, he added that it matters what types of services are included in the 2% of claims out of Aetnas network.

If theyre especially high-cost or high-value services that cant be easily obtained elsewhere, then enrollees might still care quite a lot even though the number of claims is small, he said.

Allison Rice, an emeritus law professor at Duke who studies health policy, said its also possible that Aetna covers most of the same providers as Blue Cross in urban areas, where the bulk of the claims are coming from, but lags behind in rural areas. That would explain why Aetna matches up with the majority of claims but are outmatched by Blue Cross on provider locations.

Could prescription medications covered by the plan change?

Probably not  with an exception.

The state contracts with a separate company, CVS/Caremark, as a pharmacy benefit manager or PBM, to manage the prescription drug benefits.

Drug formularies, or lists of covered prescriptions, are updated quarterly and are approved by the plans Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, meaning benefits can change but this would be unrelated to the Blue Cross NC expulsion.

Medications administered by health care providers are the exception to that rule. Coverage of injections or infusions administered in a hospital could change under a new third-party administrator.

Could the price of services change for state employees?

Probably not.

While Aetna may have negotiated prices that are different from those of Blue Cross NC, state employees will likely not see a difference in what they pay out-of-pocket.

The State Health Plans Board of Trustees, which has 10 members, sets out-of-pocket rates that do not change, even if Aetna quotes the state higher prices for certain procedures. Folwell said the state has no plans to change co-pays, the fixed fee you pay for a health care service, or deductibles, the amount you pay before your insurance kicks in, other than to lower them.

Could medical services covered by the plan change?

It remains to be seen.

Different administrators could have different requirements for when they cover certain procedures. For example, they could require a patient to try a cheaper alternative before they approve a more expensive procedure, Fielder said.

They could also have different requirements for prior authorizations, which require patients to get approval from a health plan before undergoing a procedure or getting a healthcare service.

Folwell said he did not expect any change along those lines, but that he wanted to look at pre-authorization requirements and not make people jump through hoops for approval.

Pat Ryan, a spokesperson for Aetna, wrote that most insurance carriers have very similar prior authorization policies and that Aetna will work with the state plan to see if there are policies it would like to have customized.

Could premiums increase?

Probably not.

In third-party administrator arrangements, premiums, or the amount you pay for your health insurance every month, are typically set by the employer, not the administrator.

Folwell said the state had frozen premiums for five years despite costs for the State Health Plan rising. He previously told The N&O that the state plan is going to need billions of dollars over the next several years to stay solvent.

Folwells office shared a letter the board sent on Oct. 13 to state Senate and House leadership. The board wrote that the State Health Plan expects a $4.2 billion budget gap over the next few years and that absent price concessions from major healthcare providers or material shifts in reimbursement strategy, the cost will fall on the state and its taxpayers. It also wrote that without price considerations from providers, annual appropriations will need to grow from the current $2.6 billion to $3.9 billion by 2028, as previously reported by The N&O.

Will this affect retirees receiving Medicare via the state plan administered by Humana?

Probably not.

The state offers three options for Medicare beneficiaries. Two of those plans are offered by Humana, which are separate from Blue Cross NC and will not be affected.

One option offered to Medicare beneficiaries is the Base Plan PPO, currently administered by Blue Cross NC, which serves as a supplement to Medicare. This plan will not be available once Aetna takes over.

Aetna will need to provide an alternative option that provides the same coverage to replace this plan, according to Frank Lester, spokesman for the treasurers office.

Will the state save money with this transition?

The treasurer said in a press release the new contract will potentially save the state health plan $140 million in costs across five years.

Lester said these savings are based on Aetnas contracted rates with health care providers being lower.

This would cut claims costs.

But Blue Cross said the state used vague standards to score the bids on issues related to costs, compared to a previous scoring method.

Blue Cross spokesperson Sara Lang questioned why the request for proposals reduced its evaluation to a list of yes or no questions and collected no further information or details on service levels and capabilities.

Ryan wrote that Aetna submitted a strong proposal and fared very well on all of the requirements. At bottom, Blue Cross failed the test and now blames the test for their failure. Its clearly time for a change, and our states employees have earned a long-overdue upgrade.

Why was this transition made?.

Folwell said the decision largely came down to an internal scoring system on which Aetna ranked higher than its competitors. He also cited concerns with Blue Cross NCs transparency, and financial challenges.

In an interview, Folwell said Blue Cross does not allow the state to see how the company negotiates prices with health care providers, shrouding the decision-making process in secrecy.

Lester said that Aetna had agreed to share provider contracts with the State Health Plan. Ryan confirmed this.

Blue Cross NC allows the State Health Plan access to contracts via an audit process, but not directly, Lester said.

Lang said that while certain contract details are confidential, the state plan can request an in-person audit to access that information and has exercised this right, most recently in 2016.

Anyone who continues to be in favor of secret contracts, is going to be on the wrong side of history, Folwell said.

Were there any other factors?

Yes, there were likely more factors, but until contract decisions and bid documents are released by the state, the full picture is not clear.

The North Carolina Tribune reported that technological concerns may have been a big factor in the choice to not renew Blue Crosss contract.

Blue Cross used a software system called Facets to manage the State Health Plan. The plans board of trustees, across multiple meetings, cited many problems with this software, NC Tribune reported, including complaints that claims and vendors were not being paid on time and that physicians were dropped at random from Blue Crosss system.

Folwell said the state plan had expected to pay a couple of hundred million dollars a month but received bills much lower than that, indicating trouble with claims processing speeds.

Theres a problem somewhere; thats where it first came to our attention, Folwell said.

According to Lester, in the first quarter of 2022, the State Health Plan paid over $575 million in medical claims through Blue Cross NC, compared to over $682 million through the same time period in 2021. In the second quarter, the plan paid $1.38 billion in claims, compared to $1.42 billion in 2021.

This is an anomaly as claims tend to rise year over year with not such big decreases, Lester wrote. He added that there are still claims that need to be corrected or paid from a year ago or more.

In recognition of the difficulties related to the Facets implementation, Blue Cross NC gave the State Health Plan a $1 million credit on administrative fees and paid out over $900,000 for failing to meet performance guarantees, according to Lester. He also said the state plan would conduct an audit in a few months to review the accuracy of pending claims and other penalties.

Lang said that when transitioning large data sets to a new software, it is not unusual to experience issues and that Blue Cross had worked closely and transparently with the state plan to address these challenges.

How many people are working on this transition?

Folwell said 400 Aetna employees are already working on the transition and 600 employees will be dedicated to serving the state plan. Asked whether he thought this would lead to a net increase in jobs in the state, Folwell said he did.

Ryan said Aetna had 600 staff dedicated to the transition and would hire additional North Carolina-based employees.

In the interim, Blue Cross would continue to provide the highest level of service, Lang told The N&O.

As for post-transition, Bostian wrote, members will be getting a level of customer care unrivaled in the marketplace, and Aetna has existed for over 170 years because it values relationships and service.

That was true at our founding, and it will be true on Jan. 1, 2025, when we formally assume health insurance responsibility for those who teach, protect, and serve North Carolina, he wrote.

Ryan wrote that the state plan had spent all of last year trying to resolve disruptions caused by Blue Cross, so no, customers will not be getting the same level of customer care from Aetna  that level of care is what prompted the State Health Plan to pursue a new procurement process in the first place, he wrote.

Is this change final?

No. Blue Cross filed a protest on Thursday.

It could take up to several weeks for the State Health Plan to decide on the appeal.





Lang said while their first step is the appeal via the treasurers office, they will follow other remedies available to them. Asked what those remedies were, Lang said she would need to follow up on that question but did not respond to subsequent inquiries about the question.

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer and the NC Insider and follow our weekly Under the Dome podcast at campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.
CHILLICOTHE  When Vanessa Escamilla looks over the past five years, the direction of her life has seemed almost scripted for a movie, putting her in places she needed to be to make connections. Sometimes it was a voice in her head or just a feeling she needed to go to a certain event. Was it destiny? Whatever it was, its led her not only to blossom in recovery from substance use disorder to be a peer leader but to find a family who embraces all of her as a daughter.

Vanessa Escamilla with Adam and Christina Arredondo.

Im blessed to have these people in my life, Vanessa said. I have no idea where Id be if I hadnt laid eyes on her, and she hadnt reached out to me.

Broken

Vanessa was born in California but moved with her dad to the Deer Creek area here in Ohio when she was just 15. Up until February 2018, she had bounced around the state living in various cities when she found herself in Washington Court House. It had been 12 years since her battle with substance use disorder began, nine years since the first time she went to detox, six years since her dad died at 50 years old, and Vanessa had just survived a suicide attempt.

Vanessa called the Paint Valley Alcohol Drug Abuse and Mental Health Board seeking help which led her to a medication assisted treatment (MAT) center, Ross County Community Action, and the Seeds of Hope shelter in Chillicothe.

I thought as long as I was in a shelter I could walk to treatment because I knew MAT worked for me, she said.She started treatment on Feb. 18, 2018, and moved into the shelter Feb. 21, 2018.

Momma was the first person I laid eyes on when I opened the door, Vanessa said. I thought she worked there, but she was a counselor picking up the girls to go to the Recovery Council.

Momma was Christina Arredondo who wears many hats including operating a family support group for those with loved ones with substance use disorder. As such, she naturally tried to talk to Vanessas aunt  the only living relative Vanessa knew in Ohio.

She just seemed like she didnt know what to do, Christina said.

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As for Vanessa, Christina said she was one of the most broken people Id ever seen, and Ive seen a lot. The odds seemed stacked against her success: she had no connections, struggled with mental health and substance use disorder as well as LGBTQ acceptance and being Hispanic in rural Ohio.

She had no connections, no family, everything people look for to find that fight inside of them, Christina said.

Breaking Down Walls

Whenever Christina would come to the shelter, Vanessa would listen to her talk. Her voice is calm, soothing, and she speaks in a slow, thoughtful and intentional manner. Her heart and passion is evident in the timbre of her voice.

I would be sitting on my couch in my roos and think, Man, they get to go with her, and I dont get to go anywhere, Vanessa said with a chuckle. Although Christina was contracted through the Recovery Council at the time to provide services for the women who stayed at Seeds of Hope, Vanessa came in with her treatment already setup elsewhere.

One time I was sitting there minding my business, and she showed me something on her phone that was LGBT related. She was just trying to talk to me, connect, Vanessa said.

At first, Christina got a lot of push back as Vanessas past didnt lend itself to trusting easily. What was her agenda? What was she going to get out of this? Since she wasnt Vanessas treatment provider, Christina decided she could invite Vanessa to the family support group.

My thought was we had a really strong support group at that time, before COVID. I knew they would welcome her with open arms. I knew if she would go, she would develop that connection she needed, Christina said.Vanessa went and sat kind of hunched over the table, her arms crossed, and just listened to people share their struggles and triumphs with their loved ones fighting the battle she intimately knew.

All I kept thinking was, Man, that boyfriend is so lucky or their husband is so lucky. Their loved one cared about them so much to sit in a group and talk about them. I didnt know people did that. In my head, I was just like, I dont have that, Vanessa recalled with tears in her eyes.

As group was wrapping up, they encouraged Vanessa to share her thoughts which, to her surprise, they came tumbling out.

Momma said, Thats why I brought you here, so we can be your family.

I dont think she believed me at first because shed been hurt so much. She was freaking terrified of it. There must have been a motive in it, Christina said.

A Momma and a Poppa

In 2018, Christina was pouring her grief  and own money  into action in Chillicothe. Just three years before, she was dealt a devastating blow when her pregnant daughter Felicia Detty hit a trigger date, relapsed after about a year of sobriety, and died of a drug overdose at just 24 years old.

Then and now, Christina looks for gaps in the continuum of care for substance use disorder  from prevention to recovery  and seeks ways to fill them. She opened a sober living home in 2018, Buggs House named for Felicia, and later was a leading force in starting the drop-in center on Second Street where they are providing food, resources, and outreach to over 100 people a night. In the midst of all that and more, Christina and her husband Adam were becoming surrogate parents.

After six weeks in the shelter, Vanessa got her own place and began moving forward with a new lease on life. She spent a lot of time with Christina and Adam, especially as Buggs House came together. While they talked about Vanessa moving into the sober living house, it seemed like a step back to her.

She was trying to force herself to do everything on her own, Christina said.

Christina saw Vanessa was getting overwhelmed and convinced her to take a step back and re-evaluate, accept help. She moved in with Christina and Adam.

Shes been with us ever since, Christina said, noting its a choice for them all since at nearly five years later, Vanessas strength has grown that she undoubtedly could live on her own and continue her success. We all need the connection.

Over the past five years, Vanessa has become one of the most well-known peer supporters in Chillicothe. Her paths to today continue to circle back onto one another. She once felt she had to go to a Hope Partnership Project event at Ohio University Chillicothe. Through that, she connected with Community Action again and learned of a grant they had gotten to start a new program, CARES  Community Action Responds, Engages, and Supports Recovery.

They were starting CARES and she said, Call me in two weeks. We need a guinea pig, Vanessa said laughing.She then completed peer recovery training and is now a peer support facilitator and has completed training to be a peer support supervisor. Shes also now on the board of the Hope Partnership and the Ohio Peer Recovery Committee. Shes always reading, devouring resources on how to help others and continue to help herself.

Everything I used when I came here, Ive now become part of, Vanessa said.

It wasnt easy by any means, but when she hit setbacks  like apartment complexes not wanting to rent to her because of her past or the way she looked with her slick, chic mohawk  Christina was there to keep her from running away and quitting. When her heart was broken, Adam was there to wipe her tears.

Chris has been here for me since Ive gotten to Chillicothe, Vanessa said. That was the missing piece. She was the mortar.

And Christina and Adam, what is in it for them? What is that agenda Vanessa once looked for?

Joy, Christina said. Shes just such an animated person and seeing her have new adventures and experiences, she enjoys them so much. She gets to experience different things now with a family. It hurts my heart just as much as it makes me happy because I see how much she lacked.

They also help fill a little bit of the hole from grief they both had  Vanessa lacked a mother and Christina had lost a daughter.

Finding that connection where you build something, two people arent at a complete loss anymore, Christina said. I dont know what to say, but it was meant to be. She fits into this family.

Destiny, Vanessa agreed.

Need help?For information on local resources, go online to the Hope Partnership Project at hopepartnershipproject.com or call 2-1-1.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Recovery journey leads woman to new family
ALBANY  Powerful and prominent Latino leaders and other elected officials joined Gov. Hochul on Saturday to call on the state Senate to support Judge Hector LaSalles nomination to be New Yorks next top jurist.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Nydia Velazquez, both New York Democrats, were among the boldface names at a Bronx rally held days ahead of what is sure to be a contentious confirmation hearing in which progressive lawmakers opposed to LaSalles appointment to lead the state Court of Appeals could seal his fate.

Look, I am progressive to my bones... I am standing here before you in support of Hector LaSalle because I truly believe that he is not only the most qualified, but he shares the values that I cherish dearly, Velazquez said.

LaSalle, who would be the first Latino to lead the states sprawling court system if confirmed, has faced heated pushback from progressives, politically-powerful unions, criminal justice advocates and others who have raised issue with a number of his past rulings and argue he is too conservative for the post.

More than a dozen of Hochuls fellow Dems in the Senate have publicly said they wont back LaSalle, many of them unhappy with Hochul for choosing a jurist whose past includes working as a prosecutor amid criticisms that states highest court already leans conservative.

Hochul said Saturday that LaSalle is being held to a different standard.

The governor has stood her ground despite calls for her to rescind her pick, setting the stage for a potential showdown should the judiciary committee vote against advancing LaSalles nomination to a floor vote on Wednesday.

The governor and other supporters believe the state Constitution requires the nomination be taken up by the entire 63-seat chamber.

Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), the chairman of the judiciary committee, has said Senate rules dictate that committee votes are the only way to advance a nomination to the floor.

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The Constitution does not require a floor vote because in addition to the Constitution we have Senate rule and certainly its within the Senates prerogative to decide how to proceed with its own votes, committee and otherwise, Hoylman said last week.

Democrats hold a 42-member supermajority in the chamber and 14 Dems have said publicly they will not back LaSalle, meaning Hochul would need to rally Republicans to back her pick.

Jeffries called for an up-or-down vote by the full chamber on LaSalle, who is currently the presiding justice of the Appellate Division in Brooklyn.

Its important for the entire New York state Senate to treat this nomination with the same dignity, decency and respect that every other nomination has received, he said.

Others said they believe the opposition to LaSalle, a Long Island native of Puerto Rican descent, is a knock against the states entire Hispanic community.

Sen. Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx) appeared to take aim at fellow Latino lawmakers who have voiced opposition to LaSalle.

I normally dont make it a practice to call out a colleague of mine, Sepulveda said. But this fight is bigger than me. Its bigger than anyone on this stage. This fight is for the Latino community to get their place at the table.
By Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Sunday demanded visitor logs for President Joe Biden's house in Wilmington, Delaware, after classified documents were found in his office and garage.

"Without a list of individuals who have visited his residence, the American people will never know who had access to these highly sensitive documents," Representative James Comer said in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain dated Sunday.

Republicans have sought to compare the Biden documents case, which involves material from his time as vice president, with that of former President Donald Trump, who faces a federal criminal probe of how he handled classified documents after he left the White House in 2021. But legal experts say there are stark contrasts between the two cases.

Comer said he would not seek visitor logs for Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, where more than 100 classified documents - some of them labeled top secret - were found in an FBI search.

"I don't feel like we need to spend a whole lot of time because the Democrats have done that for the past six years," he said in an interview Sunday with CNN.

Trump has announced he would seek the presidency again in 2024, with Biden as his expected Democratic rival.

The Biden disclosures emerged last week after his legal team said it had found classified documents relating to his time as vice president in the Obama administration at his Delaware home. His lawyers on Saturday reported finding five additional pages at his home.

Top secret material was included in some of the 10 or so documents found at the Penn Biden Center think tank, CBS reported on Sunday, citing an unidentified law enforcement source. The White House had no comment on the report. A representative for Biden's personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, did not return a request for comment.

There is no legal requirement that U.S. presidents disclose visitors at their home or at the White House. The Biden administration reinstated disclosures of official guests to the White House and released its first batch of records in May 2021. Former President Donald Trump had suspended the practice shortly after he took office in 2017.

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TRUMP VS. BIDEN DOCUMENT ISSUES

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives launched an investigation on Friday into the Justice Department's handling of improperly stored classified documents possessed by Biden. Comer's committee is also reviewing the case.

The investigation comes as Trump is under federal criminal investigation for mishandling classified documents after his presidency.

In the Biden case, the president's lawyers informed the National Archives and Justice Department about finding a small number of documents at a think tank in Washington and later at Biden's Wilmington home.

In Trump's case, the National Archives tried for more than a year after Trump left office to retrieve all of the records he retained, without success. When Trump finally returned 15 boxes of documents in January 2022, Archives officials discovered they contained classified materials.

After the matter was referred to the Justice Department, Trump's lawyers handed over more material from Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and said there were no more documents on the premises.

That turned out to be false. In the end, the FBI recovered an additional 13,000 documents, about 100 of which were marked classified, from the estate.

House Democrats introduced the "Mar-a-Lago Act" in 2017 that would require Trump to regularly disclose visitors to his Florida home, but it was never voted on in the chamber or full Congress.

Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, the outgoing House Intelligence Committee chairman, said Congress should seek an assessment from the U.S. intelligence community on whether any documents, from either Trump or Biden, jeopardized national security.

"I don't think we can exclude the possibility without knowing more of the facts," Schiff said on ABC's "This Week."

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Heather Timmons and Lisa Shumaker)
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romanian authorities said they have seized goods and money worth 18 million lei ($3.95 million) as a part of a criminal inquiry into alleged human trafficking that led to the arrest of divisive internet personality Andrew Tate.

In the past week, the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets has taken into administration 29 movable assets, including luxury vehicles and watches, and various amounts of cash in different currencies, it said in a statement late on Saturday.

On Saturday, a Reuters reporter saw several cars, including a Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, being taken from Tate's compound on the outskirts of the capital, Bucharest, to be transported to a storage location.

Andrew Tate, his brother and two Romanian female suspects were detained on Dec. 29 on charges of forming a criminal gang to exploit six women sexually. They have denied wrongdoing.

The detained challenged their 30-day arrest warrant, but the Bucharest court of appeals rejected the challenge this week and said they should remain in police custody.

Andrew Tate, a former contestant on the UK reality show Big Brother, gained notoriety for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.

His remarks got him banned from all major social media platforms, although his Twitter account became active again in November after Elon Musk acquired the platform.

Tate, who holds U.S. and British nationality, has said women are partially responsible for being raped and that they belong to men.

($1 = 4.5622 lei)

(Reporting by Octav Ganea; Writing by Anna Koper; Editing by Christina Fincher)
The royal family has got to get a move on to reconcile with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before King Charless coronation in May, Buckingham Palace sources have said.

The two sides havent spoken since before the release of the Duke of Sussexs explosive memoir in which he was critical of his older brother William and his father, King Charles.

Despite Spare pulling no punches in its criticism of the family, Prince Harry has repeatedly asserted in the book and in television appearances promoting the 400-word publication that he seeks reconciliation with his family.

A royal source close to King Charles told The Times they believed a meeting between the warring royals could happen in the next few months.

They said: Its going to take flexibility on all sides, but it can be done, its fixable. It needs Harry over here, in the room with the King and prince of Wales, a couple of other family members, some of his people he trusts who always had his back, so he doesnt think hes being ambushed.

King Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry pictured in Vimy, France, in April 2017 (Getty Images)

Someone like Elf [Ed Lane Fox, Harrys former private secretary] and Christopher [Lord Geidt, the late Queens former private secretary who advised the Sussexes].

Both sides need to hold their hands up and admit we didnt get everything right, and we got a lot wrong, and we have to say to him we understand the pain youve been through. The King can do it.

Peace talks could prove a more difficult prospect for Prince William, who is accused of assaulting his little brother in the book.

However, the royal source, who also is said to know William well, said the Prince of Wales was loyal to the throne and knows what needs to be done for the country.

Members of the British royal family attend the traditional Christmas Day church service, at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, England, Dec. 25, 2015 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

They added: Weve got to move on it, and get it done by April. Then, we need to get the wives in. The King needs a clear run for the coronation.

It comes just days after claims that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be invited to the coronation but would find a reason not to attend.

A source close to the royal family told The Independent: The King does not expect them to be at the coronation.

The family will extend the invitation but it would be very hard for Harry and Meghan to be there given everything that has been said in the interviews and the book. The family expects Harry and Meghan to find a reason not to be there.

Prince Harrys headline-grabbing memoir also details his frustration at being the spare to the heir, his anger at the UK media, his unresolved trauma over the death of his mother, his mental health struggles and his lonely life before meeting Meghan.
The Ukrainian authorities have said that Russian occupation forces killed 26 people in Ukraine and wounded 81 others on Saturday, 14 January.

Source: Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the Presidents Office

Details: As per the revealed data, victims among civilians on 14 January are as follows:

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast: 21 killed, 74 wounded;

Donetsk Oblast: five killed, four wounded;

Sumy Oblast: one wounded;

Kherson Oblast: two wounded.

Background:

The Russians hit an apartment building in the city of Dnipro with a Kh-22 missile designed to destroy aircraft carrier groups at sea.

The authorities have announced three days of mourning for those killed in the Russian missile strike in the city of Dnipro.

The authorities reported that 21 people had been killed in a Russian attack on the city of Dnipro.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Moscow targeted multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks in renewed missile attacks Saturday.

At least nine people were killed and 64 others wounded in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of an apartment building, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office.

Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv region and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the Odesa region on the Black Sea and in northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv, the capital, was also targeted.

A car and a residential building that were destroyed by a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Jan. 14, 2023. / Credit: VITALII MATOKHA/AFP/Getty Images

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine. Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, the British leader's Downing Street office said in a statement.

It didn't say when the tanks would be delivered or how many. British media have reported that four British Army Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be sent to Eastern Europe immediately, with eight more to follow shortly after, without citing sources.

Zelenskyy tweeted his thanks to Sunak on Saturday "for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners."

Ukraine has for months sought to be supplied with heavier tanks, including the U.S. Abrams and the German Leopard 2 tanks, but Western leaders have been treading carefully.

The Czech Republic and Poland have provided Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukrainian forces. Poland has also expressed readiness to provide a company of Leopard tanks, but President Andrzej Duda stressed during his recent visit to the Ukrainian city of Lviv that the move would be possible only as an element in a larger international coalition of tank aid to Kyiv.

Earlier this month, France said it would send AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles to Ukraine, designated "light tanks" in French. The U.S. and Germany announced the same week that they would send Bradley fighting vehicles and Marder armored personnel carriers, respectively, for the first time.

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Sunak's announcement came as Russian forces fired missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday in the first major barrage in days.

In Dnipro, rescuers were using a crane to try to evacuate people trapped in the apartment building's upper stories, some of whom were signaling with the flashlights on their mobile phones, Tymoshenko said on Telegram. He also said there were likely people under the rubble.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said two Russian missiles hit an infrastructure object again on Saturday afternoon, following a similar attack in the morning, In the city of Kharkiv, the subway suspended operations amid the attacks, according to its Telegram channel.

Another infrastructure facility was hit in the western Lviv region, according to Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi.

Air defense systems were activated in other regions of Ukraine, as well, and as another round of air raid sirens sounded across the country in the afternoon, regional officials urged local residents to seek shelter.

Vitali Kim, governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, hinted in a Telegram post that some missiles have been intercepted over his province.

Military top commander Valeri Zaluzhny said that Russia fired 33 cruise missiles overall on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down.

Earlier in the day, explosions also rocked the capital, Kyiv. The blasts occurred before air sirens sounded, which is unusual. It's likely the explosions came ahead of the warning sirens because the attack was by ballistic missiles, which are faster than cruise missiles or drones.

According to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles flying from the north.

"The ballistics are not easy for us to detect and shoot down," he told local media. The warning about the missile threat was late because of the lack of radar data and information from other sources.

An infrastructure target was hit in the morning missile attack, according to Ukrainian officials.

Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district, a residential area on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Klitschko also said that fragments of a missile fell on a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district on the right bank, and a fire briefly broke out in a building there. No casualties have been reported so far.

This was the first attack on the Ukrainian capital since Jan. 1.

On Saturday morning, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The strikes with S-300 missiles targeted "energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the (outlying) region," governor Syniehubov said. No casualties have been reported, but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible, the official said.

In the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine where fighting is most intense, three people were killed in Russian artillery attacks on Saturday, mayor Vitalii Barabash said. One person died in a rocket attack in Kryvyi Rih, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Reznichenko said.

The attacks follow conflicting reports on the fate of the fiercely contested salt mining town of Soledar, in Ukraine's embattled east. Russia claims that its forces have captured the town, a development that would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after a series of humiliating setbacks on the battlefield.

Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Malyar said Saturday that the "fiece battles for Soledar are continuing."

Moscow has painted the battle for the town and the nearby city of Bakhmut as key to capturing the eastern region of the Donbas, which comprises of partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and as a way to grind down the best Ukrainian forces and prevent them from launching counterattacks elsewhere.

But that cuts both ways, as Ukraine says its fierce defense of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces. Western officials and analysts say the two towns' importance is more symbolic than strategic.

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Yaroslav Yanushevych, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration, has reported that two people have been killed by the explosion of a Russian-planted landmine near the village of Velyka Oleksandrivka, Kherson Oblast.

Source: Yanushevych on Telegram

Quote from Yanushevych: "Two men, 53 and 35 years old, were checking their fields when they came across an enemy mine.

Both men died on the spot as a result of their injuries".

Details: The authorities note that the mine danger in Kherson Oblast remains extremely high and ask the residents to be careful.

Background: A map of mined territories has appeared in Ukraine.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
STORY: Rescue workers sift through rubble searching for signs of life at this apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro

It was hit as part of a major Russian missile attack on Saturday.

At least twelve people died, with more than 60 wounded - including a dozen children - officials said, with more believed to be trapped inside.

The citys mayor said it was a tragedy, vowing that searches would continue through the night.

I am speechless, said this resident of a nearby building.

Officials said missiles also struck critical infrastructure facilities in the regions of Kharkiv and Lviv.

Ukraines energy minister warned of difficult days ahead as months of Russian bombardment of the power grid threaten electricity, water and heating supplies in the height of winter.

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy appealed to the West to supply more weapons to prevent further deaths from what he described as "Russian terror."

Also on Saturday, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister RIshi Sunak said he indicated Britain would send tanks and artillery systems during a phone call with Zelenskiy.

British Foreign Minister James Cleverly promised more details in the coming week.

"Our support to the Ukrainian people in their self-defense against Russian aggression is unwavering."

Meanwhile, Ukraine said its forces were battling to hold onto control of the small town of Soledar amid raging street fighting and advancing Russian forces.

Residents who fled to a miners dorm in a Russian-controlled area said theres little left of their hometown.

Only ruins remain, said Lyudmila. Everything is bombed out. Nothing left there.

Russia has sacrificed large numbers of troops and resources to secure some kind of advance in Soledar after months of setbacks.

On Friday, Russia said its forces had taken control of the town.

Reuters could not immediately verify the situation in Soledar.
Saint Omer - Credit: Super

Alice Diops Saint Omer is a movie about a trial. But it is not strictly concerned with the question of innocence or guilt as a problem of the law. Far more complex, the movie finds, is the problem of how we should feel about the moral authority of the question  and the moral authority of the domain in which it can be asked. It is a movie about language and testimony, mothers and daughters, and the specific burden of a Black immigrant woman who finds herself subjected to the French legal gaze. It sets before us what is at first glance an inarguable evil  the murder of a child  and asks us to confront, not only what we do not understand, but the terms of that understanding. How it is that a court full of people whove not only deemed you a monster, but also an other  an outlier to their way of life  may arrive at that understanding, or not.

The woman on trial, Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), is a native of Senegal who came to France to study philosophy. Wittgenstein. Instead she found a country whose difficulties only inspired in her a grave sense of isolation and anger. Her story is that she fell in with an older French man, named Luc Dumontet (Xavier Maly), and entered into a dispiriting romance that would only result in more isolation. It would also result in a child. Coly has been charged with leaving that child on a beach in Berck-sur-Mer, during a high tide. She does not deny doing this; she will testify to all of it. But when she is asked for her plea, she pleads not guilty. She says that she does not think she is the responsible party in this crime. Early on, she is asked why she killed her daughter. I dont know, she tells the judge. I hope that this trial will give me the answer.

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That we know anything about her at all is in part because of the format of the trial, predicated on long dispatches of testimony by Laurence while under questioning by a panel of three judges, a prosecutor, and her defense. It is also thanks to Diops extremely subtle staging and framing of these proceedings, beginning with our views of the woman that this movie is more directly about: a novelist and professor named Rama (Kayije Kagame), who has come to this trial with an interest in turning it into a literary retelling of the Medea myth. Rama wants to call her project Medea Castaway. (She is advised against this title.) She enters the space of the court as an onlooker who is unprepared for what Laurence Colys story is going to stir up in her. Or maybe she is here precisely because she sees the signs, sees the similarities, and knows where this may take her  maybe that was her attraction to this story, all along.

Either way, what unfolds in Saint Omer is an unpredictable, psychologically tense inquiry into the inner lives of these two women: one of them on trial, the other a witness, both of them educated Black women, both mixed up in the problem of immigrant identity in a complex nation, both the daughters of mothers whose flaws color their relationships to themselves and the broader world, far into each womans adulthood. What unfolds is a narrative that would almost feel procedural  it is largely set in court and lends much of its runtime to the testimonies and questions that occur in that space  but for the clarity of Diops intentions.

The script, co-written with Amrita David, packs entire felt histories into the sparest of monologues. From Laurence, during the trial, we hear the story of a childhood that was relatively privileged, of parents whose affections were not always felt, and a mother in particular (who attends the trial) whose emphasis on European politesse and success demanded that young Laurence abandon Wolof and other cultural ties to their home in Dakar. We hear of her loneliness while studying philosophy, and of the path that landed her in the studio of an older man with a family who never grew to treat her like family, let alone an equal. She tells us about her conception of her child. And about her sense  on which it seems that this trial will hinge  that she has more or less been cursed. You can feel the fractures in this already. How can a woman who speaks educated French, who arrived to study philosophy, who therefore seems willing to agree to and perform Western values, still believe that she has been cursed? Why  a representative from her school asks  would a Black woman study Wittgenstein? How can a woman claim to love a child but hide that child, and the fact of her pregnancy, from everyone around her?

Its like watching this story in double vision. Diops camera is intently focused on faces  particularly Ramas, who is so in keyed into these proceedings that moments arrive in which the sound of the court proceeding dims and the audio zeroes in on the taut rhythm of her breathing. Diop slowly builds the brick house of Laurences personal narrative up only to give us a court that will systematically tease it apart. The faces she offers us throughout  of the judges, the lawyers, Laurence, Rama, Laurences mother, the jury (none of them Black) and the other guests in the court (most of them white)  amplify the sense of examination. The trial becomes an occasion to weigh Laurences truth against what it considers to be the truth. And in the gap between those frames, Saint Omer suggests, a world of understanding is lost. Laurence describes isolation, confusion, lostness. What she is confronted with are inconsistencies in her own telling. What we come to understand is her means of rejecting this country are wielded, in court, as examples of negligence.

Diops direction of Saint Omer is spare in style but dense in emotional intelligence, heavy with its own inquiries. The visual set-ups seem simple, but they are constantly carving away at the harrowing question of what people are thinking. What it is that this volley between Laurence and the law is making people feel. That is where Rama comes in. The story begins and ends with her. Unlike Laurence, she exists outside of this courtroom. Sharing a space with Laurence, in the room of the court, encourages an encounter between these two womens stories thats one of the most remarkable feats in a movie Ive seen in recent memory. Its in the way that Diop encourages us to look back at what we know of Rama, in light of what we learn of Laurence. Suffice to say there are echoes in these womens stories  that the ways it overwhelms Rama as she watches, inciting brief flashbacks within the movie to her own childhood and the harshness of her own mother, is both to be expected and still surprising. So much of what Saint Omer wants us to understand is in its approach to the fates of the Black mothers it depicts. So much of what it has to say about the experience of immigrants, in particular, is in the echoes we encounter in these womens stories. How much of her own mother does Rama see in Laurence? And of herself? And then theres the other tie  an unexpected encounter with Laurences mother, who singles her out as the only other Black woman in the court (beyond Laurence). It leads to one of the movies best, briefest scenes  a flash of this womans mothering that explains Laurence in terms that Rama is unusually positioned to understand.

There are pathways of empathy in this movie, in other words. And the key to Diops movie is in understanding how these pathways brush up against, even totally subvert, the courts intentions. The trials interest is in the what, why, how. Rama is attuned to other questions. Alongside her, bearing witness to the same testimony, with Ramas own experience in mind and buttressing the trial, we are encouraged to place Laurence in a new context  a context that this courtroom cannot, even when sympathetic, understand. The concerns of the court overwhelm nevertheless. This is as true of the movie as it is of real life. Saint Omer was in fact drawn from real life. It was inspired by the 2016 trial of Fabienne Kabou, a Senegalese student who, like Laurence, left a well-off childhood in Dakar for the unknowns of France and, again like her fictional counterpart, was a brilliant student who set out to study philosophy before becoming tied to a Frenchman 30 years her senior. Witchcraft, claimed Kabou at her trial, held in the town of Berck-sur-Mer. Thats my default explanation because I have no other.

This arises in Saint Omer, too. A psychological report indicates that Laurence is prone to hallucinations. But again the facts, bare and cold, brush against the fuller, more complex truth. Saint Omer wants us to question this diagnosis  rather, it wants us to see that if Laurence is out of her mind, it is worth wondering how she got there. How it is that her time in this country may have driven her to a despair that may not be visible to everyone witnessing it.

The actors in this film prove indispensable. Malanda, in particular, is given a heavy task. Her entire performance as Laurence exists, for us, within the walls of this courtroom; her speech is limited to what she has been tasked to provide to the court. Nothing that we hear her say or see her do in this film, beyond a brief glimpse at its start, is entirely of her own free will. Instead Malanda must create for us a full idea of this woman from only her court testimony. And what a performance it is. Laurence faces the judge and attorneys questions with a stolidness, for the most part, that verges on a trance. She eases through her monologues with a studied seriousness that, as the movie wears on, becomes more masklike and impenetrable. By then, weve come to understand things about her, if only by association, that complicate the idea of that mask. But we also confront the sense, felt throughout the trial, of a woman who cannot be understood in this space. We are only too aware of that lacking understanding in the room. Diop finds ways to expose what the courtroom cannot see. We can see it: the calmness in Laurence that is more like a desaturated fury, where the traces of her grief and anger are felt, are barely cloaked by a gaze that to other eyes seems to express nothing at all. We see that same gaze in Rama. We see, through these women, a world of anguish over the question of who, as Black women, they are in this European otherland.

This is a story of a phantom woman, says Laurences attorney in her closing argument. A woman whom nobody sees. And yet her crime makes her visible  to the law. It makes her culpable. Punishable. Saint Omer pushes us to understand how much of Laurence Coly nevertheless remains completely out of view of the court  out of view of even a film that labors to make her visible. By the time her attorney likens her to a phantom, it is almost shocking: We have spent much of the preceding two hours looking directly at her, peering into her expressions in order to read them, being persuaded into conflict with her testimony by the facts of the trial. The question of guilt is submerged within all of this effort. It is buried by the sense of release that comes late in the movie  a stunning closing monologue that leaves much of the court in tears. Laurence does not deny killing her child, and nor does Diops movie. Our attention, instead, is thrown back onto our moral need for a monster, and onto what we deny of humanity in seeking to punish one. Laurence killed her child. But after a film such as this, how can anyone feel innocent?

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Sam Kerr (right) struck at the death to snatch a point for Chelsea (Tim Goode/PA) (PA Wire)

Sam Kerrs last-gasp header ensured Chelsea maintained their grip at the top of the Womens Super League table with a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in front of 46,811 at the Emirates.

The hosts controlled much of the contest but could not find the finishing touch until captain Kim Little fired home from the spot on 57 minutes.

Steph Catleys second-half effort from distance hit the crossbar and the Gunners, who were largely the dominant side, looked set to seal the points but the resilient Blues came alive in the final minutes.

Chelsea remain three points clear of Arsenal, who have a game in hand, at the top of the WSL table.

BIG moment. BIG player. pic.twitter.com/OQ10AnMBoV  Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) January 15, 2023

Frida Maanum tested Zecira Musovic with an early cross from the right corner before Stina Blackstenius mirrored her effort from the right, both attempts easily handled by the Chelsea shot-stopper.

Chelsea survived a wave of Arsenal attacks and the ball fell to Lauren James, who drove down the right channel and into the area and sent a strike from the centre wide of Manuela Zinsbergers left post.

Arsenal threatened when Blackstenius won the ball in midfield and flicked a neat pass to Lina Hurtig at the edge of the area, who managed to direct the ball through two blue shirts but Musovic was there to make the stop.

Musovic was soon called into action again, first thwarting Caitlin Foord then leaping to deny Maanum from opening the scoring with a strike from the right.

Chelsea found a brief foothold but the opening 20 minutes were controlled by the hosts as Maanum fired another low, sharp effort between two Blues and into the path of the awaiting Musovic.

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Kadeisha Buchanan did well to prevent the initial threat from another wave of attack with two vital blocks in quick succession but the ball remained in Chelseas half. The Gunners wasted a corner, then an onrushing Hurtig latched onto a pass from Maanum but sent her attempt from a tight angle into the side netting.

The sides remained goalless at the break during which former Arsenal stalwart Jordan Nobbs, who this month signed for Aston Villa, was on the pitch for a farewell after 12 years as a Gunner.

The second half started largely as the first one ended as the hosts re-asserted themselves, Zinsberger blocking Hurtigs curling effort from the right, and getting her body in front of the Sweden internationals attempt to head home from close range soon after.

A valiant display, but the points are shared at Emirates Stadium. pic.twitter.com/k4zT2MmnOj  Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) January 15, 2023

Arsenal finally took the lead when Niamh Charles brought down Foord as she drove down the left and referee Emily Heaslip pointed to the spot. Skipper Little stepped up and fired into the right corner.

The hosts were inches away from doubling their lead when Catley unleashed an effort from distance, Zinsberger appearing to get her fingertips on the ball before it pinged off the crossbar.

Chelsea substitute Jelena Cankovic made a near-instant impact, sending a long ball into the area for Kerr to neatly nod home in the 89th minute and snatch a precious point.
Two metro Atlanta counties are warning their residents about possible construction scammers in the area.

Tornadoes hit Troup and Spalding counties on Thursday afternoon and left destruction in their wake for many neighbors.

Now, some vulnerable homeowners could have to fend off scammers as well.

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

Spalding County Sheriff Darryl Dix and Troup County sheriffs deputies have issued warnings to be on the lookout for scammers.

They say when talking to contractors about repairing destroyed homes, it is best not to take anyone at their word and do the proper research.

TRENDING STORIES:

Speaking with contractors who have done work for friends and family in the past can be a good way to know if someone is running a legit business.

Anyone with questions on what their homeowners insurance covers should speak with the Georgia Insurance Commission.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
DIANA KRECHETOVA

"Almost every internet community posts about me. And I just want to be with my parents", says 23-year-old Anastasiia Shvets from Dnipro, whose photo in the ruins of the apartment destroyed by a Russian missile went viral in the media and on social networks.

When the Russians hit the apartment building in Dnipro on 14 January, Nastia was in bed. She was covered by the door, the girl says on Instagram.

According to Anastasiia, parts of the kitchen, bathroom, corridor and closet are ruined. Her apartment is almost completely destroyed. This is evidenced by the photo, where Nastia is sitting in the middle of the bathroom, covered with concrete walls. At that time, she was waiting for emergency workers.

Quote: "There was an abyss, and I saw the other part of the entrance, someone else's entrance. It has remained, and I'm almost unharmed, despite the wound on my head and my bare, skinned legs," Dnipro resident writes.

Anastasiia Shvets in the ruins of a house destroyed by a Russian missile. Photo: Arsen Dzodzaev

Nastia lived with her parents. The girl currently does not know whether her father and mother survived. She is convinced that they were in the kitchen when the explosion occurred.

Quote: "I do not know where my parents are. People say that they saw them alive, I am sure that they were in the kitchen, which is no longer there. I did not want to be rescued, I wanted my parents to be found. I understand that Richard (presumably a pet) is gone. He could have barely survived", the girl says.

Nastia emphasises that she did not want such "popularity" for herself. Now she just wants to see her parents.

"I remember my father's silly jokes today, and how we took pictures of puppies with my mother. We ate udon noodles, which my mother cooked.

I have become popular, although I did not want it; almost every internet community posts about me. And I just want to be with my parents. It hurts me. Do I exist at all?" she writes.

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The same photo with Nastia on a smaller scale. Photo: Arsen Dzodzaev

The tragedy that happened on 14 January is not the only one that Nastia has experienced recently. In September, the girl lost her beloved Vladyslav with the call sign "Fotik". The man was defending Ukraine at the contact line.

"I did not live, but I existed all the time, tried to accept the loss of my brave Vlad, Fotik for my brothers, and Honey for me... I felt that he would protect me.

I have nothing to say; I have no emotions, and I feel nothing but a great emptiness inside," Nastia says.

See also: According to Nastia's page on the social network, last year, before the start of the full-scale war, she graduated from the University of Customs and Finance in Dnipro.

Nastia is the first on the right. Photo: Anastasiia Shvets

The girl is currently in the hospital because she was injured by a Russian missile hitting her house. Anyone can help Nastia raise funds for new housing by following the link, as her family's apartment is destroyed.

Background: Emergency workers have been clearing the rubble of a high-rise building in Dnipro destroyed by a Russian missile for two days. As of the morning of 15 January, there is information about 21 residents of the building who were killed and over 70 injured, including 14 children. The fate of dozens of people still remains unknown.

According to Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces hit a residential building in Dnipro using a missile, which is also called a carrier killer.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
One person is dead and six people were arrested after a house party in Polk County.

This led deputies to a police chase and a fatal crash in Osceola County.

Investigators said around 1 a.m. Saturday, Polk County deputies were called to a Davenport home for complaints of fighting in the streets.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they said they did not find a fight but found a party with about 150 young people and adults.

Read: Suspects in stolen SUV cause fatal crash in Osceola County, deputies say

A lieutenant tried to break up the crowd and approached a Range Rover SUV, which he noticed the tag on the back of the car was expired.

According to a release, the driver did not roll down his window or talk to the deputy; he rammed into the deputys car and fled the scene.

The deputy notified law enforcement that the SUV was stolen, and the suspect then evaded deputies on Ronald Reagan Parkway, eventually ending up in Osceola County.

The three suspects were identified as Alaric McFarlane, Angel Rosello and Jarquez Page, each with several criminal charges.

Read: 3 arrested after man robbed, shot in the back in Sumter County, deputies say

The car came to a four-way stop on Marigold Avenue, drove around cars, went through the intersection, and crashed into another vehicle, killing the driver.

Deputies said they had to run after the suspects when they tried to leave the crashed Range Rover behind.

Three of the suspects inside the Range Rover were arrested, but the Polk County Sheriffs Office said there could be a fourth suspect at large.

Read: Volusia sheriffs helicopter tracks down suspect after he runs from deputies

The three suspects were identified as Alaric McFarlane, Angel Rosello and Jarquez Page, each with several criminal charges. Three people were also taken into custody at the party.

This is not new. This is deja vu, said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. We are seeing it over and over across Central Florida, where a group of criminals gets together, drug trafficking, guns and stolen vehicles, and then resists and fights the police.

At this time, deputies said the Range Rover was stolen in Sept. 2022 and a rifle was found inside.

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.
Insider's reporter paid $1,000 to spend two nights in a hotel room with a view of Niagara Falls. Joey Hadden/Insider

In 2022, I spent two nights at the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

For $500 a night, I had some of the best views of Niagara Falls of my entire trip, right from bed.

I was surprised by the daily sounds and nightly shows during my two-night stay.

Last year, I visited Niagara Falls for the first time. I paid $1,000 to spend two nights at the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel where I had front-row views of the falls from the moment I woke up to the second I fell asleep.

A view from a room at the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Joey Hadden/Insider

In August of 2022, during a train trip through Eastern Canada, I visited Niagara Falls, an iconic landmark known for massive waterfalls located on the border of the US and Canada. I wanted to make the most of my first time seeing the falls, so when I booked my trip, I searched for hotels with a direct view.

According to Trip Advisor, Niagara Falls, Ontario, has more than 150 hotels ranging from three to five stars. In the low season in winter, the most affordable hotels in the city start at around $47 a night, whereas luxury hotels can start around $250 a night, according to the same source.

I chose the Sheraton Fallsview, a well-located hotel that faces Niagara Falls on the Canadian side, which I thought made it an exceptional place to stay to enjoy front-row views at every turn.

Part of the Marriott Bonvoy hotel collection, the Sheraton Fallsview is a four-star hotel with rooms ranging from interior view with no window starting at $130, to falls-view guest rooms and suites, which can cost between $150 and $600 according to a search I conducted a month in advance. Since I visited in the summer during the high tourism season, my room was more expensive at the top end of that range at $500 per night.

Since I had never previously visited Niagara Falls or even seen large waterfalls of this scale, I decided to upgrade to a premium 258-square-foot American Fallsview room with a direct view for my two-night stay.

The Sheraton Fallsview Hotel faces all three falls that make up Niagara Falls: the American Falls on the left, Bridal Veil Falls in the middle, and Horseshoe Falls, the U-shaped falls on the right.

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A view from the author's hotel room window of all three falls. Joey Hadden/Insider

There are several hotels in Niagara Falls, Ontario, that offer views of the falls, but I chose the Sheraton Fallsview hotel because of its reputation on the Niagara Falls tourism website as the best hotel for prime views of all three falls: the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Horseshoe Falls, the U-shaped falls on the right.

When I checked into the hotel, I anticipated being blown away by the scenery from my room's window, but staying at the Sheraton Fallsview also brought on some unexpected surprises that made me feel like my stay was worth the $1,000 price tag.

When I got to my room, I was the most surprised to find that I'd be able to see Niagara Falls from my bed.

A view of the author's room. Joey Hadden/Insider

I knew I'd be able to see Niagara Falls from my room when I booked it, but I didn't know how the room would be laid out. So, I was surprised to find that due to the room's open floor-plan and floor-to-ceiling windows, I'd be able to view the epic site from the comfort of my bed.

I thought it was relaxing to watch the falls from my queen-size bed, and I felt excited falling asleep at night knowing that the falls would be the first thing I'd see when I opened my eyes in the morning without having to face any of the crowds outside.

Unlike most other hotel stays I've experienced, the falls were so entrancing that I didn't turn on the TV once during my time there. I was too busy enjoying the view instead.

I knew I'd enjoy direct views of Niagara Falls but I didn't realize that my room came with a Juliette balcony with a door that I could open to hear the water crashing down.

The author photographs Niagara Falls from her room. Joey Hadden/Insider

My room advertised a Juliette balcony. According to the hotel's website, the Sheraton is the only hotel in Niagara Falls to offer this type of terrace, which has a glass door that opens up to outside, though I couldn't actually step onto it.

I didn't know my room would have a balcony before I arrived.

I didn't anticipate being able to hear the waterfalls from my hotel room without the barrier of a window, and with the door open, thought the falls were surprisingly loud. I also thought that opening the door gave me a better glimpse of Niagara Falls.

I found listening to the falls to be calming. It reminded me of the white noise audio I sometimes use to fall asleep, except smoother and more powerful.

Usually, I put on a playlist to start my day, but at the Sheraton Fallsview, I hopped out of bed and opened the door so I could get ready to the sounds of the crashing water.

After the sun went down, I had no idea that the falls would glow in a colorful light show over the falls.

The American and Bridal Veil Falls glow in cool colors. Joey Hadden/Insider

While the falls are breathtaking during the day, staying in this hotel room made me think they may be even more beautiful at night. After the sun went down, I looked out the window to find the falls glowing in changing colors, courtesy of the Niagara Falls Illumination board.

According to Niagara Parks, these lights are projected onto the water from the Illumination Tower and the Table Rock Centre rooftop. The edge of Horseshoe Falls also has lights on it.

The falls glow every night of the year, and the changing colors represent sunrises, the aurora borealis, rainbows, and sunsets, according to the same source.

I had no idea that the falls would glow at night in color like this before visiting Niagara Falls, so if I hadn't stayed in a hotel with a view of the falls, I may have never seen them. Each night at the Sheraton Fallsview, I pulled a chair up to the window to watch the show.

At 10 p.m., I was excited to see a fireworks show explode over the glowing waterfalls, which I enjoyed without obstruction or crowds.

Fireworks pop off over Horseshoe Falls. Joey Hadden/Insider

I also didn't realize my room would give me a front-row view of a nightly fireworks show.

During my first night in the hotel, after I was already mesmerized by the light show, I was completely awestruck when fireworks started popping off above the falls.

The fireworks display happens every night at 10 p.m. from late May to early October, according to Niagara Falls Live. The show went on for about six minutes each night. I thought it felt magical.

Seeing the fireworks show from my bed was a happy surprise, and I relished in avoiding the crowds of people rushing to admire them from the same viewpoints below. I felt like a VIP on my own private perch and thought it made the nightly $500 price totally worth it.

Read the original article on Insider
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan Vice President William Lai was elected as the new chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Sunday, setting the stage for him to run in presidential elections early next year.

Lai was the only candidate for taking the helm of the DPP. President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as party chairwoman in November after the DPP was trounced at local elections.

Lai has not directly said whether he intends to run in the presidential vote but is widely expected to do so now he is DPP chairman. Tsai cannot run again as president due to constitutional term limits.

The DPP's acting secretary general Sidney Lin told reporters in Taipei that Lai had won election. He formally assumes the role on Wednesday.

Lai, in a statement, pledged to win back public trust for the party and to "firmly protect Taiwan and promote Taiwan's democracy, peace and prosperity in a complex and changeable international situation."

Lai has previously angered Beijing, which views Taiwan as merely a wayward province not a country, with his staunch support for the island's sovereignty and separate identity.

A former premier and mayor of the southern city of Tainan, Lai has been Tsai's vice president since 2020 following the DPP's landslide election win.

He has taken on an increasingly high profile international role over the past year, briefly speaking with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in January last year while they were both in Honduras, one of 14 countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

In 2018, while still premier, Lai told parliament he was a "Taiwan independence worker" and that his position was that Taiwan was a sovereign, independent country.

China's influential Global Times tabloid responded at the time by saying China should issue an international arrest warrant for him to face prosecution under the country's 2005 Anti-Secession Law.

The DPP won the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide by pledging to defend Taiwan against China and not submit to Beijing's threats.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
A Texas man allegedly admitted to authorities that he murdered and mutilated his wife, according to a news release published by the Waller County Sheriff's Office.

Jared James Dicus was arrested and charged with first degree murder on Wednesday, according to online court records.

The Waller County Sheriff's Office responded to a call about a possible death at a southeast Texas home about an hour away from Houston around 4:35 p.m. Wednesday.

Deputies found the body of a woman in a "small residential structure" located behind the home. The body had been mutilated, according to the sheriff's office. NBC affiliate KPRC 2 reported that portions of her body had been dismembered and the home was covered in blood.

The victim was identified by Waller County Judge Trey Duhon and her family as 21-year-old Anggy Diaz.

Anggy Diaz. (via Facebook)

Dicus, the husband of the deceased woman, was detained on scene and later allegedly confessed to authorities that he had murdered his wife.

The suspect is being held on $500,000 bond, according to online court records. There are no attorneys listed on record for him at this time.

In a Facebook post, Judge Duhon recalled marrying the young couple in Oct. 2022.

"During my short time with them, they were a very nice young couple," he wrote. "As with many of you, Im greatly saddened and shocked by the news of this tragic event and my prayers are with all of their families."

Duhon said he took down a post announcing Diaz and Dicus' marriage that contained a picture of him with the couple "primarily due to the insensitive nature of some comments" made on the post.

A GoFundMe started by Diaz's uncle, Irvan Orellana, to help with funeral expenses remembers the victim as a "daughter, sister, niece, and a friend."

"Our family is shattered by the loss of such a young life," Orellana wrote. "She was the light to our family and community. Always with a smile, and cheerful personality. The absence of her from our lives will be felt forever."

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The Waller County Sheriff's Office and District Attorney's Office are investigating the murder.

The district attorney's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda delivers a speech on the stage at the Tokyo Auto Salon, an industry event similar to the world's auto shows Friday, Jan. 13, in Chiba near Tokyo. Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo

Toyota plans to convert older cars into eco-friendly models by updating parts, the AP reported.

CEO Akio Toyoda announced the effort at an industry event in Tokyo on Friday, per the AP.

Toyota has been reluctant to produce EVs due to high costs and concerns about lack of demand.

Toyota has an idea for making its cars more eco-friendly  and it doesn't involve producing any new electric vehicles.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda said the company plans to use a "conversion" strategy that involves transforming older cars into more sustainable models by replacing certain parts, the Associated Press reported.

Speaking at an industry event on Friday, Toyoda  the grandson of company founder, Kiichiro Toyoda  said Toyota is looking into swapping sustainable technologies like fuel cells and electric motors into older cars in an effort to expedite an industry push toward electric vehicles.

"I don't want to leave any car lover behind," Toyoda said at the Tokyo Auto Salon, per the AP.

The proposal marks a significant step for Toyota, which has lagged behind competitors in adopting electric-powered vehicles.

The company has faced mounting criticism for its lack of committment to producing EVs  a reluctance that is in large part due to the high cost of manufacturing the cars and Toyoda's insistence that some markets, particularly the US, aren't ready for them, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Instead, the company has sought out alternatives in the form of hybrid cars that run on a blend of gasoline and electric, and hydrogen-powered cars. While Toyota has established itself as a leader in hybrids, the company's dedication to the model has led some to believe it has become a means of avoiding a broader push to electric, the AP reported.

According to Electrek, which tracks the development of electric-powered vehicles, Toyota has generated less than 1% of US sales from non-hybrid zero-emission vehicles and "has the least developed supply chain for reducing carbon emissions."

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At the event, Toyoda said that while "regulations have prompted a race to put out EVs as early as possible" that is ultimately "not Toyota's approach," per the Wall Street Journal.

Despite its hesitancy to adopt EVs, the company still made a goal in December 2021 to sell 3.5 million EVs a year by 2030. At the time, Toyota also pledged to make all models in its Lexus line electric in the US, China, and Europe by 2030.

"[It] will be difficult but is something we must do," Toyoda said in December 2021, the Journal reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Trendlines Group Ltd. (Catalist:42T) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that insider Vincent Tchenguiz recently bought a whopping S$1.5m worth of stock, at a price of S$0.12. While that only increased their holding size by 5.3%, it is still a big swing by our standards.

View our latest analysis for Trendlines Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Trendlines Group

In fact, the recent purchase by insider Vincent Tchenguiz was not their only acquisition of Trendlines Group shares this year. Earlier in the year, they paid S$0.13 per share in a S$1.6m purchase. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being S$0.096). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Vincent Tchenguiz was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Vincent Tchenguiz bought a total of 37.16m shares over the year at an average price of S$0.12. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Trendlines Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Trendlines Group

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Trendlines Group insiders own about S$37m worth of shares (which is 43% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

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What Might The Insider Transactions At Trendlines Group Tell Us?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about Trendlines Group. Nice! While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Trendlines Group (2 are a bit unpleasant) you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Donald Trump is facing a libel and sexual assault lawsuits brought forward by writer E. Jean Carroll Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Donald Trump was deposed in October 2022 in a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll.

During the deposition, Trump was combative and meandered in his answers to the opposing counsel.

Trump boasted about his social media platform, threatened the counsel, and insulted Joe Biden.

Former President Donald Trump took moments to boast about his own accomplishments, complain about the country's "broken" justice system, and insult President Joe Biden during a deposition last year.

On October 19, Trump was deposed for a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist who has also accused the former president of sexual assault in a separate lawsuit.

An excerpt of Carroll's and Trump's depositions were unsealed on Friday.

The records show a combative Trump true to form: He repeatedly insulted Carroll  and at one point mischaracterized her words, claiming she said "rape was sexy"  and gave rambling answers to the opposing counsel, Roberta Kaplan.

Kaplan declined to comment for this story.

Here are some of the meandering moments from Trump's deposition:

"Truth Social is hot."

Donald Trump deposition. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

When the opposing counsel asked about Trump's social media alternative to Twitter, Truth Social, and the number of followers he had, the former president began to talk about how well the platform was supposedly doing.

He claimed that Truth Social was "number one ahead of TikTok, number one ahead of Twitter, number one ahead of Instagram and everyone else for the last number of days."

"They have the ratings, and they said Truth Social is hot," he said.

It's unclear what ratings Trump was referencing. According to a November report from TheRighting, a company that analyzes right-wing media trends, Truth Social's number of unique visitors was experiencing a two-month decline around the time of Trump's deposition.

The platform went from 4.02 million visitors in August to 2.95 million unique visitors in October, according to the report.

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Saving America

Donald Trump deposition. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

One of Trump's statements that Carroll's attorney focused on was a Truth Social post published on October 12, 2022, in which Trump called the rape accusation against him a "hoax."

Kaplan asked several questions about how the statement was prepared. At one point, Trump clarified it was a Save America statement, referencing one of the former president's fundraising vehicles, before he had an epiphany mid-deposition.

"This was a Save America statement, which is very interesting actually because it is saving America, stopping people from doing things like this, trying to save  it's one big part of saving America."

"I'm not Joe Biden."

Donald Trump deposition. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

The counsel also asked if Trump wrote the October 12 statement himself and if anyone had to review it. Here, he finds an opening to take a swipe at the president.

"No. I didn't need to. I'm not Joe Biden," Trump said.

Everything is broken.

Donald Trump deposition. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

One of Trump's oft-repeated gripes is how the entire US legal system appears to be bent against him.

There's a long list of legal cases against the former president, including a civil fraud case being pursued by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Trump briefly aired his grievance about it.

"The system in our country is broken, and the system in New York City is broken, in New York and New York State. It's a broken system," he said.

"Stupid" Anderson Cooper

Donald Trump deposition. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

CNN's Anderson Cooper also gets the heat from Trump.

Carroll's attorney asked about a video that used portions of Carroll's 2019 interview with Cooper, during which she explained why she doesn't like to use the word "rape."

She explained it "carries so many sexual connotations" and that "most people think of rape as being sexy" and "think of the fantasies."



During the deposition, Trump misconstrued Carroll's statement and claimed she said "it was very sexy to be raped."

As he explained how the video was prepped, Trump called Cooper's 360 show on CNN "stupid" and a "bad ratings show."

"Are you done?"

Donald Trump deposition. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

An evidently frustrated Trump goes off in his deposition after he's asked why he issued the October 12 statement.

After calling Carroll's accusation a "lie," Trump threatens to sue Carroll and her attorney, Kaplan, who has been deposing him.

"I'll sue you too because this is  how many cases do you have," Trump asked.

Kaplan is also representing investors in a fraud suit against Trump and his three oldest children.

He repeats that he'll be suing Kaplan, to which the counsel replies: "Are you done?"

"Yeah," Trump answers.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former President Donald Trump. Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Trump's former chief of staff did not trust how he handled classified information, NYT journalist says.

Michael Schmidt said John Kelly was concerned that Trump "could damage national security."

"Kelly did not trust that Trump knew how to handle classified information,' Schmidt said.

John Kelly, Donald Trump's ex-chief of staff, had to repeatedly remind the former president that he couldn't share classified information with friends, New York Times journalist Michael Schmidt said.

Schmidt, the author of "Donald Trump v. The United States," told MSNBC on Saturday that Kelly was "terrified" about a lot that had to do with the former president.

"Kelly did not trust that Trump knew how to handle classified information,' Schmidt said.

This comes as the Justice Department is probing the former president for possibly mishandling classified information, In August of last year, the FBI raided Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago after a search warrant was issued to search for missing classified documents. The warrant was issued after requests from the National Archives to return the classified and sensitive information went unanswered.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has since assigned a special counsel in the Department of Justice to investigate Trump's handling of classified documents.

Schmidt told MSNBC that Trump would openly talk about confidential information and "Kelly would try to stop Trump from doing things that could damage national security."

Schmidt added: "Here's the chief of staff to the president of the united state concerned that the president of the united states could damage national security. Remember the president of the united states is in charge of protecting the country, but Trump behaved in such an abnormal, immoral way in Kelly's eye that he didn't trust what Trump would do."

Read the original article on Business Insider
The family of a man who died following a traffic stop with Memphis Police has retained nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump, the law firm announced on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023.

Memphis Police said that Tyre Nichols, 29, ran from an arrest that day and two separate confrontations occurred. Nichols then complained of shortness of breath, according to the Memphis Police Department, and was taken to the hospital. He died three days later on January 10, 2023.

When Nichols was arrested and taken to the hospital, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said that they had been contacted by the office of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and were asked to investigate the use of force involved in Nichols arrest.

RELATED: TBI investigating use of force during MPD traffic stop that sent driver to hospital

On Tuesday, January 17, a week after Nichols death, the City of Memphis posted a statement regarding Nichols death on the citys website, attributed to Memphis Police Chief CJ Daivs and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.

The statement reads:

We understand and agree that transparency around the events surrounding the death of Mr. Tyre Nichols is critically important, especially the release of the video footage. Because this is an open investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), MPD has reached out to TBI and the Shelby County District Attorney, Steve Mulroy.

The video will be released publicly after the completion of the internal investigation into the actions of the officers and after the family of Mr. Nichols has had the opportunity to review the video privately.

We anticipate that MPDs internal investigation will be completed by the end of this week. The City has spoken with Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Mr. Nichols, and we are arranging a meeting with them early next week.

The office of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy also released a statement, promising to release the video of Nichols arrest as soon as possible.

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Our office is committed to transparency and understands the reasonable request from the public to view the video footage. However, we must ensure we abide by applicable laws and ethical rules so that we do not jeopardize an ongoing investigation or prosecution. Were working with the appropriate agencies to determine how quickly we can release the video, and will do so as soon as we can. Well be sure to update the public throughout this process.

The family of Nichols planned a memorial for the 29-year-old at the MJ Edwards Funeral Home on Airways Boulevard at noon on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

My stepson was brutally killed, Nichols stepfather, Rodney Wells, said days prior during a protest. No one should die from a traffic stop.

Memphis Police said that officers had a confrontation with Nichols and the 29-year-old ran. He was captured and another confrontation ensued, according to the Memphis Police Department (MPD).

NEW: @AttorneyCrump is representing Nichols family, a representative of the firm confirms to me.



Nichols family says police brutalized him until he was unrecognizable.



Crump, who is traveling, will be meeting w/ the family in the coming days, rep said. @FOX13Memphis pic.twitter.com/0Ffj60l1dU  Dakarai Turner (@Dakarai_Turner) January 16, 2023

As of January 17, MPD had not elaborated on what happened during those confrontations, the department only saying that Nichols complained of shortness of breath and was taken to the hospital where he would later die.

Nichols family was frustrated by a lack of answers regarding their loved ones death and protested outside of a police station on Sunday, January 15, 2023.

They killed my baby brother, cried out Nichols sister Kenyana Dixon.

RELATED: Family seeks answers one week after Memphis man beaten, ran over by car

The familys frustrations were due, in part, to the fact that they had still not seen the body-camera video from Nichols arrest. In the statement released by the City of Memphis and Memphis Police on Tuesday, January 17, it seems that the family will get to see that video after Memphis Police conclude their internal investigation, an investigation which is expected to wrap up by the end of the week.

Demonstrating in front of a police station days prior, protesters chanted, No justice, no peace. We will not accept what you have done.

On Sunday, January 15, Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland issued statements, saying that the department will take action against the officers involved, though it was immediately unclear what that action may be.

Due to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Tyre Nichols, it was important to take swift and deliberate action to maintain transparency, accountability, public trust, and legitimacy in our community. Therefore, on January 7, 2023, the Memphis Police Department (MPD) enlisted the assistance of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI) and the Shelby County District Attorneys Office to conduct an independent investigation into the use of force by Memphis police officers. In addition, MPD immediately began its own administrative investigation concerning policy violations.

After reviewing various sources of information involving this incident, I have found that it is necessary to take immediate and appropriate action, Chief CJ Davis said. Today, the department is serving notice to the officers involved of the impending administrative actions.

Unlike private sector employees, there is a required procedural process before government civil servant employees can be disciplined or terminated from employment. MPD is working quickly and appropriately to go through the administrative disciplinary and investigative process, which is expected to be completed later this week.

Make no doubt, we take departmental violations very seriously and, while we must complete the investigation process, it is our top priority to ensure that swift justice is served, Mayor Jim Strickland said. We want citizens to know that we are prepared to take immediate and appropriate actions based on what the findings determine.

Under the tenants of procedural justice, every Memphis Police Officer is expected to treat all citizens with respect and dignity, while demonstrating due care for their safety and well-being. All officers are expected to act in accordance with their oath of office, their training, department policies, and procedures, and solicit assistance from their supervisors when needed.

Sources told FOX13 that at least five officers were involved in those confrontations with Nichols.

Family and supporters of Tyre Nichols gather in protest. Nichols died days after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation began investigating the

In a statement, attorney Crump echoed the familys calls to see the body camera video from Nichols arrest.

All of the available information tells us that this was the tragic and preventable death of a young man deeply beloved by his family and community. This kind of in-custody death destroys community trust if agencies are not swiftly transparent. The most effective way for the Memphis Police Department to be transparent with the grieving Nichols family and the Memphis community is to release the body camera and surveillance footage from the traffic stop. Nobody should ever die from a simple traffic stop  the footage is the only way to discern the true narrative of why and how that happened to Tyre.

Meanwhile, Nichols family continued to grieve the loss of their loved one while they await more clarity on what happened the day Nichols was taken into custody.

It was almost as if he was killed on the scene and they just tried to cover it up, said Wells.We are going to fight. What they did to my brother they might as well have killed us all.





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Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images

President Joe Bidens December summit on U.S.-Africa trade presents an opportunity for Black political and economic leaders to make the most of the moment, and create new partnerships between America and the continent.

Black voters in the midterm elections flexed political muscle in coalitions in Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, and New York, among others. In Maryland, where Blacks comprise 30 percent of the population, history was made by electing Wes Moore as governor and Antonio Brown as attorney general. Surely, this is a time of unprecedented political power for Black Americans.

Adding to the moment is the United Nations General Assembly proclamation of 20152024 as the The International Decade for the People of African Descent. It is an attempt to promote diasporic development in the aftermath of slaveryincluding the fostering of equitable patterns of trade between Africa and Black America.

Joe Biden Must Uphold the Law and Keep His Promise to Black Labor

The challenge for leaders is how to use the momentum to make their states a place to rise for the Black community? One way is to bolster relations with the 49 African countries invited to the summit by the Biden administration.

The administration promised to invest at least $55 billion in Africa over the next three years, with a special focus on developing infrastructure for electrical power access. There are opportunities to team up over commercial and industrial ventures of mutual benefit.

Are leaders in Marylandand other state politiciansprepared to organize trade delegations like Minnesota, which sponsored one to Ghana and Cameroon last year?

Under The African Growth and Opportunity Act of 2000, along with other trade agreements, companies in 36 sub-Saharan countries have been granted duty free access to the American market for about 6,800 goods. Among the leading African products are cocoa, coffee, tea, fruit, nuts, shea butters, cotton, metals, machinery, spices, fashions, music and television discs, and other items.

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Leaders should find ways to encourage purchasing managers in state agencies to buy products from preferred African companies and help importers work with regulatory agencies. And, if feasible, they should lobby federal officials to require container ships from Africa to unload to workers in the ports of Baltimore and Savannah.

Just as important is participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area, agreed to by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and African Union. Implemented during the December summit, the zone has the potential to boost growth, reduce poverty, and broaden economic inclusion across sub-Saharan Africa.

5 Ways Rick Steves Europe Can Do Better for Black People

Certainly, Black political and business leaders should demand inclusion from the Biden administration; a seat at the table is a reasonable expectation from a president who promised to have their backs.

Most immediately, leaders should take advantage of the gateway trade programs of the State Department. In February, for instance, the Department will sponsor a business mission to Ghana in west Africa. The Partnership Opportunity Delegation aims to bring together business, financial, and technical experts to pursue ventures in the clean energy sector.

Another program, Power Africa, supports private sector, international development organizations, and government resources to increase electricity production. Since 2013, Power Africa has helped provide access to electricity to nearly 165 million people across sub-Saharan Africa. The Biden administration spent $193 million to support the initiative and plans to invest $100 million in 2023.

Black state leaders should facilitate the partnering of business, non-profits, and investment companies with the Clean Technology Energy Network. Over the next five years, the State Department aims to steer investments of up to $350 million in projects that expand access to reliable electricity. Yet another promising venture is the development of an electric vehicle battery chain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia in central Africa.

Black Candidates Had Mixed Results, But the Midterms Were a Bellwether for Black Politics in America

Understand that the region is mineral rich and contested by the U.S., China, the European Union, and other powers. The DRC provides 70 percent of the worlds cobalt, while Zambia is the worlds sixth-largest producer of copper and Africas second-largest cobalt producer, according to the State Department. At the December Africa summit, a memorandum of understanding was signed for the electric battery project.

Black politicians must demand inclusion for their industrial and financial entities in this potentially lucrative project.

In closing, Black state leaders should use President Bidens Africa summit as a launching pad for the restoration of economic ties with the continent.

To the extent they can build on the momentum of the summit, they will nurture a space to rise for Black-owned enterprises, investors, and consumersand create lasting economic partnerships with their counterparts in Africa.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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ABU DHABI (Reuters) - U.S. climate envoy John Kerry on Sunday outlined core principles for a "high-integrity" carbon offset plan meant to help developing nations speed their energy transition, and next steps including establishing a consultative group.

The Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA), first announced at last year's COP27 climate conference, is being developed by the United States with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation to mobilise private capital.

Kerry told the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi the aim was to create bankable deals to accelerate reduction of emissions, stressing that the ETA was not a substitute for other funding sources and would be time-limited.

"We believe you can have high-integrity, accountable, transparent credit which will help us to be able to put some money on the table," he said, acknowledging widespread criticism of voluntary carbon offset schemes.

Such schemes, in which companies get emissions credits in return for channelling cash to poor countries that cut their carbon output, have often been riddled with fraud and double-counting.

"There are only two purposes for which we will allow someone to be able to buy a credit - one, to be closing down or transitioning existing fossil fuel facility that is providing power, and two, for the actual deployment of renewables that will replace current dirty sourcing," Kerry said.

He said ETA principles also called for a near-term, inclusive and comprehensive approach to deliver on broader sustainable development goals and support power sector-wide energy transition.

The Rockefeller Foundation on Sunday published a joint statement with a preliminary list of members of the ETA High-Level Consultative Group which Kerry said would provide a broad cross section of input and would add more participants.

(Reporting by Rachna Uppal and Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Susan Fenton)
SEOUL (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to invest $30 billion in South Korea's industries, South Korea's presidential office said on Sunday, as the two countries seek to expand economic cooperation.

The investment decision was announced as South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol met his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi during a four-day state visit, Yoon's office said.

"We have decided a $30 billion investment based on the trust on South Korea which keeps promises under any circumstances," Yoon's office quoted the UAE president as saying.

Details of the investment plan were not immediately known but Yoon's press secretary, Kim Eun-hye, said in a statement the investment will be directed at nuclear power, defence, hydrogen and solar energy industries, among others.

Seoul's finance ministry said the $30 billion investment would be led by sovereign wealth funds, including Mubadala Investment Company.

At their summit, the two countries also signed 13 memorandums of understanding, including an agreement between the state-run Korea Development Bank and the Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala to cooperate for investment in South Korean companies.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi and Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Christina Fincher)
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed late on Jan. 14 the delivery of 14 Challenger 2 tanks and around 30 AS90 self-propelled 155mm howitzers as part of a major new package of military aid Ukraine.

The tank squadron will be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks, with the self-propelled artillery following soon after, the U.K. Prime Minister's Office said.

Sunak stressed the need for an international strategy to break the stalemate in Russias war against Ukraine.

The prime minister is clear that a long and static war only serves Russias ends, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

Equipped with state-of-the art targeting technology and advanced armor, the Challenger 2 is considered to be superior to the Soviet-era tanks currently operated by both sides in the war.

The U.K. will start training the Ukrainian forces to use the Challenger tanks and guns in the coming days. The nation has already provided basic training to Ukrainian soldiers as part of Operation Interflex, launched in July 2022 and involving instructors from eleven other nations.

Citing a senior defense official, British tabloid The Mirror reported on Jan. 15 that the U.K. will also send four Apache attack helicopters, armed with Hellfire missiles to Ukraine. The full details of the new U.K. military aid package will be released on Jan. 16.

As the first anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion approaches, the move, labelled the start of a gear change in the UKs support, is part a significant change of wind among Ukraines partners, committing Western-built tanks for the first time to improve Ukraines capacity for offensive operations.

The announcement comes four days after Polish President Andrzej Duda announced the delivery of twelve German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Duda said that the tanks would be delivered as part of a growing international coalition to provide Ukraine with Western-built tanks, with several European nations including Finland signalling their willingness to contribute.

Any delivery of German-built Leopard tanks must still be approved by Berlin, which has yet to give an official all-clear. On Jan. 13, Bloomberg reported that Germany would announce its final decision ahead of the next round of the Rammstein defense summit on Jan. 20.
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Jan. 15 to sanction 198 Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian public figures, putting into effect a decision by the National Security and Defense Council.

The list covers many people who support Russias war against Ukraine, ranging from TV personalities to popular singers.

The list includes Ukrainian pro-Kremlin journalist Diana Panchenko, who used to work for the TV channels of Russian President Vladimir Putin's ally and business tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk. Medvedchuk was charged with treasoin and handed over to Russia in September 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange.

The sanctions decree includes Russian propagandist Serhii Sosedov, Russian blogger Semyon Pegov, Ukraine-born propaganda blogger Yuriy Podoliaka, and Yuri Loza, a Russian singer openly supporting Russias war in Ukraine.

The decree is the second massive round of sanctions against Kremlin supporters after Zelensky issued a decree sanctioning 119 Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainian public figures on Jan. 7.

Zelensky said on Jan. 7 that Ukraine will expand sanctions against Russian citizens and those affiliated with Moscow who justify the war (against Ukraine), help to wage it, or glorify the terrorist state.

He added that everyone whose voice sounds in unison with the roar of Russian artillery will be isolated from the civilized world.
(Bloomberg) --

Most Read from Bloomberg

President Vladimir Putin said Russias economy is in better shape than expected. Iran, which has been supplying Moscow with attack drones for months, will take delivery of Russian fighter jets by March, an Iranian lawmaker said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said fighting in eastern Ukraines Donbas region will be fundamental to defeating Russia. The death toll at a nine-story apartment building in Dnipro climbed to 30 on Sunday after it was hit by what Ukraines air command said was a Russian long-range anti-ship missile.

The Dnipro strike was part of two waves on Saturday mostly targeted at Ukraines infrastructure. Missile and airstrikes were reported in locations including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Vinnytsia. Russian forces launched S-300 and S-400 systems on a ballistic trajectory from Belarus, before later launching cruise missiles from air and sea.

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

Ukraine Seeks Weapons to Beat Back Russia: Heres What Its Got

Iran Expects to Get Russian Fighter Jets by March, Tasnim Says

Gas Rollercoaster Throws Europes Inflation Outlook Wide Open

Sanctions on Russian Diesel to Create Huge Logistical Challenge

German Coal Mine Village Pits Energy Security Against Climate

Switzerland Aims to Soften Restrictive Arms Export Law, NZZ Says

On the Ground

Over the past 24 hours, Russia launched the air strikes and 57 missile strikes, and 69 strikes from rocket salvo systems, Ukraines General Staff said. Russia used -300/-400 long-range anti-aircraft missiles to carry out missile strikes on Kyiv and other settlements of Ukraine, it said in a daily report, warning that theres still a threat of air and missile strikes throughout Ukraine. At least seven were injured after Russian mass shelling in Kherson on Sunday, the regions governor said. Among the buildings shelled were an apartment complex and one where the Ukrainian Red Cross was located.

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(All times CET)

Zelenskiy Says Donbas Fighting Is Fundamental (8:40 p.m.)

Battles in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including the city of Bakhmut and the salt-mine town of Soledar, are continuing without any respite, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Sunday.

While Russia has made the battle for the cities of our Donbas fundamental for itself, Ukrainian forces are making this battle fundamental for the destruction of the combat potential of Russia, he said in his nightly video address.

Dnipro Apartment Building Death Toll Rises to 30 (8:25 p.m.)

The death toll from Russias missile attack Saturday on an apartment building in Dnipro rose to 30, according to emergency services. At least 72 others were injured and rescue efforts continued on Sunday. Ukraines air command said the building was hit by a Russian Kh-22, or X-22, long-range missile launched from the Kursk region and designed for use against aircraft carriers.

Dnipropetrovsk region Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on Telegram that 72 units in the block were destroyed and 230 others damaged.

Kremlin troops have fired more than 210 of the Kh-22 rockets since the start of the invasion, and Ukraine has no firepower capable of shooting down that type of missile, the air command said.

Ukraine First Lady Reflects on Wars Human Cost (4 p.m.)

Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukraines president, told CNN on Sunday that Ukrainians are trying to preserve some sort of normality as Russias invasion heads toward the one-year mark.

Women have taken the brunt of this war in terms of ensuring that their families are okay, that their children are okay, that their children are safe, Zelenska told CNN correspondent Fareed Zakaria through a translator. Mothers and grandmothers have stepped in to protect them.

Between the millions of Ukraine women and children who have fled abroad, and those who are internally displaced, I would not be wrong if I say that more than half of our families are divided, are separated, Zelenska said.

Ukraine Sanctions Another 200 Celebrities (3 p.m.)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree on Sunday imposing sanctions against almost 200 people of mostly Russian and Belarusian citizenship. It was the second round of sanctions announced this month.

The list includes actors, television journalists and businessmen. The sanctions stipulate blocking of assets, preventing the withdrawal of capital outside Ukraine, the suspension of economic and financial obligations and revocation of licenses and other permits.

Among those sanctioned was Angelina Vovk, 50, a former presenter on Soviet Central Television, and Boris Korchevnikov, 40, an actor and TV host.

Putin Says Economic Situation Satisfactory, Even Good (1 p.m.)

Russias president said the countrys economy is quite satisfactory, even good, and is performing better not only than opponents had expected, but even we predicted. Vladimir Putin spoke Sunday with the TV channel Russia-1.

He said Russias inflation rate is expected to slow to about 5% in the first quarter from 11.9%, and pointed to growth in industrial production, agriculture and construction.

Putin also said what he terms the special military operation in Ukraine is going according to defense ministry plans and that the dynamics are positive for Russia.

Iran Expects to Get Russian Fighter Jets by March (12:43 p.m.)

Iran will receive a number of Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets by March as part of a military order that includes defense systems, missiles and helicopters.

Shahriar Heydari, a member of the Islamic Republics parliamentary commission for national security and foreign policy, didnt specify the number of aircraft ordered.

Switzerland Aims to Soften Restrictive Arms Export Law (10:51 a.m.)

Switzerland has started working on a reform to allow some countries to export Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine, after international criticism of its restrictive arms export law, the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reported.

Its the first substantial move to ease a restrictive law shaped by Switzerlands tradition of neutrality in international affairs. Germany and Spain have criticized the Swiss for blocking ammunition shipments to Ukraine.

Read more: Switzerland Aims to Soften Restrictive Arms Export Law

Rheinmetall CEO Says Leopard Repairs Take a Year (9:15 a.m.)

The maker of Leopard tanks says it would take about a year to get the vehicles it has in inventory ready for the battlefield, meaning deliveries to Ukraine couldnt start before 2024, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said told the Bild newspaper.

The German defense company has 22 Leopard 2 tanks and 88 Leopard 1 vehicles, but we cant repair these tanks without an order, because the costs are several hundred million euros and Rheinmetall cant finance that in advance, he said.

The comments are likely to put more pressure on the German government to approve deliveries of vehicles in active service. Countries including Poland and Finland have said theyre ready to send their Leopards to Kyiv.

International Condemnation After Russian Strike on Civilians (8:44 a.m.)

Russias strike Saturday on civilians in an apartment block drew international condemnation.

Gitanas Nauseda, Lithuanias president, called Russia a terrorist state that brings destruction, death & immense suffering everywhere they go. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the attack was despicable, abhorrent, and completely unacceptable.

Bridget Brink, the US ambassador to Ukraine, said Russia was continuing a desperate assault on Ukraines cities and people.

Sunak Says Strategy Needed to Break Stalemate (8 a.m.)

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for an international strategy to break the stalemate in Ukraine after almost a year of war.

A flurry of UK diplomatic activity will take place across the globe this week after the prime minister directed senior ministers to drive international action, according to a statement from Sunaks office.

The UK has assessed that a window has opened up where Russia is on the back foot due to resupply issues and plummeting morale and Sunak is encouraging allies to press their advantage as soon as possible.

Emergency Power Outages in Kyiv After Saturdays Strikes (8 a.m.)

Ukraines capital, along with much of the country, continues to experience power outages after strikes on critical infrastructure by Russian missiles on Saturday.

DTEK power engineers, together with specialists from Ukrenergo, other emergency services and state authorities, are attempting to stabilize the situation.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
DNIPRO, Ukraine (AP)  The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro rose to 30 Sunday, the national emergencies service reported as rescue workers scrambled to reach survivors in the rubble.

Emergency crews worked through the frigid night and all day at the multi-story residential building, where officials said about 1,700 people lived before Saturday's strike. The reported death toll made it the deadliest attack in one place since a Sept. 30 strike in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, according to The Associated Press-Frontline War Crimes Watch project.

Russia also targeted the capital, Kyiv, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv during a widespread barrage the same day, ending a two-week lull in the airstrikes it has launched against Ukraine's power infrastructure and urban centers almost weekly since October.

Russia on Sunday acknowledged the missile strikes but did not mention the Dnipro apartment building. Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians in the war.

Russia fired 33 cruise missiles on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down, according to Gen. Valerii Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces. The missile that hit the apartment building was a Kh-22 launched from Russia's Kursk region, according to the military's air force command, adding that Ukraine does not have a system capable of intercepting that type of weapon.

In Dnipro, workers used a crane as they tried to rescue people trapped on upper floors of the apartment tower. Some residents signaled for help with lights on their mobile phones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that at least 73 people were wounded and 39 people had been rescued as of Sunday afternoon. The city government in Dnipro said 43 people were reported missing.

Search and rescue operations and the dismantling of dangerous structural elements continues. Around the clock. We continue to fight for every life, Zelenskyy said.

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Ivan Garnuk was in his apartment when the building was hit and said he felt lucky to have survived. He described his shock that the Russians would strike a residential building with no strategic value.

There are no military facilities here. There is nothing here, he said. There is no air defense, there are no military bases here. It just hit civilians, innocent people.

Dnipro residents joined rescue workers at the scene to help clear the rubble. Others brought food and warm clothes for those who had lost their homes.

This is clearly terrorism and all this is simply not human, one local, Artem Myzychenko, said as he cleared rubble.

Claiming responsibility for the missile strikes across Ukraine, Russias Defense Ministry said Sunday that it achieved its goal.

All designated targets have been hit. The goal of the attack has been achieved, a ministry statement posted on Telegram said. It said missiles were fired on the military command and control system of Ukraine and related energy facilities, and did not mention the attack on the Dnipro residential building.

On Sunday, Russian forces attacked a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, regional Gov. Yaroslav Yanushevych said in a Telegram post. According to preliminary information, two people were wounded.

Russia's renewed air attacks came as fierce fighting raged in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province, where the Russian military has claimed it has control of the small salt-mining town of Soledar but Ukraine asserts that its troops are still fighting.

If the Russian forces win full control of Soledar it would allow them to inch closer to the bigger city of Bakhmut. The battle for Bakhmut has raged for months, causing substantial casualties on both sides.

With the grinding war nearing the 11-month mark, Britain announced it would deliver tanks to Ukraine, its first donation of such heavy-duty weaponry. Although the pledge of 14 Challenger 2 tanks appeared modest, Ukrainian officials expect it will encourage other Western nations to supply more tanks.

Sending Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine is the start of a gear change in the U.K.s support," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said in a statement late Saturday. "A squadron of 14 tanks will go into the country in the coming weeks after the prime minister told President Zelenskyy that the U.K. would provide additional support to aid Ukraines land war. Around 30 AS90s, which are large, self-propelled guns, operated by five gunners, are expected to follow.

Sunak is hoping other Western allies follow suit as part of a coordinated international effort to boost support for Ukraine in the lead-up to the 1-year anniversary of the invasion next month, according to officials.

The U.K. defense secretary plans to travel to Estonia and Germany this week to work with NATO allies, and the foreign secretary is scheduled to visit the U.S. and Canada to discuss closer coordination.

___

Meldrum reported from Kyiv. Sylvia Hui in London contributed reporting.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have no weapons capable of shooting down the type of missiles that the Russians launched on 14 January, one of which hit a multi-storey residential building in Dnipro.

Source: Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force.

Quote: "On 14 January 2023, five Kh-22 cruise missiles were launched from five Tu-223 long-range bombers belonging to the Russian Air Force over Ukraine. The launches were carried out from Kursk Oblast [in Russia] and the Sea of Azov.

One of the Kh-22 rockets was launched from Kursk Oblast around 15:30. On 14 January 2023, it hit a multi-storey residential building in the city of Dnipro (on Naberezhna Peremohy Street).

Radar detected the approximate launch site, altitude, and flight speed. There is no doubt that it was an Kh-22 missile.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have no weapons capable of shooting down this type of missile. Since the beginning of Russia's military aggression, more than 210 missiles of this type have been fired over the territory of Ukraine. None of them have been shot down by anti-aircraft defence systems."

Details: Oleshchuk has added that the weight of the Kh-22 warhead is about 950 kg. The maximum range is up to 600 km.

When used from long distances, deviation from the target can be hundreds of metres.

"Only anti-aircraft missile systems, which in the future may be provided to Ukraine by Western partners (we are talking about systems such as Patriot PAC-3 or SAMP-T), are capable of intercepting these aerial targets," the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force noted.

Background: Earlier, Oleksiy Arestovych, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defence system had shot down a Russian Kh-22 missile, which fell on a house in Dnipro.

Russian propagandists immediately began to spread Arestovych's words.

Reminder: The authorities of the city of Dnipro announced three days of mourning for those killed in the Russian missile strike in the city of Dnipro.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  The U.N. criticized Afghanistans Taliban-controlled central bank for making misleading and unhelpful remarks about cash destined for humanitarian work. It comes amid growing tension between the global body and the country's rulers over bans on female education and employment.

The U.N. uses the money mostly to provide millions of Afghans with critical humanitarian assistance, flying in cash because of banking disruptions since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

Foreign aid stopped after the takeover. World governments imposed sanctions, halted bank transfers and froze billions more in Afghanistans currency reserves, unwilling to work with the Taliban, given their rule in the late 1990s and their refusal to educate girls and allow women to work.

The Taliban have, in the last 18 months, barred females from education beyond sixth grade, including university, from public spaces and from most employment.

Most recently, they barred women from working at national and international non-governmental organizations. That has drawn condemnation from the U.N., aid agencies and foreign governments and raised concerns that Afghans will suffer and even die if female workers continue to be excluded from humanitarian work. The Taliban show no signs of reversing these edicts, despite repeated calls to do so and visits from high-level U.N. and other foreign officials.

Their chief spokesman says authorities will not allow un-Islamic activities in Afghanistan and that politics should be kept out of humanitarian aid.

The U.N. in Afghanistan issued a statement late Saturday in response to a tweet from the Taliban-controlled central bank, which said a package of $40 million was deposited in a commercial bank in the Afghan capital, Kabul. It posted a photo of wads of cash.

Da Afghanistan Bank (the Afghan central bank) appreciates any principled move that will bring currency to the country and help the needy in the society, the tweet said.

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But the U.N. said its cash is placed into designated accounts in a private bank and distributed directly to its agencies and a small number of approved and vetted humanitarian partners in Afghanistan.

None of the cash brought is deposited in the Central Bank of Afghanistan nor provided to the Taliban de facto authorities by the UN," the world body said in a statement. "Announcements by non-UN entities about UN. fund shipments are misleading & unhelpful.

The United Nations has flown in around $1.8 billion in funds for the U.N. and its partners to carry out their work since December 2021.

It said the amount of cash brought in to Afghanistan is proportional to the U.N.s program of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.

If the volume of assistance that the UN is able to provide diminishes the amount of cash shipped will be reduced, the U.N. said.

It said the cash transfer mechanism has proved to be essential in the provision of life-saving assistance to more than 25 million Afghans.
The U.S. border crossing to Canada on Interstate 5 has reopened in both directions, the Washington State Department of Transportation announced.

WSDOT had announced the closure of the border crossing just before 9 p.m.

Washington State Patrol Trooper Kelsey Harding said the closure was due to a possible bomb threat.
Recordings of 911 calls made during the Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis last Jan. 15 give an inside look into the terror that unfolded that Saturday.

The Shabbat morning service at Congregation Beth Israel began at 10 a.m. as usual. Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, Jeffrey Cohen, Lawrence Schwartz and Shane Woodward were the only members in the building. Due to the cold weather and the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the congregants watched on Zoom or Facebook Live.

As the service progressed, those watching online realized something was wrong.

Someone is in our synagogue yelling at the rabbi obscenities, a caller told the 911 dispatcher, according to recordings obtained Friday by the Star-Telegram. The caller later added, Please get someone there.

Another 911 caller said she couldnt see anything on the screen, but she could hear a man making threats.

The man, 44-year-old British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, had knocked on the door of the synagogue earlier that morning. Cytron-Walker invited him in, thinking he needed shelter. After the Amidah  the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy  Akram pulled out a handgun and proceeded to take Cytron-Walker and the other three men hostage. The gunman also falsely claimed to have bombs.

Cytron-Walker, in a 911 call that lasted nearly 1 hour and 40 minutes, started by saying, Ive got someone who has a gun and ... he says he has two bombs and hes asking police to move back.

A couple of minutes later the rabbi asked the dispatcher if the police had moved back.

He says that he will pull the bomb if they dont pull back, Cytron-Walker said.

About seven minutes into the call, Akram got on the phone with the dispatcher. Everything will be fine, he told her. When she asked him about his claim that he had bombs, Akram responded, I have three bombs here, my dear.

Akram told the dispatcher that six of us slipped into your country and there was an organized plan. The others in his group were allegedly in New York City and ready to harm the Jewish population there, he said. The FBI later determined that Akram was acting alone.

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If you dont comply, Im telling you, thousands of Jewish people are going to die, Akram said.

Akram made reference to alleged members of his group and danger to Jews in New York several times during the call, but it wasnt clear what he was claiming the danger was.

Akram told the dispatcher to evacuate the area around the synagogue in a 25-meter radius. I dont want to kill innocent people, he said.

In this Dec. 22, 2022, photo, Lawrence Schwartz, left, Shane Woodward, center, and Jeff Cohen, right, smile as they pose for a photo inside Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. A year ago, rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and the three other men survived a hostage standoff at their synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. Their trauma did not disappear, though, with the FBIs killing of the pistol-wielding captor. Healing from the Jan. 15, 2022, ordeal is ongoing.

The dispatcher kept asking Akram what he wanted them to comply with.

Listen to me, Akram said. Youve got one hour. Get the chief rabbi. Then he asked to speak with Angela Buchdahl, a New York rabbi.

Cytron-Walker didnt know Buchdahl personally, but he was able to get her cell phone number. The first time he called, there was no answer. He tried again, and this time he left her a voicemail.

This is not a joke, he said. There is a gunman here who says he has a bomb and he wants to talk to you.

While waiting for Buchdahl to return the call, Akram can be heard saying, Just a little thing I need from you guys, and everything will be fine. At that point he still had not made it clear what he wanted.

The dispatcher tried to get Akram to tell her his name, but he said he would give it to her later. He said he was an expert in bombmaking and warned her that no one should try to come near the synagogue.

No one try to be a hero, he said. Cause these four gentlemens lives is at stake.

About 20 minutes into the call, Akram made his demand: the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a convicted terrorist from Pakistan whose supporters believe she is innocent, from Federal Medical Center Carswell prison Fort Worth.

Akram insisted that Siddiqui be brought to the synagogue.

If she comes here thousands of people, their lives will be saved, he said, adding,I give you my word on it.

FILE - The Congregation Beth Israel synagogue is shown, Jan. 16, 2022, in Colleyville, Texas.

From Akrams later conversation with Buchdahl and from comments made to the hostages, it is clear he believed a Jewish rabbi would have the influence needed to get Siddiqui released from prison.

At times Akram could be heard ranting in the background or talking to the hostages. Other times he was on the phone with the dispatcher asking if the area had been evacuated. At one point he angrily demanded why the evacuation wasnt finished yet.

During the course of the call the number of bombs he said he had changed. He initially told Cytron-Walker and the others he had two. He told the dispatcher there were three bombs and later he said two.

He frequently said, I love death more than you love life. He said he would let the hostages go when Siddiqui was released and then he would go out in front of the synagogue and the police could shoot him.

When he talked to the hostages, Akram alternated between telling them not to worry and talking about his bombs. At one point he said he had 1,200 rounds of ammunition.

Cytron-Walker asked Akram to let the hostages go. Toward the beginning of the standoff Akram can be heard saying, I just need one prisoner. He was possibly referring to Siddiqui, but that was before he had demanded her release.

Cytron-Walker quickly responded, Let me be your prisoner and please let them go.

About halfway through the 11-hour standoff, Akram did release 86-year-old Schwartz. According to Associated Press reporting, Schwartz may have reminded Akram of his father, and he began calling him Dad. The other hostages convinced Akram to let Schwartz go.

Schwartz recently told the AP that he was upset and didnt want to leave the others behind. Only later he realized the three younger men would have an easier time escaping without him.

Im not able to move very fast, Schwartz said. They could run. But not me.

In this Dec. 22, 2022, photo, as Lawrence Schwartz poses for a photo inside of Congregation Beth Israel, he placed his hands in the air and said, This is what I did when I approached the door, after he was told he was being released from the hostage situation in Colleyville, Texas.

Colleyville Police Department body-camera footage obtained by the Star-Telegram shows law enforcement officers helping Schwartz into a van to be taken away from the synagogue.

Schwartz asked for permission to call his wife and an officer responded, You can call anybody you want.

I just wanna let her know that Im all right, Schwartz said as he pulled out his phone.

Akram seemed to grow increasingly agitated as the 911 call went on. He spouted COVID-19 conspiracy theories and ranted that Siddiqui was innocent and had already spent 18 years in prison. He demanded to speak to Siddiqui on the phone, saying that might calm him down.

The call finally ended when the dispatcher promised an officer on scene would call him soon.

FBI negotiators kept in touch with Akram throughout the day, but he grew more and more agitated.

He was screaming, I am going to put a bullet in each one of you, Cohen told the Star-Telegram in an interview shortly after the attack.

Akram asked for something to drink, and Cytron-Walker brought him some soda and a cup from the kitchen. When Akram went to pour it, Cytron-Walker threw a chair at him and yelled Run!

The three hostages escaped through a nearby exit door. They told the Associated Press that Akram tried to shoot them as they fled, but the pistol misfired.

I know God was with us, Woodward said in an interview with the AP.

The FBI Hostage Rescue Team entered the synagogue and killed Akram.

At 9:13 p.m., on-scene Star-Telegram reporter James Hartley tweeted that he heard what sounds like gunshots and a much louder bang, possibly a flash grenade.
If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at J. Smart (Contractors) (LON:SMJ) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for J. Smart (Contractors):

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.01 = UK1.4m  (UK146m - UK13m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2022).

So, J. Smart (Contractors) has an ROCE of 1.0%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Construction industry average of 8.9%.

See our latest analysis for J. Smart (Contractors)

roce

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for J. Smart (Contractors)'s ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating J. Smart (Contractors)'s past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From J. Smart (Contractors)'s ROCE Trend?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at J. Smart (Contractors), we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 2.7% over the last five years. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. This could mean that the business is losing its competitive advantage or market share, because while more money is being put into ventures, it's actually producing a lower return - "less bang for their buck" per se.

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In Conclusion...

We're a bit apprehensive about J. Smart (Contractors) because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. However the stock has delivered a 67% return to shareholders over the last five years, so investors might be expecting the trends to turn around. In any case, the current underlying trends don't bode well for long term performance so unless they reverse, we'd start looking elsewhere.

On a separate note, we've found 3 warning signs for J. Smart (Contractors) you'll probably want to know about.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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.

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Illustration by Mitchell Preffer for Decrypt

Weve now passed the second full week of 2023 and crypto fans patience and resilience have been rewarded with the first big price leaps in a long time. Most of the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization have blown up by double-digit percentages over the last seven days.

However, nobody is out of the woods yet. On Monday, Fox News journalist Charles Gasparino divulged the latest gossip from the wide-ranging and far-reaching FTX case.

BREAKING: Prosecutors are telling lawyers connected to @SBF_FTX fraud investigation the case is so sprawling that it could exhaust resources of the southern district since it includes potential bribery, campaign contribution violations, market manipulation on top of theft & fraud  Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 9, 2023

Security researcher and Forbes 30 Under 30 winner Jane Manchun Wong reported that day that Twitter wants in on the coin action and appears to be preparing a digital economy of its ownalthough Twitter Coins will probably not launch on the blockchain.

Twitter is working on Coins purchasing screen On the web, Twitter Coins purchase will be done through Stripe https://t.co/RFpWswnZfG pic.twitter.com/eAzPWjfoye  Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 10, 2023

Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer finally received a reply from the authorities after he sent a letter last fall criticizing the governments decision to ban crypto privacy tool Tornado Cash. The treasury told Emmer it couldn't comment on pending litigation, and Emmer said he'll be happy to wait for to ask questions during a public House Committee on Financial Services hearing.

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Nearly 5 months later, Treasury responded to our inquiry about OFACs sanctioning of Tornado Cash smart contracts decentralized, immutable contracts that enable transaction privacy on public blockchains. https://t.co/PiJUKMuUg4 pic.twitter.com/jVz70JK3Cq  Tom Emmer (@RepTomEmmer) January 10, 2023

His Bitcoin buying habit may have caused multimillion dollar losses for his country, but El Salvadors authoritarian President Nayib Bukele wanted everyone to know on Wednesday that hes still sold on Bitcoin and hes taking his legislation to the next level to prove it.

El Salvadors Legislative Assembly has just approved, by an overwhelming majority, the new Digital Securities Law! Forward, always forward More information on this thread https://t.co/8C21ZilyVP  Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 11, 2023

The Twitter account for MetaMask Support warned users of a new style of exploit that day.

A new scam called 'Address Poisoning' is on the rise. Here's how it works: after you send a normal transaction, the scammer sends a $0 token txn, 'poisoning' the txn history. (1/3)  MetaMask Support (@MetaMaskSupport) January 11, 2023

On Friday, Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek announced that the exchange is about to make its third round of job cuts since June, citing negative economic developments.

Today we announced the difficult decision to reduce our global workforce by about 20%.  Kris | Crypto.com (@kris) January 13, 2023

Finally, Sam Bankman-Fried wants you to know he has a blog.

Gemini vs Genesis: Week 2

The aftershocks of FTXs collapse are still reverberating around the industry, spreading contagion, as highlighted by the new feud last week between crypto exchange Gemini and its creditor, Genesis, who allegedly owes users of Geminis Earn product $900 million.

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss sent Digital Currency Group (DCG) chief Barry Silbertwho wholly owns Genesisanother open letter this week, throwing more accusations of fraud, lies and greed at him. The DCG account called his claims a desperate and unconstructive publicity stunt.

This is another desperate and unconstructive publicity stunt from @cameron to deflect blame from himself and Gemini, who are solely responsible for operating Gemini Earn and marketing the program to its customers.  Digital Currency Group (@DCGco) January 10, 2023

Later in the week Silbert shared a DCG Letter to Shareholders in which he calls out bad actors and blow-ups that have wreaked havoc on our industry. He goes on to say that this year the industrys credibility and reputation have almost been destroyed by a wave of unprecedented fraud and criminal behavior. Silbert published an abridged version of the letter in the ensuing thread.

Ive been reflecting quite a bit about the past year, the state of the industry and where things go from here. Here is an update to address those reflections, other developments and some speculation about @DCGco (1/10)https://t.co/xEohthubvD  Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) January 10, 2023

On Thursday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) got involved and filed a new set of charges against both Gemini and Genesis alleging that Geminis Earn product was an unlicensed security.

Today we charged Genesis Global Capital, LLC and Gemini Trust Company, LLC for the unregistered offer and sale of securities to retail investors through the Gemini Earn crypto asset lending program. For more:  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) January 12, 2023

Gemini co-founder and CEO Tyler Winklevoss immediately reacted, calling it a counterproductive move by the SEC. Later in the thread, Winklevoss said Gemini looks forward to defending itself against this manufactured parking ticket.

4/ We look forward to defending ourselves against this manufactured parking ticket. And we will make sure this doesnt distract us from the important recovery work we are doing.  Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) January 12, 2023

Republican Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer heavily criticized the SECs approach.
Remember that pink sauce that went viral on TikTok last summer? Now you can buy it at Walmart.

TikTok creator Chef Pii first unveiled the Pepto Bismol-colored dipping sauce on the social media network last June. As interest bubbled up, sales grew and so did some criticism.

Consumers had questions about information on the nutritional label  number of servings and whether milk was an ingredient  and the price ($20 at the time). So, Chef Pii paused production and reached a deal with Dave's Gourmet, which makes hot sauces and pasta sauces. Walmart will be the exclusive retailer for Pink Sauce until July 2023.

Mega Millions: Winning ticket for $1.35 billion jackpot sold in Maine  on Friday the 13th

A $5 Venmo request?: How inflation is changing the way people use payment apps.

TikTok creator Chef Pii has some of her Pink Sauce. The condiment is now produced by Dave's Gourmet and available at Walmart.

What is pink sauce?

It's a bright bubble gum-hued condiment that can be used on many foods. Chef Pii posted videos on TikTok last summer dousing all kinds of dishes with the sauce including chicken, tacos, gyros and more. Then, the sauce went viral on Twitter and Instagram, too. The Miami-based private chef's real name is Veronica Shaw, according to the Los Angeles Times. (Her nickname as a kid was "Pink," so she shortened that to "Pii" for her social media moniker.)

In a June 19 video, she said she "wanted to come up with like this crazy innovative off the wall sauce" with a natural pink color.

What is in pink sauce?

Here are some of the ingredients, according to the Dave's Gourmet Specialty Food site, where you can order Pink Sauce for $9.99 per 13-ounce bottle:

Dragon Fruit Puree

Canola Oil

Coconut Cream

Water

Sugar

Distilled White Vinegar

Garlic

Ranch Flavor (Maltodextrin, Onion Powder, Natural Flavors, Modified Food Starch)

Originally, there were concerns that milk was an ingredient, which could spoil and make the sauce unsafe. There is no dairy in the sauce, which is also gluten-free and vegan, according to the website.

What's everyone talking about?: Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day

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What does pink sauce taste like?

Last summer, several videos showed people describing it as tasting similar to ranch dressing. When Marie Wright, chief global flavorist at Archer Daniels Midland Co., recreated the sauce for the PopSugar website, she described it as "a tangy, slightly sweet twist on ranch."

When plans to produce the sauce were announced in August, Dave's Gourmet president David Neuman said the company's R&D staff "was able to re-formulate the sauce to match Chef Pii's exact color and flavor profile for the product and at the same time change some of the ingredients to make the sauce less complicated, dairy-free, and clean of any preservatives, artificial colors or flavors."

What's the deal with the FDA and pink sauce?

Last summer, some consumers complained about some bottles leaking. And some were concerned when Pii was asked during an Instagram Live whether the sauce was "FDA approved." She responded, "What do you mean, FDA approved? I dont sell medical products," the Los Angeles Times reported.

Subsequently, she told The Washington Post she changed shipping companies and changed the product label to recommend refrigeration. She also said the production facility where her sauce was made was certified by the Food and Drug Administration.

Dave's Gourmet, which now produces Pink Sauce, has been in operation since 1993 and makes various sauces including Dave's Insanity Sauce.

What are people saying about pink sauce being in Walmart?

While some people on Twitter were surprised the product landed in Walmart, many were happy for Chef Pii. "I do remember her getting a lot of hate/negativity and I'm happy she didn't allow that to stop her!" one person on Twitter said.

Super side bar, Im really happy for the pink sauce girl! Im not super hip to everything but I do remember her getting a lot of hate/negativity and Im happy she didnt allow that to stop her! Now her sauce is in stores which is so cool!   arnell (@arnellarmon) January 14, 2023

Another person noted that "clearly she did what needed to be done to get her product on that shelf."

Ion like how yall doing the pink sauce lady cause clearly she did what needed to be done to get her product on that shelf  Kim Shadey (@thekimshadey) January 14, 2023

Contributing: Brett Molina

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Walmart now sells pink sauce, the viral TikTok condiment
A man has been arrested following an overnight shooting that sent one woman to the hospital.

Shannon Washington, 24, was arrested by Lexington police after they were called to the 1700 block of Gerald Drive Saturday night around 7:30 p.m.

According to police, when officers arrived, they located a woman outside suffering from a gunshot wound. She was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to Lt. Joe Anderson, there have been no updates on the victims status as of Sunday morning.

Anderson said Washington was on the scene when officers arrived. He was charged with first-degree assault and taken to the Fayette County Detention Center.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Lexington Police at 859-258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling 859-253-2020, online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com, or through the P3 Tips app available at www.p3tips.com.
One gynaecologist told the Independent patient choice was being taken away (file photo) (Getty/iStock)

Women seeking abortions are facing cruel delays because they are being blocked from choosing where they can get treatment, it has been warned.

Charities have said that the failure of some NHS funding bodies to pay for out-of-area terminations is a breach of NHS rules and standards and is putting patients at risk.

Dr Jonathan Lord, the medical director of MSI Reproductive Choices, told The Independent that the complex and heavily bureaucratic rules result in patients being forced to use their sole local provider or to travel long distances to a service run by that same provider elsewhere.

And the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists warned women must be given the right to choose their preferred abortion treatment, as well as where they receive healthcare.

Dr Lord, a consultant gynaecologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, said: Patient choice is being taken away. This choice is enshrined for all NHS procedures but is being denied for abortions.

They are just not following the NHS rules which ensure patients have a right to have treatment with any NHS provider. This would never happen with any other field of healthcare. It is leading to delays which are cruel for patients.

He claimed Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), which commissions NHS services in the area, was refusing to pay his organisation for out-of-area treatments it had provided. As a result, it is contemplating reclaiming the money via debt collection.

Dr Lord said there were a number of reasons why a woman would choose to access treatment elsewhere, including shorter waiting times, privacy or choice of procedure, and his organisation had women calling in tears due to having their request denied.

Abortion services are arranged differently from other forms of healthcare - with about 75 per cent of NHS abortion services carried out by independent providers.

Data gathered by MSI Reproductive Choices UK, previously seen by The Independent, revealed women in 15 areas across England can only use their local provider.

Story continues

Dr Lord, whose organisation works with every NHS funding body in the country, said another reason a patient may not want to use their local abortion provider is that they have had a difficult experience there or because the service does not provide the type of healthcare they want.

Some services do not provide surgical abortions and only offer induced labour which means women must have a stillbirth, he added.

She was sobbing down the phone. She was utterly distraught at being forced to go back to where she had such unhappy memories.

Jonathon Lord

He said: In Oxford, there was a patient who had a severe foetal anomaly who needed an abortion and did not want an induced labour. She wanted it done surgically.

It is very common to prefer surgery over induced labour. Surgery is a treatment which is all done in one sitting.

The whole process of an induced labour takes about three days and involves giving birth, which can be very traumatic when you know the baby is not going to be alive. Also, there are higher complication rates with induced labour.

Another key reason a patient may not want to use their local service is if they want to be asleep or awake for the procedure but the option is not offered at the service.

Dr Lord, who is also chair of the British Society of Abortion Care Providers, added: Women call up in tears. I remember a woman from the Oxford region who had to have a repeat abortion. She was so fertile the contraception failed twice.

She had an incredibly traumatic first experience of an abortion which was not the fault of the provider but she did not want to go back there. The funding bodies refused point blank.

She was sobbing down the phone. She was utterly distraught.

They are just not following the NHS rules which ensure patients have a right to have treatment with any NHS provider. This would never happen with any other field of healthcare. It is leading to delays which are cruel for patients.

Jonathon Lord

He also gave the example of a woman from Somerset who wanted to be under a general anaesthetic so she was not awake while having her surgical abortion but this was refused, meaning she had to travel from Somerset to London.

Dr Lord said: This is a result of a wilful disregard for NHS standards. I dont understand how anyone managing healthcare can act so cruelly.

Dr Ranee Thakar, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president, said it backed the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) abortion care guidelines that state patients should choose where they are treated.

She added: Women have the right to choose what abortion treatment they would prefer, and where possible, should also have the right to choose where they receive care.

Kerry Abel, chair of Abortion Rights, a UK campaign group, said abortion was a common and safe procedure so it was imperative that those who chose to have one can get them in a timely manner without added stress.

Abortion services should be patient-focused - we are concerned about any barriers to access to abortion at a local level and call out the postcode lottery of abortion services.

NHS England and ICBs for Somerset and Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & West Berkshire have been contacted for comment.
BEIJING (AP)  The World Health Organization has appealed to China to keep releasing information about its wave of COVID-19 infections after the government announced nearly 60,000 deaths since early December following weeks of complaints it was failing to tell the world what was happening.

The announcement Saturday was the first official death toll since the ruling Communist Party abruptly dropped anti-virus restrictions in December despite a surge in infections that flooded hospitals. That left the WHO and other governments appealing for information, while the United States, South Korea and others imposed controls on visitors from China.

The government said 5,503 people died of respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and there were 54,435 fatalities from cancer, heart disease and other ailments combined with COVID-19 between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12.

The announcement allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation, said a WHO statement. It said the WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, talked by phone with Health Minister Ma Xiaowei.

WHO requested that this type of detailed information continued to be shared with us and the public, the agency said.

The National Health Commission said only deaths in hospitals were counted, which means anyone who died at home wouldnt be included. It gave no indication when or whether it might release updated numbers.

A health official said the national emergency peak has passed based on an 83% decline in the daily number of people going to fever clinics from a Dec. 23 high.

The report would more than double Chinas official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official toll, which excludes many fatalities that might be attributed to the virus in other countries.

Related...
As of Sunday evening, 30 people are known to have died in the Russian missile attack on a residential building in the city of Dnipro, and the fate of over 30 more remains unknown.

Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his evening address

Quote: "There are currently 30 people on the list of the victims, including one child, a 15-year-old girl. There are reports that two children have been left without parents."

Details: The President noted that the fate of more than 30 people who could have been in the building at the time of the missile hit remains unknown.

"Dozens of people have been rescued from the rubble, including six children. We are fighting for every person! And the rescue operation will continue as long as there is even the slightest chance of saving lives," he said.

President Zelenskyy also switched to Russian as he addressed citizens of the Russian Federation.

Quote: "I want to say to all those in Russia and from Russia, who even now cannot utter a single word of condemnation of this terror, although they see and know everything very well. Your cowardly silence, your attempt to ride out what is happening, will end with these same terrorists coming for you one day. Evil is very sensitive to cowardice, evil always remembers those who fear it and try to plead. And when it comes for you, there will be no one to protect you."

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, expressed his condolences to the families of the 25 people who were killed in the Russian attack on the city of Dnipro on 14 January.

Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram

Quote: "As of now, 39 people were rescued, 6 out of them children. Twenty five people were killed, among them one child. Seventy three people were injured, out of them 13 children. Forty three people are still missing and being searched for.

I express my condolences to the victims' families."

Details: Zelenskyy reported that four tents of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and two tents of the volunteers were put up near the damaged residential building.

The victims are receiving psychological help.

Background:

Russians launched an attack on a residential building in the city of Dnipro using a Kh-22 missile designed to destroy aircraft carrier groups at sea.

The Dnipro city authorities announced three days of mourning for those killed in the Russian missile attack.

The authorities have reported that 21 people have been killed in the Russian attack on the city of Dnipro.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
African nations need to do more to address the widespread displacement, killings and other abuses that have come about from the continents many conflicts, according to a new report published this week by Human Rights Watch.

The report that summarizes human rights trends in 23 African countries has found that in many countries on the continent, the population is caught up in conflict and simply has nowhere to turn. Some of the most egregious of human rights violations continue to cascade in the context of conflict, says Mausi Segun, head of Human Rights Watch Africa. Civilians have continued to bear the brunt of armed conflict, communal violence, political and social unrest as well as government repression against critical and independent voices in several African countries. All of these have resulted in the destruction of lives and livelihoods.

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), there were at least 36,000 violent events and more than 50,000 deaths caused by violence in Africa in 2022. Human Rights Watch said in at least 15 armed conflicts, in the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin area, the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa, government forces and armed groups have been implicated in abuses against civilians.

Political, religious and social intolerance have also increased, according to human rights researchers. The latest report by the rights watchdog praises the African Union and regional blocs including ECOWAS for taking action, such as reconciling Ethiopias warring factions, condemning coups in West Africa and refusing to recognize any attempt to seize power by force.
Uganda has begun to court Yapi Merkezi, a Turkish firm, that is building the Tanzanian railway for financing and construction of a railroad after it cancelled all contractual work it had earlier signed with China Harbor Engineering Company.

The east African nation has canceled the deal it signed with the Chinese company to build a 273-kilometer standard gauge railway (SGR) from its border with Kenya to the Ugandan capital, after the project failed to kick off eight years later. Kampala is now courting the Turkish firm and is awaiting response from it after signing a memorandum of understanding to start the project. Uganda hopes the Turkish company will help it find financiers for the project.

This follows Chinas hesitance to finance Ugandas economy with the $2.3 billion needed for the project, seemingly as a precaution, given previous debt defaults by other African countries like Zambia and Ghana. In August 2022, China wrote off bad debts by 17 African countries. Not even a trip by president Yoweri Museveni to China in 2018 could convince the China Exim Bank to approve the promised financing, thus forcing the government to start looking for funds in other global capital markets last year.
The Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine is launching a 40-date U.S. tour with one stop in Opelika on Jan. 21.

This will be the second Ukrainian group to perform at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts during the 2022-2023 season. The first was the Kyiv City Ballet company that performed Swan Lake in October.

Its been a great opportunity. I set out last spring and into the summer looking for an opportunity to bring attention to the arts and culture of Ukraine because of this circumstance, but initially it was really difficult, said Phillip Preston, director of East Alabama Arts.

Preston said those who attend the concert on Saturday will love the music and will feel inspired.

The point of the tour coming to the United States is to help reinforce the Ukrainian spirit for this country and audiences here, he said.

The 66 piece orchestra will perform at 7:30 p.m. at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $20-$59 and are available online at eastalabamaarts.org.

Return to Lviv

Theodore Kuchar, music director and principal conductor of the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, said with or without a war going on, he feels called to represent and share the culture of Ukraine through music.

Kuchar grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the first generation in his family to be born in the United States. His parents came to this country from Lviv, Ukraine, after WWII.

He said his father often told him, You dont know how lucky you are to have been born in the United States where you have everything. Someday you will have an obligation to go back to where we came from and to give back to those people that were not as fortunate as you.

Following his fathers wish, Kuchar traveled to Ukraine for the first time in 1992 and was appointed to be the music director and principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in 1994.

I eventually made it the most recorded and most traveled orchestra in the world during the first decade of my relationship there, he said.

With the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Kuchar appeared in over 250 performances, in Kyiv and on tour on four continents.

Kuchar is a multiple award-winning conductor, is the most recorded conductor of his generation and appears on over 140 compact discs for the Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Ondine, Marco Polo, Toccata Classics and Centaur labels.

Hes served in director and principal conductor positions in Czech Republic, Venezuela, Australia, the United States and now Poland.

I felt that the time has come that I have to at least do something for the city of the origin of my family, of my parents and all of our relatives who at some point in time during the 19th and 20th centuries occupied very major positions, Kuchar said.

He began visiting Lviv as a guest conductor in 2017, and by 2022, he became the principal conductor of the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine.

We started, just like in Kyiv, we started doing anywhere from 10 to 12 recordings a year, and then suddenly the world, the musical world, was getting to know (Ukrainian music) through compact discs, Kuchar said.

Radio stations around the world also began playing a number of their recordings, some of which had won international awards.

While this will be the Lviv orchestras first time performing in Opelika, Kuchar traveled to Opelika in 2017 to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. He said that was the first time a Ukrainian symphony orchestra has ever come to the United States.

The schedule for the Lviv orchestras 2023 U.S. tour includes Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Theyll make stops along the east coast and go as far west as Kansas between January and March.

Kuchar said the program in Opelika will consist of composers Brahms and Beethoven and feature Piano Concerto No. 5 and Symphony No. 9, known as the New World Symphony.

War in Ukraine

Lviv is a major city in the western half of Ukraine. With the ongoing war with Russia, Kuchar said media personnel that come to cover the war base themselves in Lviv.

Although weve seen our share of rockets and living with no electricity and no heat for much of the time, Lviv has largely remained intact compared to the others, Kuchar said.

The concert hall in Lviv, which houses a number of orchestras, musical collectives and organizations including the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra, has become a location to store supplies, food, clothing and other things that people from around the world are sending to Ukraine.

The building in which the National Philharmonic Orchestra is housed has started housing these things and being like a distribution center point for these things to be sent out, Kuchar said. The building, the organization which houses us, has taken a very central and responsible role in helping the country, not get on its feet, but to exist.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Kuchar said everybody thought that Russia would take over the entire country within a couple of days.

Nobody, nobody in the world expected that Ukraine would be holding off Russia, he said. Russia is the place thats supposed to be taking over everything, but not so easy.

Kuchar remembers conducting a concert in Lviv the day before the invasion. People from the embassies centered in Kyiv had already left the capital city and moved to Lviv.

That night, Kuchar said the American Embassy came to listen to the symphony concert. Afterwards he spoke with one of the American ambassadors to find out what they thought was going to happen. He said the ambassadors response was, Nobody knows.

At this time, Russia already had about 150,000 troops on the Ukrainian border.

We spoke for about 45 minutes and about 10:45 that evening, the night of the 23rd, I went home and they went home, he said. Woke up at 7 oclock the next morning, I had an email from the assistant of the American ambassador in Ukraine that we were told to evacuate to Poland immediately at 6 a.m.

The war has not silenced the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra. Kuchar and his group of musicians have continued to tour and perform at concerts around the world sharing Ukrainian spirit and culture.
South Central Railway general manager Arun Kumar Jain stated that each student will be accompanied by one parent and that the lucky ones of the first ride were chosen through a quiz contest held by the railways. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: The eighth semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express, which will be virtually flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 15 from Secunderabad, will carry several schoolchildren as its first passengers.

The Vande Bharat Express, which will run between Secunderabad and Viskahapatnam, will have 16 compartments with rotating seats and can seat 1,128 passengers.

South Central Railway general manager Arun Kumar Jain stated that each student will be accompanied by one parent and that the lucky ones of the first ride were chosen through a quiz contest held by the railways. The competitions were held for students from Kendriya Vidyalaya, the Railway Mixed High School, Navodaya School, and the Railway Junior College.

Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union tourism minister G. Kishan Reddy will be among those present at the Secunderabad railway station for the inaugural run.

The students from the city will deboard the train at Kazipet, and another set of students from Kazipet and Warangal will take their place. The idea is to provide an opportunity to students to experience the journey. Once they disembark, we will transport them back to their respective places, Jain told Deccan Chronicle.

Jain said the commercial operations of the train will begin from January 16, and a notification will be issued enabling passengers to book tickets.

On its regular run, the Vande Bharat Express will leave Secunderabad at 3 pm and reach Visakhapatnam at 11.30 pm. On its return journey, it will leave Viskhapatnam at 5.45 am, and arrive at Secunderabad at 2.15 pm. The train will get a weekend break on Sundays with operations planned for six days a week.

Jain said the Vande Bharat Express will be the fastest train between the two cities covering the distance in 8.30 hours running at an average speed of 130 km per hour. The next fastest train between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam, the Duronto Express, takes 11 hours and 10 minutes.

However, on its inaugural run, the train will halt at Cherlapally, Bhongir, Jangaon, Kazipet, Warangal, Mahbubabad, Dornakal, Khammam, Madhira, Kondapally, Vijayawada, Nuziveedu, Eluru, Tadepalligudem, Nidadavolu, Rajahmundry, Dwarapudi, Samalkot, Tuni, Anakapalle, and Duvvada stations enroute.

We are halting the train at all these stations on its first run so people can see the train. From January 16, when its commercial operations start, it will halt only at Warangal, Khammam, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry, Jain said.
By AGMetalminer

India has a new plan to reach its renewable energy goals, but it isnt going to be cheap. However, if India wants to attain its net zero carbon emissions goal by 2070, the country needs to accelerate its efforts. For starters, it cant just decarbonize the energy sector, but also other industries such as steel, cement, refining, etc.

Currently, India is the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, mainly relying on coal for electricity. Whats more, experts anticipate that Indias energy needs will increase more than any other country over the next twenty years. Unfortunately, even the current rapid expansion of renewable energy sources like solar energy is not sufficient for India to achieve its climate goals.

Green Hydrogen as a Renewable Energy Solution

A few days ago, the Indian Government announced a US $2.3 billion program to promote green hydrogen. This term refers to hydrogen produced with renewable energy, which continues to prove itself one of the most promising sustainable technologies. With the announcement of this new National Hydrogen Mission, India has renewed hopes it can reach its 2070 target.

Indeed, experts in India feel that green hydrogen may be a more effective way to make heavy sectors like steel, cement, and oil refining cleaner. So far, other renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, have proven unable to meet the countrys enormous energy needs.

Green hydrogen is a process in which a facility separates hydrogen from water using electricity generated from renewable resources. As a result, the process produces energy without emitting carbon. However, the technology is still very new, and high production costs remain a significant sticking point.

Related: What Will $40 Billion In Russian-Iranian Energy Deals Look Like

The Key is to Bring Down Costs

India aims to produce 5 million tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030. Indias Minister, Anurag Thakur, told the media that the new policy will also help bring down the cost of green hydrogen over the next five years. According to Thakur, doing so would not only help India reduce its emissions, but also allow it to become a major exporter in the field.

The announcement left many professionals feeling optimistic. Hemant Mallya from the Council for Energy, Environment, and Water, a think tank for public policy, cited in the report that the price of green hydrogen moved from approximately $4 per kilogram to $3 over one year. Mallya added that increased use should drive costs even lower.

The ultimate price goal is $1 per kilogram. At that point, green hydrogen and renewable energy becomes competitive with coal. However, even if India were to bring the price down to $2 a kilogram, it would still be competitive with the gas currently imported from Russia.

Since green hydrogen requires a lot of capital, the private sector in India has been hesitant to invest in it. Therefore, the Government hopes that pump-priming the green hydrogen industry can boost investor confidence. Sectors experts say a more stable marketplace would draw substantial investments from both local and foreign capital.

According to this report on time.com, India wants to follow in the footsteps of nations like China. This also includes the European Union, and The United States. All of these countries have offered some form of governmental incentive for generating green hydrogen. So far, energy researchers predict considerable reductions in green hydrogen manufacturing prices over the coming years. They also expect a 20-fold expansion in the industry, bringing its value up to $80 billion by 2030.

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By Sohrab Darabshaw

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As interest in green hydrogen picks up worldwide, energy firms are using a variety of renewable energy projects to power hydrogen production. One major source for this production is wind power, thanks to decades of development of wind farms worldwide. Green hydrogen has been hailed by many as a magical fuel that could eventually provide an alternative to diesel and jet fuel, as well as a movement away from the sole reliance on electric batteries  produced using mined metals and minerals. However, the reason for the sudden interest in green hydrogen by many energy companies is to support longer-term oil and gas production by helping to decarbonize operations.

The U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy believes that the net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 target cannot be achieved by relying purely on renewable electricity. Instead, green hydrogen could provide households with a vital heating source and could contribute substantially to the decarbonization of the transport sector. It could also be used in industries that currently rely heavily on fossil fuels, and in agriculture. While the production of blue and grey hydrogen  using natural gas to drive output  is already fairly common, the production of green hydrogen from renewable energy sources is less typical.

The growing number of wind farms in the U.S. and other countries around the world could help energy companies to shift their hydrogen production practices from blue and grey to green. Green hydrogen is produced using renewable electricity to power an electrolyzer, which then splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The gas is then burned to produce power, emitting only water vapor and warm air, making it carbon-free. The potential for green hydrogen produced from wind energy is significant, as both onshore and offshore wind operations are expanding at a rapid rate.

In the U.S., the offshore wind pipeline grew by 13.5 percent in 2021, compared to 2020, with 40,083 megawatts (MW) now in various stages of development. In 2021 and 2022, the government expanded the areas of the U.S. available for offshore wind development, auctioning several new lease areas. This development was supported by the falling costs of wind energy projects, with the cost of commercial-scale offshore wind projects decreasing by 13 percent, to $84/MW-hour on average. Meanwhile, global offshore wind installations saw a record year in 2021, with the commissioning of 17,398 MW of new projects, meaning a global installed capacity of over 50 GW.

The development of the green hydrogen industry is seen as key to a green transition as it has the potential to replace natural gas in heating, as well as to be used in place of diesel and other fuels. In Europe and Asia, numerous large-scale green hydrogen projects have been announced over the last year, with a major hydrogen corridor planned for Europe. At present, the production of green hydrogen is expensive compared to other forms of renewable energy. However, much like solar and wind power, production prices are expected to drop significantly as hydrogen operations expand worldwide.

But many energy companies are looking to green hydrogen not only to support the transition away from fossil fuels but to decarbonize oil and gas operations to boost their longevity. In the Gulf of Mexico, offshore wind farms have attracted great interest, with some looking to use the energy to power homes in Texas and Louisiana  around 3.1 million houses in total  and others seeing the potential for powering oil refining operations. The Biden administration plans to build 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030, capable of powering 10 million homes. But others are eyeing the windfarms for their potential to fuel green hydrogen projects that could power industrial processes, helping energy firms to decarbonize operations.

Green hydrogen would be sent to shore via oil and gas pipelines, replacing fossil fuels in powering oil operations, reducing carbon emissions by as much as 68 percent. This would be the first project of its kind and could spur other companies around the globe to do the same. Some opponents believe it would be prolonging the lifespan of the fossil fuel projects that they wish to end. The national policy director for Taproot Earth, Kendall Dix, explained: Hydrogen is, at worst, a false solution and, at best, potentially a distraction.

Many oil and gas majors have already started to shift to lower-carbon oil operations by moving away from aging oil regions to new areas, such as Africa and the Caribbean, and incorporating carbon-cutting technologies. Wind-powered hydrogen production is just the latest trend that Big Oil is jumping on as a means of extending the potential lifespan of oil and gas operations, to meet the high global demand while decarbonizing. But many believe this is a fallacy and that as demand for green hydrogen increases, the clean fuel source could be better used for heating and transportation in a bigger transition away from fossil fuels.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang has scoured US attempts to dissuade the African Union (AU) from dealing with China by setting up malicious debt traps. Recently the AU has rejected Washington and the EU with its attempts to woo it, as the continent has leaned to China, prompting attempts to discredit Beijing.

Chinese FM Qin Gang Called Out Claims of Debt Traps

According to the Chinese FM, who blasted Washington, saying the money lent to African nations is not to indebt it to Beijing, reported Al Arabiya.

Qin explained his country's help in improving the African people's lives; he got an interview in Ethiopia, where the headquarter of the AU was last Wednesday. It is his first trip, and he called the dept trap to claim a lame attempt to besmirch China's credibility.

Based on the London-based international affairs policy institute Chatham House, China is among the largest lenders on the continent, carrying a 12 percent market share of the roughly $700 billion in externally outstanding debt in Africa. Among the borrowers are Zambia and Ghana, both of which have missed a payment on their existing debt. Nevertheless, its financing has bankrolled infrastructure growth in several African nations, noted BNN Bloomberg.

Qin commented on World Bank data, denoting that multilateral lenders represent approximately three-quarters of Africa's foreign debt and should do more to remedy liquidity problems.

Paris-based Finance for Development Lab, Sub-Saharan Africa's external debt-servicing expenses could increase by 50 percent from 2019 levels by 2026; an estimated 18 of Africa's 54 nations may struggle to repay what they borrowed. He commented on World Bank data stating how multilateral lenders makeup about three-quarters of Africa's external debt and also should do more in seeking resolution of their payment issues.

Read Also: Joe Biden Classified Documents Scandal

Sub-Saharan Africa's external debt-servicing expenses can go up to 50 percent by 2026 from 2019 levels; about 18 of Africa's 54 nations would have a hard time paying what they borrowed, mention the Paris-based Finance for Development Lab.

Stated that the US and China must resolve their differences as the biggest economies and are the two superpowers. Made it clear that the competition would not benefit them, calling the attitude of the US counterproductive. But he made it clear to the US and its allies that they have no right to force or co-opt the African nations to become their vassals or force them to side with anyone.

Qin said the continent is for cooperation for all nations, not a source of resources for the western countries. He is on a tour of Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt on his trip as he starts his stint in the position.

Chinese Foreign Minister's First Diplomatic Tour

As declared last Monday, Qin will be traveling for a week to tour five separate African countries, per AP News.

He was previously an envoy to the United States and visited Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt from January 9 to 16, as said by Wang Wenbin, a representative for the Chinese government. Qin would also meet with the Arab League Secretary-General in Egypt.

The US is trying to secure Africa's support, but it is not going well. China is a trading partner, an investor in infrastructure, and an investor in mining projects.

Chinese Foreign Minister made clear the US failure to entice the African Union is one of the reasons why debt traps have been brought up.

Related Article: South African President Tells US Not To Pressure Pretoria

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
BUCHAREST, Romania  Romanian authorities descended on a compound near Bucharest on Saturday to tow away a fleet of luxury cars and confiscate other assets worth nearly $4 million in the investigation of Andrew Tate, the divisive social media personality detained in the country on human trafficking charges.

Romania's National Agency for the Administration of Unavailable Assets said in a statement that it removed a total of 15 luxury cars, 14 designer watches and cash in several currencies. The total value of the goods, the agency said, is estimated at $3.9 million.

About a half-dozen masked law enforcement officers and other officials descended on the compound Saturday to take away the goods. The fleet of automobiles included a blue Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a BMW, an Aston Martin and a Mercedes-Benz.

Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen who has 4.5 million followers on Twitter, was arrested Dec. 29 in Bucharest along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women on charges of being part of an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape.

On Tuesday, all four lost an appeal after a court upheld a judge's Dec. 30 move to extend their arrest from 24 hours to 30 days. A day later, Tate lost another appeal that challenged assets seized by prosecutors in the case so far.

Romania's anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said it seized 15 luxury vehicles in the case, and identified more than 10 properties and land owned by companies registered to the Tate brothers.

If prosecutors can prove the four suspects gained money through illicit activities including human trafficking, the assets could be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and compensation for victims, said Ramona Bolla, a DIICOT spokesperson.

DIICOT said it identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to "acts of physical violence and mental coercion" and were sexually exploited by the members of the alleged crime group.

The agency said victims were lured by pretenses of love, and later intimidated, kept under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into performing in pornography.

Tate, a former professional kickboxer who reportedly has lived in Romania since 2017, previously was banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.

After the assets were moved Saturday, a post appeared on Tate's Twitter account, which read: "Anyone who believes I'm a human trafficker is genuinely a moron," and "anyone smart enough to understand the American System is unfair would be mind blown by the injustice of the Romanian System."
LINCOLN  The transfer portal giveth, and the transfer portal taketh away  sometimes with the same player in the span of three days.

Walter Rouse, the Stanford offensive tackle who committed to Nebraska on Wednesday, flipped to Oklahoma by Saturday. The 6-foot-6, 318-pounder said this week that NU would "shock the world" in 2023. By the weekend, he pulled a shocker.

"I never knew how the power of one's faith and gut intuition could so forcefully persuade a decision," Rouse wrote on Twitter. "That happened to me this week."

Rouse quoted a Biblical passage from Proverbs as a capstone to his announcement.

Nebraska had likely planned on installing Rouse at one of its two offensive tackle spots, though NU nominally has starters returning for both roles. Rouse was going to miss spring camp with a torn labrum, however.

The Huskers have gone 1 for 4 on key offensive line targets in portal, landing Arizona State center Ben Scott. Rhode Island's Ajani Cornelius picked Oregon, Baylor's Micah Mazzccua picked Florida and Rouse flipped to Oklahoma. Iowa was another finalist for Rouse, who has one year of eligibility remaining.

Unlike high school or junior college signees, who sign a binding letter of intent, transfers can have agreements with multiple schools, choosing only when they arrive on campus and begin classes.
BLOOMINGTON  The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., and those continuing his work to advance human rights, were honored at a Saturday awards luncheon orchestrated by the Bloomington and Normal Human Relations Commissions.

The 47th annual MLK Awards Luncheon launched off that afternoon at the Best Western Parke Regency Hotel & Conference Center in Bloomington, returning to an in-person format for the first year since 2020. Around 200 people attended.

WXRJ host Ursula Crooks served as mistress of ceremonies and Champaigns Bianca Bailey performed a saxophone rendition of the national anthem and Life Every Voice and Sing, a hymn deemed the "Black National Anthem" by the NAACP. Lawrence Brown, assistant professor at Elmhurst University, gave the keynote speech.

Crooks said the event was an opportunity for awardees to see people living through service and learn about history, including MLKs path. She explained MLK stood for giving back to the community, bringing a society where everyone had a place in it, and then certainly recognizing those who are serving to bring that society to order.

Janessa Williams, human relations chairperson for the Town of Normal, told The Pantagraph the event was a great way to celebrate community members who are still working for human rights.

She was joined by her counterpart on the City of Bloomingtons Human Relations Commission, Rhonda Smith, who said she and Williams both know how the awardees are following MLKs footsteps and mission. Smith also said theyre not doing it for the awards  they do it because thats where their heart is.

So its important to let them know theyre seen, said Smith.

What they see, they will do, added Williams.

Smith also said recognizing them at a young age encourages them to keep working.

Several leaders with the Bloomington-Normal branch of the NAACP attended, including President Linda Foster. She said she was elated and happy for the opportunity to celebrate and recognize MLK, and encourage us to keep doing the right thing  to keep serving.

Youths honored

Rev. Elexis Wilson of Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church, 803 W. Olive St., Bloomington, told The Pantagraph the luncheon was transformational for youth awardees like Karcin Roth, who is also her fellow congregation member.

This is confirmation that they will be transformational, she said.

In presenting the honors, Smith said Roth, a lifelong Bloomington resident, has shown exceptional academic achievements while accomplishing significant feats associated with community outreach activities. That included contacting the City of Bloomington to advocate for flood assistance and removal of damaged property.

Roth is also a founding member of the B-N NAACP Youth Council, where she helps distribute meals to seniors.

Wilson said Roth is determined, willing, compassionate and beautiful. She added Roth was instrumental in their churchs Young Peoples Department, by making blessing bags and serving the unhoused.

Roth never hesitates, added Wilson. Roth told The Pantagraph she felt honored, and the award was an incredible blessing.

Amaya Hursey was chosen as the youth recipient of the I Have A Dream Award, said Williams. She said Hursey helped start a Not In Our Schools chapter at Normal Community West High School.

When accepting the award, Hursey quoted MLK: Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.

Luckily, she said she has a family thats been serving the community since before she was even born. Hursey credited her parents, Andre and Jade Hursey, for teaching her that it takes a lot to serve others.

Amaya continued: There's not a better feeling than to know you have impacted and each and every single person youve served.

Adults honored

Meta Mickens-Baker was highlighted as Bloomingtons adult awardee at the luncheon. Smith said Mickens-Baker was the first African-American to serve on the Unit 5 School District Board. In that role, she was elected five times for 17 years of service.

Smith said Mickens-Baker put her time and talent into solutions that enabled students to learn. That includes encouraging a bilingual family liaison, and programs for college credits and high school internships. Mickens-Baker also focused on education while working with the NAACP, said Smith.

When accepting the award, Mickens-Baker said a friend once advised her to write something every day that shes grateful for, and to put it in a jar.

Mickens-Baker said on Saturday, she was grateful for God, MLKs I have a dream speech, her family, her alma mater Virginia Tech, her Delta Sigma Theta sorority, and her employer, State Farm.

She also said shes grateful to the Unit 5 board members who appointed her in 2004 and served with her over the years, plus those who encouraged her, supported her  and even questioned her  as she served.

Williams named Jay Tumma as Normals adult awardee. Tumma recognized all who were nominated for the awards, and then spoke of his uncle, whom he recently lost.

Tumma said his uncle showed him how to make a difference in the lives of others, while being down to earth, rational and asking questions.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, Tumma said, to be the change you want to be in this world, because no one else is going to solve it for you.

If you a have problem, you get up, stand and solve it. If have a dream like Martin Luther King Jr. did, you have to work towards it.

5 films to watch for MLK Day Brother John, 1971 Sidney Poitier, arguably American cinemas most-influential Black actor, died Jan. 6 at 94. Even after his death, "Brother John" is Poitiers most-overlooked film. The story of John Kane returning to his little hometown in rural Alabama is a tale of pain, suppressed rage and a fate all of us may face because of our inhumanity to one another. Poitiers pivotal scene with co-star Will Geer is one of the best in all of cinema. 13th, 2016 Want to feel a tad uncomfortable? Want to explore how some rights can be used as a way to disenfranchise people? Watch Ava DuVernays documentary "13th" about our prison system and the 13th Amendment. MLK/FBI, 2020 Everyone claims the cuddly, generic legacy of MLK these days, but there was a time when powerful forces in this country believed he was a dangerous radical. Others claimed he was under Soviet influence. The documentary "MLK/FBI" captures an overlooked, important part of history. I am Not Your Negro, 2016 Based on an unfinished manuscript from writer and activist James Baldwin, the documentary "I am Not Your Negro" offers us the voices of the people who fought for civil rights and paid dearly in the effort to stand for others. In the Heat of the Night, 1967 A must-watch. "In the Heat of the Night" was not played in many theaters throughout the South. Why? Because Sidney Poitiers Virgil Tibbs raised his voice to the Sparta police chief played by Rod Steiger. An incredible score from Quincy Jones, as well as strong supporting performances from Warren Oates and Lee Grant.
BLOOMINGTON  Fair representation of the public on governing bodies and public schools were some of the topics addressed by 11 Bloomington and Normal council candidates during a forum hosted by the McLean County Republican Party on Saturday.

As part of the forum, which was held at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel in Bloomington, candidates were treated to breakfast before providing a brief introduction of their campaigns to attendees. Due to time constraints, the 11 candidates only had about 30 minutes to answer questions from the public.

McLean County GOP Chair Dennis Grundler said the event was a bipartisan forum and he intends to run an upcoming school board candidate forum the same way.

"I think most people in here agree on 50% of things, 20% of the things we can debate, and there's 30% of things each side won't," Grundler said. "That's why this is a nonpartisan thing."

Five of the candidates in attendance are running for the Bloomington City Council during the April 4 consolidated election. Of these candidates, three are running unopposed: Jenna Kearns for the first ward, Alderwoman Donna Boelen for the second ward and Kent Lee for the eighth ward.

However, most of the forum's questions were fielded by the six Normal Town Council candidates seeking one of three open seats: council members Kathlee Lorenz, Karyn Smith and Stan Nord and challengers Marc Tiritilli, Andy Byars and Karl Sila.

Byars said a part of his campaign rides on ensuring core services, such as infrastructure spending, are being met and having a financially accountable and fiscally responsible government.

"At the end of the day, people just want a government that's responsive (and) they want to feel like things are getting done and done well," Byars said.

Sila said Normal needs a council that listens to the people. More than 2,000 people had signed a petition to break the town up into districts.

"Right now, if you want to run for mayor or town council, you have to collect six to 10 as many signatures as to run for Bloomington town council and Bloomington's bigger," Sila said. "But the status quo wants to keep it that way because, again, it keeps out the little people."

Nord said in the past two mayoral elections between Mayor Chris Koos and Tiritilli, results were almost even. However, the council is not a fair representation of this electorate and if the town wants to have conversations about balancing amenity expenses with infrastructure spending or why staff are driving around in luxury vehicles, things need to change.

"If (councils) are so one-sided, the other side never has a chance for their voice to be heard," Nord said. "It's much better for voices to be heard and outvoted than for you to be completely shut out of a conversation."

Tiritilli said he decided to run for council because a lot of the issues he addressed in his mayoral campaigns remain unchanged. One problem he highlighted was the overuse of incentives to attract development.

He added that the owners of Phoenix Investors had stated they didn't need the incentives to invest in additional warehouse space in north Normal. In doing so, McLean County Unit 5 lost out on potential revenue and it continues to lose property tax revenue from new growth within Normal's tax increment financing districts.

"The $100 million in debt that's being reduced, nobody's asking the question why did a community of 50,000 take on $100 million of debt in the first place," Tiritilli said.

A recent vote of the Normal Town Council to add two Rivian vehicles to its town-owned fleet also was brought up during the question-and-answer portion of the forum.

Smith said Rivian came to the table with incentives comparable to Mitsubishi when they operated the plant, and Rivian has since doubled its workforce.

"Those two vehicles represent the town's endorsement of a business," Smith said. "If we're going to say that we want this to be business-friendly, I believe it is business-friendly for the Town of Normal to acknowledge that Rivian is a good citizen, a good corporate citizen, and we're proud to have their vehicle as part of the fleet."

Lorenz, who voted against the proposal, said Rivian's benefits to the community have far exceeded the $140,000 expense of the two vehicles. She added that the vote wasn't intended to question anything Rivian was doing in the face of supply chain issues and other problems.

"I thought the proposal was weak and it didn't specify some things that ordinarily we do in terms of programming vehicles," Lorenz said.

After the forum, several Bloomington candidates shared their thoughts on low-income housing solutions.

Baker, who is being challenged by Cody Hendricks in the sixth ward, said he supports a diverse array of housing, and in terms of low-income opportunities, he would like to see more collaboration with Habitat for Humanity to build new houses on the sites of blighted properties. Hendricks had been invited to Saturday's forum but was unable to attend.

Nalefski, who faces John Wyatt Danenberger in the race to represent Bloomington's fourth ward, also said he would like to look into the city's partnership with Habitat for Humanity if elected. Danenberger also was unable to attend the forum.

Kearns said any housing solution will require a public and private collaboration.

"We have to make sure that people aren't spending more than 30% of their income so that they cannot be burdened by housing," Kearns said.

Lee said he is new to city government but there are people from all levels of income in the community, and he would like to hear from them on issues like this.

Need a break from election news? Here are 11 cute Bloomington-Normal dog photos Willow Christmas Lambeau Lambeau Christmas Easter Atlas Pia Luna Barrett Ozzie
NORMAL  For nearly 50 years, the murder of Illinois State University student Carol Rofstad has remained unsolved. The creators of a new podcast are hoping their work will lead to answers  and justice.

Rofstad, a beautiful 21-year-old Illinois State University student from the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village, began walking back to her Delta Zeta sorority house after an evening out with her best friend on Dec. 22, 1975. Twelve hours later, she was found unconscious, badly beaten and with a fractured skull, outside the house at 602 S. Fell Ave., Normal.

She was later pronounced dead on Christmas Eve.

No arrests were ever made in the case. Police have said that two men, one carrying a club, were seen between 10 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Dec. 22, 1975. Both were white males and between the ages of 18 and 25. Money was found in Rofstads purse and there was no evidence of sexual assault.

Over the course of nine episodes, two journalists and a former Chicago police detective plan to re-examine the case in Carols Last Christmas. The series began Dec. 15, and five episodes have been released so far and are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and other platforms, as well as at radiomisfits.com/podcasts/carols-last-christmas.

I think college students are interested to know what happened here, said Ally Daskalopoulos, a freelance journalist who earned a bachelors degree in political science from Illinois Wesleyan University. I think its important for her memory to be acknowledged and memorialized at Illinois State University.

Casting a net

Daskalopoulos said she discovered the case as part of an investigative reporting assignment at DePaul University, where she was pursuing a masters degree in journalism. The case is one of the oldest on the Illinois State Polices online list of unsolved crimes.

It hit home for Daskalopoulos, who had worked at the McLean County States Attorneys Office after graduating from Wesleyan and who had been in a sorority herself. She said she developed a connection to the case.

I never expected it to go this far, said Daskalopoulos, who now works as a legal assistant for the DuPage County Public Defenders Office.

Daskalopoulos recruited former Chicago police detective and cold case expert George Seibel and Tennessee-based investigative journalist Demetria Kalodimos, who is also her aunt.

Seibel said he learned about the case in June 1976 when he was still part of the Chicago Police Departments violent crimes unit and was asked to locate a suspect related to the case in the suburbs of La Grange. In 2008, his interest was reignited when he was working at the Institute for Cold Case Solutions at Morton College and one of his students brought up the case during an assignment.

We havent made a nickel on this and the intention was never to make anything off this, Seibel said of the podcast. The intention was to draw attention to all of the things that went wrong in this investigation and hold the people accountable so something can get done.

The team began working together in 2020. Over the last two years, they received hundreds of pages of reports and documents through Freedom of Information Act requests. They spent hours reviewing those documents and old news articles, and conducting interviews with Carols family, her sorority sisters and police.

Any good investigation starts with documents, Kalodimos said. Its almost like casting a net and youve got a million fish in it, and then you reel it in and starting parsing out where the story is going.

Kalodimos, who owns the podcast production company Genuine Human Productions, said no murder story should be entertaining, but instead should engage the audience through the recollections from interviewees and the evidence presented.

The team received assistance from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a nonprofit organization that provides pro bono legal representation to protect First Amendment freedoms and the newsgathering rights of journalists, to look over the rough cut of the series, Kalodimos said.

Were a small production company, Kalodimos said. So there was no budget here and no money to hire attorneys and so forth, but when youre dealing with a sensitive subject like an unsolved case, youve got to be pretty sure.

It was good to have their counsel as we were deciding what to include and what not to include in the podcast, Kalodimos added.

Rofstads sister, Laura Kuhn, of Elk Grove Village, said she found out about the podcast during the winter of 2021. She felt mixed emotions initially, but saw how much work had been invested in the effort after she listened to the episodes.

Those are the facts, they laid them out the way they were, Kuhn said. It makes your heart sink listening to that  and wait till you listen to the rest of them.

Kuhn was four years younger than Rofstad. She said they were growing closer as they got older and she looked forward to doing more activities together, but she will never know what that would have been like.

When I went to high school, she was at college, but she was my role model for how I wanted to grow up, Kuhn said.

Not giving up

Recent ISU graduate Nicole Roach said she came across Rofstads cold case last fall and created a Facebook group titled Who killed Carol Rofstad?

Soon after, she was contacted by Daskalopoulos and Kalodimos, who told her about the podcast.

It just perfect timing because I had just started the page and the main goal I wanted to accomplish with the page was to not only bring attention to the Bloomington-Normal community but also the campus community, said Roach, who plans to pursue a graduate certificate in forensic genetic genealogy from the University of New Haven in Connecticut.

The first episode of the podcast introduces the case with background about Rofstad and details a previous attack in her room at the sorority house just 17 months before her murder and in which she suffered a broken nose. The following episodes introduce Seibel and explore issues related to a police sketch of the potential suspect, handling of the murder weapon and a mentally ill mans 1977 confession that was ultimately recanted.

Daskalopoulos said she was disappointed by lack of cooperation from the Normal Police Department, which will not participate in the podcast.

We did not expect this kind of resistance from Normal police, Daskalopoulos said. Whats been discouraging is them flat out saying were not going to talk to you about this at all, were not going to release any other type of information, and then just be very inconsistent with what theyre giving the family and us when were all on the same team.

Daskalopoulos said she hopes this changes in the future.

Brad Park, community services officer for NPD, said the department is aware of the podcast but is not working with anyone involved because the case is an open and unsolved homicide investigation.

Before the podcast was released, we began reviewing the case looking for new leads and new developments in technology, as we have done periodically over the years, Park said in an email. Normal (police) is committed to solving this homicide.

Kuhn, Rofstads sister, said she met with Normal police in February and found there had been little to no follow-up in the case. A new detective has been assigned to the case recently, she said, and that has made the family feel hopeful that the case is being taken seriously.

Everybodys mad now that there wasnt a proper follow-up on a murder investigation like this, Kuhn said. When you see things like that in life, no matter how hard it is, you have to do what you can.

The podcast team hopes their work may encourage people who have information about the case to come forward and share what they know. Tips can be made online at www.carolslastchristmas.com/contact.

I just havent been able to give it up or let it go ever since, Daskalopoulos said. Were invested in this and were not going to give up on it.

REPORT INFORMATION The Normal Police Department asks anyone with information about the Carl Rofstad case to contact the department at 309-454-9535.

PHOTOS: Normal Community girls against Washington during 2022 State Farm Holiday Classic
BLOOMINGTON  McLean County has been home to many highly successful retailers that served markets locally and nationwide, and one was established in 1873 in Bloomington by Carl Wilhelm Klemm (1845-1930) and continued to do business for over 100 years.

A native of Germany, C.W. apprenticed to be a merchant and completed a three-year clerkship before immigrating to the U.S. in 1868 to work for C.A. Gehrman  a cousin who owned a dry goods store and millinery in Springfield. Dissatisfied with his wages and discouraged by Gehrmans lack of ambition, within five years C.W. set out on his own.

He first reached out to a New York City dry goods dealer and importer who provided him with the financial backing he needed to start his own business in Illinois. C.W. chose Bloomington over Chicago and Peoria, all railroad towns, to establish his business.

Though he undoubtedly did considerable research, according to family lore his final decision was based on the sighting of the biggest, brightest star he has ever seen, which he believed was a sign that his future was in Bloomington. That star would later become part of the company logo.

On Nov. 7, 1873, Klemm shoveled 18 inches of snow from the sidewalk in front of his 109 E. Jefferson St. business before opening his dry goods and millinery store to the public. His first customer, Bloomington gunsmith Charles Ghemhlin, purchased three yards of crash toweling at a cost of 30 cents.

C.W. slept in a room above the shop and ate meals at the nearby Nicolas Hotel. He had invested all that his financier had lent him and meant to incur only necessary expenses until his business was a success and he had paid off this debt. Fortunately, in the next five years his business grew dramatically.

By the early-1880s Klemm was purchasing bulk clothing goods, which he warehoused in an upper floor of his business, then sold wholesale to regional businesses.

Demand for these items, especially workwear, was high and often the factories he purchased the products from could not keep up. He soon decided that to keep pace with demand his best bet was to manufacture the workwear himself.

He reportedly contracted with a Logansport, Indiana, firm to set up a factory. The materials he supplied to the factory were used to manufacture Klemms line of coveralls and jackets.

Unfortunately we do not know exactly when or where this venture began or how long it lasted as no record of it has been found.Business was good, but not all was good fortune for the successful German immigrant. In 1886, his wife of 12 years died from burns suffered when her dress caught fire at their home. Augusta Seibel was the mother to his children, Carl H., Helene and Clara.

Just short of a year later, Klemm miraculously survived what is considered one of the worst rail accidents in U.S. History. Klemm had boarded an excursion train filled with about 700 vacationers headed to Niagara Falls. The journey east from Peoria had not progressed far when just outside of Chatsworth, Illinois, a burning bridge collapsed under the weight of the trains two engines, killing 80 people.

In 1889 he marries Emma Bender of Peoria, and they had one son, Julius, who went by Jake.

In 1895 C.W. expanded to the east, and major renovations began on the Jefferson Street buildings housing his wholesale warehouse and retail store. In early May 1898 Klemms celebrated 25 years of business, expanded offerings, and the newly renovated store.

Customers could now explore four levels of mens and womens clothing, underwear and corsetry, coats, hats, gloves and accessories. Household linens and a new special room of carpets were also offered.

There was even a ladys waiting room where customers could rest from exploring the stores abundant offerings.

But disaster would strike again. On June 19, 1900, a great conflagration enveloped downtown Bloomington, destroying nearly six blocks including his newly renovated business and everything inside. Only C.W.s records were preserved in a fireproof safe.

Everything else was gone and 60 employees were out of work. His losses were compounded as he had underinsured his buildings, reportedly believing that they would withstand fire because because they were built of brick.

Klemm was determined to recover and operated out of the Oberkoetter Building on North Main Street until the original site was rebuilt and reopened seven months later.

It took several years for Klemm to recover from his losses, but by 1908 he was confident enough to establish a coverall and shirt factory on the second floor of the Hoopes Building at 111-113 W. Monroe St.

Mens shirts were produced at this factory along with a line of workwear (coveralls and jackets) made of high quality Stifel denim imported from Germany. Both were sold across the Midwest and in the eastern U.S.

In 1910 C.W. purchased the nearby Frevert Building. By 1914 he had approximately 100 sewing and cutting machines in an assembly line used to produce his line or workwear, shirts, and childrens rompers and playsuits.

Soon after C.W. began production, Mamie Delaney (1864-1932) began sewing garments at Klemms Shirt & Overall Factory, where for 10 hours a day she sat at a sewing machine stitching together specific pieces of garments before passing them on to the next stitcher. The assembly-line approach was repetitive, but it meant the final product was completed more quickly and with greater consistency.

Klemm completed the Frevert building remodel in 1915. Shortly after that Mamie and 79 other sewers moved from the old factory in the Hoopes building to their new home on 312-314 N. Center St.

She and her coworkers were pleased with the modern new ladies restroom and special lunchroom where they were provided free coffee and hot chocolate. Its no wonder Mamie and others worked for for many years for Klemm, who had a reputation for treating his workers like family.

In 1917 C.W. incorporated all his business ventures into a single legal entity with himself as president. Stephen A. Thayer, a veteran of the Civil War who worked for Klemm from 1882 until his death in 1923 was vice president, Klemms oldest son Carl was treasurer, and his youngest son, Julius, was secretary.

It was a practical business decision as anti-German sentiment was growing in Bloomington due to the war in Europe. Klemms business could have suffered, due to his German birth and connections.

His importation of German denim could have been a problem but had likely already ended because of the war. A 1918 contract with the U.S. military to sew 3,000 pairs of coveralls using denim furnished by the government, followed by three additional orders, undoubtedly helped his standing in the community.

The coveralls were shipped to France where they were used as fatigue uniforms. According to the Pantagraph the overalls were valuable for night work, trench digging and manual labor of all kinds, except on the front line, where khaki uniforms are used exclusively.By 1922 the factory produced $300,000 to $400,000 per year and paid 100 employees $30,000 (about $485,000 in 2022). The factory, dry goods store, and Klemms wholesale business continued to be profitable through the mid-1920s, but by 1928 the factory reduced production.

To replace income Klemm leased storage space in the building to another downtown retailer, Sears Roebuck & Co.In early February 1930 C.W. became ill and on Feb. 22, at the age of 85, he died.

Business leadership passed to his son Carl, who along with his sister Helen Klemm Howard (a director), Helens husband Edward L. Howard (manager of the wholesale business), and his sister Clara Klemm Agle (secretary) ran the business for many years.The factory was sold to the Woolen Wear Co. in 1939, but the millinery and dry goods store continued to do business at the same location until 1964, when the last of C.W.s surviving children, Carl, died, and it was sold to Harold and Rudolph Vertin.

The Vertin brothers family started a business based in Calumet, Michigan, in 1885, and Klemms became their ninth store. As part of the agreement, the Vertin brothers ran the store under the same name and leased the building from the Klemm estate.The business celebrated 100 years in 1973, but downtown was declining as businesses move eastward, especially to Eastland Mall. In 1981 when ownership of the building changed and the rent increased, the store was closed.

The Museum has hats and clothing sold by the dry goods store, as well as two mens shirts made at the Monroe Street factory (one is currently on display in our exhibit, Challenges, Choices, & Change: Working for a Living), but no workwear or military goods made by Klemms. We hope that sometime in the future someone will come forward with a workwear piece for our collection!

15 urban legends of McLean County

Pieces From Our Past is a weekly column by the McLean County Museum of History. Susan Hartzold is the museums curator of collections & exhibits.
SPRINGFIELD  To the scores of sheriffs in Illinois who reportedly have vowed not to enforce the ban on semiautomatic weapons that took effect this week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has a succinct answer: Yes, you will.

Nine in 10 of the state's sheriffs, joining with gun-rights advocates in declaring the prohibition unconstitutional, have sworn off zealous enforcement of the law. It prohibits the manufacture or possession of dozens of rapid-fire weapons and attachments and requires registration of those previously owned in response to the massacre at a July 4th parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park which killed seven and wounded 30.

"They took an oath of office to enforce the laws of the state of Illinois, and they will do so," Pritzker said of the sheriffs Friday in Chicago after signing a law protecting abortion and gender-affirming care.

"These are folks who are entrusted by the public to enforce the law," the governor continued. "They don't get to choose which laws they enforce."

Republican Sheriff Mark Landers of Logan County, just northeast of Springfield in Central Illinois, was among the first of his peers to declare his stance, posting on social media Wednesday that "the right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded as an inalienable right."

Calling the law "a clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," Landers said that "neither myself nor my office will be checking to ensure that lawful gun owners register their weapons with the state nor will we be arresting or housing law-abiding individuals who have been charged solely with non-compliance of this act."

Landers did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday. But Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs Association, said more than 90 sheriffs have issued similar statements based on a template he provided. Reaction has been overblown, he said.

"All they are saying is, 'We're not going to knock on people's doors to ask whether they have registered their firearms,'"Kaitschuk said. "And if they're arrested solely on that charge, we will not house them in our jails until ordered to do so by a competent authority," meaning a judge.

Rep. Bob Morgan, the Deerfield Democrat who sponsored the legislation after witnessing the carnage as a participant in the Highland Park parade, said sheriffs are putting their front-line deputies at risk.

"It's disappointing to hear this from law enforcement officials whose own deputies' lives are at risk," Morgan said. "Standard-issue bulletproof vests cannot stop a semiautomatic weapon round."

Weapons obtained before the law took effect Tuesday night must be registered with the Illinois State Police by Jan. 1, 2024. The make, model and serial number must be reported and likely will be worked into software that state police use to record and track Firearm Owners Identification cards.

The Illinois State Rifle Association plans to file a federal lawsuit challenging the law as early as next week.

Pritzker, who called the sheriffs' stance "political grandstanding," said he's confident it will survive court tests, as semiautomatic weapons bans have in eight other states and Washington, D.C.

If the sheriffs are not up to the task, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said, someone else, such as the Illinois State Police, will be.

"As far as law enforcement agencies, there are overlapping jurisdictions as well," Raoul said. "So if they don't do their jobs, there are other people available to do the job."

States with the biggest gun industries States with the biggest gun industries #50. Washington DC (tie) #50. Hawaii (tie) #49. Rhode Island #48. Delaware #47. New Jersey #46. Vermont #45. New York #44. North Dakota #43. Illinois #41. Alaska (tie) #41. Maine (tie) #40. Massachusetts #39. South Dakota #38. Nebraska #37. Wyoming #36. West Virginia #35. Connecticut #34. New Mexico #33. California #32. Montana #31. New Hampshire #30. Maryland #29. Mississippi #28. Idaho #27. Iowa #26. Utah #25. Louisiana #24. Arkansas #23. Nevada #21. Oregon (tie) #21. Washington (tie) #19. Oklahoma (tie) #19. Minnesota (tie) #18. Kansas #17. South Carolina #16. Kentucky #15. Wisconsin #14. Alabama #13. Missouri #12. Indiana #11. Michigan #10. Tennessee #9. Colorado #8. Georgia #7. Virginia #6. Ohio #5. North Carolina #4. Pennsylvania #3. Arizona #2. Florida #1. Texas
Question: In Chicago today, officials observe the 192nd birthday of Cook County. Which is older  McLean County or Cook County?

Answer: You guessed it  McLean County is older, by 21 days. Back when people didnt take off holidays, McLean County was founded by the Illinois State Legislature on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 1830, while Cook wasnt founded until Jan. 15, 1831. The City of Chicago wasnt founded for another six years, in 1837.
The Turkish Kizilelma supersonic drone could give the US F-35 stealth fighter a run for its money.

US F-35 Stealth Fighter Could Be Outperformed

Selcuk Bayraktar, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Turkey's popular drone manufacturer Baykar Makina, claimed in an interview that Turkey's Kizilelma unmanned fighter would outcompete the American F-35 and that will pose a difficulty to fifth-generation classical aviation, reported The EurAsian Times.

The declaration has been heavily publicized in the Russian media. Bayraktar announced that they intend to construct a supersonic drone fighter that will transform aviation by being able to fight conventional planes. After the initial flight of the UAV, it isn't similar to other aircraft; however, when ready, it may overcome the F-35.

The Kizilelma is a fifth-generation unmanned plane, like the F-35, but is controlled remotely, per Daily Sabah.

It is worth noting that Turkey conducted the first flight of the brand-new Kizilelma on December 14. This is the drone's first flight as an unmanned jet fighter. Turkey has joined the unmanned fighter aircraft market, heralding the future of aerial combat.

Turkish Kizilelma supersonic drone is a step up after getting kicked out of the US 5th generation program. Selcuk Bayraktar's declaration is evocative in that Turkey had been an initial member of the F-35 program and made a significant financial contribution to the airplane's advancement, which was intended to buy 100 F-35A models.

Regrettably, a choice by Ankara to acquire the Russian S-400 air defense system provoked concerns that Russian systems would be used to obtain information about the fighter aircraft for Moscow. Turkey, thereby, has been ejected.

Read Also: Xi Jinping: 5 Things To Know About China's President

It could be essential to note that Turkey had already alerted on many occasions that it stayed engaged in discussions with the United States for resurrecting the F-35 agreement. But a year ago, the House Armed Services Committee chairman said Turkey was still not returning to the consortium.

The confirmation laid to rest all speculations regarding inviting Turkey back into the F-35 program, which, some suspected, would inspire the NATO country to accept Sweden and Finland's entry into the coalition, citing Breaking Defense.

Turkish engineers are actively working on the TF-X, a fifth-generation fighter jet that will soon replace Turkey's fleet of aging F-16s. On January 8, the Turkish Defense Agency published a picture of the technology demonstrator that is planned to become official in March of this year.

Consequently, Selcuk Bayraktar's contrast of an unpiloted next-generation aircraft with a fully manned fifth-generation aircraft, such as the F-35, is fascinating.

5th Generation Drone Versus F-35 Fighter

The National Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System (MIUS), also known as Kizilelma (Red Apple), is a significant and tactical endeavor by Baykar, a company whose combat UAVs have already gotten a lot of attention around the world.

Drones like the TB2 have already proven their combat capabilities in conflicts in Ukraine and Azerbaijan, generating interest in the upcoming Kizilelma.

The maker anticipates the unpiloted fighter plane to perform a wide range of combat operations, such as close air support (CAS), missile assault, inhibition of adversary air defenses, and obliteration of enemy air defenses.

Before getting ejected from the Joint Strike Fighter program, the TCG Anadolu was supposed to have B variants of the US F-35 stealth fighter. But the Turkish Kizilelma supersonic drone is still a project that could be a game changer.

Related Article: India, France Reach Defense Deal

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has replaced Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta as caretaker minister of Trade Ministry with

the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor.



Mr. Jinapor is to assume responsibility for the Ministry of Trade and Industry with effect from Monday January 16, 2023 pending the appointment of a substantive replacement for the outgoing Minister Alan Kyerematen.

Alan is expected to leave office on Monday to pursue his political ambitions.



This was announced by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin in a statement on Friday January 13.



President Akufo-Addo earlier tasked the Minister for Finance, to act as caretaker Minister at that particular Ministry until a substantive appointment was made.



It is unclear why he has been removed as caretaker Minister but some suspect the Finance minister has joined resignation team.



Alan Kyerematen resigned from the Ministry to pave the way for him to focus on his quest to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 general elections as the partys Flagbearer.



Alan Kyeremanten has been one of the longest-serving Ministers in the Akufo-Addo-led government, heading the Ministry since 2017 until his resignation.



He had also served in the same position under President John Agyekum Kufuor between 2003 and 2007.



An earlier statement issued by Eugene Arhin said The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday, 6th January 2023, accepted the resignation from office of Mr Alan Kyerematen as Minister for Trade and Industry.



This was after Mr Kyerematen, on Thursday, 5th January, informed the President personally of his decision to resign, and subsequently submitted his letter of resignation to him.



President Akufo-Addo thanked Mr Kyerematen for his services to his government and to the country, and wished him well in his future endeavours.



The President has asked the Minister for Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, to act as caretaker Minister at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, until a substantive appointment is made.

Source: Daily Guide









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Exxon Mobil Billings Refinery sits in Billings, Mont. Exxon Mobils scientists were remarkably accurate in their predictions about global warming, even as the company made public statements that contradicted its own scientists' conclusions, a new study says. Credit: AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File

Exxon Mobil's scientists were remarkably accurate in their predictions about global warming, even as the company made public statements that contradicted its own scientists' conclusions, a new study says.

The study in the journal Science Thursday looked at research that Exxon funded that didn't just confirm what climate scientists were saying, but used more than a dozen different computer models that forecast the coming warming with precision equal to or better than government and academic scientists.

This was during the same time that the oil giant publicly doubted that warming was real and dismissed climate models' accuracy. Exxon said its understanding of climate change evolved over the years and that critics are misunderstanding its earlier research.

Scientists, governments, activists and news sites, including Inside Climate News and the Los Angeles Times, several years ago reported that "Exxon knew" about the science of climate change since about 1977 all while publicly casting doubt. What the new study does is detail how accurate Exxon funded research was. From 63% to 83% of those projections fit strict standards for accuracy and generally predicted correctly that the globe would warm about .36 degrees (.2 degrees Celsius) a decade.

The Exxon-funded science was "actually astonishing" in its precision and accuracy, said study co-author Naomi Oreskes, a Harvard science history professor. But she added so was the "hypocrisy because so much of the Exxon Mobil disinformation for so many years ... was the claim that climate models weren't reliable."

Study lead author Geoffrey Supran, who started the work at Harvard and now is a environmental science professor at the University of Miami, said this is different than what was previously found in documents about the oil company.

"We've dug into not just to the language, the rhetoric in these documents, but also the data. And I'd say in that sense, our analysis really seals the deal on 'Exxon knew'," Supran said. It "gives us airtight evidence that Exxon Mobil accurately predicted global warming years before, then turned around and attacked the science underlying it."

The paper quoted then-Exxon CEO Lee Raymond in 1999 as saying future climate "projections are based on completely unproven climate models, or more often, sheer speculation," while his successor in 2013 called models "not competent."

Exxon's understanding of climate science developed along with the broader scientific community, and its four decades of research in climate science resulted in more than 150 papers, including 50 peer-reviewed publications, said company spokesman Todd Spitler.

"This issue has come up several times in recent years and, in each case, our answer is the same: those who talk about how 'Exxon Knew' are wrong in their conclusions," Spitler said in an emailed statement. "Some have sought to misrepresent facts and Exxon Mobil's position on climate science, and its support for effective policy solutions, by recasting well intended, internal policy debates as an attempted company disinformation campaign."

Exxon, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, has been the target of numerous lawsuits that claim the company knew about the damage its oil and gas would cause to the climate, but misled the public by sowing doubt about climate change. In the latest such lawsuit, New Jersey accused five oil and gas companies including Exxon of deceiving the public for decades while knowing about the harmful toll fossil fuels take on the climate.

Similar lawsuits from New York to California have claimed that Exxon and other oil and gas companies launched public relations campaigns to stir doubts about climate change. In one, then-Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said Exxon's public relations efforts were " reminiscent of the tobacco industry's long denial campaign about the dangerous effects of cigarettes."

Oreskes acknowledged in the study that she has been a paid consultant in the past for a law firm suing Exxon, while Supran has gotten a grant from the Rockefeller Family Foundation, which has also helped fund groups that were suing Exxon. The Associated Press receives some foundation support from Rockefeller and maintains full control of editorial content.

Oil giants including Exxon and Shell were accused in congressional hearings in 2021 of spreading misinformation about climate, but executives from the companies denied the accusations.

University of Illinois atmospheric scientist professor emeritus Donald Wuebbles told The Associated Press that in the 1980s he worked with Exxon-funded scientists and wasn't surprised by what the company knew or the models. It's what science and people who examined the issue knew.

"It was clear that Exxon Mobil knew what was going on,'' Wuebbles said. "The problem is at the same time they were paying people to put out misinformation. That's the big issue."

There's a difference between the "hype and spin" that companies do to get you to buy a product or politicians do to get your vote and an "outright lie ... misrepresenting factual information and that's what Exxon did," Oreskes said.

Several outside scientists and activists said what the study showed about Exxon actions is serious.

"The harm caused by Exxon has been huge," said University of Michigan environment dean Jonathan Overpeck. "They knew that fossil fuels, including oil and natural gas, would greatly alter the planet's climate in ways that would be costly in terms of lives, human suffering and economic impacts. And yet, despite this understanding they choose to publicly downplay the problem of climate change and the dangers it poses to people and the planet."

Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald asked: "How many thousands (or more) of lives have been lost or adversely impacted by Exxon Mobil's deliberate campaign to obscure the science?"

Critics say Exxon's past actions on climate change undermine its claims that it's committed to reducing emissions.

After tracking Exxon's and hundreds of other companies' corporate lobbying on climate change policies, InfluenceMap, a firm that analyzes data on how companies are impacting the climate crisis, concluded that Exxon is lobbying overall in opposition to the goals of the Paris Agreement and that it's currently among the most negative and influential corporations holding back climate policy.

"All the research we have suggests that effort to thwart climate action continues to this day, prioritizing the oil and gas industry value chain from the "potentially existential" threat of climate change, rather than the other way around," said Faye Holder, program manager for InfluenceMap.

"The messages of denial and delay may look different, but the intention is the same."

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Warren County Health Services reported 24 new COVID cases, including eight home tests, on Friday and 35 new cases on Thursday.

Hospitalizations of county residents increased by two on Friday, with eight people now in the hospital. On Friday, Glens Falls Hospital reported a total of 13 COVID patients, with one person in the ICU.

Warren County has recorded 101 new cases in the past five days.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate is now at 4.6%.

The next Warren County vaccine clinic offering the Moderna bivalent booster is Tuesday at the Warren County Municipal Center from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Registration information is available on the county website.

According to statewide data as of Friday, 49,675 out of the 64,265 county residents, have received first and second doses to complete the primary vaccine series.

Washington County

According to statewide data, out of the 149 test results recorded on Friday, 13 new COVID cases were identified.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate was up to 5.6%.

As of Friday, of the 61,197 county residents, 40,031 have completed the primary vaccine series.

Statewide

Gov. Kathy Hochul is encouraging New Yorkers to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus as well as the flu, to reduce the strain on hospitals due to an increased number of patients with respiratory viruses.

On Friday, the state reported 4,287 new COVID cases out of the 62,582 test results recorded.

Currently, 3,518 people are hospitalized with the virus statewide, with 503 new patients admitted on Friday.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate was at 6.8%.

According to the CDC, 90.5% of state residents over 18 have completed the vaccine series, but only 15% are up to date with booster doses.
Family vacations and weekend getaways have taken a new form as platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo have taken off, but the rise of short-term rental properties is affecting the way small towns in the Adirondacks exist and function.

Addressing the proliferation of short-term rentals in a manner that is consistent with the municipalitys individualized comprehensive plan and ensures the health, safety and welfare of its residents remains a priority for many localities throughout the state, said Katie Hodgdon, associate counsel for the Association of Towns of the State of New York, on Friday.

While several local municipalities, such as the towns of Queensbury and Fort Ann, have already created local laws regulating short-term rentals, Hadley-Luzerne and the town of Lake George are actively revising existing regulations and propoing new local laws for public input.

Lake Luzerne

Lake Luzerne Town Board member Jim Niles has only been on the board for a little over a year, but he is spearheading the research around short-term rentals and working on the local legislative action needed.

The last thing we want to do is outlaw short-term rentals. Thats the furthest thing from what we want to do. They provide a valuable group of (taxpaying) people and they make our towns come alive in the summer, but its a hard balance we are trying to strike, he told The Post-Star. We kind of hate to have to regulate what people can do with their property.

The Town Board is holding a public workshop on Monday at 7 p.m. to discuss possible amendments to the proposed local law that was drafted and received public comment in November.

Niles was previously on the towns zoning board and said the board received complaints about short-term rental properties regarding noise, parties and parking. That prompted him to begin researching steps other towns had taken to regulate these properties when he joined the Town Board. He said about 30% of the towns residences are used as summer vacation homes or seasonal rentals.

I took a look at Warrensburg, Lake George, Queensbury and Bolton and I presented this to the board and the general consensus was we have to do something. So, over the past eight months or so, we put together six drafts (of a local law) based on board members input, public input and short-term rental owners input. We keep fine-tuning it, he said.

Niles said its been a long process, but the meetings with public input have been very productive and most of the short-term rental owners have no problem following regulations from the town.

They just want to make sure it is a reasonable regulation that they can comply with, and what we are finding is that most of them already do what we want them to, he said.

The board received 20 comments during the public hearing on Nov. 28 and Niles said those points were boiled down to four or five major concerns.

The plan for Mondays meeting is to continue going through the public comments received and then subsequently revise the draft of the local law.

Niles said the main issues are noise, burden on septic systems and parking.

Resident opposition

Retired Hadley-Luzrene school Superintendent Clint Freeman spoke to The Post-Star about the ways short-term rentals are impacting the community.

The school population is down from what Ive heard. One church shut down and the other one has less than 25 parishioners. People cant settle here because there are no homes because they are being used as transient rentals, Freeman said.

He admits he stopped attending Town Board meetings about three years ago because he feels the leadership is solely focused on monetary gains and not on preserving the character of the town.

I dont know much about the conversations the Town Board is having, but I do know our street is zoned as residential and these properties are in direct violation of the zoning, he said.

Freeman bought his house on Davern Drive over 40 years ago and says all the properties on the street, aside from an old motel that stood before zoning existed, are residential properties. However, he is concerned that they are being used as short-term rentals.

There are four houses that are vacant right now because they are used as short-term rentals or seasonally. Those houses could have families in them, he said.

Freeman said a neighbor on his street shares the same sentiments and has written to the board about his objections. They believe the property owners should be paying the 4% hotel tax to the county.

Lake George

Lake George is holding a public hearing to receive input on rezoning several neighborhoods to prevent future use of short-term rentals, except for those that would be grandfathered into the law since they are operating that way already.

This is being done for one of two reasons. The first is in an effort to preserve the character of these neighborhoods, which are residential in nature, said Dan Barusch, director of planning and zoning, in a public notice.

Several issues have arisen over the years that have prompted these changes including the proliferation of short-term rentals in residential-only zones, as well as the threat of commercial uses in the residential areas. Additionally, the second reason is to clean up some split-zone lots in residential neighborhoods, Barusch said.

The seven neighborhoods included in the proposed zoning change are as follows:

Beatty/Cedar/Markson: 47 properties changing from Residential Commercial High Density to Residential High Density

Sewell Street: 73 properties changing from Residential Commercial High Density to Residential High Density

Konci Terrace: portions of 13 properties changing from Residential Commercial Medium Density  minimum 2-acre lot size to Residential Rural  5 acres

Schermerhorn Drive: seven properties, or portions, changing from Residential Commercial High DensityLakeshore to Residential Medium Density  1-acre minimum lot size

Platt Road/Carey Road:12 properties, or portions, changing from Residential Commercial High Density to Residential Medium Density  2 acres

Big Hollow Road: 10 properties, or portions, changing from Residential Commercial High Density to Residential High Density

Sunny West: portions of 11 properties changing from Residential Commercial High DensityLakeshore to Residential Medium Density  1 acre

A letter was sent to short-term rental owners with property in the neighborhoods listed stating, on record you have a valid licensed short-term rental, and are located in either the RS-1 or the RSH zoning districts; please know that your valid and licensed short-term rental will be grandfathered and can continue to exist after the law. The letter and the proposed law also explain that the grandfathered properties cannot transfer the use to a new owner. The permit must be renewed every year and is subject to denial for noncompliance.

The new zoning would also prevent new commercial businesses or uses to operate in those zones.

Currently there is a moratorium on issuing additional short-term rental permits in the following districts until Feb. 8: Residential Special High Density, Residential Special-1 acre, Residential Commercial High Density and Residential Commercial Medium Density-1 acre. The sixth-month moratorium was passed by the Town Board on Aug. 8 to allow for the consideration of rezoning.

The town originally passed an ordinance allowing residences to be used as short-term rentals in November 2018, but it has since been amended multiple times.

Short-term rentals have since been deemed illegal in the towns residential-only districts, as well as all Land Conservation, or LC, districts, all Residential Rural, or RR, districts, the Residential High Density district, or RH, and the Residential Medium-density districts, or RM-1 and RM-2.

In addition, any short-term rental owners are also subject to approval and a permitting process through the Planning and Zoning Office, which requires an annual renewal. The town hired a third-party company called Host Compliance to assist with keeping track of the properties.

The real problem

Stephen McNally, president of the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages, said the problem with short-term rentals in North Country communities has only grown over the years.

What started out as a concern for a couple years, is now becoming a problem because we have no housing for the local people, McNally said. The majority of housing in these small towns are being bought and turned into a short-term rental.

He said in the small town he resides in near Gore Mountain, 50% of the houses are now used as short-term rentals.

McNally acknowledges the solution is not an easy one or even known yet, but there is a need for one.

We have to do something. We have no affordable housing left. The whole Adirondack Park has the same problem and Im not sure what the answer is, he said.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Pressures impacting small health care providers nationwide are ending an era of rehabilitative care in the area.

Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation agreed in September to have Select Medical acquire its licensed beds, with which Select will build a new rehabilitation hospital, operating under the Bacharach name. AtlantiCare is set to acquire the Bacharach facility located adjacent to its Mainland Campus hospital as part of the deal.

The deals are pending approval from various state agencies.

The deal will create a more sustainable future for rehabilitative health care in the area, said Richard Kathrins, Bacharachs chief policy officer.

I think the plus here is Select brings a lot to the table, theyre a national provider of rehab services, they have great resources at their disposal, Kathrins said. I think Select will be a wonderful partner to the community in the long run, and I think theres sustainability there, I think theres quality there, I think theyll do a good job for the community.

A Select spokesperson said more details about the new rehabilitation hospital were unavailable, as it was still obtaining state regulatory approval. The new facility will provide treatment for various ailments, including brain injuries, cancer, spinal-cord injuries and strokes.

Atlantic City police arrest man on burglary, imitation firearm charges ATLANTIC CITY  A city man was arrested Tuesday morning after he allegedly burglarized prope

Our plans are to build a new, state-of-the-art inpatient rehabilitation hospital, Select spokesperson Shelly Eckenroth said in an email Wednesday. As with Select Medicals other 30 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals across the country, including Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (in Marlton), our commitment will be to help patients regain function and independence for daily living.

Kathrins said Bacharach had been experiencing financial difficulties over the past several years. The company had struggled with the rising regulatory and technological health care costs generally facing all hospitals, something that can be especially difficult for a smaller hospital, Kathrins said. There were also changes in the rate of patient referrals due to managed care plans and admissions as well as difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those issues came together to create a financial picture that was difficult to overcome for us, Kathrins said.

Bacharach has a storied legacy in the region. It was founded in 1924 in Longport, operating as a facility that provided rehabilitative care to pediatric patients. It soon garnered a national reputation for specific pediatric treatments, regularly drawing children and families from Philadelphia looking for therapy and the restorative salt air of the Jersey Shore.

It all sort of came together and it became part of the institution of Atlantic City, Kathrins said. It became part of the environment.

Bacharach moved to its current location in Galloway in 1972, three years before the opening of what is now the Mainland Campus of AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. The institute soon after pivoted away from pediatric care and became an adult rehabilitative hospital, ultimately receiving its designation as a specialty hospital from the state. It remains a rehabilitative hospital for adults, offering an array of inpatient programs, including those that treat brain and spinal cord injuries, strokes, and neurological and orthopedic disorders. It also continues to provide pediatric care.

Atlantic City library remains closed after equipment issues ATLANTIC CITY  The Atlantic City Free Public Librarys main building on Tennessee Avenue wi

One of the more critical challenges facing Bacharach has been the growth of managed health insurance plans, such as Medicare Advantage and Medicare Shared Savings programs. With stricter rules surrounding when one can be admitted into a rehabilitation hospital, many patients that would otherwise receive treatment at Bacharach are denied admission. Patients are often referred to lower levels of care instead, such as a nursing home, draining Bacharach of patients and revenue in the process, Kathrins said.

Patients who we think are appropriate under the Medicare guidelines, somebody else at the insurance company is thinking that theyre not appropriate, Kathrins said.

Kathrins said he was encouraged that government officials were beginning to take notice of the obstacles some managed care plans laid out for institutions like Bacharach.

The goal there is to reduce costs, so they might not want to send a patient to a high-quality rehab hospital as opposed to a lesser-costs (facility), Kathrins said. Theres a lot of research in terms of the outcome value (at rehabilitation hospitals) versus the outcomes in nursing homes and so forth.

These financial challenges have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Public-health shutdowns put in place in 2020 reduced the volume of admissions at rehabilitation facilities like Bacharach, further cutting into the facilitys revenue.

Kathrins said Bacharach was vulnerable to these financial challenges due to its status as a small, non-affiliated, nonprofit hospital.

New Atlantic City police deployment plan started, visibility to increase ATLANTIC CITY  The Police Department started 2023 with a new deployment plan of 11-hour shi

If you were to look around in South Jersey, New Jersey, the country, you would see that the number of freestanding, small hospitals continues to dwindle, Kathrins said.

The acquisition of Bacharachs licensed beds comes as smaller hospitals in the region are being subsumed by their larger counterparts. Cape Regional Health System, which operates Cape May Countys only hospital, entered into a merger agreement with Cooper University Health Care, of Camden, in December.

I think there is a growing trend towards consolidation, Kathrins said. Its hard to argue against it.

Kathrins said Bacharach was optimistic that the Select Medical acquisition could help improve health care outcomes in the area. He noted that Select Medical operates the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, which U.S. News & World Report ranked as the fourth best rehabilitation hospital in the country. Health care providers from Bacharach had previously collaborated with clinicians from Select hospitals and were impressed by the experience and dedication.

Select Medical operates 30 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and employs more than 7,500 therapists, according to its website. It is based in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and owns NovaCare Rehabilitation.

Weve come to know their clinical acumen, their commitment to the community, Kathrins said.

Tibbitt won't seek another term as Atlantic City Council president ATLANTIC CITY  Who will be the new president of City Council after Wednesday evenings coun

Kathrins said the new Select facility will have little continuity with Bacharach and generally no Bacharach employees will be transferring over to the new Select facility. There will be a gap between when the Bacharach facility closes and the new Select rehabilitation hospital opens.

An AtlantiCare spokesperson said in an email Monday the company had not yet decided for what purpose the Bacharach facility would be used. It would not be used as an acute rehabilitation facility as such services are not provided at AtlantiCare, although referrals will be made to appropriate providers. The health care company did not have a timeline as to when it would begin using the facility given the outstanding state regulatory approvals. The Bacharach name will not be kept at the AtlantiCare-run operation.

We are evaluating and planning expansion of our hospital to ensure our community has the most appropriate and comprehensive care it needs, AtlantiCare spokesperson Jennifer Tornetta said.

It is not the end of Bacharach as an institution in the Atlantic City area. The Bacharach Hospital Foundation will remain in operation after the Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation closes. Kathrins said the foundation could support health care on several fronts, perhaps supporting research, creating scholarships or helping other clinical programs or partnering with local colleges. Kathrins said the foundation is still exploring its options.

Kathrins acknowledged the acquisition will be difficult for people who have grown attached to Bacharach, as well as current Bacharach employees, some of whom have worked at the hospital for decades. He nevertheless expressed optimism that the deal would ultimately benefit the residents that Bacharach had long served.

Its a sad time, but this is I think, in the long run, a good opportunity for the community, for sustainability and growth, Kathrins said. I think at the end, its a win-win, even if now it feels painful, it feels sad.
ATLANTIC CITY  People will be able to grab a drink or a bite to eat with their furry friends in the spring when the Good Dog Bar, a dog-friendly bar and restaurant, opens in Chelsea.

The bar will be located at 3426 Atlantic Ave., the site of the former Role Play Lounge, a swingers club that closed in 2017.

Obviously gutted everything just because of what it was before, co-owner Dave Garry said.

Garry and Heather Gleason turned their love of dogs into a successful business thats been operating for 20 years. The original Good Dog Bar in Philadelphia was inspired by their late chocolate Labrador, Dylan. Since then, the couple have adopted Greta, a Lab/hound mix, and Tito, a pit bull/hound mix.

Weve had our eye on opening up a Good Dog Bar in Atlantic City for a while, said Garry, who moved to Atlantic City with Gleason, his wife, in March 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They plan to open the Atlantic City location in March.

Artists transform vacant Atlantic City shoe store ATLANTIC CITY  A vacant Payless shoe store in Tanger Outlets The Walk has been transformed 

Developer Pat Fasano encouraged the couple to invest in Atlantic City and leased them the building where Good Dog Bar will be located.

Atlantic City being a smaller city, the casinos are the big focus here. Everything else is forgotten, said Gleason. But Atlantic City has so much more to offer. The beach, community, the eats  they were all big draws to us.

Garry said they love living in Atlantic City. Its a fun town with a great arts community and an old school bar scene.

Everyones excited about getting the town back together, Garry said. Its infectious.

The 5,000 square-foot bar and restaurant will have an outdoor seating area that is dog-friendly, with freshly filled water bowls and doggie treats. Dogs will not be allowed inside the bar.

Photos of dogs entered in a photo contest to be held next month will adorn the brick walls of the bars two-floor interior.

State plans to help keep boardwalks maintained ATLANTIC CITY  In 1973, Bruce Springsteen told Sandy, For me this boardwalk lifes through

Last year we had 187 photo submissions, said Gleason. The photo contest is really popular, and many people look forward to it every year.

Its funny because people will ask if they could sit at the table their dogs photo is at.

The restaurant expects to have seating for 115 with a mix of tables and bar stools. A second-floor gaming room will include billiards and darts.

The dining menu, curated by chef Carolynn Angle, will focus on seafood, locally sourced ingredients and signature dishes, such as the Good Dog Burger and lamb meatball sandwich.

Our specials change seven to 10 times a day, said Garry. Since were a scratch kitchen, everythings made fresh with local ingredients, so its whatever Chef Carolynn can get her hands on.

Three custom art installations, including a dog-themed tiled ceramic mural created by Atlantic Citys MudGirls Studios, will be displayed on the first floor. A brightly colored, dog-themed mural on one of the exterior walls, created by local artist Heather Deegan Hires, will complement the existing black-and-gray civil rights mural painted by BK Foxx and Claudio Picasso on the other side of the building.

Atlantic City library to reopen Tuesday after emergency repairs ATLANTIC CITY  The Atlantic City Free Public Librarys main branch will reopen Tuesday on a

There are a lot of cool spots here in Atlantic City, said Garry. This will be another one.

For more information on Good Dog Bar, visit gooddogbar.com.
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The rights of an air passenger cover compensation for flight delay, cancellation, denied boarding and baggage, lost or damaged; passengers allege they are subjected to stepmotherly treatment for no fault of theirs

By: Vinita Deshmukh

They say ignorance is bliss, but it may not always be true if you are a flier. Passengers from Pune and elsewhere undergoing hardships due to inordinate flight delays in the last few days is one such example. The civil aviation ministrys citizen charter empowers air passengers to seek compensation for varied kinds of inconveniences. So know your rights as per the Air Passenger Charter Act 2019, and act now!

Speaking to Mirror, some of the passengers who were recently hit by flight delays narrated their bitter experiences and felt having been cheated by the airlines concerned.

Only a week ago, hundreds of Pune passengers were inconvenienced. The Pune-Dubai SpiceJet flights were delayed between one and four hours.

If a passenger checks in on time, but the airline expects a delay of two to four hours, it must offer you meals and refreshments. However, the Pune passengers bore the brunt of waiting for two to four hours in a 'shabby' waiting area for international passengers, said the fliers.

Shehnaz Chawla, one of the regular passengers on this flight, said, There is just one food stall with a very limited menu, and mediocre as well. The waiting area resembles a bus stand, while the seating area cuts a sorry figure for Pune which boasts of being a Smart City and has a floating population of so many international travellers, thanks to its multi-sector economic development.

If your flight is expected to be delayed over six hours, then the airline has to communicate it to the passengers, a good 24 hours before, or offer an alternate flight or full refund of the fare, according to the rules.

In the last week of December 2022, a Pune-Amritsar IndiGo flight was delayed by a good 12 hours, but how many challenged the airline for that? It seems none. Its still not too late for those passengers to use their rights as directed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Further, if the airline experiences a delay in flight departure communicated more than 24 hours prior to its original scheduled time and if the delay is more than 24 hours or more than six hours (for flights scheduled to depart between 20:00 and 03:00 hours) then it must provide hotel accommodation.

A Pune resident who bore the brunt of over 24-hour delay of a recent international flight of an Indian airline company told Mirror, on condition of anonymity, that she was shocked. I was left aghast when the airline staff said that the delay would be over 24 hours but did not offer accommodation. I fought and ensured that they gave me hotel accommodation. Why do we passengers have to go through all this? Dont the airlines have the courtesy to go by the rule book?

In case an airline denies boarding to passengers without the latters compliance, and if the airline does not provide an alternate flight between 24 hours and 48 hours, then it has to compensate the passenger 200-400 percent of the one-way airfare with a cap of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.
14-year-old died due to electrocution in Oct 2022

The police have booked an Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) engineer for alleged negligence, following the death of a 14-yearold boy, Rishikesh Pujari, due to electrocution in an area on the Katraj-Kondhwa road two months ago.

The boy had accompanied his father to a society for some furniture work. The man was busy working and the boy was playing on the premises when the incident occurred, said police.

Manjunath Pujari lodged a complaint against the MSEDCL engineer. The incident happened at 6pm on October 23, 2022 at Plot no. 1, Omkar Society, Balkawadenagar.

There was a pole, and electricity was running through its wires. The section engineer knew about the risks, but he did not take any precautionary measures, which led to the death of the boy, said the police.

The complainant works in Nirmiti Homeline Pvt Ltd furniture showroom as a salesman. On the fateful day, a customer visited the showroom and wanted furniture made for his flat. The complainant then went to his house with his son to take measurements. At 6.15 pm, the complainant received a call from an unknown number, saying that his son was injured, and in an ambulance. The complainant and customer immediately went to the spot, where they saw that the boy was badly burnt.

The complainant immediately took his son to Surya Hospital for treatment, where he was hospitalised for four to five days, after which he died.

Senior police inspector Shrihari Bahirat said, First we registered an accidental death case. After two months, we received a report from the electricity inspector, and found that the engineer was at fault and responsible for the incident. We then booked the accused, Shivling, and are investigating the case.
Press Release

January 13, 2023 ANC TOP STORY INTERVIEW OF SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN WITH DENICE DINSAY ON SC RULING ON THE JOINT SEISMIC MARINE UNDERTAKING Q: Where does this leave the Philippines when it comes to, of course, pursuing oil exploration as it has been one of the priorities of President Marcos as well as defending the disputed territories. SEN.WIN: Let's go back to the Supreme Court decision on the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking. Basically, what the Supreme Court said is that any exploration whether it's pre- exploration or it's the main exploration is considered an exploration. And if you are going to explore, develop and utilize resources under our exclusive economic zone, also within our territorial jurisdiction, it should be under full control and supervision of the state which is the Philippines. So meaning any activity there, our government should be the one revising and it should be under our local laws and constitution. So this sets up parameters, it sets the parameter for any joint exploration that will be undertaken by, whether it's China or other countries, but it's just a parameter and it will now guide the potential joint exploration that is being discussed between the Philippines and China. Q: Thank you for establishing that Senator. Do you see this agreement at least being amended to make it constitutional? SEN.WIN: If you're talking about the agreement between China and the Philippines there is no agreement. In fact, the Philippines, our country, the Philippines and China have been working on this agreement for a very long time, I think almost four to five years already. What we have is only an understanding that we will jointly explore oil and gas within our territory and within our exclusive economic zone. It's just an understanding, it's even more superficial than understanding. It's just something that we both agree that we should do, but in terms of the details, which laws, and how to do it, there is no there is no formal document yet. What our country and China wants to do is to study all the complications and study how to move forward but then again, the Supreme Court decision sets the parameters on what they should be looking at, and it becomes the minimum requirement for any joint exploration moving forward. Q: Well, the Philippines and China have had tricky relations as you would say, especially when it comes to the disputed territories. And now that the parameters have been set and established, do you think at least China would be amenable to these things? SEN. WIN: I think the actions will speak for itself. The last administration tried very hard to move forward with the joint exploration. In fact, the technical working group chaired by the DFA and the Department of Energy should narrow down the things that we should be clear about and what we can agree on and what we cannot agree on. Obviously, after four years, nothing happened and obviously, it's more complex than what they thought and obviously, there are a lot of things that they cannot agree on. One of which is the law that should be governing the joint exploration. And our country has been very, very firm that it should be within our local laws, and it should be within the parameters of our Constitution. Q: You described it best, complex talks that are still ongoing, with this in mind, what are the other avenues that the country can explore? SEN.WIN: Personally, I'm not so optimistic that we can move forward with this joint exploration. It's good that we are talking. It's good that we are open to it. But when you go to the nitty gritty of things, especially the governing law that should prevail. I think we will hit a snag with that issue, and I think that, the best case here or the best evidence will be what was discussed during the last administration. I am of the opinion that we should explore all possibilities in terms of harnessing oil and gas in that area. The West Philippine Sea is the most prolific when it comes to oil and gas and it's to our interest to be energy secure. Therefore, we should explore the potential of the West Philippine Sea. However, we're also looking for ways to work with China. But the Supreme Court already set the minimum standard and I think the overarching message of the Supreme Court there in their decision is that our constitution should prevail. Our constitution should be the governing document, and that is a minimum standard that any activity whether it's a joint exploration, joint venture or production, it should be our constitution that should be governing the activity. Q: Do you see the Philippines pursuing, I guess a partnership with another country that would be able to abide by this? SEN. WIN: We have. If you look at Malampaya, Malampaya is run by Europeans and Americans. And the Malampaya project is being governed by PD 87, which is the oil and gas, local oil and gas law of the country and it's also compliant to our constitution. So yes, we can, but the West Philippines issue is much more complex because China is claiming it, and that becomes an uncertain factor in terms of how to move forward with oil and gas exploration. Of course, our minimum standard is that it is within our exclusive economic zone, therefore our law should govern. Our Constitution should be the enabling document, and that's our minimum standard and if China cannot follow that, then this is where the complexity will come in. Q: Well, lastly, Senator, I guess some sort of wishful thinking, is it possible for the government, I guess, to be able to afford a solo exploration? SEN. WIN: Realistically, to be honest about it, we don't have the technical capability, we don't have the capital. Unfortunately, we also don't have the manpower or the manpower know-how, in terms of exploring large scale oil and gas that's why in the past, Chevron and Shell came in, they provided the technical expertise. This is a highly technical project and you need decades, decades and years and years of experience in terms of exploring deep well, deepwater oil and gas projects and we don't have that. That's why we need to partner with different countries, Europeans, Americans and even China. But then again, we have to stress that our local law should prevail in any exploration within our exclusive economic zone and within our territorial waters.
The French president is not keen to issue an apology as Algeria's colonial past came into question. In a statement, President Macron commented that it would be wrong to apologize to the country.

French President Comments on Algeria's Colonial Past

President Emmanuel Macron will not give an apology which the Algerians are asking for after France was scoured for how it colonized the country, reports Le Point.

Other details show the French leader would not ask for forgiveness. It was reported by a French weekly during an interview on Wednesday night, according to The New Arab.

Despite his statement, he added that his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune would be able to meet the official in Paris. The focus of the talks is to reconcile the two nations diplomatically, per France 24.

The Elysee palace hoped the Algerian leader would visit the French capital in 2032 to continue relations. Algeria is asking for the French apology for its actions in its colonial past in 1830-1932, which is causing issues between the two.

Algerian Government Demands Apology from France

In 2020, Algiers accepted the report by the French historian Benjamin Stora at Macron's request, stating several moves to seek an understanding to resolve their differences. The report included recommendations except to give the apology that Algiers tried to get from Paris.

In 2017, while Macron was still running as a candidate for French president, for the first time, that part of the recent history of France was admitted. It was a crime against humanity when Algeria was colonized.

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In Macron's term in office, the French leader's policy deals with the alleged Algerian crimes supposed to be committed. His policy of en meme temps, or at the same time, it is becoming difficult to see something positive in the occupation of Algiers.

A last visit to Algeria last August when he called the French-Algerian history like a love story with a tragedy. But the statement caused a backlash against him from French and Algerian history scholars. The analogy refers to the most questionable time in the history of France. Based sources state that about 1.5 million Algerians got killed, with millions displaced, culminating in a war that lasted eight years and ended in 1962.

In August, Emmanuel Macron went on a trip to Algiers that smoothened their bilateral relationship to a better state. But in October 2021, he questioned how the Algerians had a nation before being colonized by France.

In an interview with a French outlet to make amends for his wrong statements in 2021, that was erroneous, he added. He admitted it was a clumsy expression that caused harm to Algerians and said it was a mistake to learn from.

Macron is trying to act as an intermediary to lessen tensions with Algeria and Morocco to avoid conflict between the two nations. Algiers had cut ties with its neighbor in August 2021, when Rabat had done hostile acts.

French President Macron will not issue an apology as it actions to Algeria's colonial past based on recommendation.

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Stray culprit caught; civic bodys efforts under ABC falling short; it sterilises 14-15 canines daily, which was earlier 60 to 65

A six-year-old boy recently suffered serious injuries after a dog attacked him in Pimpri. The family claimed that the injuries were so deep that they and the area residents could not believe that they were caused by a dog. The boy had a narrow escape, said residents.

The attack highlights the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations (PCMC) disregard for the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme. This is not an isolated case. Several such cases have been reported in the recent past. Officials assured to look into the issue and claimed that they would increase the number of kennels soon.

The incident happened at Sant Tukaramnagar in Pimpri. The victim, Mohammad Fejan, was playing outside his house when the dog attacked him. He was rushed to the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital in Pimpri. The boy sustained several injuries to his hand and stitches were administered, said the doctors treating him.

Following the incident, the issue of effectiveness of the ABC programme has come to the fore again. This is not a lone case. There have been incidents, in which two more citizens were attacked and bitten by the same canine. The boy has severe injuries on his hands and was bitten at three places.

The PCMCs ABC programme is not up to the mark after they turned their dog kennels into animal shelters for stray and injured dogs. Despite the increasing population of strays in the twin towns, the civic body is only conducting sterilisation of around 14 to 15 canines daily which was around 60 to 65 strays per day.

Sonali Alhat, a Pimpri resident who had complained to civic officials about the incident, said, Two more citizens were attacked by the same stray in the past. Besides, the same dog is also attacking other stray dogs in the area. The boy had sustained serious injuries to his hand. He had a narrow escape and was fortunate that other citizens present shooed away the dog, she said.

Dr Arun Dagade, veterinary superintendent, PCMC, said that the incident happened as the stray dog was provoked by the boy by pelting stones at the animal. Two stray dogs were fighting and the boy was standing near them. The boy pelted stones towards this dog, which then attacked him. We have conducted the ABC and other prevention activities in this area as soon as we learned about the incident. The team also met the boy and his family, he said.

We have caught the stray dog who had attacked the boy. It is not a rabid dog and had attacked out of anger or fear. We are increasing the infrastructure for canines. Once the number of animal kennels increases, the number of strays that is sterilised daily under the ABC programme will also increase, he added.

Dr Pawan Salve, health chief, PCMC, said that he would look into the issue. Human-animal conflict is known to happen but the solution for the problem is effective implementation of ABC activities and the PCMC will do it, he said.
Charges accusing a Davenport man of providing false information on a form to purchase a firearm have been dropped after it was found that he had never been convicted of a felony, and there was an error in the NCIC, or National Crime Information Center, database.

Charges against Tupac Amaru Shakur, 37, were dropped Dec. 9.

Shakur had been arrested Dec. 1 by Davenport police after he went to two gun stores and on ATF Form 4473 indicated that he had never been convicted of a felony. But NCIC records incorrectly showed that he had.

Davenport man charged for allegedly lying about felony record on ATF form to purchase firearm A Davenport man is facing charges alleging that on two occasions he lied about being a convicted felon on a federal firearms form in order to purchase a gun.

Shakur had been charged in Scott County District Court with two counts of providing false information while acquiring a firearm. Each charge is a Class D felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of five years.

According to his motion to dismiss the cases, Assistant Scott County Attorney Austin Lenz found during his investigation that there was a clerical error with how the defendants 1997 Rock Island County conviction was logged into the NCIC criminal database which made it appear that the defendant had a felony conviction. Accordingly, because the defendant has not been convicted of a felony the defendant is not prohibited from purchasing or attempting to purchase firearms as a convicted felon.

Scott County District Court Judge Joel Barrows signed Lenzs motion dismissing both charges against Shakur.

Lenz added in his motion that the State does not resist this matter being expunged from the defendants record.

According to the Scott County District Court records, Shakur was born Cortez Royal Hunter on Feb. 2, 1985. Hunter was allowed to change his name to Tupac Amaru Shakur by District Judge Stuart Werling.
Corn production in 2022 dropped in Iowa but rose in Illinois with the drought west of the Mississippi being blamed for a drop in total U.S. corn production.

Soybean production was down in both Iowa and Illinois as well as nationally.

Nationally, U.S. corn growers produced approximately 13.730 billion bushels of corn for 2022, down from 15.074 billion bushels in 2021.

Iowa farmers produced 2.48 billion bushels of corn, down from 2.54 billion bushels in 2021, while Illinois farmers produced 2.27 billion bushels of corn, up from 2.2 billion bushels in 2021, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Taylor Ridge, Illinois, farmer Tom Mueller said, Illinois had better weather than Iowa.

There were times when some parts of the central, western and southern portions of Illinois got very dry, he said, but they got some timely rains that really helped them avert disaster.

Mueller said he had a very respectable corn crop. However, it could have been higher.

Usually in June he adds a little nitrogen to the corp. However: I couldnt get the fertilizer, and even if I could have it would likely have been prohibitively expensive. That probably cost me about 30 bushels an acre.

Scott County farmer Robb Ewoldt said his corn crop this year was the best weve ever grown.

Last year was the biggest corn crop weve ever grown, and we bested that this year by 20 bushels an acre, he said. It was big.

Ewoldt said the overall drop in corn production nationally likely was due to drought conditions.

In Iowa, however, the drop in the state corn production likely occurred south of Des Moines, and that was because the crops were used as feed for cattle, he said.

Its tough to farm down there anyway, Ewoldt said. I know some folks who chopped more acres for feed for cows. Because of the drought, they had to find the feed for the cattle somewhere. So if Iowa did lose acres, it likely was in the southern part where they used the corn to feed the cattle and get them through the drought.

Still, the further west one got, the harder the drought became.

Nebraska, produced approximately 1.455 billion bushels in 2022, but that was down from 1.855 billion bushels in 2021.

But corn production dropped in many states. Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, South Dakota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio and Pennsylvania all saw lower numbers.

Corn production rose in Minnesota from 1.39 billion bushels in 2021 to 1.46 billion bushels in 2022.

Nationally, soybean production dropped from 4.45 billion bushels in 2021 to 4.27 billion bushels in 2022.

Iowa farmers produced about 587 million bushels in 2022, down from 632 million bushels in 2021. Illinois farmers produced 677 million bushels in 2022, down from 683 million bushels in 2021.

Still, Mueller said this years soybean crop was the best Ive ever had. They didnt need that extra shot of fertilizer, and the weather was very good for them. I got them planted early, and thats proven to be the thing to do.

Ewoldt said his soybean crop, was the biggest average crop weve ever had. We bested last years crop by about 3 bushels an acre.

I know we are blessed in this area, Ewoldt said. The drought in the east-central portion of the state was not that bad.

As of Jan. 10, the U.S. Drought Monitor is showing that Scott, Clinton, Jackson, Jones and Dubuque counties in Iowa are all free from drought, as are Rock Island and Mercer counties in Illinois.

Corn and soybean futures remain strong.

Corn for March delivery settled Friday at $6.75 per bushel on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 4 cents a bushel.

Soybeans for January delivery settled Friday at $15.38  per bushel, up 8  cents.
One of the more interesting challenges Josh Guffey faced in making his debut feature film was to procure a pet for Tony Todd, the actor who played the original "Candyman."

The Bettendorf native spoke with the actor regularly over the phone leading up to the filming of "All Gone Wrong," and Todd sometimes would even call Guffey in his persona of Lamont Hughes, the heavy hitter in an underground drug ring operating out of Kewanee in the film. It was during one of these calls that Todd said his character needed a pet  some kind of reptile or tarantula to sit in his office.

As the request came just days before Todd was set to arrive for filming, Guffey began panicking. Luckily, producer Michael Kennedy was able to find the owner of a frilled-neck lizard, who dropped the lizard in its tank off at the bar office they were filming in just before Todd got onto the set.

"In the corner of this room is the dragon, the frilled dragon, it's like 6 inches long or something," Guffey said. "And (Todd) was like, 'OK, cool. All right, I can work with this.'"

This is just one of many stories Guffey has gathered throughout his 13-year journey of writing and directing "All Gone Wrong," which will be released Jan. 27 on streaming services like Apple TV+, iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play and cable-on-demand.

The film follows a law enforcement agent, played by Jake Kaufman, as he works to uncover a drug network operating out of Kewanee after a rookie cop was killed during a bust.

Originally premiered at the 2021 St. Louis International Film Festival, "All Gone Wrong" has received multiple awards since its release.

"It still doesn't feel totally real to me, to be honest," Guffey said.

Guffey's path to putting "All Gone Wrong" into the world began at the University of Iowa. He'd been interested in videography since taking a television production class at Bettendorf High School, and he said transitioning to college helped him realize that making movies could be a vocation, rather than just a hobby.

As he heard stories about undercover narcotics jobs from his sister, a Bettendorf Police officer, and other officers, Guffey said one true story stuck in his brain, of a drug task force officer who went undercover in Kewanee to help curb the town's struggles with drugs.

After he graduated in 2008, Guffey started his first draft of "All Gone Wrong"  the title and essence of the film stuck around through all its iterations, Guffey said. He met Kaufman early on in his work on the project and stuck with him through it all, but day-to-day life kept the film on the backburner for many years.

"Over all those years, you're making a living, you're raising a family, but I always wanted to keep moving this project forward," Guffey said. "So it wasn't until 2018 when I just basically said, 'I'm going to set a shoot date eight months from now, and we're going to make this movie. And that was sort of the moving train that I needed."

More people came onto the project, and by June 2019 they were ready to go. Guffey said they were able to get a cut of the film finished before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the film industry and spent 2020 refining "All Gone Wrong."

Working with Todd and other staff and producers was like a dream come true, Guffey said, and he's been grateful for the work they put in and the support they offered.

"At all stages making this movie, it's just been kind of like a kid in a candy store, because you get to work with so many talented people," Guffey said. "You just get to be along for the ride to see everybody's best work, and I was just very fortunate."

Kaufman said he met Guffey on the set of a web series, and there was a certain energy about the Bettendorf native that hooked him in. They ended up fueling each other's creative energy and working on multiple projects together, all the while bouncing thoughts and ideas around about "All Gone Wrong."

Being able to look at the finished product after more than a decade thinking about it is amazing, Kaufman said, especially since they can now show it to all the others who supported them through it all.

"It's a long ride, but it's been a great ride, especially now, on this side of it," Kaufman.
Charges accusing a Davenport man of providing false information on a form to purchase a firearm have been dropped after it was found that he had never been convicted of a felony, and there was an error in the NCIC, or National Crime Information Center, database.

Charges against Tupac Amaru Shakur, 37, were dropped Dec. 9.

Shakur had been arrested Dec. 1 by Davenport police after he went to two gun stores and on ATF Form 4473 indicated that he had never been convicted of a felony. But NCIC records incorrectly showed that he had.

Davenport man charged for allegedly lying about felony record on ATF form to purchase firearm A Davenport man is facing charges alleging that on two occasions he lied about being a convi

Shakur had been charged in Scott County District Court with two counts of providing false information while acquiring a firearm. Each charge is a Class D felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of five years.

According to his motion to dismiss the cases, Assistant Scott County Attorney Austin Lenz found during his investigation that there was a clerical error with how the defendants 1997 Rock Island County conviction was logged into the NCIC criminal database which made it appear that the defendant had a felony conviction. Accordingly, because the defendant has not been convicted of a felony the defendant is not prohibited from purchasing or attempting to purchase firearms as a convicted felon.

Scott County District Court Judge Joel Barrows signed Lenzs motion dismissing both charges against Shakur.

Lenz added in his motion that the State does not resist this matter being expunged from the defendants record.

According to the Scott County District Court records, Shakur was born Cortez Royal Hunter on Feb. 2, 1985. Hunter was allowed to change his name to Tupac Amaru Shakur by District Judge Stuart Werling.
CHICAGO  A Chicago man has been charged with killing a teenage girl in 2016 to boost his standing in a gang, federal authorities said Friday.

A grand jury indicted Patrick Johnson on a charge of murder in aid of racketeering.

Johnson, 27, is accused of shooting Veronica Lopez, 15, while the girl was riding in a vehicle on Lake Shore Drive during the 2016 Memorial Day weekend. Dozens of people were shot in Chicago and at least six died over that three-day period.

"The indictment alleges that the Milwaukee Kings is a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in narcotics trafficking and committed acts of violence, including murder and assault, to acquire and preserve the gang's territory," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Johnson was arrested Friday. No lawyer was listed yet in the federal case file.

How to take a break from social media Be easy on yourself and ask for help about social media use Helpful exercise to remind you what you're missing by scrolling Use your phone's screen-time tracking feature and limit social media use Physically distance yourself from your phone and apps Benefits of taking a social media break Reevaluate what you want out of social media Two and a half hours.
CHICAGO - Chicago is a sanctuary city, a welcoming place for migrants.

Thats what Cesar Pino Marcano, 28, heard when he arrived at the southern border of the United States seeking asylum  fleeing hunger and chasing a promised dream of a job that could pay enough to ensure the well-being of his family in Venezuela.

But when he arrived on a bus full of other people on the same path as him, it was only the cold wind of a January night that welcomed them at Union Station downtown. The group of more than 20 got off the bus and parted ways, he said, each without direction but searching for a warm place to stay.

Pino Marcano and three other men he met on his journey north from Venezuela walked to a place where they heard from other asylum-seekers that they could find space. But they were turned away because there were no more beds, Pino Marcano said.

That night the group slept under a bus shelter, but Pino Marcano found resolve.

After everything that Ive gone through to get here, spending the night in the streets of Chicago was not so harsh, he said.

Like Pino Marcano and his friends, many newly arrived migrants in Chicago now find themselves spending their days in train stations, police districts and churches, waiting for a call back from 311 to get space off the street. Others are staying in warming centers during the day, and are transported to homeless shelters to spend the night before they are told to leave by 5 a.m., some migrants told Tribune.

As more migrants continue to arrive and those facilities are at capacity, Chicagoans are stepping in to provide temporary housing for some migrants, opening their homes, basements and apartments after realizing the precarious situation that the migrants face without having a constant safe and warm place to stay.

Theres a family of four  including a baby  staying with a good Samaritan who answered the call of Jacobita Cortes, pastor of Adalberto Memorial United Methodist Church, in Humboldt Park. The family had been roaming the streets early this month without jackets or a single dollar for a meal until they found the church.

After calling 311, the family was told to wait until they got a call back. They didnt get a call, so Cortes took it upon herself to find someone to take them in.

In Pilsen, Pino Marcano, his three friends and four other migrants whod arrived in Chicago from Colorado right after Jan. 1 finally found a clean and warm place to sleep after 10 days, thanks to activist Delilah Martinez, manager of the Mural Movement. Before that, the group had been staying at the warming center at Garfield Community Service Center and eating at churches.

Pero nos decian que siguieramos esperando, estabamos desesperados, said Yunnio Jaure, 41. They kept telling us to wait, but we were frustrated.

Jaure is one of the asylum-seekers who are staying in an apartment complex that Martinez helped to find.

Since migrants began to arrive in Chicago in August, Martinez has collaborated with other residents and organizations to collect items for the migrants and has helped them to connect to resources. Some 2,000 people have passed through the door of her galley, getting clothes and basic necessities and seeking jobs and health care, she said.

But she never thought it would get to a point where she would feel the need to help to find them a place to live, Martinez said.

They are practically living in the streets, Martinez said, struggling with her emotions. Through the network of residents, activists and community leaders throughout the city who have stepped in to help the migrants, shes learned there are groups of asylum-seekers spending days in police stations as they wait to be placed in shelters, she said.

During a community meeting in Woodlawn discussing plans to open a new shelter at a former school, city officials said that current shelters for single adults are at capacity, but that they continue to receive walk-ins daily. There are 11 shelters housing 1,554 migrants, officials said.

Despite the opposition from Woodlawn residents to house migrants at the old Wadsworth Elementary School, about 250 people are expected to be housed there beginning later this month.

Since August, more than 5,000 migrants have arrived in the city on buses chartered by the state of Texas and later by Colorado. But groups of migrants have now been arriving on their own, arriving at community organizations, police stations and aldermanic offices.

A spokesperson for Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city continues to respond to this humanitarian crisis and remains dedicated to supporting the new arrivals.

The goal is to connect migrants to city services, the city said.

If new arrivals are arriving at Chicago Police Department stations, the City works with community partners to get those individuals transported to a shelter, the spokesperson said in a statement.

But Pino Marcano and other migrants in his group said that several of them called 311 for updates more than once and the only advice they received was to go to the warming center, or other times to a police station, while they waited.

Thats how Pino Marcano and his fellow migrants ended up in Pilsen.

After days in and out of the warming center, at police stations and churches asking for food, the group decided to walk farther and reached the Chicago Police District 12 headquarters.

Officers there spoke Spanish, Jaure said. So he was able to explain the journey they had been through since arriving in Chicago. An officer reached Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, and the group was picked up shortly after that and taken to an apartment.

It was a blessing, Juare said.

When Sigcho-Lopez learned of the group and their story, he set out to find help from his constituents to house the migrants, they said.

Another five asylum-seekers are living in the basement of his ward office. The group was kicked out of a shelter at Truman College in Uptown on Christmas Day after allegedly violating shelter rules.

Though Sigcho-Lopez understood the alleged violations, he said it was inhumane to push the men out knowing that they had nowhere else to go in frigid temperatures.

This is a humanitarian crisis, said Sigcho-Lopez, who has criticized the response from the city and state to the influx of migrants. He is now hopeful that City Hall will work with him to follow a plan he proposed in September to open shelters in vacant buildings in neighborhoods like Pilsen and Little Village.

Across the city at a church in Old Town, three men sat with Ed Kraal, one of the pastors at Iglesia Cristiana La Vid of Park Community Church. Two of them had just migrated to the United States  one from Quito, Ecuador, and the other from Caracas, Venezuela.

When asked why he decided to come to Chicago, Anderson Mendez, from Ecuador, said: Because I would be welcomed here.

But Jose Carrizo, from Venezuela, and Mendez didnt know what their living situation was going to be as of Thursday. They had been staying at a warming center in East Garfield Park, but now they had become nomads in a new city, trying to find some help along the way. Mendezs cousin, who had recently migrated to Chicago as well, pointed them toward the church.

We have hope, Carrizo said in Spanish. We need help to find (permanent) shelter. ... We need a roof over our heads so we can settle.

Kraal spoke to them in their native language, made them coffee and offered them cookies. His wife, Luisette Kraal, then arrived, four migrants in tow. She had picked them up from one of the refugee centers in the city and had taken them to Panda Express. They love the rice there, Kraal said.

Out of a cramped basement, the couple runs New Neighbors Free Store, a place where migrants from across the city come to get free clothes that have been donated to the church. Theyve dressed more than 680 people since the first buses with migrants came to Chicago in late August.

Two weeks ago, Kraal said, she woke up at 1 a.m. to the sound of her phone ringing. On the other line were five migrant men who had just arrived in Chicago and needed to be picked up from Union Station.

So she went, and picked the men up. They were so exhausted that four of them fell asleep as soon as they got in the car. She dropped them off at a refugee center, hiding in the trees outside so no one would know it was she who had brought the migrants so late, she said with a laugh.

A migrant recently sent her a photo of the inside of one of the shelters. She held her phone up, showing the picture: a crowded room filled with cots and people. Theyre overwhelmed like we are, she said of the refugee centers.

Kraal is looking to find a bigger place where the couple can expand their free clothing store, and where they can welcome migrants and shelter them from the cold. And so that, little by little, they can start to feel like this city is their home.

When youre stable, Luisette Kraal reminds migrants, pay it forward.

Tribune reporter Shanzeh Ahmad contributed.

How to take a break from social media Be easy on yourself and ask for help about social media use Helpful exercise to remind you what you're missing by scrolling Use your phone's screen-time tracking feature and limit social media use Physically distance yourself from your phone and apps Benefits of taking a social media break Reevaluate what you want out of social media Two and a half hours.
A former Judith Gap teacher will spend the next 78 months in prison after investigators found him possessing and sharing child sex abuse material on the internet.

Jayson Gayo, 28, was sentenced Friday to prison and five years of supervised released in United States District, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office. Gayo, a Filipino national living in Montana on a visa, will be deported back to the Philippines once his sentence is complete.

It is important to note that not only did (Gayo) possess child pornography, but he was also an administrator of a group involving those with an interest in pornography, federal prosecutors wrote in their sentencing recommendation filed in court.

In August 2020, court documents said, Facebook sent several tips to law enforcement of a video sent from an account later discovered to be associated with Gayo. The video showed the sexual assault of an underage girl. Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation eventually traced the source of the video to Gayos residence in Judith Gap, where they executed a search warrant in March 2021. Judith Gap has a population of less than 200 people, and sits along U.S. Highway 191 north of Harlowton.

Gayo told investigators he was an administrator of a Facebook group that uploaded pornography, and confirmed the group contained child sex abuse material, according to court records. After serving a warrant to Facebook to search all of Gayos accounts, and analyzing all of his media, law enforcement uncovered hundreds of photos and videos depicting child rape. At the time, Gayo was a teacher at Judith Gap School.

While the United States has no information that any of the children at the school were abused by (Gayo), prosecutors wrote, "it is concerning that (Gayo) apparently had no qualms about possessing vast amounts of child pornography at the same time he was in a position of authority and trust with children.

Following his indictment in federal court on one count of possession of child pornography, Gayo pleaded guilty in August 2022. At his sentencing before U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters, federal prosecutors argued for a 10-year sentence while Gayos attorney asked the judge for 48 months of prison time.

Along with six-and-a-half years in prison and five years of supervised release, Judge Watters ordered Gayo to pay $3,000 in restitution.

Tips of child sex abuse material being shared through social media can be submitted anonymously to law enforcement through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org/.
A Brooklyn girl perished in a burning home when the accident occurred on the early morning of her sister's birthday. The fire started quickly and became a blaze that surprised the family.

Early Morning Fire Burns 9-Year-Old Girl in Brooklyn

On Friday morning, a family was planning for a birthday that ended in the death of a 9-year-old girl when a fire gutted the three-story residence, according to the New York Daily News.

The victim, identified as Payton Thompson, became a fatality in a fire that happened early in the morning. Payton was the last rescued from the blaze, remarked her uncle. He added that the family lost one member that day, saying he remembered his niece, who had unfortunately left her sister on her birthday. Her mother was in the ambulance that drove them to the hospital.

Her uncle described Payton as an amazing girl, adding that she was smart, funny, the life of the party with a sassiness, and would let you know what she wanted. She was fun, liked to eat, and loved her family and making friends.

FDNY Deputy Chief James Carney remarked the blaze had reportedly started at 5:20 a.m. in Howard Ave., Brownsville. He added that the call that came in was for a smell of smoke, and when they got there, a fire raged on the second story, states Yahoo.

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One of their neighbors, Nigel Brown, 54, commented their street was full of fire trucks from the FDNY when he saw the flames licking from the building. Brown recalled the deceased girl as very active, then thought about how the smoke took her away and wished he could have assisted.

According to sources, the flame moved from the second floor to the third story in the back of the house where Payton was, per New York News. The uncle added that his infant niece was given first aid at the scene, and soot was taken from the infant's nose. Furthermore, he gave thanks that she was well.

A community director and Brooklyn advocate, Dr. Burchell Marcus, said the victim is the granddaughter of the homeowner. He said that the family woke up in the fire and made it out, except for one of them. The granddaughter died from smoke that filled the house.

The uncle, who is a chef, had heard of the terrible fire when he was called before dawn. He remarked that the last time he talked to her was on Thursday after a meal of ribs and cornbread the day before. He recalled that she gave him a bear hug that he'll remember forever.

Probe Into Fire that Killed Brooklyn Girl

Authorities are now looking for possible causes of the blaze last Friday, but the family was in shock over the death of the young girl. Her uncle said no one could bring Payton back and urged families to be closer, stressing about the accident that took his niece away. The sad death of a 9-year-old Brooklyn in a burning home on the day of her sister's first birthday left the family aggrieved.

Related Article: New York Cop Suspended After Punching Teen

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During any time of the year, weather or other factors might prompt an organization to close for some period of time, during which the employer might instruct employees not to work at all or to work remotely.

The rules around private sector employers paying employees during a work closure depend on whether the employee is nonexempt (paid by the hour or salaried) and entitled to overtime or exempt and not eligible for overtime.

Classifying your employees correctly is a challenge, and many employers are not in legal compliance. Here, we address only employees who are properly classified as exempt from overtime, and employer obligations to pay exempt employees when they are instructed not to work due to an office closure or other factors, but they are available and ready to work.

The Fair Labor Standards Act dictates how an exempt employee must be compensated to qualify as exempt from overtime. Otherwise, the employee becomes a nonexempt employee and is entitled to all the rights and benefits, including overtime, that come from that classification.

When an office is closed and the exempt employee is instructed to not come to work or to not work at all, reducing pay from exempt employees has substantial risk for employers.

Most exempt employees fall under the white-collar exemptions, which require that the employees be compensated on a salary basis. This means that the employees make a predetermined salary of at least $684 per week and the salary is not reduced regardless of the quality or quantity of the work.

An employer must pay an exempt employee the full predetermined salary amount free and clear for any week in which the employee performs any work without regard to the number of days or hours worked, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department adds, As a general rule, if the exempt employee performs any work during the workweek, he or she must be paid the full salary amount. An employer may not make deductions from an exempt employees pay for absences caused by the employer or by the operating requirements of the business. If the exempt employee is ready, willing and able to work, an employer cannot make deductions from the exempt employees pay when no work is available.

The Labor Departments Fact Sheet #17G explains that deductions from pay for an exempt employee are permissible:

for absences from work for one or more full days for personal reasons other than sickness or disability;

for absences of one or more full days due to sickness or disability if the deduction is made in accordance with a bona fide plan, policy or practice of providing compensation for salary lost due to illness;

to offset amounts employees receive as jury or witness fees, or for military pay;

for penalties imposed in good faith for infractions of safety rules of major significance; or

for unpaid disciplinary suspensions of one or more full days imposed in good faith for workplace conduct rule infractions.

Also, an employer is not required to pay the full salary in the initial or terminal week of employment, or for weeks in which an exempt employee takes unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fact Sheet says.

The company is also not required to pay an exempt employee who does not work any part of a week.

The employer can change an exempt employees salary prospectively, but it cannot be occasioned due to a temporary change in circumstances. The change must be bona fide, not used as a device to evade the salary basis requirements, and must reflect the long-term business needs, rather than a short-term, day-to-day or week-to-week deduction from the fixed salary, the Labor Departments Fact Sheet #70 says.

Thus, if an employer chooses to furlough employees on Fridays, the employer cannot suddenly start docking an exempt employee one-fifth of the employees salary. This would violate the salary-basis test.

Note that physicians, lawyers, outside salespeople, or teachers in bona fide educational institutions are not subject to any salary requirements. As a result, deductions from the salary or pay of such employees will not result in loss of the exemption.

The Department of Labor explains, Isolated or inadvertent improper deductions will not result in loss of the exemption if the employer reimburses the employee for the improper deductions.

As a plaintiffs attorney, the FLSA is one of my very favorite laws for two reasons. First, you can get your attorneys fees. Second, it is so easy for employers to get wrong, says Broderick Dunn, a partner at Cook Craig & Francuzenko.

He adds: If an exempt employee performs any work at all during a day or a week, an employer may not deduct from that persons salary. This comes into play more and more with the rise in remote work schedules.
Natasha White remembers her days in solitary confinement  four years with her ears attuned to the sound of jangling keys and, of course, the less benign sounds of other prisoners.

Its a horrible sound, moaning and screaming, cursing, people yelling through the doors, White said. People think its quiet, but its never quiet. Never.

Abolishing the practice has become her mission.

I will never stop until solitary confinement is abolished everywhere, said White, raising her voice even as her microphone cut out. I eat, sleep and dream solitary confinement.

In Monroe Park on Saturday, a certain firmly held belief ran through attendees of the Virginia Prison Justice Networks sixth annual rally for prison reform.

In a biting January cold, activists made the case for prison reform, including restoring hope to relatives behind bars and pushing Virginia legislators to create pathways toward reduced sentences for prisoners who change their lives.

Since its inception in 2017, VPJN has held this rally annually, attracting Virginians whose lives have been touched by the states criminal justice system. Saturdays rally drew about 100 attendees who heard the voices of those with experience living in Virginia prisons.

That included Hassan Shabazz, who spent the past 23 1/2 years shuffling among 10 Virginia state prisons. After more than two decades of being incarcerated, he has made it his life mission to ensure no one endures what he has.

Last year I told myself Ill never come back to this, Shabazz said. And if I can do anything to keep somebody else from going through this, thats what Im going to do.

Shabazz was 23 years old when he was arrested on robbery and firearm charges. During his time in prison, he studied to become a paralegal, became a co-founder of the Virginia Prison Justice Network and ultimately redirected the trajectory of his life.

In the five months since his release, 47-year-old Shabazz has continued his work as a paralegal for incarcerated people through public advocacy, outreach and his personal work as coordinator with the Help Me Help You Foundation, a program that helps former prisoners reintegrate into their communities.

On Saturday, Shabazz spoke and performed a spoken word piece about his hope for better access to mental health, legal assistance for incarcerated people and independent oversight of Virginias prisons.

My time in incarceration laid the foundation for the path Im walking now, so I know there is a path for healing and rehabilitation in Virginia, Shabazz said. But the prisons here have been operating under a punitive model for too long, and its time to change.

Other speakers were critical of the administration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Courtney Henson, a prisoner currently at Lawrenceville Correctional Center, gave a prerecorded message about his frustration with the Republican governor, who last June pumped the brakes on a policy for earned sentence credits for prisoners.

The policy would have allowed inmates with good behavior to earn three times as many credits against their time served, with each credit counting for a day off their sentence. The reversal dismayed hundreds of prisoners whose releases were postponed.

The earned sentence credit debacle was created by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Henson said. Families had clothes bought for their loved one, they had jobs prepared. Then Youngkin came in ... and decided to stop it. We need second chances. We need to continue to push Virginia forward.

Crystal Henley attended the rally in honor of her father, who is currently serving time in Lawrenceville as well. The 1,555-bed facility is run by the private contractor GEO group.

WRIC-TV detailed how the prison is routinely understaffed and in violation of its contract with the Department of Corrections.

Henley hears regularly from her father, who said that in December, the jail had at least four overdose deaths, prompting the prison to go into lockdown in an attempt to stop the movement of drugs among prisoners.

They just pull em out in bags and just keep it moving, Henley said.

Henley worries most about her fathers health. At age 63, he needs a hip replacement, she said, and hes been worn down by more than 20 years in various Virginia prisons.

The older he gets, the more medical treatment he needs, and theyre not providing it, Henley said.

Santia Nance is a representative for Sistas in Prison Reform, a grassroots coalition trying to ensure that loved ones can live their best lives while incarcerated.

Nances loved one, Quadaire Patterson, was arrested and charged with robbery and use of a firearm 12 years ago at age 20. During Pattersons time in prison, Nance has made it her mission that theres hope for him and others who have served long sentences.

In the past few years, I do think theres been a lot more organizations who are getting inspired by our efforts, Nance said. Ive had a couple of legislators go see my loved one and after seeing them in person ... [they] really understand what theyre going through.

Both Nance and Patterson have asked Virginia legislators to endorse second-look policies that would allow prisoners serving long sentences to apply for resentencing.

Currently, resentencing and parole dont exist in Virginia, so once youre sent to prison, there are few ways incarcerated people can come home earlier, no matter how drastically they have changed or rehabilitated.

I know my loved one is clearly someone in society making a better world for all of us, Nance said. Thats why Im out here today to advocate for him and for incarcerated people who are asking for a second chance.
Every day, Stacy Zimmerman waited for her daily phone call from the Richmond City Justice Center. It had become a part of her routine  a habitual, unspoken promise between her and her nephew, Steven Carey.

With just a couple of weeks away from his trial date, Zimmerman said, he was looking ahead to the future and praying for a clean slate. Now, instead of preparing for his trial, his family is picking out a casket and making funeral arrangements.

His life had purpose. I wish he would have been treated like a human being. Every single inmate deserves to be treated like a person, not an animal, Zimmerman said. His cries went unheard, and thats the biggest reason I think this happened.

Carey, 37, died Wednesday morning while in custody at the jail, making him the fourth inmate in 10 months to die under the supervision of Richmond City Sheriff Antionette Irving and the third in the last three months.

They are still waiting for answers.

They havent told us anything, Careys aunt Holley Grooms said.

As of Friday morning, officials have not released details on Careys cause of death.

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Irving said that despite medical staff administering Narcan twice, she did not know whether drugs were involved in the incident, as Narcan can be provided safely whether someone has overdosed or not. Narcan is a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids.

Irving addressed the prevalence of drugs within the jail, saying that while the department is doing the best it can, there are drugs present in every facility and if people want them, they will get creative.

While Carey was never arrested, charged or convicted of any drug-related crimes, Zimmerman said he had battled with drug addiction, specifically heroin and fentanyl, but she is not sure if was using while in jail. During their daily conversations, she emphasized that he never sounded as if he were under the influence.

Was he often sad? Yes. Depressed? Yes. Frequently, he cried, but he never sounded impaired and even if he was using, they should have done something to help him; hes still a person, Zimmerman added.

We just want some answers

As Careys death is considered an ongoing investigation, it will likely be several more weeks until the family learns more about his death. It is a wait that continues to weigh on the family.

We just want some answers first and foremost, Grooms said. Wed been hearing from him how bad it is there.

According to Zimmerman, Carey often felt unsafe and lived in constant fear. A couple of days before Christmas, Zimmerman said Carey told her he had been stabbed but quickly changed the subject when she asked if he had reported it. Likely, if he did not report it, it was to ensure his safety, Zimmerman added.

Despite several attempts to contact Irving via phone and email, she could not be reached to confirm whether Carey had reported an incident.

Carey was booked into the jail almost a year prior on charges of attempted murder, eluding police and firearm possession by a violent felon. He pleaded guilty to the eluding charge and was scheduled to appear for jury trial on Jan. 23 for the possession charge, with a hearing regarding the attempted murder charge set for February.

My nephew did some bad things and he deserved to do his time, but he didnt deserve this, Grooms said.

Inadequate staffing levels

Carey is the fourth inmate to die in the jail in the past 10 months and the third in the past three months. Dantron Lemarco Harris died of an overdose in March. Nina Hill died in October, and Vance Holloway died in December. Both of their causes of death have not been released.

The recent deaths highlight larger ongoing concerns regarding the state of the jail, including staffing levels and the inmates access to drugs.

According to Irving, staffing levels are low with several vacancies and more retirements scheduled in early 2023.

Despite inadequate staffing levels, Irving said the facility is compliant with Department of Justice standards, which require deputies to make twice hourly rounds of the jail pods to check on the well-being of inmates.

Oversight of Virginias jails is conducted by the Virginia Board of Local and Regional Jails. The group, housed in the Department of Corrections, conducts audits and investigates inmate deaths to determine whether the jail was at fault.

Irving said no investigators from those agencies have visited the jail since Hills death in October and that she had sent them video and reports for their investigations.

As for the Carey family, they continue to patiently wait for answers and are hopeful that changes are made as a result of Careys death.

If anything, I just pray itll be different for others, because of all this, Zimmerman said. He never got the help he needed.

PHOTOS: Recognize these Richmond-area places?
Police said two people were found dead in South Richmond on Saturday.

Richmond police said in a statement that officers responded to the 2400 block of Richdale Road at around 3:55 p.m. for a report of a person down. Two people found at the scene were pronounced dead, police said.

The statement said detectives are not looking for any suspects.

Anyone with information about the death investigation is asked to contact Detective B. Neifeld at (804) 646-3246 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.
Mexicos new public smoking ban includes no more lighting up on beaches

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  As of January 15, smoking in all public spaces in Mexico is prohibited. Smoking in public, along with the promotion and sponsorship of tobacco, is also now against the law.

According to the Ministry of Health, the new law takes effect January 15, 2023 after several modifications to the Regulation of the General Law for Tobacco Control, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) during 2021 and 2022.

Mexicos newly enforced legislation is considered to be one of the most stringent anti-smoking laws in the world. In 2008, Mexico passed a law that created smoke-free indoor places including bars and restaurants.

Now, the law has been extended to include outdoor public spaces such as hotels, offices, restaurants, parks, public transport, all schools and beaches.

The new law also includes a total ban on the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products. The direct or indirect display of tobacco products at points of sale is prohibited, the Ministry wrote in their public statement regarding the new law.

The Pan American Health Organization has welcomed the ban and applauded the Mexican Government.
State meets with protesting Ejidos after blocking Merida highway

Thiosuco, Q.R.  State officials have met with a group of protesting Ejidos who took to blocking the Merida highway from the state of Quintana Roo. The group from the community of Tihosuco blocked the road Thursday and Friday.

Cristina Torres Gomez, the Secretary of Government, met with the group Friday, agreeing to arrange talks with the appropriate officials. A meeting has been set up for January 18.

The group of Ejidos are requesting land use payment from the government regarding a highway that crosses their land. The land in question, which consists of 131 hectares, has been used as a highway to Merida for several decades.

After the agreement to talk January 18, the group unblocked the roadway.
Suspects arrested in Puerto Aventuras tourist complex murder

Puerto Aventuras, Q.R.  Police from the Secretariat of Public Security of Solidaridad have arrested two for their alleged participation in the death of a person of foreign origin.

In a statement, the SSP of Solidaridad reported that the two male suspects were arrested after a person of foreign origin was found dead inside a tourist complex of Puerto Aventuras. The incident happened January 13.

After attending to a report of help to the emergency number 9-1-1 early Friday, the officers moved to the aforementioned place where they observed a person on the ground for which they requested medical assistance, however, paramedics determined that he already had no vital signs, they said in their public statement.

Solidaridad officers have arrested 34-year-old Cesar N and 36-year-old Victor N, who, the Solidaridad SSP says, are accused of trying to subdue the person.

Police have not provided any information on the now-deceased other than the victim was a male and of foreign origin.
China recorded about 60,000 COVID-19 fatalities since early December on Saturday, providing clear statistics for an alarming rise evident in congested hospitals and packed crematoriums.

The government has stated that the "emergency peak" of the current uptick looks to have passed, although there is still a chance that these COVID-19 death estimates are too low, according to AP News.

The National Health Commission reported 5,503 COVID-19-related respiratory failure deaths and 54,435 COVID-19-related deaths since December 8. The report only included fatalities "related to COVID" that happened in hospitals; this implies that any deaths that occurred outside medical facilities were left out.

Since late 2019, China COVID-19 death toll has reached 10,775. With this restricted definition, many fatalities that would be ascribed to COVID-19 in most parts of the globe are not included in China COVID-19 deaths.

Beijing Claims 'Emergency Peak Has Passed'

Despite a spike in infections that started in October and has overrun hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients, China unexpectedly lifted COVID-19 regulations in early December and ceased providing statistics on COVID-19 fatalities and infections. Funeral homes and crematoriums in Beijing and around the nation have been unable to keep up with the number of individuals who have died, and hospitals have been overloaded with patients.

After local and provincial administrations reported that hundreds of millions of Chinese had caught the virus, the World Health Organization and other countries requested information.

Read Also: Oil Price Cap: Russia Affected From Oil Imports Despite Western Embargo

Jiao Yahui, an official of the National Health Commission, has noted that fewer people visit fever clinics, suggesting that the number of infections is decreasing. He added that "the national emergency peak has passed."

According to Jiao, the average number of patients seen each day at those clinics dropped from 2.9 million on December 23 to 477,000 on Thursday.

COVID-19 Drug Shortages Reported

Meanwhile, CNN reports that drug shortages are being experienced amid the China COVID-19 outbreak, forcing many people to purchase in the black market, where vendors offer COVID-19 medications that may cost up to almost eight times as much as the market price to illegal imports of Indian-manufactured generic versions of Paxlovid and molnupiravir sold by Pfizer and Merck.

Paxlovid reduces mortality and hospitalization in high-risk individuals when administered shortly after symptoms appear. The medication, which is often prescribed in wealthy nations, was approved in China in February.

The COVID-19 drug shortages show China's difficulties in meeting the demand for treatments for its 1.4 billion people after suddenly removing its strict COVID-19 restrictions last month.

A dramatic increase in travel before the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions return to small towns and rural regions from cities, has sparked concern that it may cause a spike in China COVID-19 cases during a celebration that starts on January 21.

The World Health Organization cautioned this week that there are dangers associated with holiday travel. On January 8, China reopened its borders, according to CNBC.

Since the start of the yearly travel season on January 7, Chinese airlines have seen passenger numbers return to 63% of 2019 levels, the industry regulator said on Friday, despite concerns about infections.

Passenger traffic is expected to increase 99.5% year-over-year during the festive migration, which begins on January 17 and continues through February 15. This represents a rebound to 70.3% of 2019 levels, according to the transport ministry.

Related Article: Does COVID-19 Vaccine Increase Stroke Risk? CDC Investigating!

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Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery will host a panel discussion on slavery in Appalachia on Friday, Jan. 27, at 5:30 p.m. in Radford City Council Chambers, adjacent to the mansion location.

The panel discussion will serve as a kickoff for the unveiling of the museums new exhibit titled Slavery in Appalachia, and will be followed by an opening reception for the exhibit itself at Glencoe at 6:45 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

The topic of slavery in Appalachia is a subject that is not well known, Glencoe Director Scott Gardner wrote in a news release about the event. Many falsely believe that it did not exist in the mountains. However, from the earliest years of European settlement, slavery has been part of the fabric of the region. The New River Valley was no exception, especially as the number of enslaved people in the area grew tremendously in the decade leading up to the Civil War.

The exhibit and panel discussion will explore the complicated history of slavery from its beginning until its abolition. Five historians and members of the community who have explored the history of slavery in the region will take part in the panel: Dr. Theresa Burriss, director of Appalachian Studies at Radford University; Sarah Carter, community historian and Glencoe Mansion board member; Howard Eaves Sr., president of the Wake Forest Community Action Club; Dr. Michael Hickman, president of the board of the Calfee Community and Cultural Center; and Dr. Daniel Thorp, associate professor of History at Virginia Tech.

Slavery in Appalachia has been made possible through a grant from the Virginia Humanities, and will be on permanent display at Glencoe. During the month of February, it will be exhibited on the gallery level of the museum.

Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery is at 600 Unruh Drive in Radford. To learn more, go to www.glencoemansion.org.

- The Roanoke Times
CHRISTIANSBURG  Bernard Bragen Jr. is on the job as the new superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools.

Bragen was hired this past fall following a several-months-long search process. He replaces former district chief Mark Miear, who was dismissed in March after having spent just over six years on the job.

Bragen arrives at MCPS with nearly a decade of superintendent experience in New Jersey public schools. He was most recently the superintendent of schools for Edison Township Public Schools.

Bragen has more than three decades of experience in the field of education. His other past roles in administration, in addition to being a superintendent, were supervisor of special education, assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent of schools.

Bragens career in education began as a special education teacher and child study team member. After a decade in those roles, he moved into administration.

The Roanoke Time recently sat down with Bragen to ask him a few questions (responses have been edited for length):

What interested you in the superintendent position here in Montgomery County?

BB: Im at a time in my life where I had some options, Im 57 years old, and to change what I was acclimated to. I was born and raised in New Jersey, I spent all my education career there, my kids are grown and out of the house now and I had a chance to look at other places. Where would you want to maybe relocate and finish out your career? I didnt know a lot about this area, and I saw the job was posted and started to do some research and fell in love with the area. The climate, the community, being between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. And then I did some research on the school system and was amazed at what a high performing school system it is and thought there was an opportunity for me to be a part of it and perhaps add some value.

What are some differences between the previous districts youve worked at and MCPS?

BB: Whats interesting is theyre remarkably similar. Many more similarities than differences. One of the biggest differences is our physical plant, our building and classroom structures are much newer than what I was accustomed to. Where I came from in New Jersey [most of those structures] were older. Our buildings are really well maintained and most of them are fairly new, which is really nice to see. But running the school system is remarkably similar to what I had been acclimated and accustomed to. I worked in Edison Township, which is a township not a county. Nineteen schools, almost the same as we have here, 17,000 students. There was a more affluent north side of town and a less affluent south side of town. It could be very similar to our community here, which is amazing. As far as the day-to-day operations of the schools, its the same. The issues that present themselves with staffing, with students, with administration, are almost identical. Its not that different at all actually.

What previous lessons learned do you think you can apply in this new role?

BB: I think one of the biggest leadership lessons Ive learned over time is that power is something that you share and not something that you hoard. The more people you engage in the decision making process, the better outcome you typically have. One of the things Id like to really try my best at doing is to enfranchise as many people in that decision making process as you can. At the building level, its really important for the principals to take ownership for their buildings and to try to get the teachers and staff that are there to work together and be collaborative toward a common goal, as opposed to working with a top-down mentality because I have not found that to be effective. The more you get people to collaborate and work together, the better off we are.

What are some positive things that you already see with MCPS?

BB: Some of the great things I saw are the commitment that our staff have for the children in this community. Everywhere I go, people go out of their way to let me know that theyre a product of Montgomery County Public Schools, that theyre somehow connected to it whether they were a student, they were a staff member, they were an administrator ... And theyre proud of it, proud of the school system and they should be. Thats really rewarding for me to see. The other piece is the commitment to providing students with special needs an inclusive atmosphere and having those students included in the general ed setting to the greatest extent possible. Its really remarkable how well that is done here.

What are some challenges? Or rather, what would you say are the biggest challenges facing MCPS right now?

BB: Again, its one of those things where its similar to where I came from. I think the biggest challenge right now is trying to attract and retain the most highly qualified people we can. For whatever reason in the field of education, there arent as many candidates for the available positions we have. Its really hard on our staff that are currently working. Many of them are doing extra duty because we cant fill some of the vacancies we have. I think thats a problem that we have to somehow look at globally. And how do we attract more young people to this field? I think one of the other challenges, which is also one of our greatest strengths here, is our diversity. Its really exciting the diverse community in which Montgomery County Public Schools is a part of. It also provides some challenges. How to make sure everyones needs are being met. How are we honoring everybody and their differences. And getting everybody to work together toward that collaborative goal.

Can you offer any remarks on the recent events involving your predecessor, Mark Miear? Can you say anything about his attendance at the school board meeting Tuesday night (where Miear announced his school board campaign)?

BB: It would be hard for me to comment on Dr. Miear, other than my interaction with him. And Ive had very limited [interaction with him]. One is we were on a joint Region 6 meeting due to his work with the Minnick Schools. He was a welcoming colleague and professional in that meeting, and thats really my only interaction with him. He did speak publicly [Tuesday night] on something that he was passionate about. Theres not much more I can say. He wished me well and that I would do well and I appreciate that. I dont know what happened or transpired before I got here and its really none of my business. I wouldnt want to comment on something that Im not really familiar with.
Things came full circle Saturday at the Roanoke chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conferences 26th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday luncheon.

The luncheons keynote speaker, the Rev. William A. Keen, president of the Danville SCLC chapter, described what he called racial hypnosis the state of being inured to racism.

We are under a trance. We are racially hypnotized all over America, going along with racism everywhere, and then we act like we dont really know what it is, Keen said.

Keen referenced the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, President Donald Trumps January 2018 comments calling Haiti and other African nations s-hole countries and a photo from former Virginia governor Ralph Northams medical school yearbook that surfaced in February 2019 of two people, one in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan hood, relating each event to the concept of racial hypnosis.

As Keens speech came to an end, he called for an awakening.

The voice of racism has hypnotized the world ... its hypnotizing us right now, Keen said. The question is: Will you snap out of it?

Later, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine recounted the story of his first eureka moment when, at the age of 10, he learned of Kings assassination. His parents were out of town and he and his siblings were being watched by a neighbor.

We loved her, Kaine said. She treated us like we were her own grand kids. We were watching TV one night and there was a news bulletin that came on and said Dr. King had been shot and killed in Memphis. And this woman  that was to us like our own grandmother, who we loved so much  said, Serves that blank right. ... When youre a kid, if someone treats you nice, theyre a good person. ... This was a person who treated us in a loving and wonderful way. How could a person like that rejoice at the death of someone?

Kaine compared that confusion, and the events that defined his childhood years  the civil rights movement; the Vietnam War; the assassinations of King, President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Bobby Kennedy; President Richard Nixons resignation  to the present moment.

Were living in a confusing time  impeachment trials, attack on the capital, pandemic killed 1 million plus people  the only time that compares to that was when I was kid. ... Dr. King would try to make sense of it: We may have come over on different ships, were in the same boat now. ... When I find that Im confused and I dont really know how to make sense of the reality that were living in ... Dr. King kind of had a statement for that, too. ... If the other [questions in life] are too hard to answer, then set them aside and just focus on the most important one: What are you doing for others?

Some of Roanokes community members received recognition Saturday for their commitment to answering that question. Roanoke Deputy Police Chief Chester Smith, Roanoke Sheriff Antonio Hash and domestic violence advocate Kiesha Preston received the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice award. Community service awards went to Roanoke City Council member and Vice Mayor Joe Cobb, Director of Roanoke City Libraries Sheila Umberger and artist Polly Branch. Finally, Roanoke City Public Schools Superintendent Verletta White received the Dr. Perneller Chubb-Wilson award from its namesake, to whom the luncheon was dedicated.
Espagne: un ex-politicien accuse d'abus sexuels sur des migrants mineurs a Ceuta

L'ancien conseiller pour la Sante de Ceuta, l'une des deux enclaves espagnoles situees au nord de l'Afrique, a ete place en detention provisoire pour des faits presumes d'abus sexuels commis sur des enfants migrants, ont rapporte samedi des sources judiciaires et medias.



La television publique espagnole RTVE a precise que l'arrestation de l'ancien responsable politique etait en lien avec des mineurs marocains non accompagnes, qui sejournaient dans un centre d'accueil de la petite enclave.



Dans une decision rendue vendredi soir, un tribunal de Ceuta a ordonne que Javier Guerrero, medecin de profession, soit immediatement place en detention provisoire.



"La cour a decide (...) de placer Docteur Javier G. en detention provisoire sans caution pour des faits presumes de crime impliquant l'abus sexuel de mineurs", selon un communique du Tribunal superieur de justice d'Andalousie, juridiction competente dans l'enclave.



"Le suspect (...) n'a repondu qu'aux questions posees par son avocat. La justice va poursuivre ses investigations", ajoute le communique.



Aucun autre detail n'a ete rendu public, mais M. Guerrero lui-meme a precise dans un tweet avoir ete arrete mercredi a son domicile, devant son epouse et ses enfants.



La quotidien El Mundo a precise que cette arrestation faisait suite a une enquete menee depuis plus d'un an par la police de la Guardia Civil, commencee apres la crise migratoire de 2021.



En mai 2021, plus de 10.000 personnes avaient traverse la frontiere vers Ceuta, alors que les gardes-frontieres marocains regardaient ailleurs, dont des centaines de mineurs non accompagnes.



Bien que la plupart des migrants ont ete renvoyes dans les jours suivants, quelque 820 enfants et adolescents sont restes a Ceuta.



Cette intrusion exceptionnelle etait survenue dans un contexte de crise diplomatique majeure entre l'Espagne et le Maroc qui a depuis ete resolue.



M. Guerrero a entame sa carriere politique locale sous les couleurs du Parti Populaire de droite en 2015 et a ete nomme chef de la sante a Ceuta en 2019.



Il a demissionne de son poste en janvier 2021 apres avoir admis avoir enfreint les regles de vaccination contre le Covid-19.



L'an passe, il a quitte le Parti Populaire pour lancer sa propre formation politique, Ceuta Avanza.



Les enclaves espagnoles de Ceuta et Melilla, sur la cote d'Afrique du Nord, attirent depuis longtemps les populations qui fuient la violence et la pauvrete sur le continent, en quete d'une vie meilleure en Europe.
Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida told Western nations that east Asia could become the next Ukraine given a rise in Chinas aggression against Taiwan and North Koreas military activity.

During his first trip to Washington since his election in October 2021, Mr Kishida visited leaders of all members of the Group of 7 nations (G7), except Germany.

The Japanese president stressed the importance of standing up to Russias invasion of Ukraine, arguing that if a unilateral change to the status quo went unchallenged, the same would happen elsewhere.

Ukraine may be the east Asia of tomorrow, the Japanese prime minister told a news conference, calling security concerns inseparable.

The situation around Japan is becoming increasingly severe with attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East China Sea and South China Sea, and the activation of North Koreas nuclear and missile activities, he added.

Mr Kishida was referring to Chinas growing assertiveness around Taiwan. In August last year, five missiles sent by China landed in Japanese waters as part of major military exercises around Taiwan, in an apparent warning to the neighbouring country, which has shown support to the self-ruling island.

Although Taiwan has been a self-governing democracy since its separation from the mainland following a civil war in 1949, China claims the island is a part of its national territory. Beijing has beefed up its military activity and routinely sends several warplanes and vessels toward Taiwan to bully the island.

At a summit with US president Joe Biden, Mr Kishida said the alliance between the two nations was stronger than ever after Japan last month announced its biggest military build-up since the Second World War.

He said: In our coordination in the run-up to the Hiroshima summit, the greatest issue was, needless to say, the Russian aggression against Ukraine, which will soon mark one year since the start.

Mr Kishida continued: I pointed out that the aggression against Ukraine is not only a European problem but also a challenge to the very rules and principles of the international community, and agreed with the heads of state and government that the G7 Hiroshima summit should demonstrate a strong will to uphold the international order, based on the rule of law.
File. A woman watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a railway station in Seoul on 31 December 2022 after North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles according to South Korea's military (AFP via Getty Images)

North Korea has accused the United Nations chief of typical double standards over his criticism of Pyongyangs nuclear programmes.

Late on Saturday, North Korea released a statement in which it accused Antonio Guterres of having typical double standards and committing the dangerous act of destroying the trust of the world community in the UN.

The statement was carried out by Korean Central News Agency and was attributed to a senior official in North Koreas foreign ministry, Jo Chol Su.

The official said that Mr Guterres was ignoring a reckless arms build-up by the United States that was constantly bringing all sorts of nuclear strike means to the Korean peninsula and the region.

The UN chief had labelled North Koreas nuclear programmes as a clear and present danger.

The unlawful nuclear weapons programme being pursued by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea is a clear and present danger, driving risks and geopolitical tensions to new heights, Mr Guterres told a Security Council meeting on 12 January.

The UN chief had said that the onus was on North Korea to return to talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programmes. The onus is on the DPRK to comply with its international obligations and return to the negotiating table.

Mr Jo, the state-owned news agency said, blamed Mr Guterres of having no moral and legal qualification to be part of the UN Security Council because of its wartime and colonial past.

In November last year, North Koreas foreign minister accused Mr Guterres of siding with the United States and failing to maintain impartiality and objectivity.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also called for developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and a larger nuclear arsenal to counter United States-led threats earlier this month.

At a meeting of the ruling Workers Party, Mr Kim highlighted the need to secure overwhelming military power to defend its sovereignty and security, the state media reported.
Meetings and events

Lions Club meetings are first and third Mondays of each month, excluding holidays, at 12 p.m. at Active Generations located at 313 Cook St Sioux City. If interested in a strong service club helping sight and hearing impaired individuals we are the people to join with.

Dakota County Historical Society meets at 7:30 p.m. on third Thursday of the month, Dakota City Library. Contact Dennis Reinert at 712-253-1609 for more information.

Top O Morning Toastmasters Club, Mondays, noon to 1 p.m. Contact LeAnn Blankenburg, 712-870-1120, for meeting information.

The Siouxland Ostomy Support Group, find us on Facebook. For more information and meeting times contact Dick Lindblom at 712-251-2453.

Southside South Bottoms former residents, 6 p.m. potluck, second Wednesday of the month at Goodwill Industries cafeteria, 3100 Fourth St. Gert, 258-2227.

Siouxland Metal Detecting and Archeology Club, 6:30 p.m., first Tuesday of the month in the Gleeson Room at 4510 Buckwalter Drive. Visitors welcome. Ray Turner, 712-899-2114.

American Legion Post 64, 7 p.m. last Thursday of the month at 4021 Floyd Blvd. 712-258-3986.

Marine Corps League, 6 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at Elks Club on TriView Ave. All marines welcome. For more information, call Cathy Moreno, 712-899-8441.

Sioux City Chapter of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 7 p.m. fourth Tuesday of the month at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. 712-203-2052.

Sioux City Duplicate Bridge Club, 12:30 p.m. Mondays (open); at the Senior Center. Mary 605-670-9613.

Siouxland Fly-Fishing Club, 10 a.m. last Saturday of the month at the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center on Hwy 12. All interested in fly fishing; beginners welcome. Monthly programs provided. For more information, call Bob Gillespie, 712-251-9463, or Diana, 402-987-3945.

Siouxland Coin Club, 7 p.m. first Tuesday of each month at First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 1915 Nebraska St. Bob, 255-4829.

The Siouxland Pride Alliance, peer support group, 5:30 p.m. Fridays; Youth Pride group, 1:30 p.m. second Sunday of the month; potluck, 5:30 p.m. third Sunday of the month. First Unitarian Church, 2508 Jackson. Call 712-223-0931

Siouxland Samplers Quilt Guild, 7 p.m. second Monday of the month at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St, door #2. Visitors and new members welcome.

Siouxland Sewing Guild, 6:30-8 p.m. first Thursday of the month at South Sioux Public Library, 2121 Dakota Ave., South Sioux City. For anyone interested in sewing. Denise, 402-922-1822.

Sooland RC Modelers, 7 p.m. second Thursday of the month at Morningside Lutheran Church. Non-profit club that flies remote control aircraft. Anyone interested in RC is welcome.

Retired Educators, 10:30 a.m. third Tuesday of the month, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., door #6.

Mid-Step Services for Handicapped, meal at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., door #6.

Confirmation Instruction and Midweek Lessons, 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., door #6. Open to all kids 5 years old through 8th grade.

Primetime (Potluck), 12 p.m., second Thursday of each month, at Whitfield United Methodist Church, 1319 W 5th. For more information call 252-3261 Tuesday-Thursdays, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Abundant Life Fellowship, 809 S. Alice St., in Sioux City will distribute food boxes after their 11 a.m. Sunday services. For additional information contact Pastor Bob at 605-205-0718 or Donna at 605-205-0719.
Jim and Evelyn (Goodwin) Finley of Blencoe, Iowa, will celebrate 70 years of marriage on Wednesday, Feb. 1, with a card shower.

Jim and Evelyn were married on Feb. 1, 1953. They were joint business owners and are retired. Their four children are Dawn, Kendal, Allison, and Jim. Jim and Evelyn have five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
SIOUX CITY  Denied access to survey some parcels of land along proposed liquid carbon dioxide pipeline routes, developers have sought rulings from Iowa judges ordering landowners to allow the surveys to proceed.

New lawsuits in Clay and Sioux counties were filed in December, bringing the total number to nine filed by either Summit Carbon Solutions or Navigator Heartland Greenway.

In all cases, the companies are seeking injunctions to prohibit landowners from denying survey crews entrance to their land to study the proposed pipeline routes. Landowners have filed counterclaims in many of them arguing that Iowa's laws giving pipeline companies the right of entry to private land to survey and examine it are unconstitutional.

Both are tactics seldom seen before in Iowa.

State law clearly authorizes enforcement of survey access by a company by injunction, said Don Tormey, a spokesman for the Iowa Utilities Board, which receives and rules on permit applications for underground pipelines.

"However, to the IUB's knowledge, lawsuits by pipeline companies to gain access to a landowner's property to survey have been rare in the past. If a landowner resists surveying, the issue is usually addressed without litigation," Tormey said.

Tormey said the IUB has no information on the number of landowners refusing to let surveyors onto their land either now or during past pipeline projects. He said the length of the proposed CO2 pipelines and the large number of landowners affected may be a factor.

Navigator plans to build a 1,300-mile pipeline collecting liquid CO2 from ethanol plants and fertilizer processors in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois and transport it to a site in Illinois, where it will be injected deep beneath the surface. The pipeline would stretch 900 miles across 36 Iowa counties, including several in Siouxland.

Summit's plans call for a 2,000-mile pipeline collecting CO2 from ethanol plants in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota and piping it to a North Dakota injection site. Of the 30 Iowa counties in the route, many again are in Siouxland.

Permit applications for both are before the IUB.

Both projects have staunch opponents, evidenced by landowners' unwillingness to allow surveyors on their property.

Navigator filed lawsuits against landowners in Woodbury, Clay and Butler counties in August. Summit sued in Dickinson, Hardin and Kossuth counties in September, and Clay and Sioux counties on Dec. 15. In its suits and requests for injunctions, Summit says landowners have refused to accept delivery of a second letter providing notice of the intent to enter their property to survey it.

"While Summit Carbon Solutions is not able to comment on the specifics of pending litigation, it's important to note the overwhelming majority of survey work done to this point has involved the owner voluntarily offering the company permission to access their land, there have been a limited number of instances where Iowa law has been invoked to allow this critical work to continue," Summit said in a statement.

Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Navigator's vice president of government and public affairs, also noted the majority of landowners have granted surveyors access.

"What we don't hear about is how much survey work was done voluntarily," she said. "Surveys are an incredibly important part of the process. We think the code and the law is pretty clear as to notification and the steps to complete that survey. We truly want to be collaborative and follow the letter of the law."

Landowners who are resisting have banded together, hiring attorneys and coordinating their opposition.

It's likely due in part to experiences with the Dakota Access oil pipeline, which was completed in 2017 and traverses many of the same counties in the paths of the proposed CO2 pipelines, said Jess Mazour, conservation program coordinator of the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter.

In many cases, crop yield loss because of soil disruption from pipeline installation has been greater than what farmers were told to expect by Dakota Access, and payments from the company have not made up for the losses. With that information in hand, farmers are less likely to willingly give permission to have their land disturbed, much less surveyed, Mazour said.

"Everyone's prepared this time, and they're saying 'not again,'" she said.

The filing of lawsuits, however, caught opponents by surprise, Mazour said, but has solidified opposition, too.

"It just made people upset and even more steadfast in their opposition," she said. "If they're really just going to sue anyone who gets in their way, what kind of business practice is that and do we want those kinds of companies in Iowa?"

Vicki and William Hulse, of Moville, Iowa, were sued by Navigator in August after refusing to allow surveyors onto their land in northern Woodbury County. They responded with the claim that Iowa's laws giving pipelines the right to enter their land are unconstitutional.

A judge in September denied Navigator's request for an injunction that would have enabled surveyors to enter the Hulse's land. A trial is scheduled for Feb. 14, though that same judge is considering Navigator's motion for summary judgment seeking a ruling in its favor before trial. A trial in Navigator's lawsuit against Martin Koenig, of Sioux Rapids, Iowa, is scheduled for April 19 in Clay County. The Butler County cases were consolidated and scheduled for trial in May.

Vicki Hulse told the Journal last fall she and other landowners are doing what they believe is right and want others to know they're not powerless against the pipeline companies.

"I just want to be an example that you can stand up for yourself," Hulse said. "You can stand up and say no, this is my land."

Summit's lawsuits have yet to be scheduled for trial. Dennis and Kerry King, of Dickens, in Clay County and the Wilmer Hulstein Revocable Trust, in Sioux Center, in Sioux County, have yet to respond to the suits.
The White House confirmed on Saturday that President Joe Biden's legal team had discovered additional classified materials at the POTUS house in Wilmington, Delaware, than had been previously disclosed.

In a statement, White House counsel Richard Sauber revealed that six pages of secret material were discovered in Biden's personal library. The White House earlier said that just one page was discovered, per AP News.

This new information on the Biden scandal comes on the heels of the announcement that records from Biden's tenure as vice president were discovered in his garage in December and his old offices at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, DC, in November.

Former US Attorney Robert Hur is now serving as a special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday to investigate the possible mishandling of Biden's classified documents and official records from the Obama administration.

White House Lawyer Acknowledges 'Mistake' on Handling Confidential Documents

On Saturday, Sauber released a statement saying that Biden's private attorneys, who lacked security clearances, had abandoned their search after seeing the first page on Wednesday night. Sauber spotted "five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages," Thursday while helping the Department of Justice (DOJ) retrieve sensitive documents.

Sauber noted that the DOJ took immediate possession of the classified materials amid the Biden scandal.

Sauber earlier said that the White House was "confident" that a comprehensive assessment would establish that these papers were "inadvertently misplaced," and President Joe Biden and his counsel moved immediately upon notice of this mistake."

Read Also: Joe Biden Document Scandal vs. Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago Issue

Biden Administration Lambasted For Double Standards

Several prominent conservatives have publicly questioned why the FBI hasn't raided Biden's house as they did with ex-President Trump after being informed that even more secret material had been located on his property on Saturday, as reported by Fox News.

Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert took her reaction to social media over "ANOTHER throve of classified documents" retrieved from Biden's home after the White House announced that the search of the POTUS residence was "complete."

She tweeted: "Looks like they've got documents coming out of the woodworks over in Wilmington. Still no FBI raid..."

Tom Fitton, head of Judicial Watch, commented on Twitter, "Biden DOJ is a corrupt mess" as Biden's White House Counsel visits Joe Biden's Delaware home to search for documents after the appointment of a special prosecutor, while Donald Trump offered DOJ officials to go through the sensitive documents found in his Mar-a-Lago home, which was denied by Biden, leading to an FBI raid on the Trump house.

Biden White House Counsel travels to Biden Delaware home with Biden DOJ officials to look for docs -- AFTER Special Counsel is appointed? But Trump's home gets FBI raid after Biden DOJ officials refuse Trump offer to let them look through records. Biden DOJ is corrupt mess.  Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) January 14, 2023

In a news conference on Thursday, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, accused the Biden administration of double standards on handling the Biden classified documents issue.

"Another faux pas by the Biden administration by treating law differently based upon your political beliefs," McCarthy said, as per an NPR news story.

On Thursday, Attorney General Garland used "extraordinary circumstances" to explain the Biden scandal. The inquiry will be carried out per departmental regulations, but the special counsel is not subject to daily Justice Department inspection, which is done to prevent even the appearance of meddling.

Related Article: China Slams UK, Japan Defense Pact; US Strengthens Cooperation with Tokyo

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A lawyer's statement did not explain why the White House waited two days to provide an updated accounting of the number of classified records.
NEW YORK  New U.S. government data suggests holiday gatherings didn't spark surges in respiratory diseases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that visits to doctors' offices for the flu-like illnesses fell for the sixth straight week. Reports of RSV, a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be serious for infants and the elderly, also are down.

When flu and RSV surged in the fall, overloading pediatric emergency rooms, some doctors feared that winter might bring a "tripledemic" of flu, RSV and COVID-19. And they worried holiday gatherings might be the spark.

But apparently that didn't happen.

"Right now, everything continues to decline," said the CDC's Lynnette Brammer, who leads the government agency's tracking of flu in the United States.

RSV hospitalizations have been going down since November, and flu hospitalizations are down, too.

Of course, the situation is uneven across the country, and some places have more illnesses than others. But some doctors say patient traffic is easing.

"It has really eased up, considerably," said Dr. Ethan Wiener, a pediatric ER doctor at the Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone in New York City.

Dr. Jason Newland, a pediatric infectious-diseases physician at St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, said "it has slowed down, tremendously."

Newland said he wasn't surprised that flu and RSV continued to trend down in recent weeks, but added: "The question is what was COVID going to do?"

COVID-19 hospitalizations rose through December, including during the week after Christmas. One set of CDC data appears to show they started trending down after New Year's, although an agency spokeswoman noted that another count indicates an uptick as of last week. Because of reporting lags, it may be a few weeks until CDC can be sure COVID-19 hospitalizations have really started dropping, she said.

Newland said there was an increase in COVID-19 traffic at St. Louis Children's Hospital in December. But he noted the situation was nothing like it was a year ago, when the then-new omicron variant was causing the largest national surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began.

"That was the worst," he said.

The fall RSV and flu surge was felt most acutely at health care centers for children. Wiener said the pediatric emergency department traffic at Hassenfeld was 50% above normal levels in October, November and December  "the highest volumes ever" for that time of year, he said.

The RSV and flu surges likely faded because so many members of the vulnerable population were infected "and it just kind of burnt itself out," he said.

It makes sense that respiratory infections could rebound amid holiday travel and gatherings, and it's not exactly clear why that didn't happen, Brammer said.

That said, flu season isn't over. Thirty-six states are still reporting high or very high levels of flu activity, and it's always possible that a second wave of illnesses is still ahead, experts said.

States with the highest flu vaccination rates States with the highest flu vaccination rates #51. Nevada #50. Florida #49. Idaho #48. Wyoming #47. Alaska #46. Arizona #45. Georgia #44. Mississippi #43. Oregon #42. Illinois #41. Montana #40. Michigan #39. Indiana #38. Louisiana #37. Utah #36. California #35. Wisconsin #34. Texas #33. Alabama #32. Ohio #31. Kansas #30. South Carolina #29. Kentucky #28. Missouri #27. New Jersey #26. Tennessee #25. New York #24. Arkansas #23. Oklahoma #22. New Mexico #21. Maine #20. Washington #19. District of Columbia #18. Pennsylvania #17. North Dakota #16. Vermont #15. Colorado #14. New Hampshire #13. West Virginia #12. Delaware #11. North Carolina #10. Hawaii #9. Nebraska #8. Virginia #7. Minnesota #6. Iowa #5. Connecticut #4. Maryland #3. Massachusetts #2. South Dakota #1. Rhode Island States with the highest flu vaccination rates #51. Mississippi #50. Wyoming #49. Nevada #47. Idaho (tie) #47. Florida (tie) #46. Oklahoma #45. Louisiana #44. Arizona #43. Montana #42. Georgia #41. Texas #40. Tennessee #39. Alabama #37. West Virginia (tie) #37. South Carolina (tie) #36. California #35. Kentucky #34. Alaska #33. Ohio #31. Oregon (tie) #31. Arkansas (tie) #30. Missouri #29. Utah #28. Indiana #27. North Carolina #26. New Mexico #25. Illinois #24. North Dakota #23. Kansas #22. Wisconsin #21. Delaware #20. New York #19. Hawaii #18. Nebraska #16. South Dakota (tie) #16. Pennsylvania (tie) #15. Iowa #14. Virginia #13. Michigan #12. Washington #11. Colorado #10. Minnesota #9. Maine #8. New Jersey #7. Vermont #6. Maryland #5. New Hampshire #4. Massachusetts #3. Connecticut #2. Washington DC #1. Rhode Island
WASHINGTON  Lawyers for President Joe Biden found more classified documents at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, than previously known, the White House acknowledged Saturday.

White House lawyer Richard Sauber said in a statement that a total of six pages of classified documents were found during a search of Biden's private library. The White House previously said only a single page was found there.

The latest disclosure is in addition to the discovery of documents found in December in Biden's garage and in November at his former offices at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, from his time as vice president. The apparent mishandling of classified documents and official records from the Obama administration is under investigation by a former U.S. attorney, Robert Hur, who was appointed as a special counsel on Thursday by Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Sauber said in a statement Saturday that Biden's personal lawyers, who did not have security clearances, stopped their search after finding the first page Wednesday evening. Sauber found the remaining material Thursday as he was facilitating their retrieval by the Department of Justice.

"While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages," Sauber said. "The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them."

Sauber previously said the White House was "confident that a thorough review will show that these documents were inadvertently misplaced, and the president and his lawyers acted promptly upon discovery of this mistake."

Sauber's statement did not explain why the White House waited two days to provide an updated accounting of the number of classified records. The White House is already facing scrutiny for waiting more than two months to acknowledge the discovery of the initial group of documents at the Biden office.

On Thursday, asked whether Biden could guarantee that additional classified documents would not turn up in a further search, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, "You should assume that it's been completed, yes."

Sauber reiterated Saturday that the White House would cooperate with Hur's investigation.

Bob Bauer, the president's personal lawyer, said his legal team has "attempted to balance the importance of public transparency where appropriate with the established norms and limitations necessary to protect the investigation's integrity."

The Justice Department historically imposes a high legal bar before bringing criminal charges in cases involving the mishandling of classified information, with a requirement that someone intended to break the law as opposed to being merely careless or negligent in doing so. The primary statute governing the illegal removal and retention of classified documents makes it a crime to "knowingly" remove classified documents and store them in an unauthorized way.

The circumstances involving Biden, at least as so far known, differ from a separate investigation into the mishandling of classified documents at former President Donald Trump's private club and residence in Florida.

In Trump's case, special counsel Jack Smith is investigating whether anyone sought to obstruct their investigation into the retention of classified records at the Palm Beach estate. Justice Department officials have said Trump's representatives failed to fully comply with a subpoena that sought the return of classified records, prompting agents to return to the home with a search warrant so they could collect additional materials.
Rep. George Santos lies were known to plugged-in Republicans before last years election but they did not act on them, according to a new report.

Republicans alerted to Santos vulnerabilities before the election included Dan Conston, the head of a super PAC dedicated to winning a GOP majority in the House; and associates of Rep. Elise Stefanik, an upstate New York lawmaker, The New York Times reported Friday.

Spokespeople for Conston and Stefanik declined to comment to the Times. Conston is a close ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, and Stefanik is the No. 4 Republican in the House.

Santos, a newly sworn-in Republican whose district includes a section of northeast Queens and part of Nassau County, has been criticized by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle after admitting to making outlandish fabrications to his biography  from his work experience to his academic achievement to his religion.

The falsehoods, brought to public light by a bombshell Dec. 19 report published in the Times, also landed the congressman under a legal microscope.

Multiple American prosecutors offices are investigating him, a Brazilian prosecutors office moved to revive a 2008 theft charge against him and a nonpartisan watchdog filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing him of violating campaign finance law.

On Thursday, a group of New York Republicans urged the 34-year-old to resign.

The Times reported Friday that a research firm hired by Santos campaign found in a 2021 background check that some of the false claims Santos was making could lead to future humiliation.

Researchers found no evidence Santos earned degrees at Baruch College and New York University, as he claimed. The researchers found documents showing his involvement with a company accused of a running Ponzi scheme, the Times reported.

When Santos disputed some of the findings of the study, members of his campaign quit, according to the report.

Santos, who admitted to embellishing his resume, said Thursday he wouldnt resign from Congress unless 142,000 people who voted for him told him to step down, understating the number of votes he won by about 3,000.

He also insisted he lived an honest life and has never been accused of any bad doings.
NASA had a banner year in 2022, with many successful missions in what was one of the organizations most active years in decades.

The James Webb Space Telescope began sending its first images back to Earth in the summer of 2022. NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI via Flickr, CC BY

Im a professor of astronomy who has used NASA telescopes for decades to do research in observational cosmology. I also have a keen interest in the role science plays in humanitys expansion into space.

NASAs missions over the past year have been remarkably far-ranging  from practicing how to protect the Earth to preparing for the first manned mission to Mars and learning about the earliest days in the universe. By working in the extremes, scientists are learning about and doing more in space than ever before.

The DART mission successfully crashed a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos and slightly nudged the orbit of the asteroid. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL, CC BY-NC

Near and far

Some NASA missions in 2022 focused on protecting or learning more about the Earth, while other missions were focused as far from Earth as possible.

Close to home, NASA nudged an asteroid off its trajectory, successfully demonstrating technology that could save the Earth if an asteroid or comet was on a collision course with Earth.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, slammed the 1,340-pound (610-kilogram) DART spacecraft into an 11 billion-pound (5 billion-kilogram) asteroid called Dimorphos. Dimorphos is the smaller of a pair of asteroids that flew past Earth last year. The impact happened 6 million miles (11.7 million kilometers) from Earth and altered the asteroids orbit by a small but measurable amount.

Dimorphos and its twin, Didymos, were never a threat to humanity, but NASA tracks potentially hazardous near-Earth objects for a reason, and DART showed that it would be possible to protect the Earth from an asteroid impact.

NASA has also been studying water both near the Earth and in distant solar systems. On Dec. 16, 2022, a Space-X rocket carried NASAs Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite into orbit. This satellite will be looking down at Earth for three years in an attempt to survey nearly all the water on the Earths surface. The resulting data will be crucial in understanding how climate change is altering the worlds oceans.

Looking out instead of down, NASA satellites also found two water worlds in a single star system 218 light years away. The planets are super-Earths, about 50% bigger than our planet, but they have thousands of times more water.

On average, the Earths oceans are about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) deep. These two newly discovered exoplanets are covered in oceans 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) deep. The data astronomers are collecting on these planets is offering some of the best clues to date about these common super-Earths that may be more hospitable to life than the Earth.

The Artemis I mission launched the Orion capsule on a test trip around the Moon aboard the Space Launch System rocket and was the first of a series of launches for the Artemis program. NASA/Kim Shiflett via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

Cheap and expensive

The James Webb Space Telescope was originally budgeted at US$1 billion in the early 2000s. By the time Webb launched, that price tag had ballooned to an astonishing cost of $10 billion. But Webb was not the only expensive NASA mission from 2022.

After numerous delays, the Artemis 1 mission had a successful flyby of the Moon before it splashed down on Dec. 11, 2022  50 years to the day after Apollo 17 was the last American spacecraft to land on the Moon.

Artemis 1 is the first in a series of NASA missions that aim to return U.S. astronauts to the Moon by 2030 and eventually establish a Moon base. Each launch is estimated to cost around $4.1 billion, with the entire program  including four initial launches and associated research and development  expected to cost an eye-popping $93 billion.

While many recent missions have been among the most ambitious and expensive in the history of space, in some ways 2022 was also the year space became cheap. NASA launched more than a dozen CubeSats, shoe-box-sized satellites that can do science experiments in orbit at a cost of only $50,000 each. CubeSats weigh just a few pounds, and thanks to their small size and the ever-decreasing cost of rocket launches, even students can get an experiment into space. Almost 4,000 have been launched, a number thats projected to double within six years.

Hot and cold

2022 also saw some of the hottest and coldest temperatures encountered by any spacecraft in history.

Since its launch in August 2018, the Parker Solar Probe has been making closer and closer passes to the Sun, and on Dec. 11, 2022, it swooped past Earths star at just over 5 million miles (9 million kilometers) from the surface. The probe reaches incredible speeds as it passes the Sun and set the all-time speed record for a spacecraft at 364,000 mph (586,000 kph) in 2021.

During each pass, the car-sized craft reaches a toasty 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,371 Celsius) and is able to not only survive the heat but also measure the physical conditions in the outermost layers of the Sun. That data is helping astronomers better understand solar wind, the stream of high-energy particles that can interfere with electronics and telecommunications on Earth.

Meanwhile, the Voyager 1 spacecraft continued its exploration of interstellar space. Since its launch in 1977, Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, have been traveling away from Earth. At a distance of 14.8 billion miles from Earth (22.5 billion kilometers) and counting, Voyager 1 is now the farthest human-made object from the Sun, and therefore also the coldest. The temperature beyond the edge of the Solar System where Voyager 1 now roams is a frigid 3 degrees above absolute zero, roughly minus-454 F (minus-270 C).

The venerable spacecraft suffered a data glitch in May 2022, but despite the 22-hour travel time for a radio signal to travel between Voyager 1 and Earth, NASA engineers were able to restore full function to the craft.

Volume and longevity

NASA accomplished some incredible feats in 2022, but the organizations pace is slow and steady compared to frenetic activity in the private sector.

Last year set a record for the volume of space activity. There were 186 launches, all but six of which were successful. Space-X accounted for 61 orbital launches, doubling its total for 2021.

Some of NASAs achievements in 2022 were the result of persistence and durability. A U.S. citizen spent a record 355 days in orbit, setting the record for the longest single spaceflight. This year also marked the 22nd year of continuous human presence on the International Space Station, and the 25th year of continuous robotic exploration of Mars.

The ancient Roman poet Virgil coined the phrase ad astra per aspera, or to the stars through difficulties, and this last year has shown that human efforts can overcome difficulties and reach for the stars.

Chris Impey receives funding from the National Science Foundation and Epic Games.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Photos: NASA releases Webb telescope images Deep Field Southern Ring Nebula Southern Ring Nebula Stephan's Quintet Stephan's Quintet Exoplanet Star Birth Star Birth
KABUL, Afghanistan  Last June, a team of female doctors and nurses drove six hours across mountains, dry riverbeds and on unpaved roads to reach victims of a massive earthquake that had just hit eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 1,000 people.

When they got there, a day after the earthquake hit, they found the men had been treated, but the women had not. In Afghanistans deeply conservative society, the women had stayed inside their tents, unable to come out to get medical help and other assistance because there were no female aid workers.

The women still had blood on them, said Samira Sayed-Rahman, from the aid agency International Rescue Committee. It was only after she met local elders to tell them about the arrival of a female medical team that women came out to get treatment. Thats not just the situation in emergencies; in many parts of the country, women dont go out to get aid, she said.

Its an example, Sayed-Rahman said, of how vital women workers are to humanitarian operations in Afghanistan  and shows the impact that will be felt after the Taliban last month barred Afghan women from working in non-governmental organizations.

The ban, announced Dec. 24, forced a widespread shutdown of many aid operations by organizations that said they cannot and would not work without their female staff. Aid agencies warn that hundreds of thousands are already hurt by the halt in services and that, if the ban continues, the dire and even deadly consequences will spiral wider for a population battered by decades of war, deteriorating living conditions and economic hardship.

Aid agencies and NGOs have been keeping Afghanistan alive since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. The takeover triggered a halt in international financing, a freeze in currency reserves and a cut-off from global banking, collapsing the already fragile economy. NGOs have stepped into the breach, and providing everything from food provisions to basic services like health care and education.

After the ban, 11 major international aid groups along with some smaller ones suspended their operations completely, saying they cannot operate without their women workers. Many others have reduced their work dramatically. A post-ban survey of 151 local and international NGOs found that only about 14% were still operating at full capacity, according to U.N. Women.

U.N. agencies have continued working  most vitally to largely maintain the food lifeline that is keeping millions of Afghans out of starvation. Despite the ban, the World Food Programme provided food staples or cash transfers for food to 13 million people in December and the first week of January  more than a quarter of Afghanistans population of some 40 million.

The extent of the bans implementation and enforcement is unclear. In some places, some women have been able to continue working in the field.

Still, the impact is already great, agencies say.

The International Rescue Committee, which has suspended all its operations, estimates that around 165,000 people missed out on its health services between Dec. 24 and Jan. 9. It warned of an increase of death and disease because of the ban and an increased burden on Afghanistans health system, which it said is already fragile, near-to-collapse, and NGO-dependent.

IRC supports more than 100 health facilities in 11 provinces, including 30 mobile health teams, in some cases delivering lifesaving help to remote areas that had no humanitarian aid of any kind.

Its the only health care that some women have access to, said Sayed-Rahman of the mobile teams. Parts of Afghanistan still dont have hospitals, clinics or other medical facilities. With each day that passes, the suspension has a huge impact on the amount of aid being delivered.

IRC also helps families displaced by war and natural disaster, providing clean water, tents, cash and other necessities. Overall, IRC programs helped 6.18 million people between 2021-2022  more than double the number in the previous one-year period.

While the bulk of food aid has continued to flow, important nutritional programs have stopped.

Save The Children is among the agencies that completely suspended its activities on Dec. 25. As a result, tens of thousands have not received nutritional support.

Last month before the ban came into effect, Save the Children helped nearly 30,000 children and nearly 32,000 adults with nutrition, including providing calorie- and vitamin-packed peanut paste to babies and children and porridge for women. The halt has also interrupted cash transfers to 5,077 families, who received one round of money in December but none of the further planned rounds - funds they rely on for food and other supplies.

Child malnutrition numbers are high and rising in Afghanistan, with a 50% increase over the past year. Around a million children under the age of 5 will likely face the most severe form of malnutrition this year, according to U.N. figures. Almost half of Afghanistans 41 million people are projected to be acutely food insecure between November 2022 and March 2023, including more than 6 million people on the brink of famine, according to the World Food Programme.

Childrens lives (in Afghanistan) are hanging in the balance, said Keyan Salarkia from Save the Children.

If you dont get the right type of food in the first 100 days, then that has a knock-on effect for the rest of your life, he said. In cases of severe acute malnutrition, after 10 days you start slipping into loss of life, he said.

Salarkia said the ban will affect almost everyone in Afghanistan one way or another. Save the Children was also providing classes for children, immunization and child protection.

The ripple effects of this will be huge, which is why we hope to see it reversed as soon as possible.

Photos: Taliban orders women to cover up head to toe
Words on a page have an effect on me. Words on a page have an effect on you. Although we are reading identical words, the meaning to each of us will not be identical. As with everything else in life, reading is about perspective. A readers past experiences will determine how the written words are interpreted. A writer will describe something that is being compared to the dark, cool water on a summer day. If you, the reader, live in Greece your mind might picture a brilliant shade of blue. If you live between the Mississippi and the Rock rivers youll probably think more of a brownish green. It's about your personal point of view.

A friend was recently telling me that she joined a book club. I questioned why she would want to. Wont you want to keep the memory of the book as you read it rather than have it spoiled by anothers point of view? Although I love reading and getting suggestions of which books to read from other people, I dont have any desire to discuss the books with others. I enjoy that reading is a solitary activity. I can get lost in the story, involved with the characters I like best, and try to guess the plot line as I turn the pages. I believe the words written on the page are meant for me, to be the story that coincides with my perspective. I havent wanted to join a book club because I dont want to hear someone elses opinion of the book. I dont mind that they have a different opinion than I, but I dont want my storyline ruined by their interpretation.

Perhaps my aversion to discussing books I have read comes from a distinct memory of a high school English class. We were studying poetry. I am an extremely literal person and was annoyed with the lesson. I was being taught that all of the words and the lines of the poems had meanings that went beyond the words on the surface. With great frustration, I raised my hand and pouted, But how are we to know that the writer isnt really talking about the lavender curtains? Maybe sometimes a curtain is simply a curtain and the writer is watching this class and laughing because we are trying to make it into a mysterious veil to a different realm. It might just be a curtain!

From there on I wanted to keep the joy, fright, thrill, and adventure I experienced while reading to myself. Reading is an emotional experience for me. When I let myself feel what the characters are experiencing I get to live a different life. I get to be stronger and braver within the pages of a book when I feel weak and afraid in my own existence. I get to make people laugh and feel loved when I become the heroine Im holding in my hands. I am able to take risks and bemoan the fact that once again, the woman being chased chooses to climb a metal fire escape to the rooftop while wearing heels. One of the things I like about closing the back cover on a book is being able to ruminate over the facts and feelings brought to me by the story. I fear losing that if I were to share it with a club of other readers.

My problem is: the day after my friend joined a book club and I expressed why I wouldnt want to, I was invited to join one also. Its January, and I dont think straight in January. I agreed to join.
This evening in Sioux City: Rain showers in the evening will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 34F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. It will be a cold day in Sioux City Monday, with temperatures in the 30s. It looks to reach a nippy 37 degrees. We'll see a low temperature of 26 degrees tomorrow. Rain is expected for this Monday. Forecasting models show a 76% chance of precipitation. Sioux City could see periods of brisk winds tomorrow, with forecast showing winds from northwest, clocking in at 17 mph. This report is created automatically with weather data provided by TownNews.com. Visit siouxcityjournal.com for more weather updates.
When are we going to do the coin flip? Jenni asked.

She was six months pregnant. Wed driven to a lakeside bed-and-breakfast in Northeast Michigan to enjoy a final prenatal getaway and escape the stupefying August humidity in Washington, D.C.

Whenever, I replied. We still have a full trimester.

How about today? Jenni pressed, always eager to complete outstanding tasks.

I hesitated. As long as the coin flip remained in the future, I could relish the delicious anticipation of it without any risk of losing. Beyond our window, the blue expanse of Lake Huron stretched to the horizon, unbroken, limitless. Why decide, why close doors and constrain possibilities, today, here? But this trip would make a memorable backdrop, and saying no seemed unreasonable.

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I guess we could, I said. Ill look for loose change.

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I started searching for the coin that would determine our future childs last name.

What surname to give ones child is not a question that keeps many parents-to-be up at night. Its often not even a question at all, especially for cisgendered heterosexual couples. Definitive statistics are elusive, but two studies from the past 15 years suggest that over 95 percent of children of heterosexual marriages receive only their fathers surname. This is a certainty in marriages where women take their husbands name, and in a 2015 New York Times analysis, roughly 70 percent of women who married between 2010 and 2014 reported doing so. More striking is the implication you arrive at, looking at these two numbers together, that even when both (cisgendered, heterosexual) spouses keep their names, the vast majority revert to the patrilineal norm for surnames once children enter the picture.

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Hyphenation demands crisp, concise ingredients: Newton-John, Abdul-Jabbar, Gordon-Levitt.

Keeping our own last names when we married was a natural choice, given how wed approached our engagement. Jenni, who sported shirts that declared Matriarchy Now and El Futuro Es Femeninx, had made it clear that she didnt want to be proposed to, and I shared her discomfort with the asymmetrical pageantry and gender norms of traditional proposals. We discussed what a mutual engagement ritual would look like, but before we fleshed out the details, we spontaneously declared our engagement in a hot tub. No proposer or proposee, no kneeling, no ring. Later we made wedding bands for each other in a ring-making workshop and both wore them on our right hands until the wedding to mark our engagement. A spirit of reciprocity was our compass. I didnt want to take Jennis name. Why should she be expected to take mine?

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The first real challenge to our breezy egalitarianism arose as I lay in bed on a Saturday morning. Jenni materialized next to my side of the bed and waved something blurry in my face. I didnt need my glasses to know that it was a positive pregnancy test. If all went well, there would be a baby, and the baby would need a last name.

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Hyphenation seemed like the obvious solution. Its like a youth T-Ball league game: Everyone wins. Except, depending on the names at hand, your progeny. Hyphenation demands crisp, concise ingredients: Newton-John, Abdul-Jabbar, Gordon-Levitt. Otherwise, it grows unwieldy, as in our case, where hyphenation would create a six-syllable, eighteen-letter monstrosity.

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Bardenstein isnt hard to pronounce, but over the years it had intimidated staff at schools, summer camps, and doctors offices who were professionally obligated to attempt it. Theyd consult their clipboard with furrowed brow and, discouraged by the number of letters, hazard a few tentative guesses: Mr.  Bar-del-stein? Bar-ter-stein? Berenstein? To saddle our child with an even heftier name would doom them (and us) to a life spent filling out forms and spelling their name over the phone.

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Even hyphenations promise of perfect equality proved illusory.

If we hyphenate, I think it sounds better as Bardenstein-Romanek, I said as we strolled past flowering dogwoods on a fragrant April evening shortly after Jennis first OB-GYN appointment, when wed heard the frenetic fetal heartbeat.

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I prefer Romanek-Bardenstein, Jenni said.

But Romanek sounds cooler.

So it should go first.

No, its like the finale of a performance, I insisted. You save your best material for the end.

Youre just trying to sell me on your name going first.

No, Im saying your name sounds cooler, which is a compliment, and hyphenated names are better when the cooler name is last.

You know when kids have hyphenated names, people just call them the first and drop the second, Jenni said.

I can think of at least four people who were called by both.

But if they get called by one, its always the first.

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I didnt argue the point.

The issue of hyphenated name order frequently hijacked our exploration of first names that spring.

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What about Luna? Jenni asked.

I like Luna.

Luna Romanek-Bardenstein, she pressed.

Yeah, Luna Bardenstein-Romanek has a nice ring to it, I said, pretending to mishear her.

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I couldnt agree more that Luna Romanek-Bardenstein is a strong contender, she said, her voice rising with insistence.

We reenacted versions of this scene again and again, like a scab we couldnt resist picking. At first it was funny. But our little improv didntcouldntgo anywhere. A few back-and-forths inevitably sanded away the thin veneer of amusement until nothing separated us from our raw frustration at this stalemate.

We flirted with a more radical idea: creating a new surname, possibly a hybrid of our names. This approach was fair in the sense that neither surname would survive intact, and it appealed to my love of naming things. (Im sitting on a stockpile of ~150 potential band names.) Our brainstorm produced two promising portmanteausthe believable Bardanek, the robust Romansteinand one nagging question: Would we also adopt the new name? I couldnt imagine becoming a Bardanek or a Romanstein. Neither could Jenni. We wanted to retain our names and remain the selves wed been for thirty-odd years. But it seemed both sad and administratively inconvenient for neither of us to share our childs surname. How often would we have to provide documentation proving that we were indeed our childs parents, rather than very emotionally invested kidnappers? We decided hybrid last names were like dogswed rather admire other peoples than have one ourselves.

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Near the end of Jennis first trimester, I tossed out another option, partially in jest, over Thai takeout.

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What if we just flip a coin for last name?

Are you serious? Jenni asked, more amused than dismissive.

Itll be like No Country for Old Men, except after this coin flip no one gets killed with a captive bolt stunner.

Her eyes registered the thrill of a challenge.

Losers last name becomes the middle name? This had been the fate of Jennis moms last name.

Sure.

Youre on, Bardenstein.

The coin flip would be fair in a different way than hyphenation or a hybrid nameit guaranteed a fair process but an unequal outcome. It also turned our naming process into a competition. There would be a winner and a loser, and while I was comfortable enough with losing to suggest it, a part of me very much wanted to win.

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There arent many Bardensteins in the world: more than 10, but likely fewer than 100. We could all probably fit on a school bus. More motivating to me than Bardensteins scarcity was its Jewishness. Having a culturally identifiable name is neither necessary nor sufficient for feeling connected to that culture, and my name is far from the most meaningful aspect of my Jewish identity. Still, I appreciated that there was something I couldnt easily hide or change that marked me as Jewish. It reminded me that all four corners of my family fled places where being Jewish was, to put it lightly, a real safety hazard. There was something wrapped in this sense of being visible, being marked, that I wanted to pass on, and as I contemplated the coin flip it felt as if I were leaving a lot to chance.

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In our lakeside B&B, I emptied our bags in search of a quarter. Lesser denominations wouldnt do for a coin flip of this magnitude.

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Whos going to flip it? Jenni asked. Should we ask one of the other guests?

I can do it.

I liked flipping coins: the resonant ring when my thumbnail struck the coin cleanly, sending it into tight rotations as faithful to their axis as those of a whirling figure skater. I also had an irrational intuition that if I were the one to flip the coin, starting tails up, and I chose tails, fortune might be ever so slightly inclined in my favor. And with the legacy of my last name on the line, Id feel better if I lost by my own hand.

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Jenni developed a sudden curiosity about the fairness of coin flips and began some last-minute research.

Whoa. This study shows coin flips arent 50-50! she announced after several minutes of fervent Googling. I glanced at her phone.

Daily Mail? Not exactly a trusted source for academic research.

Just read it.

A Stanford math professor had identified a couple of flaws in the sacred decision-making technology known as the coin flip. The side that starts facing up is more likely to land facing up, because that side is guaranteed to spend as much or more time facing up during the flip. Additionally, one side of the coin may be heavier and thus more likely to land facedown. (As many as 80 percent of penny flips land tails-up, on account of Lincolns weighty visage.) My intuition that Id have a slight edge was more valid than Id imagined, but now Jenni would never agree to that.

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Jenni found a coin-flip simulation website. The page displayed the tails side of a quarter, a button that said Flip It, and a running tally of the millions of coin flips conducted to date on the site. Now our coin flip would truly be fair, although the websites gratuitous number of banner ads made me question its integrity.

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We settled on a best-of-three contest.

Which side do you want? Jenni asked.

I dont care, I said, which wasnt true. I still found tails reassuring. You can be heads, I can be tails?

I like tails tooit has a bird. Jenni, a lifelong bird lover, had forgotten about the quarters featured eagle until minutes earlier. But fine, Ill be heads.

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Jenni tapped the Flip It button, triggering an animation of a spinning coin. It settled on George Washingtons unwelcome profile. I grimaced.

Best of five?

Youre lucky its not best of one, Jenni said, passing me her phone. It felt leaden in my hand.

I tapped, praying to send us to a dramatic tiebreaker. The coin spun.

Heads again.

Noooooo! I yelled, surprising Jenni and myself with a reaction Id seen only in movies. The effervescent thrill of anticipation Id enjoyed for months turned sour with defeat. Our child would take Jennis last name. That mine would be their middle name was meager consolationBardenstein is the kind of middle name kids are embarrassed to reveal to their friends. Id suggested something edgy, and now I felt its sharpness in my gut.

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Jenni was convulsively laugh-crying.

I won, she said, wet-cheeked, after she caught her breath.

How does it feel to bring the Bardenstein name to the brink of elimination? I asked, sending her into a fresh paroxysm of laughter.

That afternoon I processed my loss through mostly tongue-in-cheek attempts to dampen Jennis victory. I searched for our surnames on the internet, using the relative paucity of results for mine to show the extent of my sacrifice. As we shuffled along the sandy shore of the lake, I told Jenni that if she really wanted to hyphenate, Id consider it. (She didnt, and had suggested no such thing.)

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Interpersonal fairness and societal fairness often exist in tension.

If youre really unhappy with the outcome, we can revisit hyphenation. Her magnanimity underscored my lack thereof.

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Im just venting, I said. Im glad we did it.

The sting of losing faded, leaving a residue of appreciation for the result. Our goal was to determine our childs surname fairly while chipping away at a patriarchal norm. The coin flip was fair in that it guaranteed an equal chance to pass on our surnames, but creating a zero-sum competition put me in the strange position of rooting, at least in the heat of the moment, against what I saw as societal progress. If Id won, our child would have joined the ranks of the 90-something percent who receive only their fathers surname, outwardly perpetuating the norm we intended to challenge and rendering invisible our attempt to challenge it. What kind of victory would that be? Jennis triumph transformed the coin flip from private act to public fact: something enduring that would interact with the outside world. We were lucky that our equal process yielded the result it did.

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The outcomes visibility felt increasingly important in retrospect, sparking doubts about our process. If I believed in undoing patriarchal naming norms, why make my contribution to that undoing dependent on a game of chance? Why tolerate a 50 percent probability of reinforcing the status quo? Interpersonal fairness and societal fairness often exist in tension. In the context of my relationship with Jenni, fairness meant prioritizing equality and reciprocity. That version of fairness wasnt the fastest route to a world where women and men pass on their names with equal frequency. Maybe I should have simply agreed to give our child Jennis last name. If we have a second child, maybe I will.

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Back in D.C., we were running late for Jennis ultrasound appointment. She hurried in while I parked in a subterranean lot. When I reached the OB-GYN department, Jenni had already been taken to a room, and a nurse came to find me.

Mr. Romanek? Your wifes in Room 6.

By assuming Jenni had taken my last name, shed unknowingly given me Jennis. This disoriented me, being addressed by a namean identitythat wasnt mine. A desire to explain swelled in my chest, but I let it pass. As a man with a different last name from my child, there would be more moments of friction and confusion in which external assumptions diverged from our familys reality.

I remembered the wedding gifts wed received that were addressed to Ian and Jenni Bardenstein, and laughed.

Jennis going to love that you called me that.
More than six months after the Supreme Court did away with the constitutional right to abortion, the states are all going their own way on the issue.

In this weeks Slate Plus bonus segment of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern take a look at lawmakers recent attempts to define what is considered reasonable and bipartisan on abortion access, post-Roe, and the looming risk of patients, not just doctors, being prosecuted for medication abortion.

Dahlia Lithwick: I thought maybe we could do a little abortion update because it seems like the hits keep coming. I dont even know quite where to start. Maybe if you want to, we can start at Virginias proposed 15-week abortion ban. You wrote about that this week for Slate.

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Mark Joseph Stern: Yeah, I mean, Ive been trying to stay on the abortion beat because here we are in 2023, and Roe v. Wade is still overturned, and every state plus the federal government are still freed by the Supreme Court to do whatever they want on abortion. And everybodys moving in different directionssome toward greater reproductive freedom, a lot toward less, and that is where we get to Virginia.

Virginia has a split government right now. The governor is Glenn Youngkin, a Republican. The house is controlled by Republicans, but the state Senate is controlled by Democrats. In fact, on Tuesday, a Democrat flipped another seat in the state Senate in a special election, so Democrats have a comfortable majority there now. And yet Republicans in the Virginia legislature have decided to prioritize a ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. They introduced the bill the moment they could, on Jan. 11, as the session opened. Governor Glenn Youngkin has already strongly endorsed it.

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He calls it a bipartisan consensus. The Virginia legislators who support it call it practical, sensible, and reasonable. And I think that, if you actually pull out the text of the bill and read it, you will see that it is not any of those things. And its worth discussing why. Because this is the kind of legislation that were going to see pitched post-Roe as a compromise, as something that Democrats and Republicans can come together around to support. But it is not that.

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There are a few reasons why. The first and most obvious is that 15 weeks is far earlier than the deadline in Roe, where viability was the cutoff for abortion rights. That happens around 24 weeks. The big issue there is that its only at around 15 weeks of pregnancy that doctors can begin to detect fetal anomalies, particularly those involving fetal organs.

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The scans only start to show those anomalies between 15 and 22 weeks. And a lot of anomalies that are discovered during that period, they render the fetus incompatible with life. They ensure that the fetus will either die during childbirth or live a very, very short life of pain and anguish.

Even before Roe, it was very common for states to allow abortions under those circumstances to let parents make the decision that they didnt want to force their child to live an incredibly short life of torment. But the Virginia abortion ban deprives patients of that choice. It includes no exceptions for fetal anomalies or abnormalities. It forces patients to continue with pregnancies, even if those pregnancies are doomed, even if the fetus has severe abnormalities that are incompatible with life. Even if those abnormalities threaten the health of the patient. The bill is clearly pandering to the anti-abortion movement, which opposes exceptions under these circumstances.

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And it only allows for abortions after 15 weeks when there has been rape, incest, or there is a threat to the life of the patientnot just the health, but the life of the patient. That forces doctors into the exact same position that they are in in so many other statesTexas, Oklahoma. Weve seen this problem crop up in a lot of red states where an individual comes to the hospital with hemorrhage, with developing sepsis, who is pregnant, after 15, 16, 17 weeks, when these complications emerge. They are denied an abortion because the doctor says, I cannot guarantee that this will kill you yet, and thus, if I perform an abortion, I could face years in prison. And so Virginia Republicans are trying to sort of copy the playbook of red states like Texas and ensure that a criminal law, rather than medical standards, is guiding decisions when there is a serious maternal health problem.

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I think its just important to call that out and to continue focusing on it, because as the Overton window shifts, post-Roe, and as Republicans try to frame 15 weeks as a bipartisan consensus, we should remember who will actually be suffering from this, who will be dealing with the consequences and fallout. And, actually, its not the vast majority of individuals who get abortions, because almost all of them occur in the first trimester early on in pregnancy. Its largely individuals who want to be pregnant, who want to have children, who discover a devastating problem after 15 weeks. And who would be told by the Virginia government, if this bill passed, Sorry, you dont have a choice here. You have to continue with this pregnancy.

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I think thats wrong, and I can only hope that Virginia voters agree and do not give Republicans control over the legislature next year and allow them to enact this into the law of the state.

Lithwick: Alabamas Republican attorney general said this week that women in the state who use prescription abortion medication can still be prosecuted under the states chemical endangerment law, even though Alabamas anti-abortion law was supposed to carve out the punishment of women as not going to be part of their abortion regime. Now theyre saying, Oh yeah, what we meant was we dont want to go after women, except for when we do, and theyre using this unbelievably convoluted chemical endangerment law. But its of a piece with what youre describing, which is that medical decisions now have to get filtered literally through the criminal justice system. And women, pregnant people are going to be the ones who pay the price.

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Stern: Absolutely. I think its so important to look at what Alabamas top law enforcement officer is saying here, because its really obvious, and yet the anti-abortion movement has denied it all along the way. Yes, it is true that if you look at the abortion bans in isolation, they often say that women, mothers, patients cannot be prosecuted under those laws. So only the doctor is sent to prison when an illegal abortion is performed and prosecuted under those laws.

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But the problem is there are so many other statutes on the books that capture the conduct of people whoand this is so often the case in the 21st centuryprocure abortion pills over the internet, have them shipped to their home, and take them illegally, in violation of the laws of the state. Those crimes include chemical endangerment of the fetus, which a number of state courts have said does apply to an illegal medication abortion. It can be as simple as practicing medicine without a license. It can be all of these laws involving the shipment of illegal goods over state lines or into a state.

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There are a huge number of criminal statutes on the books in every state that can apply to those who illegally order and use medication abortion. So we have to stop pretending like women, patients, pregnant people will not be prosecuted just because theyre exempt from a handful of laws about abortion. The broader criminal code still puts a bullseye on their backs.

And in a way, this sounds maybe sort of grim, but I almost was glad to hear this guy admit that women could be prosecutedbecause its this elephant in the room that anti-abortion folks are denying. And its about time that the people in power step up and acknowledge what they plan to do, because the laws are right there. Even before Roe, prosecutors sometimes charged women under these codes for using medication abortion illegally. Its surely going to happen after Roe as well.

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Lithwick: This also puts the lie to Justice Kavanaughs concurrence in Dobbs, where hes like, Not to worry about crossing state lines! Because its clear that this is going to be one of the big fronts, just putting abortion medication into the mail across state lines.

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So the notion that blue states have one regime, red states have another, I think we can really concede right here and now: already thats clearly not the case. Its going to be complicated, working it out. But I wonder if you want to talk for a minute about state Supreme Courts, because were also seeing that breaking down in interesting new ways.

Stern: Yeah. So we got the first two full state Supreme Court decisions on abortion in the wake of Roe v. Wade early in January, and they went two different ways. The South Carolina Supreme Court held that the state constitution protects a right to abortion, and the Idaho Supreme Court held that the state constitution does not protect a right to abortionboth 32 votes, very closely divided. The difference here, I think, primarily, is that the South Carolina Constitution has an explicit right to privacy guarantee, like about nine other states. And so the justices of the Supreme Court said, look, we have this provision thats not in the federal Constitution that expressly ensures that every individual has a right to privacy that includes medical decisions, and those decisions include reproductive health care. The Idaho court went the other way. That court has been stacked with more hardcore conservatives.

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The South Carolina Supreme Court remains more moderate and mainstream. And the Idaho Supreme Court said, no, were not going to take this question away from the people of the statesthey sort of channeled Brett Kavanaugh when he was overturning Roe. And these are not the last decisions well get on state constitutions here. There is litigation in a number of other states right now asking the high courts to find or interpret a right to reproductive healthcare including abortion.

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And I think well continue to see these kinds of split doubleheaders, where you have the more moderate and mainstream courts going one way, even if they are Republican-leaning, and the hardcore conservative courts going the other way. The issue, of course, is that its much easier for the political branches to interfere with state courts than federal courts. I wouldnt be surprised if we saw Republican-controlled state legislatures and places like South Carolina working really hard to ensure that the next individual placed on this court will be the one to overturn this decision and allow the state to criminalize abortion once again. This isnt going to be an ongoing battle, and these wins will not stay won by themselves.

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Lithwick: Mark, I wonder if maybe we can wrap up back where you started, which is these attempts to make that which wouldve been unthinkable, pre-Dobbs, sound mainstream. And that brings us to the House Republicans. They could barely get it together to elect a speaker, but sure were quick to push their Born Alive abortion bill, which, again, is put forward as some moderate mainstream, ordinary thing.

Stern: This is perennial legislation among Republicans, because they think that its a good political message to their supporters, and they think that it will appease the anti-abortion movement, which is a pretty demanding coalition partner for the modern Republican Party. And so one of the very first votes that House Republicans teed up when they finally elected a speaker was this so-called Born Alive bill that allegedly would require that infants who survive an abortion attempt will be given health care and will be given all necessary procedures to try to save their lives.

In reality, what the bill does is try to open up abortion providers to more criminal liability under federal law. The procedures that could theoretically cause an abortion to produce a live infant have not been used since the 1970s. Its just not really done anymore. A lot of the acts that Republicans claim theyre trying to stop are already illegal. What theyre really trying to do is pass some very vague and broad criminal laws that would open up abortion providers to potential liability and potentially chill their practice by making them afraid to perform abortions. Especially the abortions that are later in pregnancy that we were discussing earlier, after the 15-week mark, when those fetal anomalies and conditions that are incompatible with life start to arise.
A fresh weather system with rain, snow and heavy winds blasted into storm-ravaged California on Saturday, the latest in a string of severe weather streams that have wrecked devastation over the state in recent weeks.

The National Weather Service has predicted that the rain will let up next week, but this weekend the first of two systems that are scheduled to impact California during the US holiday weekend made landfall, bringing with it much more torrential rain.

Waves of heavy precipitation continue to batter California. Heavy rain will continue bringing the threat of flooding and mudslides/landslides. Hazardous travel due to heavy mountain snow and blowing snow from CA to CO. pic.twitter.com/6LQXmxC6zh  National Weather Service (@NWS) January 15, 2023

Saturday's National Weather Service advisory warned of "heavy lower elevation rain, significant mountain snow, and strong winds" as a result of the systems, per Reuters.

Since December 26, the Golden State has been pummeled by atmospheric rivers seldom witnessed in such rapid succession, resulting in at least 19 fatalities, flooding, landslides, power outages, evacuations, and street closures.

The website PowerOutage.us stated that as of Saturday afternoon, more than 24,000 utility customers were without power.

Central Valley farms have received the equivalent of a year's worth of rain from the California storm, while some mountaintops have received as much as 15 feet (4.5 m) of snow.

Flood Watch Up for Millions of California Residents

More than 26 million residents in the state, which has been hit by a series of devastating California storms, are under flood alerts. Several communities in Sacramento County were ordered evacuated Saturday afternoon because of a potential flood, and the Office of Emergency Services issued the warning.

Placer County officials sealed roads Saturday due to fallen boulders and damage from runoff, according to ABC News.

The National Weather Service has warned that 2-3 inches of rain near the coast could cause small urban floods and "mudslides" in a few places amid the California storm.

Read Also: Russia-Ukraine War: Moscow's Artillery Fire Down 75% in 11th Month of Conflict

The agency predicts less rain on Sunday "with another ramp-up late Sunday into early Monday ahead of a second system." Warnings have been issued for persistent winds of 20-30 mph and gusts of up to 50 mph along the coast and in the Central Valley.

We have issued a Hydrologic Statement for the Salinas River at Paso Robles as it has reached Monitor Stage. However, only minor additional rise is expected this evening, and it should recede later tonight. #CAwx https://t.co/Q6nAbIZAx3  NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 15, 2023

Additionally, the Sierra Nevada Mountains will have 3-6 feet of snowfall this weekend and into next week.

Recent Storms Still Not Enough To End California Drought

Since Christmas, the state has been hit by six major storms, all of which were fueled by atmospheric rivers, according to state climatologist Michael Anderson. Even though there is a lot of water in the state, officials are getting ready for the possibility of more California drought in some parts of the state this summer.

Karla Nemeth, head of California's Department of Water Resources, says the state suffers from "both a drought emergency and a flood emergency." Nemeth blamed climate change for the state's current crises.

The scenario has brought to light a fundamental conflict driving westerners' climate worries: people aren't receiving rain when they need it. The state's enormous water reservoir system was built before climate change was understood to exacerbate California drought and storms.

Communities now manage conflicting priorities. To prepare for hotter, drier summers, they desperately try to save as much water as possible in reservoirs. However, some have been forced to let go of accumulated water to control floods, NBC News reported.

Weeks of heavy rain haven't filled the state's major reservoirs, showing how badly the drought damaged its water supplies. Most of the precipitation from atmospheric river storms won't be saved for summertime usage.

California is known for its yearly dry season, which generally lasts from May to September, as well as its years-long cycles of drought.

Related Article: Biden Lawyers Discover More Classified Documents; Conservatives Ask When Will FBI Raid Happen

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Comenius University operated system important for study.

The fireball captured by the Global Fireball Observatory camera at Miquelon Lake Provincial Park, Alberta. (Source: University of Alberta)

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A meteor burned down in the sky over the Canadian province of Alberta nearly two years ago. In and of itself, this is not unusual; our planet is under constant bombardment by chunks of rocks that fall into its atmosphere from space. Some of those are quite large and end up burning spectacularly as fireballs.

These fireballs or "shooting stars" are meteors, observed when meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere at high speed and burn up. But the meteor that exploded over Canada was unusual enough, scientists later learned. Based on its trajectory, it came from Oort Cloud, a vast sphere of icy objects at the edge of our Solar System. The way it exploded indicated to scientists that its composition was completely different to ice.

"This was the first direct observation of a larger rocky, or not icy body coming from the Oort Cloud," says Slovak astronomer Pavol Matlovic from Comenius University in Bratislava. Along with his colleague Juraj Toth he contributed to the study of the meteor, recently published in Nature Astronomy, by providing data from their meteor orbit network system.
After a one-year stint with the Alabama Crimson Tide, wide receiver Tyler Harrell has shockingly re-entered the transfer portal. Harrell arrived in Tuscaloosa during the summer via the transfer portal after spending the first few years of his career with the Louisville Cardinals.

Unfortunately, Harrell was sidelined for most of the fall and didnt see much action. In fact, he only had two catches for 18 yards. He likely was going to play a bigger role in the offense in 2023 so the move is a bit surprising.

Alabama retained Jermaine Burton for another year, but losing depth is never good. Especially when it is someone who has game-changing speed such as Harrell.

Im officially in the transfer portal.  Tyler Harrell (@EasyMoneyTy_) January 15, 2023

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Dakhla (Refugee camps) - African politicians on Saturday expressed their solidarity with the struggle of the Saharawi people for self-determination and independence, reiterating their "unconditional" support for the Saharawi cause.



Approached by APS on the sidelines of the 16th Congress of the Polisario Front held from 13 to 17 January in the wilaya of Dakhla, in the Sahrawi refugee camps, the Secretary General of the South African Communist Party, Solly Mapaila, expressed the unconditional solidarity and unwavering support of the representatives of the communist movements with the struggle of the Sahrawi people for freedom and independence.



He called on Spain, in its capacity as administering power in Western Sahara, to "apply the principle of the right to the recovery of independence in this Non-Self-Governing Territory", recalling that the resumption of armed struggle and military operations by the Polisario Front was due to Morocco's violation of the ceasefire agreement in force since 1991.



"The Saharawi people have chosen armed struggle to defend their legitimate rights," he said, stressing that his party expresses unconditional support for any action chosen by the Sahrawis to defend their rights.



In this context, Solly Mapaila called on the African Union (AU) to "put pressure on Morocco which, as a member of this pan-African organization, has no right to undermine the sovereignty of another member state", in this case Western Sahara.



He also urged the United Nations to implement the resolutions on the referendum plan in Western Sahara and called on the countries of Africa, Latin America and the Middle East to denounce Morocco's occupation of this non-self-governing territory which remains the last colony in Africa.



For her part, Namibia's ambassador to Sahrawi Republic, Panduleni-Kaino Shigenge, indicated that her country's support for the Sahrawi cause "does not need an excuse or pretext".



"It is a just support to a just cause in order to obtain freedom and independence and to guarantee the Sahrawi people their right to self-determination," she said, praising Algeria's efforts in solidarity with the Sahrawi people.



"We are proud of what Algeria is doing in favor of the Saharawi cause, especially with regard to the protection of Saharawis by allowing them to lead a dignified life in refugee camps and protecting them from the repression of the Moroccan regime," said Shigenge, who is also Namibia's ambassador to Algeria.



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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/four-civilians-killed-in-ukrainian-troops-shelling-of-polohy-says-regional-administration-1106328530.html

Four Civilians Killed in Ukrainian Troops Shelling of Pologi, Says Regional Administration

Four Civilians Killed in Ukrainian Troops Shelling of Pologi, Says Regional Administration

"The consequences of the shelling of Polohy by terrorists: several rockets hit a grocery store and the administration building. At the moment, we have information on four civilians killed and five more who were seriously injured."

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russia's special operation in ukraine

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"The consequences of the shelling of Pologi by terrorists: several rockets hit a grocery store and the administration building. At the moment, we have information on four civilians killed and five more who were seriously injured," Rogov said on Telegram on Saturday. Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russias operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine. On September 30 last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed that an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier this month that Ukrainian troops conducted around 370 artillery strikes against Russian military positions in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, during the 36-hour ceasefire, declared by Russia along the line of contact between the warring sides in Ukraine from January 6-7, to allow Orthodox Christians in the areas of hostilities to attend church on Orthodox Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/china-reportedly-signs-mou-with-benin-to-partially-forgive-western-african-nations-debt-1106350658.html

China Reportedly Signs MoU with Benin to Partially Forgive Western African Nation's Debt

China Reportedly Signs MoU with Benin to Partially Forgive Western African Nation's Debt

China and Benin have signed a memorandum of understanding on partial debt cancellation during Chinese foreign minister's visit to the West African nation earlier this week, according to media reports.

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qin gang

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debt relief

cooperation

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China and Benin have signed a memorandum of understanding on partial debt cancellation during Chinese foreign minister's visit to the West African nation earlier this week, according to media reports. During his visit, the minister met with Beninese President Patrice Talon, as well as held talks with the country's Foreign Minister Aurelien Agbenonci. The meetings took place at the Marina Palace in Cotonou on January 13. The two sides signed various cooperation documents, including on people-to-people and cultural exchanges. As for debt cancellation, there was reportedly no exact information on when the countries would reach a final agreement and how much debt would be canceled. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the visit "demonstrated the friendly and close ties" between Benin and China. Its aim was to enhance cooperation between the two countries in various fields of mutual interest, in particular economic and industrial ties, to take China-Benin relations to new levels. The ministry said in a statement that China is grateful to Benin for its understanding and support on issues concerning the core interests of the Asian state, and is determined to remain Benin's "sincere partner" in order to "forge ahead together in development."Gang's visit to Benin came shortly after the 50th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Benin and China, which was celebrated in December 2022. The relations between the two countries were first established in 1964. However, they were severed as Benin recognized the Republic of China (Taiwan) in 1966. Benin and mainland China reestablished diplomatic relations in 1972. During his trip to Africa, the Chinese top diplomat also signed an agreement to partially forgive Ethiopias debt, according to the African countrys media. He stated that China is ready to help and support the people of Ethiopia after conflict in Tigray, urging the international community to increase the scale of humanitarian assistance for the country. Apart from that, during his visit to the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he rejected allegations that "Chinese debt trap" was developing on the African continent. He underlined that the so-called "debt trap" is a false narrative, which was intentionally imposed on the cooperation between China and African countries.In November, China provided $7.1 million (50 million Yuan) in debt relief to Rwanda, writing off a loan that was taken by the African countrys government to construct the Masaka-Kabuga road. The debt cancellation is part of Chinas President Xi Jinping's economic package that announced at the Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230112/chinese-fm-qin-gang-rejects-unreasonable-allegation-that-china-is-creating-debt-trap-in-africa-1106244067.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/egypt-ready-to-host-global-grain-storage-center-foreign-minister-says-1106333953.html

Egypt Ready to Host Global Grain Storage Center, Foreign Minister Says

Egypt Ready to Host Global Grain Storage Center, Foreign Minister Says

Egypt is ready to cooperate with countries across the world to host an international grain supply and storage center and, thus, mitigate the impact of the global food crisis, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Friday.

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africa

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egypt

grain

grain exports

grain supply

food

food blockade

crisis

hunger

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"The Minister expressed Egypt's readiness to work with the international community to host a global grain supply and storage center, thereby contributing to the fight against the global food crisis," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said. Shoukry made the statement earlier in the day at the virtual summit Voice of the Global South, which was attended by countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Egyptian top diplomat also confirmed Cairo's support for the goals of the G20 Agricultural Working Group to create a roadmap for food security and climate-smart agriculture, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry added. World leaders and international organizations have been raising concerns over an imminent and large-scale food crisis since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, citing disruptions in supply chains and derailed crops production in one of the largest grain producer in the world. The fears are driven by the fact that Ukraine and Russia account for an estimated 30% of global exports of wheat, 20% of maize, and 76% of sunflower. In July 2022, Ukraine and Russia signed a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations to unblock shipments of grain, food, and fertilizer in the Black Sea despite hostilities. The agreement was initially set to expire on November 19, with a possibility of extension if signatories consent. It was extended for 120 days on November 17. Despite these arrangements, Moscow has repeatedly said that most vessels carrying Ukrainian grain do not reach the world's poorest countries and end up in Europe.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230112/russia-can-cover-40-of-algerias-milling-wheat-demand-in-2022-2023-season---grain-union-1106243534.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/families-of-russian-soldiers-in-ukrainian-captivity-report-cases-of-extortion---ombudswoman-1106348600.html

Families of Russian Soldiers in Ukrainian Captivity Report Cases of 'Extortion': Ombudswoman

Families of Russian Soldiers in Ukrainian Captivity Report Cases of 'Extortion': Ombudswoman

Russia's ombudswoman has denounced reported Incidents of extortion from families of Russian soldiers taken captive by Ukrainian forces.

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russia's special operation in ukraine

russia

ukraine

prisoners

torture

extortion

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Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has denounced alleged instances of extortion against relatives of Russian soldiers taken prisoner by Ukraine's Armed Forces.The Russian official accompanied her post with video footage allegedly showing proof of such extortion taking place.The ombudswoman said that family members of Russian soldiers had reported cases when they were sent horrifying scenes of violence used against the prisoners. Such materials were allegedly accompanied by threats that the captives would be killed unless their relatives paid a ransom sum.The ombudswoman underscored that such instances were proof that fascism is not some horrifying page of history, but that it is here and now, among us.Tatyana Moskalkova added:Moskalkova concluded by saying that she was working on an appeal to the Russian Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin on the reported cases, and voiced confidence that the captured soldiers would be successfully released, as has been the case before, in joint efforts by the Russian Defense Ministry and Russian Federal Security Service.On Sunday, January 8, as a result of an exchange of prisoners, 50 Russian soldiers were released, the Ministry of Defense reported. The prisoner swap was the first in 2023. The previous such exchange, according to the MOD, took place on December 31, 2022, when 82 Russian servicemen returned from Ukrainian captivity.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221020/ukrainians-used-electric-shock-torture-on-captive-russian-soldiers--eyewitnesses-1102436263.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220922/55-servicemen-from-russia-dpr-and-lpr-returned-in-prisoner-exchange-russian-mod-1101076640.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/fbi-raid-happens-when-gop--critics-blast-biden-doj-as-corrupt-mess-amid-classified-docs-row-1106331182.html

'FBI Raid Happens When?' GOP & Critics Blast Biden DOJ as Corrupt Mess Amid Classified Docs Row

'FBI Raid Happens When?' GOP & Critics Blast Biden DOJ as Corrupt Mess Amid Classified Docs Row

Republicans blast Joe Biden's Department of Justice as a 'corrupt mess after more classified documents found at his home.

2023-01-15T06:16+0000

2023-01-15T06:16+0000

2023-01-15T06:16+0000

americas

us

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biden classified files

joe biden

ted cruz

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News that a fresh discovery of five pages of classified documents had been made at Joe Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home prompted Republicans to erupt in indignation over the perceived double standards at play. Some questioned why the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had not yet raided his home, like was the case with former President Donald Trump.They also lambasted the Democratic presidents Department of Justice (DOJ) as a corrupt mess.Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert went on Twitter to point out that the new batch of sensitive information was found after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that "the search of Biden's home was complete."Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz similarly tweeted to ask when a "full FBI raid" would happen.Tom Fitton, the President of Judicial Watch, a public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, also tweeted that Biden White House Counsel had traveled to the president's Delaware home along with officials of the DOJ to look for more classified docs only after a Special Counsel had been appointed. He slammed Biden's DOJ as a "corrupt mess."US reporter Mollie Hemingway also hit social media, underscoring that the FBI had eagerly raided Trump's Mar-A-Lago while not even noticing VP Biden "hoovered up classified docs."Joe Biden, who has now found himself in the crosshairs over the classified documents row, had been quick to rip into the ex-POTUS Trump over the sensitive papers that were being housed at his Mar-a-Lago estate which prompted a raid by the FBI."How that could possibly happen, how one anyone could be that irresponsible," Biden fumed on 60 Minutes in September 2022, adding: "And I thought what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods. By that, I mean, names of people helped or et cetera."In August 2022, the FBI conducted a raid on Trumps Mar-a-Lago residence as part of a probe into his post-presidential handling of classified documents.Now, Donald Trump, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the matter, and slammed the unannounced raid on his home as not necessary or appropriate," took to his social platform Truth Social to question whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will react similarly to the Biden discovery.The current developments come amid the discovery of several batches of classified documents at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement think tank in Washington, and in filing cabinets, a private library and a locked garage Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home dating to his tenure as Barack Obama's vice president.On January 14, presidential counsel Richard Sauber announced that Joe Biden's lawyers had discovered five additional pages marked classified, saying: "Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document the President's personal counsel found on Wednesday to the Justice Department. While I was transferring it to the [Department of Justice] officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classifications markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages. The DoJ officials with me immediately took possession of them." The Justice Department named seasoned trial lawyer and former DoJ official Robert Hur as special counsel in the Biden document case, with Hur taking over the probe from John Lausch.Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican Congressmen recently appointed chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has vowed to keep a close eye on the DoJ's investigation, and figure out why the classified documents found ahead of the November midterms at the DC think tank didn't come to light at the time. Furthermore, the House Oversight Committee has launched a separate probe, with Committee chairman James Comer expressing concerns that President Biden may have "compromised (intelligence) sources and methods with his own mishandling of classified documents."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230110/trump-wonders-if-fbi-will-raid-bidens-home-after-secret-docs-found-at-potus-former-office-1106194465.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/five-more-pages-of-classified-docs-found-at-bidens-delaware-home-1106325408.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/gop-led-house-considering-expunging-trumps-impeachments-as-partisan-sham-1106347864.html

GOP-Led House Considering Expunging Trump's Impeachments as Partisan Sham

GOP-Led House Considering Expunging Trump's Impeachments as Partisan Sham

The GOP-controlled House may expunge former President Trump's two impeachments, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy telling the US media earlier this week that... 15.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-15T13:01+0000

2023-01-15T13:01+0000

2023-01-15T13:01+0000

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us

donald trump

volodymyr zelensky

impeachment

impeachment probe against president trump

house democrats

us house of representatives

republicans

bill clinton

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Former President Donald Trump was impeached twice by the Democratic-led House of Representatives in 2019 over alleged abuse of power during a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and in 2021, over alleged "incitement of insurrection" followed by the January 6 Capitol breach. Both times Trump was acquitted.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has made it clear that he would consider expunging one or both of former President Trumps impeachments. According to the US media, a number of House Republicans back the idea and want to "give serious consideration to exonerating" Trump.Even though the US Constitution does not provide a roadmap for expunging an impeachment, GOP lawmakers started to look into the possibility last year.On March 29, 2022, then-Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) introduced a resolution to wipe the former presidents 2019 impeachment away. The document said that the impeachment was "an unimaginable abuse of our Constitution."In his March resolution, Mullin presented detailed explanation as to why he and his fellow Republicans believe that "the facts and circumstances upon which the Articles of Impeachment were based did not meet the burden of proving the commission of 'high Crimes and Misdemeanors' as set forth in Section Four of Article II of the United States Constitution."In May 2022, Mullin presented a second resolution to expunge Trumps 2021 impeachment. The new bill referred to 2020 presidential election irregularities, arguing that the Democratic-led House had failed to prove at the time that the former president had committed "high crimes and misdemeanors" or engaged in an insurrection.Neither of the resolutions was passed in the House of Representatives, given that the Democratic Party held a majority in the lower chamber at the time.Previously, Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were formally impeached by the House of Representatives, but neither of them was convicted by the Senate.US conservative media has drawn attention to the fact that even though no president or other elected official has ever had their impeachment expunged, the Senate did expunge a censure of then-Democratic President Andrew Jackson in 1837. Jackson planned to remove government funds from the Bank of the United States, which was "not conferred by the Constitution and laws, but in derogation of both." On March 28, 1834, Jackson was censured by the Senate. Three years later, when the Democratic Party gained the majority in the upper chamber, the Senate voted to reverse its earlier censure. On January 16, 1837, the secretary of the Senate made a record, saying that Jackson's censure was Expunged by order of the Senate.However, given that currently the Senate majority is in the hands of the Dems, it is unlikely that the GOP resolutions seeking to expunge Trump's impeachments would be passed by US senators.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/kentucky-dem-suggests-biden-be-impeached-for-war-crimes-in-ukraine-1106327381.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/gop-raises-questions-about-swamp-monster-robert-hur-overseeing-bidens-classified-memo-drama-1106346552.html

GOP Raises Questions About 'Swamp Monster' Robert Hur Overseeing Biden's Classified Memo Drama

GOP Raises Questions About 'Swamp Monster' Robert Hur Overseeing Biden's Classified Memo Drama

The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee, which has been overseeing the Department of Justice's (DoJ) probe into the mishandling and apparent unauthorized... 15.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-15T12:46+0000

2023-01-15T12:46+0000

2023-01-15T12:46+0000

americas

us

opinion

joe biden

classified documents

donald trump

david nunes

christopher wray

christopher steele

rod rosenstein

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House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent a letter to AG Merrick Garland on Friday, expressing concerns over the appointment of Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate President Joe Biden's classified memo drama on January 12, 2023.Former President Donald Trump appointed Hur in 2018 as the chief federal law enforcement officer in the state of Maryland. Prior to that, he worked as a clerk for former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Later, he assumed the position of an assistant US attorney for the District of Maryland. Hur is known for taking on corrupt Democratic politicians, including Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.However, US conservative observers have drawn attention to the fact that Hur used to closely work with former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and now-FBI Director Christopher Wray. While under the latter's watch, the bureau successfully suppressed the Hunter Biden "laptop from hell" story, Rosenstein is known as a staunch advocate of the DoJ/FBI investigation into the alleged collusion between then-President Donald Trump and the Kremlin. The Trump-Russia probe turned out as a complete fiasco with zero evidence being found to back the allegations. Hur was the Department of Justice's "point person" for overseeing the investigation, as per the US press.Kash Patel, chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense under Trump, argued, in particular, that while serving a top aide to Rod Rosenstein, Hur vehemently opposed the release of US Representative Devin Nunes' memo on the FBI's alleged political bias and use of dodgy uncorroborated information to spy on the Trump campaign. According to Patel, Hur threw sand in the gears of Republican lawmakers at that time looking into the FBI's FISA violations and the origins of ex-MI6 Chris Steele's "dirty dossier" on Trump. "This guy is a swamp monster of the Tier One level," the former Trump official said in one of his interviews characterizing Hur.US conservatives suspect Hur of being politically biased and fear that under his watch, the probe into Joe Biden's mishandling of sensitive classified documents would be watered down and yield zero results.Questions Still Surrounding the Discovery of DocsGOP Reps. Jordan and Johnson also wonder when and why Joe Biden's private attorneys started their search of classified materials in Biden's premises and other unsecured locations.The lawmakers requested detailed information on the circumstance of how Bidens personal attorneys came to discover classified documents and how and when the latter informed the Justice Department and the FBI about their findings. Meanwhile, some conservative observers have raised the question whether Biden's private lawyers had security clearance to look into the classified materials in the first place.It also raises questions as to how exactly the sensitive government documents were stored by Biden and his entourage and who else could have had access to them. Some conservatives argue that the classified materials could easily fall into the hands of foreign spooks.Garland's Double StandardsThe GOP lawmakers also addressed the apparent double standard approach with regard to AG Garland's handling of the probe into Donald Trump's possession of classified materials and Joe Biden's latest case.On November 2, 2022, days before the midterm elections, President Bidens personal lawyers reportedly discovered classified materials at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, a Washington, DC think tank founded by Joe in February 2018. The lawyers found several documents with classified markings (some of them labeled sensitive compartmented information) in an unsecure space. As per US press reports, the materials in question included "US intelligence memos and briefing materials that covered topics including Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom." They were dated between 2013 and 2016 and originated from the time of Biden's vice presidency under the Obama administration. It appears that the documents had been stored at the unsecured location for years.In addition to that, another batch of classified government documents was found in Joe Biden's garage at his Wilmington, Delaware residence. On Saturday, five additional documents were found in the room adjacent to the garage. According to the US mainstream media, the unfolding scandal could affect both Biden's approval and his re-election chances in 2024.Meanwhile, GOP Reps. Jordan and Johnson instructed AG Garland to provide all necessary information pertaining to their investigation "as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 pm (GMT -5) on January 27, 2023."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230112/bidens-classified-memo-saga-shows-us-internal-political-crisis-is-worsening-observers-say-1106245182.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/five-more-pages-of-classified-docs-found-at-bidens-delaware-home-1106325408.html

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NortonLifeLock - Gen Digital posted a breach notice to inform customers that hackers successfully infiltrated Norton Password Manager accounts. They clarified that the breach hasn't affected the company system, but was directed at user accounts.

User Account Breach

According to the letter shared with the Office of the Vermont Attorney General, the cyber attack was done by an unauthorized third party through credential stuffing. The hacker may have used a customer's own username and password to access their account.

As early as December 1st of 2022, the attacker attempted to match usernames and passwords that they have acquired from the dark web in order to get into the Norton accounts. Bleeping Computer says that the hackers tried to use the credentials in bulk.

This has resulted in a large number of login attempts, which the company detected on December 12th of 2022. The company launched an internal investigation which was completed ten days after the detection.

The review of their systems indicated that the attacks successfully breached a number of customer accounts. The company warned that by accessing the accounts, the hackers may have viewed customer names, phone numbers, and mailing addresses.

Norton also warned that they cannot rule out the possibility of the hackers obtaining details stored in the Norton Password Manager, which is likely if the user uses a similar or identical Password Manager key.

The threat actors may share the data obtained through the breach and share them with other unauthorized third parties. There's also the danger of them using passwords and email combinations to access other online accounts.

Read Also: How To Protect Your Passwords From Hackers

What's Being Done About the Issue

The firm claims to have quickly reset the affected customers' Norton password to prevent future attempts to access the accounts. They also took other measures to counter the efforts of third parties to validate credentials and access accounts.

Although Norton has intrusion detection systems that warn them of possible unauthorized account access, customers are still advised to use the company's two-factor authentication feature for an extra layer of security.

Norton recommended that customer change their passwords with Norton accounts and other as well wherein the same password was used. They also recommended changing passwords from time to time and using complex ones.

It's best for customers to review their account statements and monitor them for any suspicious activities. If there are irregularities detected, the customer should immediately alert the company that is maintaining the account.

There's also the potential for incidents of fraud or identity theft. Once hos occurs, customers should report it to the proper authorities, their state attorney general, the FTC, or file a police report, as suggested through the notice.

Other steps can be taken like users placing a fraud alert on their credit reports to identify possible fraudulent activities within their accounts. As a last resort, users can also issue a security freeze, wherein new credit will be prevented from being opened.

Related: Norton Research: Risky Habits of Gamers Exposed, Cyberattacks on Players Rampant
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/iran-increases-oil-prices-for-syria-to-market-rates-of-over-70-per-barrel-american-media-reports-1106352501.html

Iran Increases Oil Prices for Syria to Market Rates of Over $70 Per Barrel, American Media Reports

Iran Increases Oil Prices for Syria to Market Rates of Over $70 Per Barrel, American Media Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran is increasing the oil price for Syria to match the market rate of over $70 per barrel, US business newspaper reported on Sunday, citing... 15.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-15T17:09+0000

2023-01-15T17:09+0000

2023-01-15T17:10+0000

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Iran decided to restrict cheap oil supplies to Syria, increasing the price for additional oil shipments, as well as demanding payments in advance rather than on credit, the newspaper claims adding that such actions could leave Syria facing one of the worst fuel shortages since 2011. A spokesman for the Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters Union in Tehran, Hamid Hosseini, said that as Iran continues to be under sanctions for oil exports, "there is no reason to sell [oil] to Syria at low prices," as quoted in the report. In early December 2022, the Syrian authorities temporarily introduced a four-day workweek in Syria's state institutions due to an acute fuel shortage spurred by sanctions and the decline in local currency. Syria has been facing fuel shortages due to sanctions for several years. Syria consumes about 100,000 barrels of oil per day but produces only 24,000 barrels. Many oil-producing facilities in Syria are either destroyed or remain beyond the government's control, and the delivery of oil and petroleum products to the country is extremely difficult due to the Western sanctions.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220723/pirates-of-the-middle-east-syria-reports-theft-of-35-tankers-worth-of-oil-by-us-forces--video-1097725891.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/iraqi-prime-minister-supports-open-ended-us-troop-presence-1106384878.html

Iraqi Prime Minister Supports Open-Ended US Troop Presence

Iraqi Prime Minister Supports Open-Ended US Troop Presence

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani defended the continued presence of US troops in the country and set no deadline for their withdrawal, in an interview with US media.

2023-01-15T20:26+0000

2023-01-15T20:26+0000

2023-03-17T12:23+0000

iraq

isis

iraq war

qasem soleimani

20 years since us invasion of iraq

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"We think that we need the foreign forces Elimination of Daesh* needs some more time," Al-Sudani told the newspaper, referring to the US and NATO contingents that remain in the country in a non-combat role. Meanwhile, the prime minister stressed that no foreign combat forces are needed inside Iraq. The role of the United States is limited to providing intelligence and training the Iraqi troops on how to fight Daesh* militants, the official added. According to Al-Sudani, he is planning to send a high-level delegation to Washington for talks next months, a move expected to allow for his future meeting with US President Joe Biden, the newspaper said. Iraq strives to build similar relations with the US to what Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations already have, Al-Sudani noted. In early January 2020, the Iraqi parliament voted to end the presence of foreign military in the country after a US strike killed an Iraqi militia leader and top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. Since then, the US handed a number of military sites back over to Iraq, including airbases and army headquarters. On December 22, 2021, Iraq's Joint Operations Command confirmed the withdrawal of armed forces of the coalition from Iraq except for military advisers.*Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/mali-introduces-patriotic-day-as-symbol-of-resistance-to-external-sanctions-1106335476.html

Mali Introduces 'Patriotic Day' as Symbol of Resistance to External Sanctions

Mali Introduces 'Patriotic Day' as Symbol of Resistance to External Sanctions

Malis transitional government has introduced the new "National Day of Patriotic Sovereignty" on Saturday as a display of the countrys independence in the face of external pressure.

2023-01-15T08:58+0000

2023-01-15T08:58+0000

2023-01-15T08:58+0000

africa

west africa

mali

transitional government

sovereignty

patriotism

national day

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Malis transitional government introduced the new National Day of Patriotic Sovereignty on Saturday as a display of the countrys independence in the face of external pressure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. On January 6, the countrys Council of Ministers decided to establish January 14 the "National Day of Patriotic Sovereignty" as a symbol of the great and patriotic mobilization of Malians against the "illegal, illegitimate and inhuman sanctions" imposed by ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union).The National Day of Patriotic Sovereignty is supposed to commemorate the events of January 2022, when Malians protested against restrictive measures imposed on the country. According to the government, millions of Malians then mobilized in the country and abroad, voicing their frustration over the sanctions. The measures were introduced by the regional bodies in response to the military's plan to stay in power for up to five more years. The military, which first took power in a 2020 coup, originally pledged to hold elections in February of 2022. However, the sanctions were lifted after the government announced a new election timetable in June 2022, with general elections scheduled for 2024.Ahead of the holiday, on January 13, 2023, Mali's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdoulaye Diop attended the presentation of a model lesson in one of Bamako's schools. The lesson was dedicated to the National Day of Patriotic Sovereignty and included discussions on understanding the concepts of the motherland, patriotism, defense of the nation, sovereignty and its symbols, as well as the ECOWAS and UEMOA sanctions and their impact on Mali. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such lessons were held in all schools across the country and were aimed at "strengthening the patriotic feeling" among students. The authorities initially planned to hold a public rally on Saturday in Bamako, but decided to postpone it, citing security reasons. A government-sponsored rally in Mali's capital Bamako took place on January 14 last year as thousands of people protested regional economic sanctions, as well as growing pressure from former colonizer France. Mali has repeatedly stated that it is facing severe external pressure. In particular, it has accussed France of undermining the country's security. Last year, a wave of anti-French protests swept Africa's Sahel region, with many protesters expressing pro-Russian sentiments, as Paris started to withdraw its troops after experiencing military setbacks in countering security threats.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220925/malis-prime-minister-praises-russia-denounces-france-at-unga-1101194363.html

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Maria Konokhova

west africa, mali, transitional government, "national day of patriotic sovereignty", ecowas, sanctions, france
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/moldova-did-not-join-eus-sanctions-against-russia-over-energy-concerns-1106384547.html

Moldova Did Not Join EU's Sanctions Against Russia Over Energy Concerns

Moldova Did Not Join EU's Sanctions Against Russia Over Energy Concerns

CHISINAU (Sputnik) - Moldova chose not to join the European Union's sanctions against Russia and Belarus due to a possible suspension of gas supplies that the... 15.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-15T19:23+0000

2023-01-15T19:23+0000

2023-01-15T19:23+0000

world

moldova

eu sanctions

russian sanctions

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"Moldova has not joined the sanctions against Russia and Belarus because of the risks of suspension of Russian gas supplies and the possible consequences of this move, which could have a negative impact on the economy in general," Voda told the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty broadcaster*. He added that Chisinau regarded the EU's decision to introduce sanctions against Moscow in light of the special military operation in Ukraine with understanding. Earlier in the week, Moldovan media reported, citing a European Commission report due to be released soon, that Moldova has not aligned itself with the sanctions against Russia and lags behind other EU candidate countries in applying EU policies. On June 23, 2022, the European Commission recommended granting an EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova. In October, the latter held the first meeting of the EU integration commission, which discussed the need for reforms in various areas and called for the creation of 35 working groups to make local legislation correspond to European standards. Moldova's membership in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which consists of nine member states, including Russia and Belarus, has become a topic of discussions since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. In May, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that the country should stay within the CIS as long as it meets its national interests.*designated as a foreign media agent in Russia.

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moldova, eu sanctions, russian sanctions
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/multiple-casualties-in-drc-as-kasindi-church-hit-by-explosion---reports-1106350389.html

Multiple Casualties Reported in DRC as Kasindi Church Hit by Explosion in DRC - VIDEO

Multiple Casualties Reported in DRC as Kasindi Church Hit by Explosion in DRC - VIDEO

An explosion at a protestant church in the town of Kasindi in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) left several people injured, media reported on Sunday.

2023-01-15T14:00+0000

2023-01-15T14:00+0000

2023-01-15T17:31+0000

africa

central africa

drc

terrorist attack

terrorist group

islamic state

bomb

explosion

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According to the country's media, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked a church in Kasindi, located at a border crossing between the DRC and Uganda. The government has strongly condemned the attack and reassured the population that security forces have taken control of the situation, the report said.The Congolese army confirmed that an improvised explosive device was detonated during a service in the church.There has been no official information on the toll of casualties at the time of the writing.The ADF was established in 1995 and is active in the DRC as well as in Uganda, where it is recognized as a terrorist organization. The United Nations blames the ADF for killing hundreds of civilians since 2014. The ADF has strong ties with the Islamic State terrorist group*. *A terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries

africa

central africa

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central africa, democratic republic of the congo (drc), terrorist attack, bomb explosion, allied democratic forces (adf)
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/over-60-of-hungarians-accuse-eu-of-using-double-standards-poll-shows-1106331921.html

Over 60% of Hungarians Accuse EU of Using Double Standards, Poll Shows

Over 60% of Hungarians Accuse EU of Using Double Standards, Poll Shows

Nearly two thirds of Hungarians oppose the decision of the European Union to freeze about $6.8 billion in EU funds for Hungary and believe that the bloc is using double standards, a survey conducted by Hungarian pollster Szazadveg shows.

2023-01-15T05:38+0000

2023-01-15T05:38+0000

2023-04-12T17:15+0000

world

hungary

poll

european union (eu)

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On December 12, EU countries reached a deal with Budapest to lower the amount of EU funds to Hungary, which had been frozen over concerns that the money may aid graft in the country, from 7.5 billion euros to 6.3 billion euros. According to US media, the decision was made so that Budapest lifts its veto on an EU aid package for Ukraine. An opinion poll, conducted by Szazadveg this month, revealed that 74% of Hungarians oppose the blocs freezing of funds for Hungary and 64% believe that the European Union is using double standards with respect to Hungary and other member states. By freezing the funds, the bloc is attempting to "punish" Hungary, 60% of the surveys 1,000 participants said. Meanwhile, 36% of Hungarians believe that the European Union is trying to reach a compromise with Budapest.

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hungary-eu relations, hungary poll over eu funds to budapest, how much money the eu promised to hungary
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/prince-harrys-peace-talks-with-royals-likely-before-king-charles-coronation-to-avoid-circus-1106335884.html

Prince Harry's Peace Talks With Royals 'Likely' Before King Charles' Coronation to 'Avoid Circus'

Prince Harry's Peace Talks With Royals 'Likely' Before King Charles' Coronation to 'Avoid Circus'

Prince Harry's peace talks with royals are possible before coronation of King Charles III to 'avoid circus', insiders are cited as saying.

2023-01-15T09:47+0000

2023-01-15T09:47+0000

2023-01-15T09:47+0000

world

uk

prince harry

meghan markle

uk royal family

king charles iii

prince william

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Peace talks aimed at healing the rift between Prince Harry and the royal family are still possible and need to take place urgently ahead of the official coronation of King Charles III, British media outlets reported.The coronation of Charles III is set for May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey in London. His wife. Camilla, Queen Consort, will also be crowned in the ceremony.Ever since Prince Harry, 38, along with his wife, Megan Markle, stepped back from royal duties in 2020, they have fed into the spiralling tensions with Buckingham Palace by dropping so-called "truth bomps." The rift was made still worse by the Duke of Sussex shedding even more light on his fractuous relationship with his father, King Charles III, and his brother, Prince William, now Prince of Wales, in his new memoir, Spare.However, royal insiders think that a reconciliation before King Charles is coronated is possible.They have to invite them in before the coronation, or it will become such a circus and distraction, a source was quoted as saying.Regarding healing the rift between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Buckingham Palace, insiders appear to believe that it is doable. Insiders insisted that while it was "going to take flexibility on all sides," nevertheless, it could be achieved, and the situation was "fixable."Prince Harry's brother, William, Prince of Wales, was described as "burning inside" over comments made in Spare, but reportedly realized the need for reconciliation for the sake of the monarchy. "He is loyal to the throne and understands what needs to be done for the country," said one insider, adding that this rift-mending could only happen if Prince Harry was ready to show some accountability, too."Not everyone here behaved well, but Harrys got to be able to sit down and say we didnt behave well either. That takes a lot of academic flexibility, which Harry isnt great at, the source said.Looking ahead, royal insiders think that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who earlier released a six-part Netflix docuseries about their exit from royal life, will be asked by the palace to "be quiet and get on" with their lives.Harry has got to realise that it might all go down better there, but here in the UK, people have taken it very badly. Youve said your piece, but why are you trying to torch the whole house? said insiders.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/savage-placement-uk-store-puts-prince-harrys-memoir-beside-how-to-kill-your-family-bestseller-1106278095.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230114/prince-harry-ditched-parts-from-memoir-to-spare-family-afraid-they-would-never-forgive-him-1106305460.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221211/meghan-markles-estranged-siblings-slam-netflix-docuseries-1105360693.html

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Svetlana Ekimenko

Svetlana Ekimenko

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Svetlana Ekimenko

prince harry's peace talks with royals, before coronation of king charles iii, to avoid circus, a circus and distraction, prince harry, megan markle, stepped back from royal duties, going to take flexibility on all sides, situation fixable
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/turkish-president-warns-relations-with-sweden-could-become-much-more-strained-1106385001.html

Turkish President Warns Relations With Sweden Could Become 'Much More Strained'

Turkish President Warns Relations With Sweden Could Become 'Much More Strained'

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkey's relations with Sweden could take a turn for the worse if the Scandinavian country fails to take actions against the Kurdistan... 15.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-15T20:55+0000

2023-01-15T20:55+0000

2023-01-24T10:53+0000

world

kurdistan workers' party (pkk)

turkiye

sweden

recep tayyip erdogan

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Earlier in the week, PKK supporters held a demonstration in Stockholm, hanging a figure of Erdogan by its feet. The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara in protest of the PKK rally. In addition, the Turkish Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case into the matter. The president pointed out that PKK demonstrations were held not only in Sweden but also in Finland, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. In mid-May 2022, three months since the onset of the Ukraine crisis, Finland and Sweden submitted their NATO membership applications, abandoning decades of neutrality and citing a shift in the security situation in Europe. The consideration of the bids was initially blocked by Turkey due to Helsinki and Stockholm's long-standing support of the PKK, which Ankara regards as a threat to its national security. Nevertheless, in June 2022, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a security memorandum that unblocked the beginning of negotiations on the accession of the two Scandinavian countries to the alliance. The parties agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism, including measures against the PKK, and address Ankara's concerns. However, despite the efforts taken in this regard, only Turkey and Hungary have not yet approved the membership of the two new candidates out of the 30 members of the alliance.

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kurdistan workers' party (pkk), turkiye, sweden, recep tayyip erdogan
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/uk-politician-slams-sunak-over-tanks-for-kiev-says-its-wrong-to-prop-up-corrupt-zelensky-regime-1106342953.html

UK Politician Slams Sunak Over Tanks for Kiev, Says Its Wrong to Prop Up Corrupt Zelensky Regime

UK Politician Slams Sunak Over Tanks for Kiev, Says Its Wrong to Prop Up Corrupt Zelensky Regime

Britain has announced plans to send 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. The Russian Embassy blasted Number 10, accusing the government of trying to set a precedent for the sending of heavy weaponry to Kiev.

2023-01-15T11:25+0000

2023-01-15T11:25+0000

2023-01-15T19:39+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

britain

uk

challenger 2

tank

assistance

aid

weapons

apache

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Heritage Party leader David Kurten has lashed out at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over his decision to send main battle tanks to Ukraine, saying the United Kingdom should be working toward de-escalating the Ukraine crisis.The social conservative politician and political commentator, previously affiliated with the UK Independence Party, ran for mayor of London in 2021, and in elections and by-elections for a seat in the House of Commons in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.Kurten emerged as an outspoken critic of the mainstream narrative on the Ukraine crisis last year. In September, he appeared on Piers Morgans chat program, telling Morgan that the West has been poking the [Russian] bear for eight years essentially, and that the Ukrainian Army and forces, backed by the Azov Battalion, for eight years have been shelling, maiming, killing ethnic Russians in the Donbass.Accused by Morgan of spewing Russian propaganda, and barely able to get a word in edgewise, Kurten emphasized that he simply ha[s] the opposite opinion, and thinks the UK should be trying to end this peacefully, instead of delivering more lethal aid to forces who wear Nazi symbols and flags on their shirts, or discussing regime change in Russia, which he characterized as very dangerous talk.What are the New Weapons Systems Britain is Sending to Ukraine?The Challenger 2 is a late-Cold War era-designed tank produced by BAE Systems whose manufacture and fielding began in the 1990s and wrapped up in the early 2000s. The 64-ton behemoths are fitted with composite armor, a 120 mm main gun, and 7.62 mm chain and machine guns. The only other country operating the tank besides Britain is Oman, which bought 38 of the 445+ total tanks produced. The Challenger 2 was deployed in NATO operations in Bosnia and Kosovo, and the US-UK-led war of aggression in Iraq, where one tank was destroyed in a friendly fire incident and two damaged by Iraqi militants.UK media say many of the estimated 227 Challenger 2s in the British Armys inventory are in no condition to be deployed. In 2021, it was reported that the military might scrap 77 of its Challenger 2s to pay for a 1.2 billion pound upgrade to the rest of the fleet to turn the relic from the Gulf War into something that can fight the next war. But the escalation of the crisis in Donbass into a full-on proxy conflict between Russia and NATO in Ukraine has given the UK and its allies an opportunity to pawn off its aging military hardware to Kiev as aid.Along with main battle tanks, the UKs latest aid package includes AS-90 self-propelled guns. Like the Challenger 2, the AS-90 is a late Cold War-era design that was first fielded in the 1990s, and is armed with a 155 mm gun. The howitzers have a firing range of between 25 and 30 km, and an operational on-road range of 420 km. The weapons systems were deployed in the invasion of Iraq. A total of 179 AS-90s were built between 1992 and 1995 by Vickers. The Defense Ministry announced early last year that it planned to phase the AS-90s out of service by 2030.There has been some confusion about whether the UK's weapons deliveries might include Apache gunships, with UK media reporting, but the MoD reportedly denying, that they will be sent.In any event, the Apache is a twin-turboshaft attack helicopter manufactured by Boeing. Introduced in to service with the US military in the mid-1980s, the helicopter has been exported to more than a dozen countries, including Egypt, Israel, and the Netherlands, and features an array of anti-personnel and anti-armor bombs, bullets and missiles, including cluster munitions. The UKs Apaches originally included eight built by Boeing, and 59 under license by AugustaWestland, a British aircraft manufacturer. Apaches have been extensively used in an array of US and NATO wars over three decades, including the US invasion of Panama in 1989, the 1990-1991 Gulf War, the US bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Israel has used its Apaches to launch attacks on Palestinian militants in Gaza and Lebanons Hezbollah militia. The UK has purchased 50 upgraded Apache Guardians, which it expects to receive by 2024. Over a dozen of the gunships had been delivered as of early 2022.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/uks-tank-transfer-meant-to-persuade-eu-states-to-send-more-weapons-to-kiev---russian-embassy-1106329160.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230113/their-blood-our-bullets-how-us-training-of-ukrainians-exposes-washingtons-grim-global-strategy-1106295644.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/uk-to-send-up-to-4-apache-attack-helicopters-to-ukraine---reports-1106334577.html

ukraine

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Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

challenger 2 tank, tank, main battle tank, uk, united kingdom, rishi sunak, aid, assistance, military assistance, ukraine, britain, escalation
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/ukraine-plans-to-blame-russia-for-destroying-grain-reserves---russian-defense-ministry-1106330684.html

Ukraine Plans to Blame Russia for Destroying Grain Reserves - Russian Defense Ministry

Ukraine Plans to Blame Russia for Destroying Grain Reserves - Russian Defense Ministry

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is planning a provocation at a grain storage site in the Kharkov region, with the aim of discrediting Russia and accusing it of creating a food shortage in Ukraine, the Russian Federation's Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response said.

2023-01-15T04:35+0000

2023-01-15T04:35+0000

2023-01-15T04:37+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

russia

grain

provocation

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"The Security Service of Ukraine is preparing for a large-scale provocation in the coming days to discredit Russia's actions as part of the grain deal and accuse it of creating a food shortage in Ukraine. In the village of Karaichnoye, Kharkov region, the Ukrainian special services are mining a granary; after it is blown up, the Russian Federation will be accused of allegedly deliberately destroying grain reserves in Ukraine, provoking famine and thus sabotaging the grain deal," the joint headquarters said in a statement. According to the release, Ukrainian mining specialists and members of SBU (a total of about 30 people) have arrived in the Kharkov region to prepare for the provocation. Since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine has repeatedly attempted to discredit Russian armed forces by staging provocations. In April 2022, Ukrainian authorities and media distributed footage showing the bodies of dead civilians strewn across Bucha in the Kiev region and blamed the killings on Russian forces that withdrew from the city on March 30. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the footage was a staged provocation and that no civilians died at the time the Russian forces controlled Bucha. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that most vessels carrying Ukrainian grain do not reach the world's poorest countries and have ended up in Europe. Putin has voiced concerns that Russian grain and fertilizer products are not entering the global markets as stipulated by the agreement (the so-called "grain deal") reached on July 22 and extended for 120 days on November 17.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221227/issue-of-grain-deal-implementation-yet-to-be-solved-but-progress-made-says-kremlin-spokesman-1105805600.html

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grain deal, ukraine's provocations against russian armed forces, russian defense ministry on kiev's provocations, russia-ukraine grain deal




South Korea is pushing for the resumption of bilateral consultations with the United States on the North Korean human rights problem following a six-year hiatus, multiple diplomatic sources said Sunday.







The allies had two rounds of working-level discussions in 2016 on ways to promote human rights in the reclusive nation. Since the 2017 launch of the Moon Jae-in administration, which proactively sought dialogue with Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington had no such formal diplomatic discussions.







In a report to President Yoon Suk Yeol on its key policy tasks for 2023 last week, Seoul's foreign ministry said it will seek bilateral consultations on the matter with the U.S. and the European Union in line with the government's campaign to play a leading role on it in the international community.







In December, Chun Young-hee, who leads the ministry's Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau, talked about the North Korean human right issue with Scott Busby, deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor. But the department's position of special envoy for the matter is still vacant.







The Yoon administration is also considering holding relevant discussions with the EU, which has often drafted U.N. resolutions against the human rights abuses in the North, a source said. (Yonhap)


https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/ukrainian-troops-shell-horlivka-in-donetsk-region-according-to-dpr-1106329036.html

Ukrainian Troops Shell Gorlovka in Donetsk Region, According to DPR

Ukrainian Troops Shell Gorlovka in Donetsk Region, According to DPR

Ukrainian troops shelled the city of Horlivka, located in the Donetsk region, overnight, using 155 mm artillery, the Donetsk Peoples Republics (DPR) mission to the (JCCC) said.

2023-01-15T00:17+0000

2023-01-15T00:17+0000

2023-01-15T04:01+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukrainian army

gorlovka

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"Shelling was recorded from the side of the armed formations of Ukraine in the following direction: 23:55 [20:55 GMT on Saturday] Novgorodskoye - Gorlovka (Nikitovsky district): three shells of 155 mm caliber were fired," the DPR mission said in a statement on Telegram. Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russias operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine. On September 30 last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed that an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier this month that Ukrainian troops conducted around 370 artillery strikes against Russian military positions in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, as well as Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, during the 36-hour ceasefire, declared by Russia along the line of contact between the warring sides in Ukraine from January 6-7, to allow Orthodox Christians in the areas of hostilities to attend church on Orthodox Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/upcoming-russia-belarus-tactical-flight-drills-defensive-in-nature-minsk-1106373820.html

Upcoming Russia-Belarus Tactical Flight Drills Defensive in Nature: Minsk

Upcoming Russia-Belarus Tactical Flight Drills Defensive in Nature: Minsk

Belarus and Russia's joint flight-tactical exercises scheduled to start on January 16 are defensive in their nature and will involve reconnaissance and counterattack exercises, First Deputy State Secretary of Belarus' Security Council Pavel Muraveiko said on Sunday.

2023-01-15T18:35+0000

2023-01-15T18:35+0000

2023-01-15T18:35+0000

military

russia

belarus

military drills

joint military exercises

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On January 8, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said that the aviation units of the Belarusian and Russian armed forces will hold joint tactical flight training from January 16 to February 1. It was also reported that the aviation component of the Russian aerospace forces had arrived in Belarus for drills. The senior official stressed that such exercises are held regularly, so this year's drills have nothing going on behind the scenes. "As for the exercise itself, it will be a set of activities to train our and Russian aviation in carrying out their respective combat tasks. The exercise will involve airfields and training grounds on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where aviation units of both our and Russian units will operate shoulder to shoulder or wing to wing," Muraveiko said. Meanwhile, Minsk is prepared for any provocations from Kiev, he said, adding that there is some dialogue between border administrations of Belarus and Ukraine, which does not always yield positive results. As for other military exercises, Belarus will host three out of four planned Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) drills in September. Belarus territorial defense exercises are also planned for the first quarter of this year, Muraveiko noted. Belarus, this year's CSTO chair, will also organize an international conference on Eurasian security, a fairly broad dialogue at the level of foreign ministers, defense ministers, and security council secretaries "along the CSTO-China lines," Muraveiko said.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230115/what-is-the-tornado-g-rocket-artillery-system-1106350157.html

What is the Tornado-G Rocket Artillery System?

What is the Tornado-G Rocket Artillery System?

Among the systems spotted in the field in the Donbass is the Tornado-G, a new Russian take on a well-known Soviet rocket artillery system. Find out more about the Tornado-Gs history and characteristics.

2023-01-15T15:38+0000

2023-01-15T15:38+0000

2023-01-15T15:38+0000

military

bm-21 grad

grad multiple-launch rocket system

grad rockets

grad rocket launcher

grad

tornado-g

katyusha

artillery

multiple-launch rocket systems (mlrs)

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Last week, the Russian military released footage of Tornado-G multiple launch rocket systems (MRLS) firing on a convoy of Ukrainian forces traveling under the cover of darkness somewhere in the Donetsk Peoples Republic, with thermal cameras of recon units showing the detonation of a dozen or more shells, which lit up the surrounding night sky.What is an MLRS?As the name suggests, MLRSs are a weapons platform capable of firing multiple rockets (guided or unguided). When used en masse, their task is to 'blanket' large areas of territory with explosives to destroy concentrations of troops, tanks, and damage critical infrastructure facilities like airport runways, ports and other facilities, terrorizing enemy forces in the process.The concept of a multiple rocket launcher goes back to at least the 15th century and the Korean hwacha (lit. 'fire cart'), used by Korean forces against invading Japanese hordes. The technology was developed further in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and used in the British Royal Navy raid on Boulogne, France in 1804, the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, and the British-American War of 1812. Russian weapons makers experimented with the concept from the 1820s onward, using a multiple rocket system design during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829.The idea of using MLRS weapons was returned to during the interwar years in the first half of the 20th century, with both Soviet and German researchers working on perfecting the technology amid advances in rocketry, metallurgy, and vehicle mobility. During World War II, the legendary Katyusha rocket launchers, designed by Soviet Russian and Ukrainian rocket scientists Ivan Gvay, Vladimir Galkovsky, Andrei Kostikov and others between 1938 and 1941, helped turn the tide against advancing fascist troops and ultimately push them back into the heart of Europe.What is the Tornado-G and How Many Does Russia Have?The Tornado-G is the product of the deep modernization of the Soviet-designed BM-21 Grad self-propelled 122mm multiple rocket launch system. Developed between the late 1990s and 2000s by the Tula-based Splav MLRS maker, and fielded with the Russian military from the early 2010s onward, the Tornado-Gs main distinguishing feature is its onboard computer and GLONASS satellite navigation-assisted automated fire control system  created by the Signal Research Institute. The system enables the Tornado-Gs crew to fire the systems complement of up to forty 122mm rockets without leaving their cabin, and can be prepared to fire in as little as one minute.The Tornado-G is based on a 6x6 Kamaz or Ural military truck, but can theoretically be attached to other vehicles, provided they have the necessary weight capacity and horsepower to lug it around. Owing to its electronic systems, the complement of crew needed to operate has been reduced from six for the original BM-21 to 2-3 troops for the Tornado-G. The system weighs roughly 14,000 kg fully loaded.The Tornado-G can fire a range of standard BM-21 ammunition, as well as specially designed extended range munitions meant to increase its firing range to 40, 70 or even 90 km. Standard rockets weigh between 66 and 70 kg, and have a warhead mass between 25 and 35 kg. Available rockets include anti-armor HEAT submunitions, and cumulative fragmentation projectiles which can penetrate armor of between 60 and 170 mm thick  enough to destroy or critically damage most light tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, mortar batteries and command posts.Like all MLRS systems, and most kinds of heavy guns and howitzers, the Tornado-G has a large dead zone in which it cannot fire  in this case 4 km, and has no armor protection, which means it needs to be secured and kept well away from areas where enemy forces might break through, or risk capture or destruction.The Russian military first confirmed that Tornado-Gs were operating in Ukraine in November. Russia is estimated to have about 180 Tornado-Gs in its inventory. An export version of the system was approved in 2018.How Much Do Tornado-Gs Cost?Information on the Tornado-G's cost is hard to come by, and no official figures are available. However, according to a 2017 report in Russian business media, the Ministry of Defense contracted producers to build 36 MLRS systems for 1.07 billion rubles, or about 29.94 million rubles apiece (that's about $453,600 US under today's exchange rate). For comparison, a single HIMARS MLRS costs anywhere from $3.5 million and $5.1 million, according to media reports.What is the Tornado-Gs Predecessor?The BM-21 Grad (lit. Hail) is the most widely-used light MLRS artillery in the world. Between 1960 and 1988, over 8,500 BM-21s were produced by the Soviet Union, with allied countries and Soviet client states producing tens of thousands more indendently over six decades (China alone has close to a dozen domestically produced Grad variants in its inventory). Grads are operated by most former Soviet republics, including Russia and Ukraine, much of NATOs Eastern European flank (including Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia), North Korea, Vietnam, India, most of Africa and five nation in Latin America, or over 60 countries in total. Grads are so pervasive in some parts of the world that theyre even operated by militias and non-state actors. Several countries that the systems were never originally exported to also have dozens of Grads in their inventory  like Israel, which has 58 Grads in storage, and the United States, which bought 75 between 1992 and 2010 from Romania and Ukraine for evaluation purposes.The systems were used in most Cold War conflicts of the mid-to-late 20th century, and crises in the modern era  from the Vietnam and Ogaden wars to the Iran-Iraq War, the Soviet War in Afghanistan, the Yugoslav Wars, Libya, the dirty war in Syria, Yemen, and the current Russia-Ukraine conflict.Russias Ground Forces operate about 550 BM-21 Grads, and over 2,000 are held in storage. The Russian Navys Coastal Troops operate 36 Grads. Ukraine is thought to have up to 185 Grads. The rocket artillery has been used extensively by Ukrainian and Donbass militia forces since 2014, and the Kharkov Machine Building Design Bureau has created a modernized BM-21 known as the Verba (lit. Willow) featuring modernized navigation and communications systems and mounted aboard a KrAZ trucks.

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Nine is fine, but Richard Moreau admits a 10th consecutive O'Brien Award as Canadian Trainer of the Year would be especially meaningful.

"That would be like winning the gold, a special honour...knock on wood," said the Quebec native, who once again led the nation in wins (331) and purse money collected ($5.2 million) in 2022.

The latter figure was a career high for Moreau. The win total was just shy of his previous best, 340 in 2012. He led the trainer standings at three tracks  Woodbine Mohawk Park, Flamboro Downs and Georgian Downs.

Given the stats, he wasn't surprised to learn he was a finalist for top trainer in Canada for an 11th year in a row.

"Numbers talk," he said. "I'm just lucky to be surrounded by people who make me look good."

In addition to his earnings mark, Moreau also had a career highlight in 2022 with the victory of Gaines Hanover in the $810,000 Breeders Crown final for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings at Mohawk. Winning his first Breeders Crown "was an honour," Moreau said. "It didn't change my life, but it looks good on the resume."

Like his trainer, Gaines Hanover is an O'Brien Award finalist in his category. The son of Cantab Hall won four races, including a division of the Champlain Stakes at Mohawk, and amassed almost $500,000 in earnings.

"The remarkable thing about him was his maturity," Moreau said. "He was sent to me well prepared. He didn't make breaks. He knew his job."

Moreau also will be represented at the O'Briens by older trotter Fashion Frenzie, the divisional champion at three and a winner of seven races as a four-year-old, including the Earl Rowe Memorial at Georgian Downs.

They were the standouts of a hard-hitting, 60-horse Moreau squad that also featured premier older pacers Wheels On Fire and Jimmy Freight, who both collected more than $300,000 in Canada last year while in his stable.

Wheels On Fire, now eight, soon will surpass $1-million in earnings, which would be another feather in Moreau's cap.

Gaines Hanover and Fashion Frenzie have returned to their off-season conditioners in Quebec, with their 2023 campaigns still undetermined. (Moreau doesn't race in the U.S.)

While his decade of exceptional success in Canada has been gratifying, Moreau said the loss of his father Roland in December, at age 80, was a reminder there is more to life than work.

"I'm 58 and it's full-time right now, seven days a week, sometimes 60 calls and 30 texts a day. The next decade could be for enjoying life and what we've accomplished."

The OBrien Awards Black Tie Gala is Canadian harness racings most prestigious event and Standardbred Canada is pleased to announce that the 2022 awards will be a live event at the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale Hotel on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean; photos: New Image Media, Carter Gimblett)
Nebraska trimmed Ohio State's lead down to three points in the third quarter, but the Buckeyes were too much down the stretch to remain undefeated.
The Black Powder Coffee Roasting Company, at 261 Rolling Hill Road, Suite 1-A, Mooresville, has a great way to celebrate Mooresvilles upcoming sesquicentennial anniversary with the introduction of their 1873 Signature Blend of craft-roasted, hand-selected coffee.

Mooresville was incorporated on March 3, 1873, a century and a half ago by the North Carolina General Assembly, with the Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio (A,T & O) depot designated as the statutory center of the town. Appropriately, the 1873 Blend coffee bag features an illustration of a steam locomotive at a depot.

According to Black Powders owners, Dave and Melissa Stahlman, Black Powder currently features a number of distinctive blends, crafted on site.

And were proud to be associated with the Town of Mooresville and its history. Our 1873 Blend is an homage to the towns early settlers. We can almost imagine John Franklin Moore enjoying a steaming cup of coffee that may have tasted similar to our 1873 blend.

According to town legend, the location of Mr. Moores home, which was across Main Street from the towns municipal building, enabled Mr. Moore to look down Main from his front porch, and, because of the curve in the road, see if any customers were in front of his general store, located across the street from the depot. If so, he would then get up from his rocking chair, get seated on his buckboard wagon, ride down to and unlock his store, and wait on the customer. Business concluded, Mr. Moore reversed this sequence and ended up back in his rocker on his front porch.

You can see a portrait of Mr. Moore and purchase our Mooresville-related coffee at the Mooresville Museum, 132 E. Center Ave. A portion of the sales from this coffee blend goes to the museum to help preserve the history of the Town of Mooresville, says Mrs. Stahlman.

We chose the name Black Powder to represent older time when companies didnt put fillers in our food and a wholesome time when we lived off the land.

The Black Powder headquarters, west of town off N.C. 150 West, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and coffee may be purchased there. Call 704-614-0824.

The 1873 Blend coffee is available in 12-ounce and 5-pound bags, pre-ground or whole bean. If you want coffee variety, this is the place to go. They have light, medium and dark roasts, a variety of flavored coffees, and K-Cups.

Coffees at Black Powder reflect world-wide trading, with select coffee beans originating in such diverse places as Burundi, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Sumatra, Tanzania and other countries.
A sign displayed inside a building in Seoul reads that visitors are required to wear face masks, Dec. 7, 2022. Yonhap



Gov't to hold meeting with experts Tuesday to discuss easing mask mandate



By Lee Hyo-jin



The government remains prudent over scrapping the indoor mask mandate despite its previous plans to review relaxing the measures actively once the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations enter a stable downward trend.



The number of new infections and critical cases have been showing a declining trend over the last couple of weeks, with 32,570 daily cases reported for Saturday, marking the lowest figure for a Saturday in three months. The number of patients in critical condition came to 499, falling below the 500-benchmark in 29 days since marking 468 on Dec. 17. The fatality rate stands at 0.11 percent.



Korea is currently the only country among OECD member states requiring masks to be worn in all indoor spaces after the measure was implemented in October 2020.



Earlier in December, the government announced that, if two out of four criteria are met, masks will no longer be a requirement but instead a recommendation in public places except for high-risk facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and public transportation.



The four criteria are: a stable number of daily infections and specifically, continuously declining infection numbers over a two-week period, reductions in the number of critical cases and the fatality rate, a sufficient capacity of ICU beds to treat critically ill patients and booster vaccination coverage among the elderly.



As of Sunday, three out of these four criteria  except for booster vaccination coverage among the elderly  have reached target figures, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Nevertheless, the health authorities are still deliberating over whether to end the mandate.



The health ministry said it will hold a meeting with experts on Tuesday to discuss the lifting of the measure. The authorities are anticipated to share details of the meeting either on Jan. 18 or 20. It remains uncertain whether the mandate will be dropped before the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, which runs from Jan. 21 to 24.





A woman arriving from China enters a COVID-19 testing center at Incheon International Airport, Jan. 5. AP-Yonhap
Do you want to make a difference in your community? Many of us do but do not know how. Luckily, you do not need an elaborate plan to make a positive, long-lasting impact  its much easier than you think. You can make a life-altering difference in your community by donating blood.

What better way to serve the people around you than by saving lives? You can save three lives in less than one hour through a blood donation.

One easy way to help others in the community and give a gift to someone who desperately needs it is to donate blood. It only costs you about one hour out of your day. It can truly save a persons life. Not many people can say, I saved a life today, said Mark Berry, director of Iredell Health Systems laboratory.

January is historically a difficult time for blood collections with increased seasonal illnesses and inclement winter weather. In 1969, January was declared National Blood Donor Month as a time to encourage donations, honor those who selflessly donate, and recognize the importance of giving blood.

Importance of giving blood

Your blood keeps you alive. It delivers oxygen, fights infections, carries nutrients throughout your body, and helps your body heal. Without this very important fluid, no human can survive.

Donated blood is essential to help patients survive surgery, cancer treatment, trauma situations, and chronic illnesses. Without donors, many of these lives would be lost.

In fact, every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. Though blood is needed so often, only about 3% of eligible people donate, according to The Blood Connection, a community blood center that serves the Carolinas and Georgia. If every eligible individual donated blood just twice a year, there would never be concerns about blood supply.

During and after the pandemic, donor participation was very low and put a strain on all hospitals and transfusion centers. The demand was constant, but the supply was low. Currently, there are now increased numbers of patients getting surgeries, and more people are back to normal life, which also means high demand for blood, said Berry.

Iredell has kept up with the demand and increased supply by using The Blood Connection and the American Red Cross as our blood suppliers, but there is still a shortage of some blood types. We are in need of O donors. O blood donors can be received by more recipients than other blood types, he added.

When you make the decision to donate blood, you are not just helping those around the country, you are helping those in your own community.

According to Berry, around 275 units of blood are used each month at Iredell Memorial Hospital, and every single unit comes from a blood donation.

We had two blood drives in December at the hospital and had about 149 people donate. This is phenomenal, but it does not meet the need for what we give to our patients in one month. Thankfully there are donation sites and events going on every day throughout the county and state to keep up with the demand, he said.

After a blood drive, the donated blood is sent for processing and testing. Donations are then sent back and delivered locally to assist patients in need. The laboratory at Iredell Health System is one of those locations.

At Iredell Health System Laboratory, we follow the College of American Pathology standards and all state and federal regulations regarding the safe storage, handling, and infusion of blood, said Berry.

The Iredell lab stores the donated blood in the blood bank, where it is available for patients when needed. However, the need for donated blood is always constant as blood can only be stored for a limited period of time.

Set a date to donate

When you go to give blood, you will be asked a series of screening questions about your health history. To donate, you must be at least 16 years old, weigh over 110 pounds, and be in general good health. Once you complete the medical screening, a brief physical examination will take place to measure your vitals.

If all requirements are passed, you will then sit in a comfortable chair, and the phlebotomist, a healthcare professional who is trained to draw blood, will clean the site. A needle will be inserted into your arm to draw the blood. Blood donation is very safe and does not hurt. All you should feel is a little pressure and a quick pinprick sensation. The actual donation only takes around 10-15 minutes.

After donating, you should rest for a few minutes and enjoy some refreshments. You will be able to resume normal activities within 10-15 minutes of donating, but you should avoid any strenuous activity immediately after donating.

You can donate blood every eight weeks, or 56 days.

If you would like to sign-up to give blood, Iredell Health System is hosting a blood drive with The Blood Connection from 9 a.m.  6 p.m. on Wednesday, February 8, at the hospital. To schedule your appointment, please visit https://donate.thebloodconnection.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/196130.

You can sign-up for other community blood drives by going to redcross.org or thebloodconnection.org and clicking donate now.
The rats are coming! The rats are coming!

No, its not a tagline from a cheap nature-run-amok movie currently playing on Pluto (the streaming service, not the dwarf planet on the edge of our solar system), but a terrifying forewarning I received by email.

The subject line read Experts warning for North Carolina households over rat invasion, as cold period drives them into homes.

If true, I suspect readers in neighboring South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia arent off the hook when it comes to the Great Southeastern Rat Invasion. Rodents tend not to respect state lines.

The frightening email came from The Pest Dude, which sounds like the guy no one wanted to sit behind in high school math class.

I swear, Ronnie, if you hit the back of my chair once more, I am going to beat the absolute $#@& out of you in study hall.

Instead, The Pest Dude (pestdude.com) is Zachary Smith from California, not Ronnie from 10th grade. According to his website, he is the trusted source for DIY pest control rather than an annoying punk who is going to get whats coming to him in study hall.

Rodents, above all other pests, are a public health concern as they can cause considerable damage to both residential and business premises, Smith/Pest Dude said. Not only can they damage the structures of both residential and business properties, but they can also significantly affect a business reputation.

That is true. No one wants to stop by Mamaw Berties House of Hotcakes and Travel Plaza for a late breakfast only to see an 8-pound Norway rat stuffing a dollar in the jukebox to play another Eric Church song.

Thats sure to get a bad Yelp review.

As temperatures continue to drop, were seeing an increase in service calls as rats continue looking for somewhere warm to spend the winter, The Pest Dude said. While most of us may associate rats with sewers and holes in the ground, brown rats are very nimble climbers, and can be found in attics and inside walls.

What can we do to stop this plague upon our homes and businesses? The Pest Dude offers seven tips, plus I have some added advice.

1. Seal entry points to your home. (In fact, I advise including doors and windows, covering them with thick, plastic sheeting and industrial-grade caulk, entering and exiting only through the chimney. In case there is no chimney, seal the house completely and move away.)

2. Trim all trees at least 3 feet away from the roof line. (Trees more than 3 feet away provide perfect sniper cover to pick off the rats one at a time as they try to enter the house.)

3. Check your vents. (Especially to make sure neighbors you have angered have not placed Welcome Rats signs above them.)

4. Clean up debris piles. (Who dumped all that trash in my yard? Ronnie, you son-of-a...)

5. Clean up rats favorite food such as fruits. (I was surprised to learn rats liked fruit. Years of watching cheap nature-run-amok movies suggested they preferred human flesh, especially those that escaped from clandestine government labs after growth serum experiments.)

6. Introduce natural predators. (A pack of rabid wolverines should do the trick. They may not get rid of the rats, but youll have a lot more to worry about than something skittering around the attic chewing on those old Billy Joel albums in the milk crate.)

7. Try repellents/hazing. (Hazing works well. Make the rats chug beer then paddle them and send them running through the quad in their underwear. Theyll either stay out of your house or join the frat.)

So, in conclusion, the rats are coming. Good luck, everyone (except you, Ronnie.)
ExxonMobil Hiring Technology Operations Specialist

Overview:

ExxonMobil is hiring an experienced Technology Operations Specialist at their Bengaluru location. The Global Business Center  Technology Center provides a range of technical and business support services for ExxonMobils operations around the globe. ExxonMobil strives to make a positive contribution to the communities where we operate and its affiliates support a range of education, health and community-building programs in India. Read more about our Corporate Responsibility Framework.

The complete details of this job are as follows:-

Roles and Responsibilities:

The Ideal Candidate should be able to:

Arrange commercial sample shipment to customers, OEMs, and labs

Coordinate external testing and related documentation, ensure appropriate allocation of test slots, organize oil sample shipment, monitor test progress, communicate test report

Update of 3rd party test catalogue and price lists

Assist audits in the area of 3rd party testing integrity.

Execute testing and data collection for small studies (prototype formulations, competitive benchmarks, etc)

Provide support for sourcing of new suppliers.

The Ideal Candidate should also have:

Work with Procurement to identify new suppliers of existing technology, based on technical, commercial and operation feasibility

Support product and component releases

Review and approve raw material waivers and shelf-life extensions

Handling questions on trade regulations, HS-codes, tax codes, Reach compliance

Help ensure for commercialized products all documentation, collaterals, labels are up to date

Coordinate claims management activities, including approval of marketing collateral, central SharePoint maintenance, claims renewals, etc.

Also Read

B.Tech Graduates Vacancy at Hershey

Eligibility:

Bachelors/masters in engineering in any discipline or masters in chemistry/allied subjects with minimum 6 CGPA.

Minimum 2 years experience in Lubricant Industry with knowledge of Lubricant products, test methods, Industry Standards, etc

Technically minded, Manages Risk, Adapts, Collaborates, Shows Initiative

To Apply for this Job, Visit Official Website

Disclaimer: The Recruitment Information provided above is for informational purposes only. The above Recruitment Information has been taken from the official site of the Organisation. We do not provide any Recruitment guarantee. Recruitment is to be done as per the official recruitment process of the company or organization posted the recruitment Vacancy. We dont charge any fee for providing this Job Information. Neither the Author nor Studycafe and its Affiliates accepts any liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any information in this article nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
A Longview officer is still on the force after sending inappropriate texts to a teenage girl about a decade ago and injuring another officer during training four years ago.

Department leaders say Terry Reece  a now 23-year veteran of the Longview Police Department  was given a three-day, no-pay suspension for texting the teen in 2014 while he was working as an officer at a local high school. Reece declined to talk to The Daily News.

Longview police spokesperson Capt. Branden McNew said a previous administration handled the decision to discipline Reece and that its a done deal.

April 11, 2014

A 15-year-old girl received a text message from an unknown person on April 11, 2014. The message read, Hey. You looked good the other day with your ripped abs showing. Wanna go to lunch with me?

Over the next five days, Longview School Resource Officer Reece would pose as a special needs student to deceptively ask out the sophomore, sparking an internal affairs investigation, according to Longview police documents.

The texts to the Mark Morris High student were sent anonymously; 13 more would follow.

Not knowing who sent the text, the student asked, Whos this?

Reece provided the name of a student that the documents described as having special needs and a history of saying improper sexual comments to her at school.

While using his department-issued cell phone, Reece sent more text messages, offering to take the student out for lunch. She declined.

Reece continued: Dont be so rude. Im buying. He added, Why dont you wanna go? He asked if she wanted to eat at Pho ever? Subway? Pizza Hut?

Again she declined, and again he persisted. Bakers corner has good strips! Papa Petes? Come on, name it.

In one message, Reece texted, I have a car, to which she responded, No, you dont.

Dont be so temperamental young lady, he replied.

What Reece didnt know was that the student found out who was texting her and told her mother later that day.

According to a police statement, the sophomore asked her mother after school why she gave her phone number to Reece. After responding she didnt, the student showed her the unsolicited text messages she had been receiving.

The sophomore told her mother that after another student said an unkind remark, she retreated into a school bathroom due to being upset. While there, she received a text message asking her to come out of the bathroom. When she did, the only person in the hallway was Reece, the mother wrote in a statement to police.

Reece later told the teen her mother gave him her number, a report states. In the personnel complaint, Reece began to say what he thought was the sophomores phone number, but he actually recited the moms cell number. The mother told investigators she never provided Reece with her number.

Reece, who has been with the Longview department since 2000, continued to text the student, asking her to go out for lunch  even after learning that she knew he was the sender.

Later that evening, the teens best friend said Reece asked for her friends number, and she gave it to him, according to the teens mom.

The mother mentions in her police statement that besides seeing Reece during drop off and pick up time at school, she had one previous encounter with him a month before at her work. There was one previous interaction between Reece and the sophomore when she and a group of friends played ding-dong ditch on him at his home.

April 14, 2014

After the mother was notified about the texts, messages continued the next day. Reece texted the sophomore, Have a good day at 7:42 a.m. and Nice shoes a few seconds later.

According to a personnel complaint with the Longview Police Department, at 10:53 a.m., she received another message asking her to Wait 4 me, but she didnt respond to any of the texts sent that day.

The mother writes in her statement that after being alerted to Reeces new batch of texts, she returned to Mark Morris High, where she talked with school officials who promised the situation would be handled quietly + swiftly during a meeting.

April 15, 2014

The following day was the last day Reece sent messages, again asking if the teen wanted to grab a bite. Unlike other days, Reece escalated the attempts by addressing the student in-person.

The sophomore told investigators she saw Reece standing near the school entrance with a few of her friends. As she walked in, she heard someone whistle but didnt know if it was coming from Reece.

Later, the sophomore received the text Hey at 7:37 a.m. and another a minute later, Wanna go to lunch today, but she didnt respond.

The mother writes in her statement to police that after the last text message, Reece said to the sophomore as she walked by, I guess thats a no, to which she replied, Its definitely a No!!!

The text message stopped after the verbal exchange.

The Longview School District alerted the Longview Police Department on April 15, 2014, that a complaint was levied against Reece.

Reece was removed from his role as a school resource officer at Mark Morris High, police records indicate.

When asked how the situation unfolded, Reece told the officer assigned to the internal investigation that he saw the sophomore wearing a top that was exposing her midsection and told her the top violated school dress policy.

According to the internal affairs complaint, Reece said the sophomore replied that hes not a real cop and that he cant do anything about it.

When The Daily News submitted public records request to obtain documents, the Longview Police Department said some documents pertaining to Reeces internal affairs investigation were destroyed in 2020 in keeping with their retention schedule.

However, The Daily News obtained copies of the Mark Morris incident via a source and Kelly Jensen, a public disclosure analyst of the Longview Police Department, later confirmed the documents for authenticity.

April 30, 2014

Reece was reviewed on April 30, 2014, under an internal tribunal for public sector employees that precedes discipline or termination. The hearing included former Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha and former Capt. Deborah Johnson. Officer Tim Deisher acted as his guild representative, according to documents.

Reece explained that the entire situation was a practical joke that got out of hand; that he was trying too hard to be funny when he obtained the number of the 15-year-old and then proceeded to ask her out for lunch multiple times.

He later said he did not intend to take the student out for lunch.

Duscha is quoted in the documents as saying that Reeces poor judgment could cause a shit storm for the department and that on face value the text looks bad in tdn, presumably speaking about The Daily News.

Duscha handed down a three-day suspension without pay. Reece didnt protest the results and accepted the punishment. He was later placed back into rotation on a regular patrol schedule, according to documents.

May 5, 2014, and beyond

Former Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney Susan Baur opened a potential impeachment disclosure into Reeces conduct at Mark Morris High but later determined that Reeces behavior didnt involve dishonesty, excessive force, or the quality of Officer Reeces work, according to records.

She chalked up his behavior to a lack of professionalism. While she acknowledged that Reece engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer, she believed his actions did not qualify as impeachment material.

In the five years following the events, Reece was investigated two more times.

In 2019, an internal complaint was filed against Reece after he inserted himself, without being invited, into a defense training session and injured a fellow officer.

According to police department documents, on March 19, 2019, a Longview detective demonstrated a tactic with three officers on top of him, attempting to remove his arms from underneath him and cuff him.

After the detective reportedly said Just dont touch my head, Reece, who was not part of the practice, allegedly said, if theyre resisting that much, I would just do this, and grabbed the mans head and chin and twisted his head fast and with force, according to police records.

The detective, who went to the hospital, told investigators he suffered a herniated disk in his vertebrae in his neck.

However, after the conclusion of the internal affairs investigation, Duscha wrote to Reece in a July 15, 2019, letter that the violations were not sustained. The investigation has been closed.

The second internal investigation was launched in reaction to Reeces statements during an interview about the detectives injury. The department questioned if Reeces remarks were possibly untruthful and if he was not being completely truthful when giving reasons for his actions.

Like the underlying accusation, Duscha sent a July 24, 2019, letter to Reece notifying him these allegations levied against him were not sustained, and that the investigation had been closed.
WASHINGTON  Lifting the statutory debt ceiling is set to dominate this years budget agenda. Republicans first need to agree among themselves on what to ask for in exchange.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Friday it is technically running up against its $31.4 trillion borrowing cap  as of Wednesday, it was just $78 billion away  and needs to dip into its tool chest of extraordinary measures to stay under the limit by this Thursday.

Estimates vary, but most analysts say Congress has until roughly August to act before Treasury is truly in danger of running out of borrowing room. If lawmakers dont move by then, it could cause creditors around the world to lose faith in Treasurys ability to repay U.S. debt and jeopardize government payments ranging from Social Security checks to military salaries.

So far, House Republicans are leaving themselves substantial wiggle room. A slide GOP leaders showed conference members at a closed-door meeting last week pledges only to resist a debt limit increase absent a budget agreement or commensurate fiscal reforms.

What that means at this point is open to interpretation. To some of the House Freedom Caucus and other lawmakers who ultimately agreed to back Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., it mainly translates into spending cuts. But theres little agreement on which programs to cut, and other demands have been discussed such as beefed-up border controls and looser restrictions on domestic energy production.

McCarthy told reporters Thursday hes ready to work with Democrats on a solution, saying he told President Joe Biden Id like to sit down with him early and work through these challenges.

But Democrats, whose votes will be needed in the Senate, are pledging not to negotiate. In fact, no major cuts or other concessions have been granted in debt limit bills since 2011, when a divided Congress and the Obama administration negotiated the pact that led to 10-year appropriations caps and automatic cuts in Medicare and other mandatory benefit programs.

Some are already floating the prospect of a discharge petition to force a clean debt limit bill to the floor, which would require six Republicans to join all 212 Democrats. Theres precedent for such a move, including the 2002 campaign finance overhaul and 2015 Export-Import Bank reauthorization, but its a rare and time-consuming process.

The most likely outcome may be that Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., broker a deal that can pass in the House with Democratic and some Republican support. Even then, it would be up to House GOP leaders whether to allow a vote on the measure.

Budget resolution

The first big test will come in early spring when House Republicans and their new Budget chairman, Jodey C. Arrington of Texas, write a budget blueprint expected to lay out a path back to surpluses within 10 years.

Budget resolutions are nonbinding and dont have to specify any particular program cuts. Its unclear whether Senate Democrats and their incoming Budget chair, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, will even attempt to write a budget.

And the numbers in the House blueprint will be stark  probably $10 trillion to $11 trillion in spending reductions over a decade, assuming room is left for extending former President Donald Trumps tax cuts  depending on the Congressional Budget Office baseline expected next month.

That alone could make centrist Republicans queasy, especially if the document has no chance in the Democrat-controlled Senate. And defense hawks within the GOP are already threatening to withhold votes on spending bills over the prospect of any Pentagon cuts needed to make the math add up.

I dont know very many that honestly want to cut defense spending. I think a lot of members dont understand that its over half the discretionary budget, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a senior appropriator, said Wednesday. And nobody I know wants to cut veterans spending. You start adding these things in, it gets a lot tougher than most people think.

Arringtons blueprint may skirt the question of how defense vs. nondefense discretionary spending is allocated, leaving that up to Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas  herself a defense hawk.

But the level of spending cuts required for a balanced budget typically leads to conversations about Social Security and Medicare, which combined make up about one-third of all federal spending. Thats exactly what Democratic leaders and the White House have latched on to, repeatedly taking aim at Republicans alleged desire to cut seniors benefits.

The 10-year plan would force them to slash Social Security and Medicare, Schumer tweeted this week in response to House GOP deliberations. Democrats will stand up for working families.

The GOP of old, embodied by former Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., used to make no bones about a desire to overhaul Social Security and Medicare, among other entitlement benefits.

Since former President Donald Trump exploded onto the political scene, a more populist strain has been ascendant, seeking to avoid cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits viewed as earned from decades of work rather than government handouts.

What we have been very clear about is, were not going to touch the benefits that are going to people relying on the benefits under Social Security and Medicare, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a Freedom Caucus member and one of the key negotiators with McCarthy last week, said last Sunday on CNN.

We will always protect Medicare and Social Security, McCarthy said Thursday.

Roy and his allies point to the draft fiscal blueprint proposed by Trumps former budget director, Russ Vought, dubbed A Commitment to End Woke and Weaponized Government.

Voughts plan has no cuts to Social Security benefits now or in the future, and claims the same for Medicare benefits although it would slice $1 trillion from payments to health providers who serve Medicare patients.

Vought, who now runs a think tank populated by former Trump officials, says other spending must first be targeted before the American people will agree to scale back the benefits theyve worked for. He decries the traditional view that has dominated in budget hawk circles, that the largest entitlement programs are where policymakers ought to look first.

When families decide to get on a budget, they do not target the largest and immovable items of their spending, like their mortgage, first. They aim to restrain discretionary spending  they eat out less, shop less, and find cheaper ways of entertaining themselves, Vought writes in the preamble to his 104-page document.

Politically, a similar approach is the only way the American people will ever accept major changes to mandatory spending, Vought continues. They are simply not going to buy the notion that their earned entitlements must be tweaked while the federal government is funding Bob Dylan statues in Mozambique or gay pride parades in Prague.

In a separate Sunday tweetstorm, Roy reiterated that the McCarthy-Freedom Caucus agreement does not envision Social Security or Medicare cuts. He used Voughts language in saying the deal instead would focus on cutting funds for the woke & weaponized bureaucrats that received massive increases under the $1.7 trillion omnibus.

Intellectually dishonest

Voughts budget would cut $3.5 trillion from nondefense discretionary programs over a decade and has other tough medicine such as more than $2 trillion in Medicaid cuts and repeal of the 2010 health care laws insurance subsidies, along with cuts to other mandatory programs ranging from food stamps to student loans.

Defense wouldnt be fully spared, with some $500 billion in projected cuts from the current baseline, though Roy maintains that defense cuts werent part of any deal cut with McCarthy.

But theres little chance such proposals could be enacted, and its not even clear a more basic budget blueprint with many details left out could secure enough House GOP votes.

Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack, a senior appropriator and former Budget chairman, talks more like a Ryan Republican when he says discretionary programs arent where the real money is.

This whole notion that were going to fix the fiscal trajectory of this country with food fights on discretionary budgets is intellectually dishonest, because thats not where the problem is. The problem is on the mandatory side, its in entitlements, he said. We are wasting a lot of time and effort if we are just going to focus on discretionary spending.

Rep. Earl L. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., who competed for the Budget chairmanship before losing to Arrington, agrees that you could take everything that you have in discretionary, do away with it and you still dont balance the budget.

He said mandatory spending has to be addressed, but in a way that doesnt cut benefits for current retirees or those retiring in the near future.

The Dems are gonna ... eat our lunch. Theyre gonna run commercials saying were trying to cut Social Security, Carter said. No, were trying to save it. Were trying to stabilize it.

Arrington in the past has talked of a combined approach, capping the growth of discretionary spending while considering tweaks to benefit programs such as raising the eligibility age.

For now, hes not suggesting any particular plan for the debt ceiling talks, only that some kind of action-forcing mechanism may be needed to address rising deficits and debt.

If the public believes that this is potentially as bad as Im suggesting it is, and that a debt crisis would be as disastrous and ugly as I believe it would be, then you know, I think the public is going to be very generous in saying you guys need to  work this out, Arrington said.







Living hand-to-mouth?

Its not clear theres time over the next six to eight months to resolve major structural spending and debt challenges, sparking fears that the immediate crisis will simply be about failure to act on the debt ceiling.

Lou Crandall, chief economist for Wrightson ICAP, an investment advisory firm that follows the Treasury debt market closely, wrote last week that based on the 15 rounds of balloting it took McCarthy to become speaker, raising the debt limit could be a long and tumultuous process.

The third quarter is when the final chapter of this years debt ceiling saga will begin, but not necessarily when it will end, Crandall wrote Jan. 9. He wrote that a dysfunctional Congress could force the Treasury to live hand-to-mouth through a series of interim debt ceiling increases for weeks or even months.

In one particularly frightening scenario Crandall outlines, lawmakers might pass a temporary debt limit boost lasting through Sept. 30, when a partial government shutdown would ensue if no spending bill is enacted. Some lawmakers, Crandall wrote, might see an advantage in aligning the two different deadlines in order to produce maximum leverage.
A Conroe brewery says its been inundated with harassment and some threats after announcing Friday that it would no longer allow a rally against censorship featuring Kyle Rittenhouse to be held there later this month.

Its been kind of a (expletive)storm, Southern Star Brewery CEO Dave Fougeron said Saturday morning. But now Im more certain than ever that I made the right decision.

Fougeron said he was unaware until a few days ago that Rittenhouse was the events special guest. And he disputed claims  including those from Rittenhouse and others  that the cancellation came after pressure from a woke mob or distributors such as H-E-B.

Rather, he said, it was primarily concerns from local patrons that led to the decision. Fougeron described himself as apolitical, and said his brewery, which produces well-known local craft beers such as Bombshell Blonde, strives to be a place thats welcoming to all.

Our place is super inclusive, he said. We are super pro-veteran, super pro-law enforcement. Were trying to be good people in the community. Were friends with our firefighters, with our police department. We have a lot of gay patrons who come in because its a place of inclusivity. Its crazy that were getting threats from people.

On Friday evening, Rittenhouse  who was famously acquitted of fatally shooting two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin, at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020  accused the brewery of censoring him.

Its really disappointing to see that places continue to censor me and not allow my voice and many other voices to be heard because they bend to the woke crowd, Rittenhouse posted to his nearly one million followers on Twitter. Other high-profile accounts similarly accused the brewery of censorship after it announced that it was canceling the event because it doesnt reflect our own values.

An event spokesperson confirmed the cancellation on Friday and said it was definitely getting rescheduled elsewhere.

The Jan. 26 event was also set to include a leader of TEXIT, a group that advocates for Texas to secede from the United States. The event organizer is Defiance Press, a Conroe-based publisher behind titles including Corona-fascism and a biography of Joe Arpraio, the former Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff who refused a judges order to stop racial profiling by his department.

Defiance Press describes itself as active in the fight against censorship through publishing conservative books which have been widely censored from mainstream media, and has also published materials that support Texas leaving the United States.

Rittenhouse has increasingly focused on anti-media and anti-censorship crusades since being found not guilty of homicide and other charges in 2021. The cancellation by Southern Star  which follows a few days of backlash  is just the latest controversy involving Rittenhouse to occur in Texas.

Last year, he announced his plans to attend Texas A&M University, a claim that he walked back after the university said he had not been accepted. Rittenhouse, an Illinois native, later said he plans to attend Blinn College, a two-year school in Brenham and Bryan.
The art and craft of investigative journalism often feels like a never ending work-in-progress.

And thats the way it was last week, after the news broke on Monday, and was confirmed by the White House, that about 10 classified documents (topics unknown) had been discovered in a Washington think tank office that Joe Biden and his aides used after his vice presidential term ended.

It was way back on Nov. 2  six days before the 2022 election  that Bidens personal attorneys found the documents in a locked closet in Bidens office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. Bidens lawyers reportedly called National Archives officials, who retrieved the documents the next day. Then the Archives called the Justice Department. Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel, Robert Hur, to look into the whole affair.

No doubt your inner investigative reporter is already asking: Who made the decision to say nothing about this newsworthy discovery in the following 67 days? And why was the secret stuff there anyway?

Maybe those secret documents actually were inadvertently misplaced, as Bidens attorneys said in a statement last week. But maybe those classified documents were intentionally misplaced so opposition researchers or reporters might never see them. It has been known to happen.

Maybe one of the veeps insiders saw something embarrassing and wanted to protect the bosss presidential ambitions? Was there anything that could possibly embarrass the boss? Oh yes  the embarrassment Republicans have long been blaring at us through their cyber-megaphones: Hunter Biden.

Perhaps there was classified intel stashed in the veeps closet about foreign governments discussing how Hunter was getting rich for being a son of a veep. Hunter made more than $1 million one year by serving on the board of Burisma, a Ukraine energy firm, when Biden was the Obama administrations lead official in dealing with Ukraine.

Sure enough, on Thursday I uncovered all sorts of documentation that surely would embarrass Biden and his team. Well, I uncovered it by taking the blue plastic wrap off my home delivered New York Times. And there they were: Two stories spread all across the top of the front page. But none of it was classified top secret.

At the top right was the headline: Classified files found at 2nd site linked to Biden. By the end of the day the White House was admitting more classified documents had been found in the garage of Bidens home in Wilmington, Delaware.

What Bidens White House didnt mention is they were found last Dec. 20. Why the delay? Just last September, Biden quite accurately called Donald Trumps efforts to hide and keep classified documents totally irresponsible. On Thursday he was incoherent as he tried to explain how classified documents ended up in the garage where he keeps his Corvette.

At the top left was the headline: The Tale of Hunter Biden Comes Front and Center. The Times unveiled a huge investigative report detailing the schemes by which Hunter Biden profited off his dads prominence in global policymaking.

The Times reporting also refutes many Republican exaggerations and distortions that claim Joe Biden profited from his sons profiteering.

When all the investigations are done, Hunter Biden may be found guilty of a crime. But what this was most of all was a horribly sad tale of a son of a famous father who had lost loved ones, fallen victim to drug addiction and alcoholism.

It was also a tale of a father (whom Ive known well) who was caught in a human dilemma when his unstable son repeatedly tried to profit off being a vice presidents son. And the father apparently felt that if he insisted his son stop profiteering from his fathers Ukraine policymaking role, he might push his son into a tragic relapse. Or worse.

Biden needed to confide his dilemma to President Barack Obama. Together they could have transferred Bidens Ukraine duties to someone else. Let Hillary do it.

But that never happened. So today, we are left to recall the old story of how Joe Biden reacted when he first heard that Hunter joined Burismas board of directors. As Hunter told The New Yorker in 2019: Dad said, I hope you know what you are doing, and I said, I do.

We will be watching a political payback re-dramatization of just what Hunter knew and did  and what he got for it  when the House Republicans showcase their hearings later this year.
During the last few months, it has been my pleasure in my new role as president of the Grand Island Independent to meet many of Grand Islands business leaders and community members  and I look forward to meeting many more.

As a lifelong Nebraskan, I am always amazed by the dedication of those who take on leadership roles in our communities with such commitment and generosity of their time and talent.

So many good people are doing good things. I have been particularly struck by the impact of womens leadership across the Nebraska communities where I have lived and worked.

In my previous roles with Lee Enterprises, I had the opportunity to be part of the Inspire Awards, which celebrates leadership across several sectors, including business, education, health and philanthropy. The program also awards an Inspire Scholarship and honors a Woman of the Year.

Inspire was founded as a way to celebrate these women who come from different industries and backgrounds but all share several traits  a strong sense of self, a success-driven work ethic, a desire to mentor and grow other leaders and a will to build a legacy of service.

Im excited about the opportunity to bring the Inspire Awards to the Grand Island community!

Nominees are submitted by community members and three finalists are chosen by an advisory board consisting of local business leaders and civic leaders. All finalists will be honored and the winners will be announced at an Inspire Awards luncheon on Wednesday, April 12, at Boulder Flatts.

Please visit go.theindependent.com/Inspire to nominate the inspiring women in your life. Whether it is a leader in your business organization, a neighbor, friend or associate, please share their story with us so we can recognize them for their contributions to our community. Nominations will be open through Feb. 28.

There are leaders everywhere among us, and its our privilege to help tell their stories and let their lights shine for all!
The Aurora Police Department is asking the public to help locate a missing elderly couple.

Bob and Loveda Proctor, 89 and 92, respectively, were last seen Thursday afternoon in Grand Island, where they had lunch at Applebee's. According to their son, Victor Proctor, the couple has no cell phone or credit card with them, and their dog and medications are still at home, indicating the absence wasn't planned.

As of 1:30 p.m. Monday, the couple was still missing, Victor Proctor told The Independent.

In an Endangered Missing Advisory about the pair, the Nebraska State Patrol said Robert Proctor needs medication for dementia and Loveda "becomes disoriented while driving at night."

The Aurora Police Department said the couple may be traveling in a blue 2007 Chrysler Pacifica, Nebraska license plate 1030 and a Navy Seabees sticker.

In a Facebook post, the police department included photos of the couple and what their license plate looks like. If you have any information please contact the Aurora Police Department at 402-694-5815.
People visit a coronavirus testing center near Seoul Station, Jan. 12. Yonhap



Korea's new COVID-19 cases dipped to the lowest Sunday tally in almost three months, as the government has stepped up efforts to contain the inflow from China.



A total of 32,570 additional coronavirus infections, including 104 cases from overseas, have been confirmed nationwide, bringing the total caseload to 29,806,891, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).



The tally marked the lowest for any Sunday since Oct. 30, when the country reported 34,491 new cases. It is down by around 14,000 cases from a week ago.



The country added 37 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 32,949. The number of critically ill patients came to 499, down from 505 the previous day, the KDCA said.



The Korean government has ramped up monitoring for overseas visitors amid the r



Of the 104 new cases of overseas infections reported Saturday, 64 were from China, the public health agency said.



Earlier this month, Seoul rolled out a policy requiring travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macao to produce negative PCR test results before boarding their plane in a bid to slow the overseas inflow of the virus. Travelers coming from China need to undergo post-entry PCR tests as well.



In apparent retaliation against the measures, China suspended new short-term visa issuance for Koreans. (Yonhap)


The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option.
Those old saws about new year resolutions have been all over television this week, and Im glad it doesnt go on for months like those slanted political ads that dont give us all the real information, just what they want you to remember.
SPRINGFIELD  The Department of Motor Vehicles has long represented a source of dread in Illinois and beyond. Many equate the DMV with long wait times, stale air and piles of paperwork.

Newly inaugurated Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias hopes to change that. As the states youngest constitutional officer, Giannoulias hopes to bring his youthful perspective to the task of modernizing the DMV and office as a whole.

Rejuvenating the office is at the top of the to-do list for Giannoulias, 46, who campaigned on the promise of modernization and the elimination of what he described as the time tax.

We are excited about bringing some of this new technology. We are looking at implementing our skip-line appointment program, which will reduce wait times, Giannoulias told Lee Enterprises in an interview last week. Were going to launch an electronic car title system to streamline the car registration process.

With more than 4,000 employees, the secretary of states office is the second-largest constitutional office after the governors office. Most know it as the unit of government that issues drivers licenses and registers motor vehicles. But the secretary of state is also the keeper of official state records, maintains the 20-building Capitol Complex and oversees the state library.

This is not Giannoulias first time holding a constitutional office. At 30, he was the nations youngest state treasurer when he was elected to that post in 2007. He lost a race for former President Barack Obamas vacant U.S. Senate seat to Republican Mark Kirk in 2010.

He returns to public office to succeed the longest-serving secretary of state in Illinois history, Jesse White, who occupied the role for 24 years. Whites press secretary, David Duker, told Lee Enterprises that Mr. White is very proud of the reforms and programs he administered and believes Alexi Giannoulias will do an excellent job in that position.

Giannoulias said his previous experience as treasurer smoothed his transition into office.

I do think that having served in statewide office before and having managed people, it provides some meaningful and crucially valuable experience, especially day one, said Giannoulias. We kind of hit the ground running because Ive had a transition before, weve hired senior staff before and having that under my belt has been enormously helpful.

Focus on customer service

Modernization was a key talking point in the general election race for the office, which saw Giannoulias defeat Republican state Rep. Dan Brady of Bloomington by about 11 percentage points. Despite their policy differences, the two found some common ground on the need for enhanced efficiency.

We agree that the technology side of things and the upgrades are very important to bringing the office into the 21st century and to help to reduce lines and wait times, Brady told Lee Enterprises last week.

Giannoulias invited his former opponent to serve on his transition team as he prepared to take over the office. Brady was appointed to chair a transition committee to make recommendations related to organ and tissue donations, an issue Brady is familiar with from his days as McLean County coroner. He will also serve on a committee dealing with driver's facilities and road safety.

What touches peoples lives on a daily basis in Illinois Secretary of State facility is the drivers services facility, said Brady.

During the campaign, Giannoulias espoused the creation of a digital drivers license or state identification card that could be accessed on residents phones. He also spoke about the potential to create an app that would allow residents to upload documents in advance and obtain step-by-step guidance for completing certain tasks.

I am committed to making the Illinois driver services and office facilities the most customer-centric and accessible in the country, Giannoulias said.

Another item on Giannoulias to-do list is enhancing the states automatic voter registration system, which is designed to add citizens to the voter rolls when they obtain a drivers license or state identification card. The current system offers people the opportunity to opt out and not register while visiting a drivers license facility.

Giannoulas would seek to change the system so that eligible voters who present proof of citizenship are automatically added to the voting rolls and would have to request to be removed.

This small change where someone gets their drivers license or ID and (they) are automatically registered, Giannoulias said, and they would have to proactively almost unregister  otherwise, they are voters.

Giannoulias predicts the back-end system would increase voter turnout by 20 to 30%. He also supports offering pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds.

A license to read

Giannoulias also hopes to modernize the literacy programs introduced by Jim Edgar, who held the office from 1981 to 1991 before serving as governor from 1991 to 1999.

The one thing about (the office of) secretary of state thats neat for me is education is a huge issue, Edgar told Lee Enterprises in an interview last week. Well, you think, what does the secretary of state have anything to do with education? Through the library, theres a lot of things you can do for education.

Illinois is unique in assigning the role of state librarian to its secretaries of state, he said. There's no office like it in the rest of the country, Edgar said. I think theres four or five secretary of states that are motor vehicle administrators but they arent state librarians.

Giannoulias has proposed what he has called a License to Read Program, a nod to the offices driver services role.

We need to make more resources such as e-books and other learning materials more accessible to more people through our public libraries, Giannoulias said. Libraries serve as the cornerstone of every single community. We want to provide them with more content and increase the availability of book titles for more people regardless of where they live.

Giannoulias said that one of his goals in office is to decrease the digital divide, or the discrepancy in accessibility of online materials.

This is an incredibly important part of the job, Giannoulias said. We oversee three library systems which comprise more than 600 (public) libraries across the state.

The office is also responsible for providing information to the state government.

It's important to remember that this office is really the only executive office that touches more lives on a daily basis than any other executive branch office in state government, because it touches peoples lives in so many different ways, Brady said.

Roughly 18% of Illinois adults have limited literacy skills, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

You have the opportunity to do a lot of good, to do a lot of good public policy if you want to do that, Edgar said.

Early action

Giannoulias first step towards doing good was signing an executive order for ethics on his first day in office. The order creates a more robust policy against workplace harassment and violence.

I want the people of Illinois to know that ethics and transparency will be at the forefront of every single decision we make, Giannoulis said. I promised during the campaign trail and in my inaugural speech that on my first day in office to sign an executive ethics order.

Some of the measures outlined in the order include ensuring state vehicles are only used to conduct state business, revamping the training for secretary of state inspectors and creating an Inspector General official email address where the public can send concerns.

People have lost trust in government. Theyve lost trust in the political system, Giannoulias said. Anything we can do to help rebuild that trust is important.

The ethics package also prevents workers in the secretary of states office from contributing to the officeholders political fund.

I promised that my first act as Secretary of State would be to sign an Executive Ethics Order to ensure transparency & prevent any ethical abuse. We will continue to build back Trust in government.#ilsos #GoodGovernance pic.twitter.com/pj7UF4sndD  Alexi Giannoulias (@ILSecOfState) January 11, 2023

I want the people of Illinois to know, whether youre a Democrat or Republican, to know that the secretary of states office will be transparent, will be free of any scandal or corruption, and that I will do everything I can to help rebuild trust in government, Giannoulias said.

Hours before Giannoulias took office, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a measure that authorized pay increases for constitutional officers as well as lawmakers and top agency directors.

Under the pay schedules outlined in the bill, the secretary of states salary will increase from $165,400 to $183,300. The origin of the measure was Pritzkers request that the General Assembly raise pay for his administration's agency directors to recruit and retain top talent.

I do think that no one should ever run for office because they want to make money, thats a fundamental belief of mine, Giannoulias said when asked about the measure. I also think that in this day and age we need the best and brightest in government, and people should be paid accordingly, and whatever we can do to get great minds and good people in office is important.

Photos: Illinois enacts safeguard for abortion patients, providers Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion Illinois Abortion
Psident Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee salute the Korean flag at a meeting with Korean residents in the United Arab Emirates at a hotel in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 14. Yonhap



President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged Saturday to establish a base for the future joint prosperity of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates as he began a state visit to the Middle Eastern country.



Yoon made the remark during a meeting with some 150 South Korean residents in the UAE shortly after arriving in Abu Dhabi for a four-day visit.



"The UAE, which is preparing for a post-oil era, and the Republic of Korea, with its innovative ideas and technological skills, are optimal partners," he said. "On the occasion of this state visit, I will establish a foothold for a groundbreaking leap for the future joint prosperity of the two countries."



Yoon noted that the UAE is the only Middle Eastern nation to have a special strategic partnership with Korea.






PHILADELPHIA  The honeybees looked perfectly healthy, buzzing about their boxy wooden hive on a warm autumn day in central Pennsylvania.

Elizabeth Capaldi suspected otherwise.

Clad in a protective white suit and hat, the biologist reached out with a gloved hand to capture one of the insects in a small vial, then took it back to her Bucknell University laboratory to dissect its brain.

Her colleague David Rovnyak later placed a sample of the bees innards inside a large metal cylinder and pelted it with high-frequency radio waves  a type of scanning technology that revealed the amounts of certain telltale chemicals within.

Their goal: to identify early warning signs that a bee is under stress, so that beekeepers can try to rescue a threatened hive before its too late.

Honeybees have been in decline for decades, causing headaches and higher costs for farmers who depend on the insects to pollinate their apples, almonds and 130 other fruit, nut and vegetable crops. The issue made headlines in 2006 with the emergence of a mysterious new phenomenon called colony collapse disorder, but the broader downturn in bee health was underway well before that, and it continues to this day.

The causes include climate change, pesticides, and disease, said Capaldi, who studies insect behavior and neuroscience at the liberal arts university in Lewisburg. In bad years, the combination of insults can wipe out more than half of a beekeepers colonies.

Honeybees are suffering, she said. All of these factors have united together to create a stressful environment for honeybee colonies across the country.

She and Rovnyak, a chemistry professor at Bucknell, realized five or six years ago that the problem might lend itself to an interdisciplinary solution. The pair joined forces with colleague Marie Pizzorno, an expert in viruses  as one factor in the insects decline is a virus that deforms their wings.

They want to to identify chemical stress indicators that become elevated in a bees brain months before the insect displays any outward signs of decline.

The cylindrical device Rovnyak uses to detect these substances, called a spectrometer, would be impractical for any beekeeper or farmer. But once the researchers determine which chemicals are the best predictors of bee health, they want to develop a low-cost test that could be deployed in the real world.

Double the cost

Every spring, just as the apple blossoms are starting to bloom, a flatbed truck rolls up to Hollabaugh Bros. farm in the middle of the night, laden with 100 honeybee hives.

Workers set up the boxy containers across 150 acres that produce more than 50 varieties of apples, said Ellie Hollabaugh Vranich, assistant business manager of the farm in Biglerville, just north of Gettysburg.

We try to get them spread out while its still dark, before the bees wake up, she said.

A decade ago, the farm rented the hives for $50 apiece. A few years ago, the price rose to $60, and this past spring, it was $100, for a total of $10,000, she said.

Beekeepers have cited a variety of reasons for the increases, such as higher fuel costs and disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. But every year, a major factor in higher costs is that many colonies dont survive the winter, meaning beekeepers must scramble to raise new ones in time for the growing season.

You cant just manufacture a bee on a processing line in a factory, Vranich said. They have to be bred and given time to develop new hives.

Experienced beekeepers such as Capaldi, the Bucknell scientist, can often tell when a hive is starting to fail simply by looking at it. Perhaps the insects havent amassed long-term stores of honey, subsisting instead on liquid nectar. A lack of a brood is another warning sign.

But by that point, it might already be too late.

A year ago, Capaldi judged that her eight hives at Bucknell were under stress, likely because the fall asters and goldenrods had produced less nectar than usual. So throughout the winter, she supplemented the insects food with sugar.

Even so, just two of the hives survived.

Finding the culprits

The first sign of trouble for the insects came in the 1980s with the introduction of a parasitic mite from overseas, said Pizzorno, the Bucknell virologist.

Relative to the size of the honeybee, these parasites, called Varroa destructor, are enormous.

Itd be like having a tick on your body thats the size of a dinner plate, she said.

Scientists later would discover that in addition to inflicting harm directly, the parasites also transmitted a virus to the honeybees that deforms their wings.

Researchers also have established that climate change affects the bees in a variety of ways, Capaldi said. Early warm spells or unusual rain patterns can cause flowers to bloom too early and disappear by the time the insects are looking for nectar.

Certain pesticides and other practices of large-scale industrial agriculture also can add to the stress, she said. That includes the way the bees are deployed, trucked from farm to farm where they subsist on one crop for days at a time.

Increasingly throughout the 1990s, beekeepers reported that some of their colonies did not survive the winter. Then in 2006, beekeepers discovered that some colonies were dying in an unusual way. Instead of dying in or near the hive, bees were simply vanishing, apparently flying off to die elsewhere.

In the meantime, significant fractions of colonies keep failing every winter  30% one year, 40% or 50% the next, according to surveys by the nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership. For now, breeders have kept up with the demand for new colonies. But at some point, maybe they wont, Rovnyak said.

It just seems to be getting more and more challenging every few years, he said. And theres no sign this is stopping.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential figures of the 21st century. King's tireless activism during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s improved the lives of millions of people, and his tragic assassination on April 4, 1968, marked one of the darkest days in American history.

King's oratory prowess is well-documented. Individuals across the globe are familiar with his "I Have a Dream" speech, which King delivered during the March on Washington. Less familiar are some other notable facts about the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

If he were alive today, Martin Luther King Jr. would still be years away from his 100th birthday. King was assassinated in 1968, when he was not yet 40 years old. Born in Atlanta in 1929, King could very much still be alive today and would have celebrated his 93rd birthday on January 15, 2022.

King was an extraordinarily gifted student. At an age when many students were preparing to enter their sophomore or junior year of high school, King began his freshman year of college at Morehouse College. King enrolled at Morehouse when he was 15 after the school opened enrollment to junior high students in an effort to overcome a dip in enrollment related to World War II. King passed the entrance exam and enrolled in the fall of 1944.

King was ordained as a minister prior to graduating from Morehouse. The Baptist ministry was something of a family business for the Kings, as Martin Luther King Jr.'s father, grandfather and great grandfather were all Baptist ministers. However, King did not initially intend to follow that path. He ultimately changed course and entered the ministry at age 18, graduating from Morehouse with a degree in sociology a year later.

King survived a knife attack years before his assassination. King was stabbed in the chest with a letter opener during a book signing event in Harlem in 1958. His assailant, Izola Curry, was ultimately deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial. Though the attack did not kill him, King had to undergo intensive emergency surgery and was hospitalized for several weeks.

Conspiracy theories surround King's assassination. King's assassin, James Earl Ray, was found guilty and sentenced to 99 years in prison. Authorities, including the United States Department of Justice, concluded Ray, a career criminal, acted alone. However, some, including surviving members of King's family, believed his assassination was part of a conspiracy.

Despite his tragic assassination in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. left his mark on the world. That legacy is even more remarkable when considering the unique twists and turns King's life took prior to his death.
Awesome.

Kelvin Gadson said the fourth installment of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. march was just awesome, man.

The youth, the kids that came, the parents that came here were awesome. It was all awesome, Gadson said.

Saturdays event included a march downtown to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the Orangeburg County Courthouse grounds.

For one of its participants, Amuri Allen, Kings impact meant a lot to him and his fraternity brothers.

We also try to make a change in communities as well, to continue his legacy and also to just feel, you know, equality throughout the community, Allen said.

For others, Kings legacy represents the way that African-Americans can live for the better.

Despite the fact that there's still stuff that hasn't changed, some stuff has. We couldn't whistle or walk around without fearing for our lives, Javon Feaster said.

Another person who came to celebrate and commemorate Dr. Kings work was Jehlon Sheard.

Its good to build the community strength and make sure that everyone remembers and never forgets, Sheard said.

Its a day to recall, the struggles and strife we went through before we got all the rights that we have today, Sheard said.

Alicia Austin said, I actually never did something like this. I'm actually trying to get more involved. It's good to see all of our people, our students doing this.

Water and food were served at the event. Children enjoyed face painting and making their own MLK-themed messages on signs.

My favorite part about today  it had to be the kids, the face painting. I loved that part, and marching when they were chanting with us, Gadson said.

It's just to keep Kings legacy alive and not to forget, Gadson said.

Its very important for me and my brothers to be out here at this event and to march with the youth. This shows that we came together once again to support the legacy of Martin Luther King and were just really supporting what he did, Allen said.
Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who visited Orangeburg, will be honored Monday, Jan. 16 with a street-naming ceremony.

Amelia Street in Orangeburg will be named Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard during the ceremony.

King delivered a speech at Trinity United Methodist Church in Orangeburg in the early 1960s, reassuring those in attendance that their cause was a righteous one, and he reinforced the importance of non-violence.

Dr. Kings speech lifted their spirits, making them all believe that anything was possible.

King also, was instrumental in inspiring the citizens of Orangeburg to zealously march, picket, boycott and demonstrate in support of their cause for civil rights. A statue of Dr. King stands along Amelia Street by the Courthouse.

The resolution also notes Dr. King gave speeches to students at both Claflin University and South Carolina State University, inspiring them to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

A march will begin at Trinity United Methodist Church at 9:30 a.m. and will go to the Martin Luther King Jr. statue on Amelia Street at the Orangeburg County Courthouse.

Participants are asked to line up around 9 a.m. at the church. The street dedication ceremony will begin at 10 a.m.

The ceremony will be hosted by Orangeburg County and the City of Orangeburg.

The naming of the street was spearheaded by Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler, who approached members of the Orangeburg County Legislative Delegation about honoring King. They unanimously agreed to the approach.

The S.C. Department of Transportation also approved the naming.

Amelia Street ends at Trinity United Methodist Church and the universities. King spoke at them all.

The street naming will be similar to how a portion of Boulevard Street is named Webber Boulevard in honor of the late Dr. Clemmie Embly Webber and a portion of U.S. Highway 301 is named Marshall B. Williams Boulevard in honor of the late senator.

Homes and businesses along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will continue to have an Amelia Street address for mail and other official purposes.
Few individuals in American history have made an impact as sizable as Martin Luther King Jr. King wore many hats throughout his tragically short life, from minister to activist to scholar, leaving behind a legacy that is worthy of celebration.

Though King was assassinated before he even reached his fortieth birthday, his life was filled with many notable events. Many of those events positively affected, and continue to affect, the lives of millions of others. The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University notes that the following are some of the major events of King's life.
Orangeburg Countys voter registration and election official is asking local lawmakers to increase the pay for poll workers.

They don't get much at all, Orangeburg County Voter Registration and Elections Director Aurora Smalls said.

Smalls spoke to the Orangeburg County Legislative Delegation during their quarterly meeting last week.

A poll worker gets $135 for working on Election Day, she said. That includes the time workers spend on training before the election.

Smalls said the $135 includes the training poll workers receive before the election.

That is not enough to attract and keep good workers, Smalls said.

Young people do not want to work a long day for little pay, she said. They have to be at the polls at 6 oclock. Polls close at 7. Sometimes they are not out until 7:30, 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock. That is a lot of work for a long day and the money they are getting paid.

We would like to pay them what they are worth, Smalls continued. They may not be busy all day, but it is their time they are putting in to do that.

Smalls said the Orangeburg County office is always short poll workers, explaining that four people are needed per precinct but oftentimes only one individual shows up.

Rep. Lonnie Hosey, D-Barnwell, requested a study be done on poll worker pay.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, asked if the pay is consistent across the state.

The pay is the same for the state, but some counties do give an extra amount to go with it but we have not, Smalls said.

Cobb-Hunter and Sen. Vernon Stephens, D-Bowman, encouraged Smalls to get in touch with the South Carolina Association of Registration and Election Officials to come up with a desired stipend amount for poll workers.

It is certainly something we should be able to try, Cobb-Hunter said.

Along the same lines, Stephens said he was pleased to hear from various county election officials that voter or election fraud was not an issue in the state this past November.

We have a lot of checks and balances, Smalls said.

Orangeburg County had a case of an elderly voter who did not understand the process and tried to vote twice  once with an absentee ballot and then in-person. She said it was not intentionally done.

We can catch that because once we receive a ballot back, we notate everything in the system, Smalls said. Once you request one, you can't come to early voting.

Any fraud that we receive, we have to report it. Whether we think it may be someone's oversight or someone's error, we don't have an option. It must be reported, Smalls said.

The Orangeburg County case, did not have a bearing on the election, she said.

That was an older person who did not understand what was going on and did not realize what had happened, she said. That was the only one I have ever had.

In other matters:

 Smalls asked lawmakers to review a situation where some streets in a new neighborhood off of Chestnut Street are divided into two precincts  Suburban 8 and Ward 10.

For example, Youngstown Circle voters vote in the two different precincts.

Why that is, I don't know but it doesn't make sense, Smalls said. It looks like an obvious maybe error.

It does make a difference on where they vote and what happens is the voters get confused, Smalls said. They are looking at their neighbor and they are saying, Oh my neighbor votes here. That is where I should vote. Why am I not here?

Smalls said the matter is also confusing to candidates running for office.

The delegation requested further information on the Census data to see if that was causing the confusion. Lawmakers said they will look at the Census data to see about fixing the problem.

 Smalls also noted there was a question about Ward 3 related to state House districts, noting that the precinct has been divided into a number of House districts.

Cobb-Hunter and Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, requested Smalls look at the 2024 map of House districts, noting they will be different than the current maps.

If we are going to change them, I think we ought to make sure we are only changing them one time, Cobb-Hunter said.

 The delegation was presented with three requests for Parks and Recreation Development funding: Lake Edisto Park, $65,592.02; City of Orangeburg Spray Park, $25,000; and Nix-Stilton, $14,239.36.

Lawmakers will review the requests before making a final decision.

 Harvey Elwood Jr., operator of WOCS 93.7 FM in Orangeburg, requested the delegation support the station's efforts to start a television network to the tune of about $250,000 in state money annually.

The network will cover Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties, he said.

Elwood said the station has received about $500,000 in U.S. Department of Agriculture funds and is seeking an additional $250,000 grant for a total of $1 million.

Elwood said the funding is the bare minimum to exist.

To be consistent, we need a consistent source of funding that comes from the state annually, Elwood said. We need sustainable financing and support to do this. We have been doing this on a shoestring budget.

The delegation took the matter under advisement.

 Lawmakers heard from several judicial candidates running for open judicial seats up for election Feb. 1.

Of local interest, Mandy Kimmons, who is running for Family Court in the First Judicial Circuit, Seat 3, made an appearance. The First Judicial Circuit oversees Orangeburg, Calhoun and Dorchester counties.

Kimmons is running for the seat held by Judge Nancy Chapman McLin, who is retiring. The successor will serve the remainder of the unexpired term of that office, which expires June 30, 2028.

 Appointed Orangeburg Boys and Girls Club CEO Laura Washington to the First Steps Board.

 The next scheduled meeting of the Legislative Delegation is Monday, April 10, at 5:30 p.m. in Orangeburg County Council Chambers at the County Administration building on Amelia Street.
Each January, Americans remember and reflect on the life of a man who stood up for his rights and the rights of millions of American citizens. Martin Luther King Jr. ultimately lost his life fighting for the rights of black Americans, and his courage is celebrated every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and a social rights activist who helped shape the American Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. King seemed destined for greatness at an early age and studied medicine and law at Morehouse College. However, he chose to follow in his father's footsteps and make a career out of his beliefs and religion. According to History.com, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor of divinity, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his predominantly white senior class.

Spurred on by social unrest and race discrimination, King's theology began to intertwine with his advocacy for the African American population. His style was peaceful protest, including boycotts, marches and empowered speeches. His ideals reflected his Christianity, while his operational techniques stemmed from Gandhi. King traveled over 6 million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action. In addition, King authored five books and numerous articles.

King is perhaps best known for his historic March on Washington, which drew more than 200,000 people to the Lincoln Memorial. The location was symbolic, as former president Abraham Lincoln also was an advocate for blacks living in the United States. It was here that King made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, emphasizing his belief that someday all men could be brothers.

Each year on or about his birthday on Jan. 15, the United States celebrates the life of Martin Luther King Jr., one of its greatest and most influential citizens.
The South Carolina Department of Revenue will begin accepting Individual Income Tax returns for tax year 2022 on Jan. 23, 2023, consistent with the date announced by the IRS. The filing deadline for both state and federal 2022 income tax returns is Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

Last year, more than 93% of IIT returns were filed electronically. Approximately 87% of refunds were issued by direct deposit.

"We are pleased that so many South Carolinians have accepted online filing and direct deposit," said SCDOR Director Hartley Powell. It's the safest, most accurate way to file and the fastest way to receive refunds."

File online

Filing online with a reputable provider is convenient, secure, and accurate. Many South Carolinians are eligible to file online for free with easy-to-use tax preparation software. Visit dor.sc.gov/iit-filing to view all of your filing options.

Make sure you have all W-2s, 1099s, and other necessary documents before you file. Year-end pay stubs may not match what your employer reports to us, which can slow down processing.

Choose direct deposit

Direct deposit is the fastest and safest refund option. Your refund is deposited directly into your bank account, so there's no need to worry about lost or stolen checks and no waiting on delayed or returned mail. Learn more about why direct deposit is the preferred refund option at dor.sc.gov/refund.

Allow time

for processing

and fraud prevention

We will begin processing returns Feb. 6, 2023 to allow employers time to meet the Jan. 31 W-2 submission deadline. Fighting fraud to protect taxpayer dollars is our priority.

Tax return and refund processing is expected to take six to eight weeks from Feb. 6 or the date you file, whichever is later, to allow the SCDOR to use all available tools to check for fraud and protect your refund.

Track your refund

Check your refund status anytime using the Where's My Refund tool at dor.sc.gov/refund. You can track which of the four stages your refund is in  fraud check, accuracy review, final verification, refund approval and preparation  and the estimated timeframe for each stage. Keep in mind that if you choose a paper check refund, your processing time may be longer.

New for the 2023

IIT season:

Military retirement pay exclusion. Because of a new law enacted last year, all military retirement pay is excluded from South Carolina Individual Income Tax beginning in tax year 2022. Reduce the retirement deduction and the age 65 and older deduction by the amount of military retirement deduction taken. For more information, refer to SC Revenue Ruling #22-11 , available at dor.sc.gov/policy .

Because of a new law enacted last year, all military retirement pay is excluded from South Carolina Individual Income Tax beginning in tax year 2022. Reduce the retirement deduction and the age 65 and older deduction by the amount of military retirement deduction taken. For more information, refer to , available at . Rebate recipients pay no state taxes on their payment. Those who received a state tax rebate in 2022 may receive a 1099G, but they owe no state taxes on their rebate, since it is considered a refund.

Those who received a state tax rebate in 2022 may receive a 1099G, but they owe no state taxes on their rebate, since it is considered a refund. An increase in the dependent exemption. The exemption amount for tax year 2022 is $4,430 and is allowed for each eligible dependent, including both qualifying children and qualifying relatives.

The exemption amount for tax year 2022 is $4,430 and is allowed for each eligible dependent, including both qualifying children and qualifying relatives. An increase in the Motor Fuel User Fee Credit . The refundable credit increases from 9 cents per gallon to 11 cents per gallon for tax year 2022. Full- or part-year resident taxpayers may claim the refundable credit for the lesser of the increase in South Carolina Motor Fuel User Fee they paid during 2022 or the preventative maintenance costs they incurred in South Carolina during the tax year.

The refundable credit increases from 9 cents per gallon to 11 cents per gallon for tax year 2022. Full- or part-year resident taxpayers may claim the refundable credit for the lesser of the increase in South Carolina Motor Fuel User Fee they paid during 2022 or the preventative maintenance costs they incurred in South Carolina during the tax year. An increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit. Full-year residents may claim the South Carolina Earned Income Tax Credit if they are eligible for the federal credit. For tax year 2022, the non-refundable credit is equal to 104.17% of the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit allowed the taxpayer.

Stay informed

Find more resources for the tax season at dor.sc.gov/iit. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to stay up-to-date with the latest news, tax tips, and available taxpayer resources.




French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed hope for visiting Korea at an early date to hold talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol, Seoul's top envoy here said Sunday.







Ambassador Choi Jai-chul said he presented his credentials to Macron at the Elysee Palace on Friday (French time) and then had an hourlong conversation, joined by several other new foreign ambassadors.







Macron was quoted as saying he hopes to visit Korea at an early date to discuss ways for the development of Seoul-Paris ties.







Yoon invited Macron to Korea during their talks in June held on the sidelines of the 2022 Madrid summit of member and partner countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.







There has been no visit by a French president to Korea for almost eight years. In November 2015, then President Francois Hollande made a state visit for a summit with then Korean President Park Geun-hye.







Macron visited Korea in November 2014 for a ministerial meeting while serving as minister of economics, industry and digital affairs under the Hollande administration.







Yoon appointed Choi as the ambassador to France last month. Choi previously served as ambassador to Morocco and Denmark as well as top envoy for climate change. (Yonhap)


Today is World Religion Day, which was started by the Bahai Faith in 1950 as a way to celebrate and discuss different faiths across the world.

In light of that, the Star-Tribune chatted with Katrina Bradley, a second-generation Bahai who lives in Albany County, about her personal practice of the Bahai Faith and what its like to be a Bahai in Wyoming.

What is the Bahai Faith?

The Faith finds its origins in Persia (now Iran) in the 1800s, when a young man who claimed he had a word from God shared his spiritual teachings. He took the name Bab, which means gate in Arabic. Though he was martyred several years after he began spreading his message, he was followed by Bahaullah, who Bahais believe was sent by God to deliver a new Revelation to humanity, a Bahai website says.

The scriptures of Bahai come from the two aforementioned Divine Educators, as the Faith calls them.

In a nutshell, the Bahai Faith is about unity. Its very important to Bahais that there is only one Bahai Faith, so there are no different sects of the Bahai Faith or denominations of the Bahai Faith, Bradley said. Anywhere you go in the world, you will find Bahais, and youll find them following the same guidance and doing the same kind of activities around their personal spirituality, around community-building, around, you know, transformation of society.

How is the Faith structured?

Bahais observe 19 months with 19 days in each month, along with four to five intercalary days. There are seven days in each week, but they begin the week on Saturday and end it on Friday.

Do they meet regularly for worship and fellowship?

The closest thing to what you would think of as a church service is called the Nineteen Day Feast, Bradley said. So every 19 days we get together, and worship together, and discuss any business that needs to be discussed and socialize.

This is done within local groups. So, since Bradley lives in Albany County, she meets with Bahais who also live in that region.

What does a spiritual walk in the Bahai Faith look like, then, if theres not a weekly meeting?

Theres personal practices, things like prayer, reading scripture every day, and then theres more like community service kind of things. Here in our community what we have is devotions right now, Bradley said.

Of course, you can schedule this however you want, but its really for the whole community, so ours is the second and fourth Wednesday of every month. And then, around the world, youll find that Bahais have four main activities, which (are) childrens classes, junior youth groups, study circles and devotions.

What kinds of scriptures do Bahais read?

They have their own  those are the teachings and writings of Bab and Bahaullah, as well as Abdul-Baha, who was Bahaullahs son  but they also read the scriptures of Christianity, Islam and other religions, Bradley said.

We believe that those are also the word of God, she said.

What about devotions?

The devotions that I mentioned are interfaith devotions, Bradley said. So what we do is we take a topic, and well look at scriptures from all different faiths. Weve had Christians and Muslims, weve had Hindus, and all different types of Christians have been involved in the devotions. So it really is about what we have in common  .

Bradley is also vice chair of the Wyoming Interfaith Network, where she works with other people of different faiths to increase religious literacy and better the state.

So  Bahais just believe what everybody else does?

No. The Faith is distinct in many ways, Bradley said.

So its not just a one-size-fits-all kind of a thing, she said.

But they are encouraged to engage with people of different faiths and beliefs and to find the common thread between their own Faith and others.

The quote is, Look upon them with a kind and friendly face. My belief is just that we cant accomplish much  none of us, no religion  can accomplish what its intended to accomplish all by itself.

There are teachings that are emphasized in all traditions, she noted.

 The spiritual teachings  unity, loving one another, generosity, kindness, all of those things  those are true across all faiths. Or theyre taught across all faiths.

Whats it like to be a Bahai in Wyoming?

I wouldnt say Ive encountered any direct opposition. Or its like, occasionally, I will encounter somebody who feels very strongly about their faith and that doing it a different way is wrong, Bradley said. But I havent encountered anything where anybody is outright mean, just maybe a little judgy.

And the beauty of Wyoming, she added, is that most people live and let live, in her experience. They have their convictions, and they let her have hers.
TerraPower, a renewable energy company, announced in late 2021 it wants to convert Kemmerers Naughton coal plant into an advanced nuclear reactor.

The hope is that the project could be the first step in turning Wyomings  and maybe the countrys  energy industry around.

But with stakes that high, is it worth the risk?

The urgency is there, and so the opportunity cost is there as well, Shannon Anderson, staff attorney for the Powder River Basin Resource Council, said.

The comments came Saturday during a debate over the proposed project at the Ramkota Hotel in Casper.

The discussion was meant to provide an informal, accessible place to mull over what the project means for Wyoming and the country.

The event was organized by the Casper Democratic Womens Forum, and moderated by Anne MacKinnon, an adjunct professor at the University of Wyomings Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and former editor-in-chief of the Star-Tribune.

Anderson spoke against the plant, opposite Mark Doelger, a Casper-based geologist and energy analyst, who spoke in favor.

The pair were were quick to agree that the project is, ultimately, a gamble.

Supporters hold the project out as a chance for southwestern Wyoming to save its energy industry, which is struggling to hang on in the midst of diminishing demand for coal.

A few months ago, TerraPower announced that if the plant is a success, it intends to build more in the region.

The project also has massive implications for the future of sustainable energy.

The technology the plant would use is relatively new. Existing commercial nuclear reactors in the U.S. are cooled with water, while the Kemmerer facility would use liquid sodium.

If done right, sodium-cooled reactors could be more efficient than their predecessors. There are probably eight companies investing the technology right now, Doelger said.

Were just seeing momentum grow in an unbelievable way because these are so much better than the conventional cold-water reactors, he said.

Thats in addition to the other benefits nuclear power has to offer: the carbon footprint of nuclear energy is low, but it also takes up less space than solar and wind projects, for example.

The federal government is so taken in by the TerraPower project that its agreed to pay for roughly half of its construction.

Past experimentation with sodium-cooled reactors has yielded mixed results, though. For that reason, there are still widespread concerns about its safety.

TerraPower says theyve kind of redesigned it in a way that will be different this time around, Anderson said.

The deadline is another source for anxiety. The approximately $2 billion the federal government is contingent on the plant being fully operational by 2030.

Even if the project gets finished, at 345 megawatts, itll produce a lot less power than most other plants.

It still costs $4 billion dollars, Anderson said. If were going to invest as U.S. taxpayers in energy, do we want that energy to be cost effective and affordable?

Originally, the plan was for it to be online by 2028. But that was delayed, in part, because the type of fuel the plant needs comes from Russia. And with the countrys invasion of Ukraine, TerraPower decided it would need to find another source.

For the plant to not be at the mercy of global supply chains, the U.S. would have to successfully mine and process uranium domestically  which would be a massive, expensive undertaking.

The good news is that uranium isnt hard to find. Its even more plentiful than oil and gas, Doelger said.

But the U.S. isnt really equipped to turn that uranium into the specific kind of fuel the new plant needs, at least not yet.

And historically, uranium mining has come at a substantial environmental cost, especially to Indigenous communities. The Navajo Nation has a ban on uranium mining for that very reason, Anderson said.

Then theres the radioactive waste. Theres no easy answer on what to do with spent fuel from nuclear reactors.

The plant could ship waste off somewhere else to be stored, but there isnt really political will for that. No one likes the thought of nuclear waste containers barreling down the highway on the backs of semi-trucks, after all.

Theres also reprocessing, where old nuclear waste is essentially recycled into new fuel. Reprocessing is currently illegal in the U.S., though in part because the byproducts of the procedure can be used to make nuclear weapons.

Assuming transportation and reprocessing arent tenable options, its probably best for the plant to permanently store spent fuel on-site, Doelger said.

Canada, Finland and Sweden are looking into new ways to dispose of nuclear waste underground, he added.

Innovation always comes at a high cost, Doelger said. There are a lot of unresolved issues surrounding nuclear energy, to be sure, but a lot of people are working hard on solutions.

I will end with a thought, not an argument, he said, taking a beat to pause. Energy is a messy business.
As I get older, I am starting to understand my grandparents better. I have seen things grow 
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during an event to sign an agreement on space cooperation at NASA headquarters, Friday, Jan. 13, in Washington. AP-Yonhap



Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Saturday he was hopeful for future ties with Korea, whose conservative government has sought to resolve a longtime dispute over wartime forced labor.



Kishida said that he and President Yoon Suk Yeol have committed "to resolve pending issues very promptly."



"We want to restore bilateral relations to a healthy state and develop them further," Kishida told a news conference on a visit to Washington.



He declined to speak directly on Korea's new proposal, saying he will "refrain from speaking on domestic developments."






A Tucson police officer shot and critical wounded a 27-year-old man just before midnight Saturday, officials say.

Officers were called just before midnight about an armed, suicidal man at an apartment complex in the 800 block of South Prudence, near east 22nd Street, Tucson police said in a news release. Callers said the man had a gun and a knife.

Mental health professionals tried calling the man to offer services, police said. In the meantime, 911 callers reported the armed man was running and yelling throughout the complex.

Officers searching for the man heard a gunshot. An officer opened fire as the man came out of the complex and walked toward officers, the news release said.

Officers immediately began life-saving efforts and the man was taken to a hospital. The man remained in critical condition, police said Sunday morning.

Police did not release the name of the man nor of the officer who shot him.

No one else was wounded in the incident.

The Pima Regional Critical Incident Team will conduct the criminal investigation. TPD also will conduct a separate internal investigation.
Members of Mariachi Aztlan of Pueblo High School gathered Thursday evening for two hours of rehearsal, putting in the practice that translates into live performances at private and community events throughout Tucson each month.

This summer, Mariachi Aztlans hard work may shine in front of a bigger audience, after the musical youth group was selected to represent Arizona in Americas National Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C.

But with their diminished funds due to the pandemic, the group is feeling pressure to raise the money needed to cover costs of the Fourth of July trip.

Im not sure how many groups have had the opportunity to be selected twice, so were very honored to have been selected again, Mariachi Aztlan director John Contreras said of this being their second time to participate in the D.C. parade. Our biggest hurdle now is obviously that costs have gone up.

Mariachi Aztlan was founded in 1992 by Tucson native Richard Carranza and has been led by Contreras for 18 years. The group has won first place consecutively the past seven years in the Tucson International Mariachi Conferences High School Division.

Governmental entities and state officials can nominate marching bands throughout Arizona for the chance to represent the state at the national Independence Day Parade. The Arizona Governors Office then makes the final selection.

Mariachi Aztlan was chosen to take part in the parade in 2007 and 20 students made the trip to D.C. that year. U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Tucson nominated the group both times, Contreras said.

'Playing catch-up' on funds

This year, Contreras hopes to take 26 students on the trip and the estimated costs stand at about $1,500 per student, he said.

Hes including four students who were members of Mariachi Aztlan during the pandemic days. They never got to travel for performances, so he has invited them to play with the group at the parade.

Contreras noted that prior to the pandemic, Mariachi Aztlan would play five to 20 paid gigs a month, such as at birthday parties, weddings and community events. During the pandemic, however, they were unable to perform live and their funds depleted.

They picked back up on paid gigs in March 2022 and have been playing catch-up with their finances ever since, he said.

A Mariachi Aztlan parent created a GoFundMe campaign for the Washington, D.C. trip last September, which had raised nearly 10% of its $36,000 goal as of Friday, Jan. 13.

That, coupled with money theyve earned from gigs and fundraisers, has put the group about one-third closer to their overall goal of $55,000.

Were hoping we can get people to help us with that final push so we can tell the kids, This is now a go, and we can focus on what we need to be able to offer the best performance and represent the state in the best way we can, Contreras said.

'I'm in my dream group'

For 16-year-old Alexis Vargas, a violinist and junior at Pueblo High School, it was a dream come true to become a member of Mariachi Aztlan.

She recounted how she felt the day she wore her official Mariachi Aztlan suit, commonly known as a traje, during a Mexican Independence event in Tucson.

It was incredible. I looked in the mirror and I was like, Wow, I'm actually an official Aztlan member'. Thats when it really hit me, Im in my dream group, Vargas said.

Asia Mojarro, a 17-year-old senior at Pueblo High School and lead violinist with Mariachi Aztlan, spoke proudly of the way the group overcame difficult, remote rehearsals during the pandemic.

Thanks to their hard work and dedication, she said, the group was able to return to performing gigs as soon as Tucson Unified School District officials gave them the green light.

I want to go and represent what is good about our school. We work hard to not only improve ourselves, but to improve our community, Mojarro said. We just really love playing around our community and making things more connected between cultures.

To learn more about Mariachi Aztlan events and fundraisers, visit www.mariachiaztlandepueblohs.com.
PHOENIX  Gov. Katie Hobbs collected nearly $1.5 million in donations from corporations and other special interests to cover the cost of her inauguration.

But the event cost about $207,000 to put on.

Thats going to leave her with a bunch of money she can spend on everything from gifts to visiting dignitaries to trying to flip control of the Arizona Legislature to Democratic in 2024.

A report of the donations, obtained by Capitol Media Services, also shows that Arizona Public Service, the states largest electric utility, was the biggest donor at $250,000.

APS had previously confirmed it gave money but refused to say how much. Instead, company spokesman Mike Philipsen would say only that APS was joining Arizona businesses to support the governors inauguration.

He also said the donation is directed specifically to the 2023 gubernatorial inauguration committee, meaning it can be used in support of all inauguration functions.

But the APS contribution itself exceeds what the event cost. What to do with the balance is now up to Hobbs, because she set up the inaugural fund under a section of the Internal Revenue Code that allows proceeds to be used for political purposes.

Ironic flip of APS script?

If she spends the APS money  and the surplus from the other donors  to help get Democrats elected in 2024, that would prove to be a bit of irony.

The company gave more than $850,000 to the Republican Governors Association this election cycle. That organization in turn provided more than $9 million to the Yuma County Republican Central Committee, which used the cash to run commercials seeking to defeat Hobbs.

APS would not comment on whether the donation to the inaugural fund  the largest by a factor of 2.5 over any other  was a way of mending political fences with the new Democratic governor as the companys investment in the Republican Governors Association is disclosed in public reports.

By contrast, Salt River Project donated $25,000 for the inaugural, and Tucson Electric Power gave $10,000.

There was no response from APS to multiple messages seeking comment on the fact Hobbs can spend some of its leftover money for political purposes.

Other six-figure donors

While APS was the largest donor, there were others in the six-figure range.

They include Blue Cross Blue Shield, which not only offers health insurance plans to state employees but also lobbies on insurance legislation at the state Capitol.

Also at the $100,000 level is the Realtors Issue Mobilization Committee. It provides grants to local Realtor associations to advocate on public policy issues. Its funding was cited by the Arizona Association of Realtors in a successful 2016 campaign to add a measure to the state constitution forever prohibiting the taxing of services such as real estate services.

Contributors to the Hobbs Inaugural Fund Acadia Healthcare Company Inc FedPAC  $10,000.00

Altria Client Services, LLC  $10,000.00

Amazon  $10,000.00

APS  $250,000.00

Arizona Association Community Managers  $10,000.00

Arizona AT&T Employees PAC  $5,000.00

Arizona Chapter of NAIOP Inc.  $10,000.00

Arizona Dispensary Association  $25,000.00

Arizona Food Marketing Alliance  $5,000.00

Arizona Governmental Affairs  $5,000.00

Arizona Indian Gaming Association  $5,000.00

Arizona Rock Products Association  $15,000.00

Arizona Trucking Association  $5,000.00

Arthur Pelberg  $1,000.00

Associated Highway Patrolmen of Arizona PAC  $5,000.00

Asurion  $5,000.00

Aveda Institute Tucson  $1,000.00

AZAHP, Inc  $10,000.00

Bijan Ansari  $5,000.00

Blue Cross Blue Shield  $100,000.00

Bobette Gorden  $5,000.00

Bowlin Travel Centres Inc.  $5,000.00

Cecil Patterson  $3,000.00

Cheryl Najafi  $25,000.00

Christine E. Augustine  $5,000.00

Click Automotive  $5,000.00

Client Network Services  $10,000.00

Coalition for the Enhancement of Pre-Hospital Care  $5,000.00

Comcast Corporation  $5,000.00

Community Health Systems, Inc.  $10,000.00

Community Medical Services  $5,000.00

CRNAS of Arizona PAC  $10,000.00

CVS Health  $25,000.00

Dairymen for Arizona  $10,000.00

Daryl Kling  $5,000.00

Donalyn Mikles  $25,000.00

Education Choices For Arizona  $10,000.00

Elevation Health Services LLC  $5,000.00

Enterprise Holdings Inc PAC  $10,000.00

Environmental Defense Fund  $17,500.00

FirstStrategic  $5,000.00

Gary Willman  $5,000.00

Global External  $10,000.00

Go West CU Association  $5,000.00

Gonzalo De La Melena  $5,000.00

Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association  $5,000.00

Greater Phoenix Leadership  $50,000.00

Health System Alliance of Arizona  $25,000.00

Hensley Beverage Company  $10,000.00

Home Builders Association of Central Arizona  $10,000.00

Honeywell International PAC  $25,000.00

Horizon Strategies, LLC  $5,000.00

Husch Blackwell Strategies  $5,000.00

Irrigation Electrical  $2,500.00

Ivory Price  $5,000.00

Jack Henness  $500.00

Jane Dowling  $5,000.00

Jason Barraza  $1,000.00

Jeff Einbinder  $25.00

John W. Graham  $10,000.00

Jonathan Keyser  $5,000.00

JV Farms, Inc  $5,000.00

Karen Gresham  $5,000.00

Kathleen Hager  $50.00

Keith Beauchamp  $5,000.00

Kutak Rock LLP PAC  $5,000.00

Lisa Urias  $500.00

Local First Arizona Foundation  $5,000.00

Lockheed Martin Employee PAC  $5,000.00

M. Quinn Delaney  $5,000.00

Matthew Benson  $500.00

McKone Strategies  $5,000.00

Michael Johnson  $10.00

Michael Racy  $5,000.00

Michael Trauscht  $1,000.00

Mischelle McMillan  $25.00

Mohit Asnani  $25,000.00

NAPHCARE Arizona, LLC  $25,000.00

National Audubon Society Action Fund  $2,500.00

National Credit Alliance  $5,000.00

Nestor Guzman  $10,000.00

OneMain General Services Corp.  $1,000.00

Oportun, Inc.  $1,000.00

Painters Allied Trades District Council 36  $10,000.00

Pam Grissom  $10,000.00

Realtors Issues Mobalization Committee  $100,000.00

Reginald M. Ballantyne III  $10,000.00

Republic Services  $5,000.00

Richard K. Parrott  $5,000.00

Robert Frampton  $25.00

Robyn Debell  $250.00

Rock Holdings, Inc.  $10,000.00

Russell Smoldon  $5,000.00

Salt River Project  $25,000.00

Sharon Harper  $5,000.00

Shawn Pearson  $5,000.00

Sheila Kloefkorn  $5,000.00

Southwest Mountain States/Regional Council of Carpenters  $25,000.00

Suma Hodge  $2,500.00

Summit Consulting Group, Inc.  $5,000.00

Suns Legacy Partners, LLC  $10,000.00

Sunshine Residential Homes Inc.  $100,000.00

Tanae Morrison  $2,500.00

Tania Torres  $2,500.00

Taylor Morrison, Inc.  $25,000.00

Tenet Healthcare Corporation  $5,000.00

The Coyotes  $10,000.00

The Gowan Company, LLC  $10,000.00

The Studio Academy of Beauty  $1,000.00

Todd Pearson  $5,000.00

Tohono O'Odham Nation  $25,000.00

Tucson Electric  $10,000.00

Union Pacific Corporation Fund for Effective Government  $26,450.00

Valley Partnership  $10,000.00

Victor Smith  $5,000.00

Vimo INC  $5,000.00

Walter Johnson  $25.00

Wells Fargo & Company  $10,000.00

Western Alliance Bank  $10,000.00

William Perry  $50,000.00 Source: Hobbs Inaugural Fund

Sunshine Residential Homes, which provides care to children removed from their homes by the state Department of Child Safety, kicked in $100,000.

There also was a $50,000 donation from William Perry, owner of William K. Perry Farms. which grows cotton and alfalfa.

The Union Pacific Corporation Fund for Effective Government kicked in $26,450.

There were $25,000 donations from the Tohono Oodham Nation, Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters, homebuilder Taylor Morrison, the Arizona Dispensary Association that represents marijuana shops, the Health System Alliance of Arizona which lobbies on behalf of major hospitals, Honeywell International PAC and several individuals.

And there are a series of $10,000 and $5,000 donations, a few smaller; and one at $25.

The amounts donated are far in excess of what anyone could legally have given Hobbs  or any other candidate for statewide office  for their campaigns.

For the election just completed, Arizona law limited individual donations for statewide candidates to $5,300. Even political parties could give no more than $80,300 to a partys nominee.

And corporate donations to candidates  the kind that went to pay for the inaugural  are entirely prohibited.

Pressure to disclose

It wasnt just Hobbs collecting money for the inaugural.

It turns out there was a separate State Inaugural Fund that received donations and pledges of about $85,000, the largest of which was $25,000 from food giant conglomerate Pepsico. Those dollars will be used to pay for event-production expenses, said Hobbs press aide Murphy Hebert.

Hobbs has been under pressure to release information on the sources of funds for the inaugural event since Capitol Media Services first wrote at the beginning of the month that she was not fully disclosing the names of all the individuals or corporations paying for the celebration.

She subsequently put a full list of the names in a booklet that was given out at the Jan. 5 event and listed them on an inaugural website. But this is the first time there is a full accounting of how much each donated.

With the inauguration events now behind us, we are fulfilling the governors commitment to transparency by disclosing the donations made to the Inaugural Fund as well as expenditures from the fund that helped cover the costs of the Jan. 5 inauguration ceremony, Nicole DeMont, director of the inaugural committee, said in a prepared statement.

Part of what makes the excess inaugural money noteworthy is what Hobbs gets to do with it, which differs from what happened with her three most recent predecessors.

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey raised outside money, including at his second inaugural in 2019 where he sold tickets for the best seats to the event. For example, a $25,000 donation got six seats up front, three parking passes, six reception tickets, three photos and six inaugural pins.

But what was left over after paying costs was placed into the protocol fund that governors can use for things like gifts to dignitaries. Arizona law requires governors to annually account for how that money is spent.

In 2011 when Republican Gov. Jan Brewer was sworn in, she raised $200,000 from lobbying firms, business interests and the states major utilities. When the event didnt cost that much, leftover funds were earmarked to refurbish the governors offices, particularly to pay for new carpeting.

Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitanos 2007 inauguration raised $150,000 from private sources to supplement the $60,000 budgeted in state funds, with no indication of anything left over.

By contrast, Hobbs set up her inaugural committee as a social welfare organization, a category under the Internal Revenue Code for nonprofits that allows at least a portion of the funds to be used for political purposes.

That 501(c )(4) category is the same one, for example, the Free Enterprise Club is in. The club has used its status to promote candidates of its choice through independent expenditures for things like commercials.

Hobbs may use at least part of whats left over after paying expenses to run the same kind of independent expenditure campaigns in 2024 to get a Legislature more to her liking.

There was no disclosure of who attended Hobbs $150-a-head inaugural ball on the Saturday after she was sworn in. A spokesman said that had nothing to do with the inaugural committee, with the funds raised going to the Arizona Democratic Party.
Storm-battered California -- still reeling from weeks of deadly flooding, mudslides and rescues -- is being hit with more rainfall over the weekend.

An unrelenting string of atmospheric rivers -- long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that can carry moisture thousands of miles -- have turned communities into lakes, crippled highways and prompted thousands of evacuations, including earlier this week. At least 19 people have died as a result of the storms.

Two more are pummeling the state this weekend.

"This isn't over; we must remain vigilant. Stay safe, make the necessary preparations, and limit non-essential travel," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. "Floods, landslides, and storms don't care who you are or where you live -- it'll hit you just the same. We have lost too much -- too many people to these storms and in these waters."

More than 25 million people were under flood watches Saturday night across much of California's central coastline, as well as the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.

A slight risk of excessive rainfall -- level 2 out of 4 -- is in place for areas along the California coast, the Transverse Ranges, and the foothills of the Sierras where up to 3 inches of rain could lead to flooding and mudslides, the National Weather Service said.

Residents in Monterey County, on California's Central Coast, were ordered to evacuate low-lying areas of the Carmel River Saturday afternoon. Sacramento County officials ordered residents of the Wilton area to flee -- once again -- due to an anticipated rise in the Cosumnes River.

"People are fatigued about evacuation orders. People are fatigued by seeing those Caltrans signs saying 'detour' -- they're just fatigued generally," Newsom said, speaking from a flood evacuation shelter at the Merced County Fairgrounds.

President Joe Biden on Saturday approved California's request for a disaster declaration, freeing up federal aid to supplement recovery efforts in areas of the state affected by storms, flooding and mudslides since December 27, the White House said.

"This federal aid is key to recovery efforts so Californians can get back on their feet faster," Newsom said in a tweet thanking Biden for approving the declaration.

The first system of the weekend arrived at California's coast Saturday afternoon and was expected to move inland, bringing heavy rain across the state "as another surge of Pacific moisture streams ahead of the main cold front," the National Weather Service said.

Lighter rainfall is expected to continue Sunday, before another "ramp-up" late Sunday into early Monday ahead of a second system, the weather service said.

The new round of heavy rainfall comes after numerous areas already saw 50% to 70% of the amount of precipitation that they would usually get in a whole year in 16 days.

San Francisco has recorded one of its top 15 wettest winters on record.

Newsom said it was just weeks ago that authorities in Southern California extended a drought emergency to millions of residents. Now, the state is inundated with rain.

"By some estimates 22 to 25 trillion gallons of water have fallen over the course last 16-17 days -- the stacking of these atmospheric rivers the likes of which we've not experienced in our lifetimes," the governor said. "The reality is this is just the eighth of what we anticipate will be nine atmospheric rivers."

'The grounds are overwhelmed'

Though this weekend's rainfall totals will be less than in previous storms, the threshold for flooding is much lower now because the ground is too saturated to absorb any more water in many areas.

"The challenges will present themselves over the course of the next few days rather acutely, particularly because everything's saturated, particularly because the grounds are overwhelmed." Newsom said. "What may appear less significant in terms of the rainfall may actually be more significant in terms of the impacts on the ground and the flooding and the debris flow."

Widespread rainfall totals through Monday will range between 2 to 3 inches along the coast and interior valleys, with 4 to 6 inches possible for the San Francisco Bay area and the nearby Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia mountains. This will likely lead to a few instances of flooding as well as mud, rock and landslides.

River flooding is also a major concern, particularly around the Russian River in Northern California and the Salinas River near Monterey.

Monterey County officials warned this week that flooding from the rising Salinas River could turn the area into an island and cut it off from essential services.

To the east, in Merced County, crews rushed to place rocks in the Bear Creek area ahead of the storm's arrival, worried that high-water conditions could continue to erode the levee and eventually lead to levee failure in the downtown area of Merced.

Storm hampers search for 5-year-old swept away by floodwater

The storm is hampering the continued search for 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was pulled from his mother's hands by rushing floodwater on Monday.

"The water levels continue to rise in the area and the weather conditions are unsuitable for any type of search activity today ... The search will continue when weather and conditions allow," the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office said Saturday.

The child and his mother were on the way to school Monday when floodwater overwhelmed their SUV. The mother managed to remove Kyle from his car seat and held onto him but their hands slipped and they were separated.

The mother was later pulled safely out of the water. But Kyle has not been found.

Members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office Dive Team, the Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team, and California Highway Patrol air units were looking for the boy. Troops from the National Guard were previously involved with the search but have since been released from the mission.

The-CNN-Wire
Editor's note: This story is part of Care in Crisis, an investigative series that observes the current state of the nursing home system in the West. The project focuses on four states that have struggled more than most with staffing shortages, high turnover rates and other obstacles: Montana, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska.

Medicaid is a state-federal partnership that brings health insurance to low-income Americans and covers many long-term care services. Each state invests money into its own Medicaid program. The feds provide matching funds, generally offering higher rate matches to poorer states.

Medicaid is the primary payer in long-term care. Medicare covers short-term rehabilitation in nursing homes but not long-term care.

Researchers say most of the nursing home sector agrees reimbursement rates are significantly lower than costs of care  especially given government requirements for quality and compliance in nursing homes.

Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism team looked at four states in its west region  Montana, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska  in which nursing homes are asking for more Medicaid funding and rank poorly in certain metrics nationally, such as federal quality ratings, staff shortages or turnover rates.

The sector is asking urgently in some states for their governments to boost Medicaid reimbursement rates to close widening cost gaps and pay competitive wages to provide quality care as baby boomers are set to inundate nursing homes.

Montana

Montana has the highest nursing staff turnover rate in the nation at 63.6% and ranks 35th in federal quality ratings at 2.88 on a five-point scale.

Two sector leaders characterized Montanas nursing home base Medicaid rate of $207 per resident per day as laughable in a Department of Public Health and Human Services public hearing in July.

In November, a state-funded study recommended a base rate $70 higher than currently  or an additional $54.2 million yearly combined from the state and feds.

But DPHHS then proposed covering 58% of the funding gap in the next fiscal year and 36% in the second year of the biennium budget offered by GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte.

In a legislative budget hearing, DPHHS Director Charles Brereton said the state wants to stabilize nursing homes and doesnt want to risk overfunding certain providers, describing the proposal as reasonable and appropriate and fiscally sound.

Democratic Sen. Mary McNally said she wouldnt expect the Legislature to agree to fund at 100% but proposing only 36% in the budget's second year is a stunning way to not measure up to the study.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma has the nation's second-highest nursing staff turnover rate at 61.4% and ranks 44th in average federal quality ratings at 2.65 on a five-point scale.

Steve Buck, president and CEO of Care Providers Oklahoma, said financial analysis suggests the states Medicaid reimbursement rate will be about $43.50 per resident per day short of covering cost of care after a temporary COVID-19 supplemental payment of $35 to $38 expires.

Care Providers Oklahoma is asking the state to find an approach that binds the Medicaid reimbursement rate to audited cost reports  an estimated additional $58-63.8 million investment annually from the state.

But the states health care authority prefers more of a performance- or outcome-based model because it says cost of care varies widely and isnt always an indicator of quality.

Texas

Texas has the fifth highest nursing staff turnover rate in the nation at 59.5% and ranks 48th in average federal quality ratings at 2.55 on a five-point scale.

Texas Health Care Association is asking its state Legislature to appropriate an additional $450 million yearly in general fund revenue toward the Medicaid base rate  an increase of $38 per resident per day.

THCA President and CEO Kevin Warren said the only Medicaid daily rate increases since 2010 were in fiscal years 2014 and 2015.

Warren said that even with THCAs request the Medicaid rate would only be at 84% of the funding methodology established by the Legislature. If no action is taken, Warren said the gap will become about $80 after a COVID-19 supplemental payment of $19.63 ends.

Republican Sen. Charles Perry, vice-chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, in an August hearing suggested temporary action but cautioned against any permanent moves because he feels private sector competitor wages will come down if we can just ride this out for a year or two.

Nebraska

Nebraska has the 22nd highest nursing staff turnover rate in the nation at 55.3% and ranks 16th highest in average federal quality ratings at 3.08 on a five-point scale.

The Legislature raised the Medicaid rate for its nursing homes by an average of about $25 per resident per day this year to replace a pandemic supplemental of $20, according to the Nebraska Health Care Association.

While grateful for the increase, NHCA said about half of the Medicaid gap remains unaddressed. A study commissioned by NHCA found that annual appropriations would need to be boosted by $60 million to fill the remaining hole.
LONDON  U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine, amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks.

Nine people were killed and 64 others wounded in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where a Russian missile strike destroyed a section of an apartment building, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office.

Infrastructure facilities were also hit in the western Lviv region and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, in the Odesa region on the Black Sea and in northeastern Kharkiv. Kyiv, the capital, also was targeted.

Sunak made the pledge to provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, the British leader's Downing Street office said in a statement.

It didn't say when the tanks would be delivered or how many. British media have reported that four British Army Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be sent to Eastern Europe immediately, with eight more to follow shortly after, without citing sources.

Zelenskyy tweeted his thanks to Sunak on Saturday "for the decisions that will not only strengthen us on the battlefield, but also send the right signal to other partners."

Ukraine has for months sought to be supplied with heavier tanks, including the U.S. Abrams and the German Leopard 2 tanks, but Western leaders have treaded carefully.

The Czech Republic and Poland provided Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukrainian forces. Poland also expressed readiness to provide a company of Leopard tanks, but President Andrzej Duda stressed during his recent visit to the Ukrainian city of Lviv that the move would be possible only as an element in a larger international coalition of tank aid to Kyiv.

Russian forces fired missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday in the first major barrage in days.

In Dnipro, rescuers used a crane to try to evacuate people trapped in the apartment building's upper stories, some of whom were signaling with the flashlights on their mobile phones, Tymoshenko said on Telegram. He said there were likely people under the rubble.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said two Russian missiles hit an infrastructure object again on Saturday afternoon, following a similar attack in the morning. In the city of Kharkiv, the subway suspended operations amid the attacks, according to its Telegram channel.

Another infrastructure facility was hit in the western Lviv region, according to Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi.

Air defense systems were activated in other regions of Ukraine, as well, and as another round of air raid sirens sounded across the country in the afternoon, regional officials urged local residents to seek shelter.

Vitali Kim, governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, hinted in a Telegram post that some missiles were intercepted over his province.

Military top commander Valeri Zaluzhny said that Russia fired 33 cruise missiles overall on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down.

Earlier in the day, explosions rocked Kyiv. The blasts occurred before air sirens sounded, which is unusual.

According to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles  which are faster than cruise missiles or drones  from the north. "The ballistics are not easy for us to detect and shoot down," he said. The warning about the missile threat was late because of the lack of radar data and information from other sources.

An infrastructure target was hit in the morning missile attack, according to Ukrainian officials.

Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district, a residential area on the left bank of the Dnieper River, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Klitschko also said fragments of a missile fell on a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district on the right bank, and a fire briefly broke out in a building there. No casualties were immediately reported.

This was the first attack on the Ukrainian capital since Jan. 1.

On Saturday morning, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The strikes with S-300 missiles targeted "energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the (outlying) region," Syniehubov said. No casualties were reported but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible, the official said.

In the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine where fighting is intense, three people were killed in Russian artillery attacks on Saturday, Mayor Vitalii Barabash said. One person died in a rocket attack in Kryvyi Rih, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an official said.

Hanna Malyar, Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said Saturday the "fierce battles for Soledar are continuing."
President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin, right, talks with U.S. President Joe Biden, left, after attending the seventh replenishment conference of the Geneva-based Global Fund in New York, last September. Newsis



By Lee Yeon-woo



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs filed a lawsuit against MBC, requesting a correction to its previous report on President Yoon Suk Yeol's remarks caught on a hot mic during his visit to New York last September.



The foreign ministry filed a lawsuit against MBC CEO Park Sung-jae with the Seoul Western District Court last Dec. 19, according to sources in legal circles on Sunday.



Yoon's verbal gaffe was caught on a hot mic during his trip to New York last September. His remarks, which were not clear due to noise, were broadcast by MBC with a subtitle that indicated foul language directed to the U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Congress.



Last October, the ministry filed a complaint to the Press Arbitration Commission requesting that the broadcaster issue a correction. The result was not successful as both sides failed to reach an agreement on the issue. If the arbitration fails, one can proceed to file a lawsuit.



MBC refused to issue a correction at the time, because it does not consider the report to be "false."



The foreign ministry explained on Sunday that the lawsuit has been filed to "correct the facts" and "restore trust to Korea's diplomacy." It said that "MBC's 'incorrect' media reports damaged Korea's credibility in diplomatic activities both at home and abroad."



"As a department that manages Korea's alliance with the United States  at the core of Korea's diplomacy  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the biggest victim in the MBC report and has the right to file a lawsuit," it added.


The first Gilcrease in Your Neighborhood program, which set up reproductions of one of the works from the museums permanent collection at public venues throughout the city, will conclude at the end of January.

The work in question is Forest Scene, by Taos Pueblo artist Pop Chalee. Chelsea Herr, the inaugural Jack and Maxine Zarrow Curator for Indigenous Art and Culture at Gilcrease Museum, will present a special lecture on Chalees work, and Forest Scene in particular, 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, at the Tulsa Community Colleges Center for Creativity, 910 S. Boston Ave.

The event is free and open to the public.

Herr, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, earned undergraduate degrees in art history from Seattle Pacific University and the University of California, Riverside; she earned her doctorate in Native American Art History from the University of Oklahoma.

New Melodies

New works by two Tulsa composers will be featured in a concert titled New Melodies, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, at the VanTrease PACE, 10300 E. 81st St.

The Signature Quartet, made up of musicians of the Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College, will perform Where Our Voices Hide When We Must Speak by Noam Faingold, and The Widow by Dr. Steven Eiler. Both composers will be present that evening. The concert will also feature new compositions by TCC students and a reception following the performance.

Tickets are $25. 918-595-7777, signaturesymphony.org.

1776 continues at Tulsa PAC

The recent kerfuffle that kept the current Congress stymied for a few days has nothing on what went on during the summer of 1776, as delegates from the 13 colonies made the fateful decision to break away from Great Britain and establish a new nation.

Writer Peter Stone and composer Sheldon Edwards dramatized these events in the Tony Award-winning musical 1776. Theatre Tulsa new production of this 1969 show gives the story something of a twist, with an all-female cast taking on the personae of the Founding Fathers.

Its a way, said director Liz Bealko, for audiences to meet these historical figures for the first time... Seeing these characters embodied is this way will help the audience see them in a new light.

The production will feature Kristen Simpson as John Adams, Amanda Nichols as Thomas Jefferson, Nan Kemp as Benjamin Franklin, Teresa Nowlin as John Hancock, Laura Skoch as Andrew McNair and Karlena Riggs as John Dickinson.

Several cast members will have multiple roles, including Kate Parker as John Witherspoon and Abigail Adams, Lydia Gray as Lyman Hall and Martha Jefferson, and Emma Morris, whose three roles include George Washington.

Musicians of the Tulsa Peoples Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Ray, will accompany the production.

Performances are 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, 22 and 29, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Jan. 20-21 and 27-28, at the Tulsa PAC, 110 E. Second St. Tickets are $29.25-$47.50. 918-596-7111, tulsapac.com.

Peoples Poetry at Guthrie Center

Three local writers will give readings of their original poems as part of the Peoples Poetry event, 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Woody Guthrie Center, 102 E. Reconciliation Way.

Participating writers are Eder J. Williams McKnight, whose work explores the multiracial history of Oklahoma, Tulsa and the Greenwood District; Quraysh Ali Lansana, the author of 20 volumes of poetry, nonfiction and childrens literature, and a founding member of the Tri-City Collective; and Kaveh Bassiri, a prize-winning poet and Tulsa Artist Fellow.

The reading is free with regular admission to the center. 918-574-2710, woodyguthriecenter.org.
There are some real-life stories so fantastic that not even as fertile an imagination as Brad Meltzers could dream them up.

In all my novels, I make the effort to use actual facts, said Meltzer, whose best-selling novels include The Escape Artist, The Lightning Rod and Dead Even. A lot of my novels start with some bit of history, and I do everything I can to be as accurate with the facts as possible.

But sometimes, Ill come across some fact or incident in history that is just too good to turn it into a thriller, he said. It really needs to be a book of its own.

One such incident was about an effort in 1776 to assassinate Gen. George Washington by some of the soldiers tasked with serving as the future presidents bodyguards. Meltzer said the idea rattled around in my brain for years before he and documentary filmmaker Josh Mensch collaborated to produce The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington.

Meltzer and Mensch then collaborated on The Lincoln Conspiracy, which detailed the plot to assassinate Lincoln before he took the oath of office in 1861  a crime that was foiled in part through the efforts of Alan Pinkerton, who would go on to found the private detective agency that bears his name.

The duos latest effort is The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill (Flatiron Books, $29.99).

Meltzer will be in Tulsa to promote his latest nonfiction work in an event at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, at Congregation BNai Emunah, 1719 S. Owasso Ave.

The Nazi Conspiracy began with Meltzer discovering a forgotten bit of history associated with the meeting of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Union premier Josef Stalin in Tehran, Iran, in 1943.

It was the first time the leaders of the three major countries allied against Nazi Germany had met face-to-face. It was also, in the opinion of Adolf Hitler and his inner circle, the perfect opportunity to kill the leaders of their enemies.

I came across an article in which Roosevelt was quoted as saying that The meeting went well, and the Nazis tried to kill us, Meltzer said. It was mentioned in many newspapers, but D-Day and the invasion of Normandy happened, and that rightly was what everyone focused on. So this story got swallowed up by history.

While the main story of The Nazi Conspiracy involves the plotting and counter-plotting of the assassination attempt and the Allies efforts to thwart it, complete with body doubles and decoy motorcade, The Nazi Conspiracy also explores the rise of authoritarian regimes, and attitudes and actions from 1943 that are uncomfortably familiar to those living in the year 2023.

Theres a saying that history doesnt repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme, Meltzer said. We didnt write this book simply to entertain or inform  we wrote it to warn. You look at something like (the white supremacy rally in) Charlottesville, and it seems incredible that we are still having to fight against Nazis in the 21st century.

When Josh and I sit down to write these books, we always ask ourselves, What is this book really about? he said. And for this book, it was the rise of authoritarianism all over the world, including this country, as well as the rise of antisemitism.

One of the reasons why we tell stories of World War II is because it was one of the few times that the United States confronted evil and ultimately saved the day, Meltzer said. Thats really the American ideal  that we can stand up to, and defeat, evil. One of the ways we can continue to do that is to use our voice to point out what is wrong, and try to put a stop to it.

Meltzer and Mensch began their partnership when they worked together on the History Channel series Brad Meltzers Lost History.

One of the hardest things to do is to find the truth, Meltzer said. And the amount of research that has to be done to do these books is so intense and staggering that there would be no way I could do it by myself, and give it the attention it deserves. Fortunately, Josh and I see eye-to-eye on what we want to accomplish, because we want to provide the full context of these events we write about, to get to the one true story. Thats why this book has 30 pages of end notes.
In the weeks and months following the tragic mass shooting on the Saint Francis campus in Tulsa, officials are raising awareness of ongoing concerns about threats made against health care professionals.

Michael Louis of Muskogee had a pistol and assault-style rifle when he gunned down four people, including his doctor, Dr. Preston Phillips, at the orthopedic center inside the Natalie Building, Tulsa police said at the time. Louis blamed Phillips for ongoing back problems after a surgery performed by the doctor and was determined to kill him and anyone who stood in his way, police said.

The active shooter situation at Saint Francis raised awareness of threats against health care workers, and in the weeks after the June 1 mass shooting, Tulsa police began posting news of other arrests.

On June 4, a 43-year-old man was arrested after a disturbance was reported at Hillcrest Hospital near 11th Street and Utica Avenue. He specifically referenced the actions of the Saint Francis shooter and was charged with a terrorism hoax but later pleaded guilty to threatening an act of violence.

Five days later, police responded to a hospital room on the Ascension St. John campus where a 61-year-old patient threatened to shoot his doctor and tried to punch a security guard. He pleaded guilty on charges of assault and threatening an act of violence.

There has been an increase over the past few years of patients making specific threats of violence against health care workers, a Saint Francis spokesperson said then. Weve always taken these threats seriously and have policies and procedures related to how we respond to these threats.

Health care professionals definitely consider incidents like these in ensuring the security of their staff and patients, said Marcus Webb, of the Eastern Oklahoma Veteran Affairs health care system.

The VA statement came following the Nov. 14 arrest of Zachariah McGuire, charged in Tulsa federal court with possession of a firearm at a federal facility, the Tulsa World reported.

McGuire was taken into custody while in possession of a loaded revolver and seven plastic zip-ties at the Ernest Childers VA Outpatient Clinic, according to court documents.

A clinic worker reportedly received a threatening voicemail from the phone number of McGuires mother. The male voice on the message reportedly stated, You will make me an appointment and prescribe me my meds, or I will murder you.

When McGuire showed up at the clinic later that day, he was stopped on the second floor by VA police, according to court documents.

We have to do what we have to do to make our staff and veterans feel safe, said Webb, spokesman for the VA health system in eastern Oklahoma.

Last week, Tulsa police announced another arrest related to a hospital threat. A 41-year-old man was visiting his mother at Saint Francis when he threatened to shoot up the place and was removed.

Later the same day he reportedly told a witness he was going to return to the hospital and go postal, police said, adding the man also posted a threatening statement targeting Saint Francis on his social media. He faces misdemeanor charges of threatening an act of violence.

We understand that displays of anger and violence have underlying causes, but that doesnt excuse the behavior. We are accustomed to working with people during some of the hardest days and times of their lives; we want to help, but we shouldnt have to and wont tolerate threats to our staff, a spokesperson from Saint Francis stated.
Education and workforce development, economic development programs and infrastructure figure heavily in the Tulsa Regional Chambers OneVoice legislative agenda formally announced Friday.

OneVoice is a collaborative lobbying effort led by the Tulsa Chamber that also includes more than 75 chambers of commerce, municipalities, counties and economic development organizations throughout northeastern Oklahoma.

The agenda is split evenly into 15 state and 15 federal priorities divided among three subcategories under each.

State priorities include unspecified legislative support for the Tulsa Regional Advanced Mobility Cluster, a private and public coalition that won a $38 million federal grant late last year to develop a hub for unmanned aircraft development and manufacturing.

The chamber also wants more money for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, commonly known as OCAST, the technology research and development arm of state government.

Other priorities include continued support for several state and federal business incentives, allowing open virtual meetings, more money for common and higher education and workforce training programs, and reform of federal student aid programs and immigration laws.

Perhaps surprisingly, the agenda also urges implementation of online voter registration, which Oklahoma authorized in 2015 but has never gotten off the drawing board.

Infrastructure priorities include completion of work on the Arkansas River levee system, improvements to the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System and finishing the transition of the U.S. 412 corridor into the interstate highway system.

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Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters wasted no time in throwing out the first red herring of his governance by saying his No. 1 priority is getting rid of liberal indoctrination and resumed his car videos with a pledge to revoke licenses of two teachers with whom he has a political disagreement.

This is a distraction playing to a fringe with no base in reality. Its a sleight-of-hand trick to draw attention from other things. Dont fall for it.

Anyone with knowledge of Oklahomas current state of public education knows the biggest challenges are in the workforce, resources and youth mental health.

The state has gone from granting 32 emergency teaching certifications in 2011 to now more than 3,700. The state has 33,000 people who hold full certifications but have chosen to stay out of the profession.

With the way Walters and others are demonizing public school teachers, who could blame them?

Average teacher pay is 34th nationally and fourth in the region. Starting teacher pay ranks 39th, and only 10% of districts offer a starting salary of more than $40,000.

Per-pupil expenditure is at 46th nationally. Those reflect resources for students and teachers, such as electives and extracurricular activities.

Bemoaning the academic outcomes of public education without acknowledging the low investment in schools is unfair. Getting better results will require getting better tools.

Mental health ranks high as a challenge in schools, which are not equipped to handle the need.

Its going to take a seismic shift in the way Oklahoma treats youth brain health, requiring partnerships across state agencies, schools, nonprofits and treatment providers.

Walters was elected on an anti-public school platform, supporting private school vouchers and railing against perceived liberal teachings. He promised to turn away federal money, the receipt of which would require compliance with federal guidelines, though he hasnt said which programs funded by that money he would eliminate.

He is backed by a state school board hand-picked by Gov. Kevin Stitt, who vows to get a private school voucher passed under the guise of school choice. That choice, though, wouldnt hold private schools to the same standards of transparency and curriculum and would largely be limited to metro areas.

Stitt said that Oklahoma needs more schools, not less schools, like the fearmongers claimed when we called for change.

Oklahoma has 546 public school districts. Many of those have virtual options and alternative programs. Tulsa and Oklahoma City sponsor charter schools.

When a public school cannot find a physics teacher or cuts band due to budget constraints, no one suggests building another school to offer those. Oklahomans want their local schools to have robust resources so students can be successful and healthy.

Walters dictatorial education policy will negatively impact Oklahoma public schools. Its misguided at best. His continued fight with teachers and public school families will not improve education or political divides in our communities.

Instead of name-calling and threats, a better direction would be building trust and empathizing with all students and their families. Focus on real problems, and find solutions.
China said on Saturday nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy last month, a huge increase from previously reported figures that follows global criticism of the country's coronavirus data. In early December, Beijing abruptly dismantled its strict three-year anti-virus regime of frequent testing, travel curbs and mass lockdowns after widespread protests in late November, and cases have surged since then across the nation of 1.4 billion. A health official said on Saturday that COVID fever and emergency hospitalisations had peaked and the number of hospitalised patients was continuing to decline. Between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12, the number of COVID-related deaths in Chinese hospitals totalled 59,938, Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission (NHC), told a media briefing. Of those fatalities, 5,503 were caused by respiratory failure due to COVID and the remainder resulted from a combination of COVID and other diseases, she said. The World Health Organization, which earlier this week said that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from the virus and called for more information, on Saturday welcomed Beijing's announcement, while renewing its plea for more detailed data. The U.N. agency said its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had spoken with Ma Xiaowei, director of China's National Health Commission, about the latest outbreak, which the WHO said was similar to what had been seen in other countries. "The reported data indicate a decline in case numbers, hospitalizations, and those requiring critical care," it said, commenting on Beijing's numbers. While international health experts have predicted at least 1 million COVID-related deaths this year, China had previously reported just over 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world. Authorities had been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month - figures inconsistent with long queues seen at funeral homes and body bags seen leaving crowded hospitals. China, which last reported daily COVID death figures on Monday, has repeatedly defended the veracity of its data on the disease. On Saturday, Jiao said China divides COVID-related deaths between those from respiratory failure due to coronavirus infection and those from underlying disease combined with the infection. "The standard is basically in line with those adopted by the World Health Organization and other major countries," she said. Last month, a Chinese health expert at a government news conference said only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting COVID would be classified as COVID deaths. Heart attacks or cardiovascular disease causing the death of infected people would not get that classification. Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, said the tenfold increase in deaths announced on Saturday suggested China's COVID policy reversal "is indeed associated with" a sharp rise in severe cases and deaths, especially among older people. However, he said, it was unclear whether the new data accurately reflected actual fatalities because doctors were discouraged from reporting COVID-related deaths and the numbers included only deaths in hospitals. "In the countryside, for example, many elderly people died at home but were not tested for COVID due to the lack of access to test kits or their unwillingness to get tested," he said. Passengers of a plane from Dalian in China, head to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test area, upon their arrival at Narita international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Japan January 12, 2023. Photo: Reuters Declining trend Jiao, the Chinese health official, said the number of patients needing emergency treatment was declining and the share of patients at fever clinics who tested positive for COVID-19 was steadily falling as well. The number of severe cases had also peaked, she added, though they remained at a high level, and patients were mostly elderly. Officials said China would strengthen supplies of drugs and medical equipment in rural areas and beef up training of front-line medical staff in those regions. "The number of fever clinic visitors are generally in a declining trend after peaking, both in cities and rural areas," Jiao said. A sharp rise in travel ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions return home from cities to small towns and rural areas, has fuelled worry that it will bring a surge in cases during a celebration that begins on Jan. 21. This week, the WHO warned of risks stemming from holiday travel. China reopened its borders on Jan. 8. Despite worries about infections, air passenger volumes in China have recovered to 63% of 2019 levels since the annual travel season began on Jan. 7, the industry regulator said on Friday. The transport ministry has predicted passenger traffic volumes to jump 99.5% on the year during the festival migration, which runs until Feb. 15, or a recovery to 70.3% of 2019 levels. In the Chinese gambling hub of Macau, Friday's 46,000 daily inbound travellers were the highest number since the pandemic began, the majority from the mainland, the city government said. It expects a Spring Festival boom in tourism.

China said on Saturday nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy last month, a huge increase from previously reported figures that follows global criticism of the country's coronavirus data.

In early December, Beijing abruptly dismantled its strict three-year anti-virus regime of frequent testing, travel curbs and mass lockdowns after widespread protests in late November, and cases have surged since then across the nation of 1.4 billion.

A health official said on Saturday that COVID fever and emergency hospitalisations had peaked and the number of hospitalised patients was continuing to decline.

Between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12, the number of COVID-related deaths in Chinese hospitals totalled 59,938, Jiao Yahui, head of the Bureau of Medical Administration under the National Health Commission (NHC), told a media briefing.

Of those fatalities, 5,503 were caused by respiratory failure due to COVID and the remainder resulted from a combination of COVID and other diseases, she said.

The World Health Organization, which earlier this week said that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from the virus and called for more information, on Saturday welcomed Beijing's announcement, while renewing its plea for more detailed data.

The U.N. agency said its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had spoken with Ma Xiaowei, director of China's National Health Commission, about the latest outbreak, which the WHO said was similar to what had been seen in other countries.

"The reported data indicate a decline in case numbers, hospitalizations, and those requiring critical care," it said, commenting on Beijing's numbers.

While international health experts have predicted at least 1 million COVID-related deaths this year, China had previously reported just over 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began, one of the lowest death rates in the world.

Authorities had been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month - figures inconsistent with long queues seen at funeral homes and body bags seen leaving crowded hospitals.

China, which last reported daily COVID death figures on Monday, has repeatedly defended the veracity of its data on the disease.

On Saturday, Jiao said China divides COVID-related deaths between those from respiratory failure due to coronavirus infection and those from underlying disease combined with the infection.

"The standard is basically in line with those adopted by the World Health Organization and other major countries," she said.

Last month, a Chinese health expert at a government news conference said only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting COVID would be classified as COVID deaths. Heart attacks or cardiovascular disease causing the death of infected people would not get that classification.

Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, said the tenfold increase in deaths announced on Saturday suggested China's COVID policy reversal "is indeed associated with" a sharp rise in severe cases and deaths, especially among older people.

However, he said, it was unclear whether the new data accurately reflected actual fatalities because doctors were discouraged from reporting COVID-related deaths and the numbers included only deaths in hospitals.

"In the countryside, for example, many elderly people died at home but were not tested for COVID due to the lack of access to test kits or their unwillingness to get tested," he said.

Passengers of a plane from Dalian in China, head to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test area, upon their arrival at Narita international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Japan January 12, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Declining trend

Jiao, the Chinese health official, said the number of patients needing emergency treatment was declining and the share of patients at fever clinics who tested positive for COVID-19 was steadily falling as well. The number of severe cases had also peaked, she added, though they remained at a high level, and patients were mostly elderly.

Officials said China would strengthen supplies of drugs and medical equipment in rural areas and beef up training of front-line medical staff in those regions.

"The number of fever clinic visitors are generally in a declining trend after peaking, both in cities and rural areas," Jiao said.

A sharp rise in travel ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions return home from cities to small towns and rural areas, has fuelled worry that it will bring a surge in cases during a celebration that begins on Jan. 21.

This week, the WHO warned of risks stemming from holiday travel. China reopened its borders on Jan. 8.

Despite worries about infections, air passenger volumes in China have recovered to 63% of 2019 levels since the annual travel season began on Jan. 7, the industry regulator said on Friday.

The transport ministry has predicted passenger traffic volumes to jump 99.5% on the year during the festival migration, which runs until Feb. 15, or a recovery to 70.3% of 2019 levels.

In the Chinese gambling hub of Macau, Friday's 46,000 daily inbound travellers were the highest number since the pandemic began, the majority from the mainland, the city government said. It expects a Spring Festival boom in tourism.
A 30-year-old babysitter residing in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City was detained on Saturday for allegedly abusing a six-month-old boy, who is now in a critical condition due to brain injury. Police officers in Binh Tan District apprehended V.T.M.L. on charges of murder. Earlier, the district police coordinated with relevant agencies to launch an investigation into the case in which the boy was suspected of being abused by his babysitter. According to preliminary investigation results, P.T.N.A., residing in Binh Tan District, hired L. to take care of her six-month-old sonN.D.H.A., for VND3 million (US$128) per month. On Tuesday, L. informed A. that the boy was rushed to the Ho Chi Minh City Children's Hospital for emergency treatment as he suffered shortness of breath. The hospital later advised the boys parents to work with the police to clarify the reason for his sons health problem. A representative of the hospital said the boy is still receiving treatment at the hospital but loses consciousness and is in a critical condition. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

A 30-year-old babysitter residing in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City was detained on Saturday for allegedly abusing a six-month-old boy, who is now in a critical condition due to brain injury.

Police officers in Binh Tan District apprehended V.T.M.L. on charges of murder.

Earlier, the district police coordinated with relevant agencies to launch an investigation into the case in which the boy was suspected of being abused by his babysitter.

According to preliminary investigation results, P.T.N.A., residing in Binh Tan District, hired L. to take care of her six-month-old sonN.D.H.A., for VND3 million (US$128) per month.

On Tuesday, L. informed A. that the boy was rushed to the Ho Chi Minh City Children's Hospital for emergency treatment as he suffered shortness of breath.

The hospital later advised the boys parents to work with the police to clarify the reason for his sons health problem.

A representative of the hospital said the boy is still receiving treatment at the hospital but loses consciousness and is in a critical condition.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, inspects an honor guard during an official welcome ceremony at the Qasr Al Watan presidential palace in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 15. Yonhap





The United Arab Emirates decided Sunday to invest $30 billion in Korea during a summit between the two countries' leaders in Abu Dhabi, the presidential office said.







UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced the decision while meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol, saying, "We decided to make the investment with confidence in the Republic of Korea that keeps its promises under all circumstances," the office said.







The Republic of Korea is Korea's official name.







The summit took place at the Qasr Al Watan presidential palace on the second day of Yoon's four-day state visit to the UAE, the first such visit by a South Korean leader since the two sides established diplomatic ties in 1980.







The focus of the trip has been expansion of bilateral cooperation in areas such as nuclear power, energy, arms and investment as Yoon seeks to revive South Korea's economy through increased exports.







The president is accompanied on the trip by a business delegation representing some 100 Korean firms.







"President Yoon and President Mohamed held an expanded meeting followed by a one-on-one meeting, and agreed to develop the special strategic partnership between South Korea and the UAE to the highest level," the presidential office said in a press release.







Yoon voiced hope that the summit will be an important starting point for the elevation of the strategic partnership, with the two countries strengthening strategic cooperation not only in the four key areas of nuclear power, energy, investment and arms, but also in new industries, health, culture and people-to-people exchanges.







President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, inspects an honor guard during an official welcome ceremony at the Qasr Al Watan presidential palace in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 15. Yonhap





Mohamed expressed his strong agreement, saying he was very pleased to have Yoon as his first state guest since his inauguration last May and that he strongly hopes to further develop the strategic partnership with Korea.







In particular, Mohamed cited the peaceful use of nuclear power, new and renewable energy, hydrogen, defense technology, climate change and space among areas where the UAE is ready to drastically increase cooperation with South Korea.







Yoon invited his UAE counterpart to visit Korea at a convenient time this year, and Mohamed replied that would do so at an early date as he considers South Korea to be his second home.







Following the expanded meeting, officials from the two countries signed 13 memorandums of understanding in the presence of the two leaders.







The MOUs called for increased cooperation in nuclear power, energy, investment, arms and climate change. (Yonhap)







President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee make a pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag during a welcome ceremony at the UAE presidential palace, Sunday. Yonhap
























Read what is in the news in Vietnam today: Society -- A 30-year-old babysitter residing in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City was detained on Saturday for allegedly abusing a six-month-old boy, who is now in a critical condition due to brain injury. -- Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has asked ministries and agencies to coordinate with Ho Chi Minh City authorities to work out a new resolution with special policies and mechanisms for the metropolis to replace Resolution 54. -- A 24-year-old man in Mong Cai City, Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam has been fined VND7.5 million (US$320) for uploading videos showing how to make firecrackers on social networks. -- As Tet approaches, a large number of boats have transported flowers and fruit trees, which will be used as home decorations during the holiday, from Mekong Delta provinces, such as Ben Tre and Vinh Long, to the Binh Dong Wharf in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City to meet the demand of residents in the metropolis. Business -- Vietnam currently has 456 centralized slaughterhouses certified as meeting hygiene and food safety standards. However, more than 22,000 small slaughterhouses nationwide fail to meet the standards, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. -- The number of domestic and international tourists coming to Da Nang City, central Vietnam during the upcoming Lunar New Year, or Tet, holiday is forecast to increase 20-30 percent over normal days, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, director of local travel company Omega Tours and chairman of the Da Nang Travel Association, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday. Lifestyle -- Despite having yet to be inaugurated, a flower festival with the theme Xuan Phon Vinh (Prosperous Spring) in the Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City has attracted multiple visitors. The flower festival will officially open at 6:00 pm today, January 15. -- Vietnams northern mountainous province of Ha Giang ranks 25th among the 52 best places to go in 2023, as listed by The New York Times. The 52 places are attractive to tourists with their food, culture, adventure, and natural beauty. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:

Society

-- A 30-year-old babysitter residing in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City was detained on Saturday for allegedly abusing a six-month-old boy, who is now in a critical condition due to brain injury.

-- Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has asked ministries and agencies to coordinate with Ho Chi Minh City authorities to work out a new resolution with special policies and mechanisms for the metropolis to replace Resolution 54.

-- A 24-year-old man in Mong Cai City, Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam has been fined VND7.5 million (US$320) for uploading videos showing how to make firecrackers on social networks.

-- As Tet approaches, a large number of boats have transported flowers and fruit trees, which will be used as home decorations during the holiday, from Mekong Delta provinces, such as Ben Tre and Vinh Long, to the Binh Dong Wharf in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City to meet the demand of residents in the metropolis.

Business

-- Vietnam currently has 456 centralized slaughterhouses certified as meeting hygiene and food safety standards. However, more than 22,000 small slaughterhouses nationwide fail to meet the standards, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

-- The number of domestic and international tourists coming to Da Nang City, central Vietnam during the upcoming Lunar New Year, or Tet, holiday is forecast to increase 20-30 percent over normal days, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, director of local travel company Omega Tours and chairman of the Da Nang Travel Association, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday.

Lifestyle

-- Despite having yet to be inaugurated, a flower festival with the theme Xuan Phon Vinh (Prosperous Spring) in the Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City has attracted multiple visitors. The flower festival will officially open at 6:00 pm today, January 15.

-- Vietnams northern mountainous province of Ha Giang ranks 25th among the 52 best places to go in 2023, as listed by The New York Times. The 52 places are attractive to tourists with their food, culture, adventure, and natural beauty.

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A 20-year-old resident of Nam Dinh Province in northern Vietnam was apprehended on Friday for shooting to kill two people in Nam Dinh and Bac Ninh, another northern province, this week over personal conflicts. The Bac Ninh Peoples Procuracy informed that it had approved the provincial polices decision to arrest Le Nguyen Minh Tuan, 20, who is the suspect. Tuan declared that early on Friday morning, he came to Huong Xuan  Sky karaoke and massage parlor in Tu Son City, Bac Ninh Province and met Thiem, 33, the parlor manager, and his wife. Tuan said Thiem often placed pressure on him and gave him a talking-to. According to the Bac Ninh Police, Tuan asked Thiem, Have you done anything wrong to me? Tuan later took out a gun and asked, Do you think this is a real gun? Thiem smiled and was shot dead. After that, Tuan fled but was detained while he was in a hostel in northern Bac Giang Province. At the police office, Tuan admitted his crime, suddenly confessing that he had also shot another person dead in Nam Dinh Province. In particular, Tuan got acquainted with Vien, 22, and Phu, 21. Both of them reside in Vu Ban District, Nam Dinh. At about 5:00 pm on Thursday, Phu and Vien invited Tuan to Nam Dinh City in the namesake province to drink alcohol. After the party, Tuan caught a taxi to Nam Dinh City. At 9:00 pm on the same day, the trio traveled on a motorbike. On the way, Tuan and Vien had an argument. After Phu stopped the vehicle in My Loc District, Nam Dinh, Tuan loaded four bullets to his gun and shot Vien dead. Tuan later asked Phu to drive him to another place to catch a taxi to Tu Son City, Bac Ninh Province. Phu had to agree with Tuan as the latter had a gun at the time. Investigators from the Bac Ninh Police seized an M1911 gun, 11 bullets, and three knives from Tuan, who tested positive for synthetic drugs. The case is under further investigation. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

A 20-year-old resident of Nam Dinh Province in northern Vietnam was apprehended on Friday for shooting to kill two people in Nam Dinh and Bac Ninh, another northern province, this week over personal conflicts.

The Bac Ninh Peoples Procuracy informed that it had approved the provincial polices decision to arrest Le Nguyen Minh Tuan, 20, who is the suspect.

Tuan declared that early on Friday morning, he came to Huong Xuan  Sky karaoke and massage parlor in Tu Son City, Bac Ninh Province and met Thiem, 33, the parlor manager, and his wife.

Tuan said Thiem often placed pressure on him and gave him a talking-to.

According to the Bac Ninh Police, Tuan asked Thiem, Have you done anything wrong to me?

Tuan later took out a gun and asked, Do you think this is a real gun?

Thiem smiled and was shot dead.

After that, Tuan fled but was detained while he was in a hostel in northern Bac Giang Province.

At the police office, Tuan admitted his crime, suddenly confessing that he had also shot another person dead in Nam Dinh Province.

In particular, Tuan got acquainted with Vien, 22, and Phu, 21. Both of them reside in Vu Ban District, Nam Dinh.

At about 5:00 pm on Thursday, Phu and Vien invited Tuan to Nam Dinh City in the namesake province to drink alcohol. After the party, Tuan caught a taxi to Nam Dinh City.

At 9:00 pm on the same day, the trio traveled on a motorbike. On the way, Tuan and Vien had an argument.

After Phu stopped the vehicle in My Loc District, Nam Dinh, Tuan loaded four bullets to his gun and shot Vien dead.

Tuan later asked Phu to drive him to another place to catch a taxi to Tu Son City, Bac Ninh Province. Phu had to agree with Tuan as the latter had a gun at the time.

Investigators from the Bac Ninh Police seized an M1911 gun, 11 bullets, and three knives from Tuan, who tested positive for synthetic drugs.

The case is under further investigation.

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Vietnam has asked Japan for support in building a high-speed railway that runs along the countrys length, the government said late on Friday. The proposal was made at a meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki in Hanoi earlier in the day, the government said in a statement. Japan is the largest source of official development aid to Vietnam, and is the Southeast Asian countrys third largest source of foreign direct investment. Vietnam is studying the possibility to build the 1,545 km (960 miles) railway with a possible price tag of up to $64.8 billion, according to state media. At the meeting, Chinh also asked Japan for help to restructure stakes at Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical, Vietnams largest oil refinery, the government said, without elaborating. The $9-billion refinery is 35.1% owned by Japans Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1% by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1% by Vietnams state oil firm PetroVietnam and 4.7% by Mitsui Chemicals Inc . The 200,000-barrel-per-day refinery early last year cut its run rate following a disagreement between shareholders about financing for crude. Idemitsu Kosan said at the time it had no plan to give fresh financial aid to the refinery.

Vietnam has asked Japan for support in building a high-speed railway that runs along the countrys length, the government said late on Friday.

The proposal was made at a meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki in Hanoi earlier in the day, the government said in a statement.

Japan is the largest source of official development aid to Vietnam, and is the Southeast Asian countrys third largest source of foreign direct investment.

Vietnam is studying the possibility to build the 1,545 km (960 miles) railway with a possible price tag of up to $64.8 billion, according to state media.

At the meeting, Chinh also asked Japan for help to restructure stakes at Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical, Vietnams largest oil refinery, the government said, without elaborating.

The $9-billion refinery is 35.1% owned by Japans Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1% by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1% by Vietnams state oil firm PetroVietnam and 4.7% by Mitsui Chemicals Inc .

The 200,000-barrel-per-day refinery early last year cut its run rate following a disagreement between shareholders about financing for crude. Idemitsu Kosan said at the time it had no plan to give fresh financial aid to the refinery.
Despite having yet to be inaugurated, a flower festival with the theme Xuan Phon Vinh (Prosperous Spring) in the Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City has attracted multiple visitors. The flower festival officially opens at 6:00 pm on Sunday. Being held along Ban Nguyet (Crescent) Lake, the spring flower road is divided into three segments dedicated to Phu (Wealth), My (Beauty), and Hung (Prosperity) themes. The Wealth segment includes miniatures of bumper crops and red envelopes symbolizing the affluence. In addition, statues of cats, the zodiac animal of the upcoming lunar year, gold ingots, and bags of golden coins are to be on display in the segment. Meanwhile, the Beauty section is decorated with miniatures featuring the culture of various countries. The Prosperity segment shows the development and expectations for a brighter 2023, when Phu My Hung Corporation, the organizer of the flower festival, will celebrate its 30th anniversary. I come here every year to have good moments with my family and friends. Miniature landscapes are eye-catching and diversified, said Tra, a Phu My Hung resident. Thuy An, residing in District 1, excitedly said that the flower festival has yet to officially open, but my daughter and I come here to take a stroll and take photos. This is the first time we have been here and feel that Tet is around the corner. Large stylized golden coins with grains symbolize luck. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre A lucky cat statue is erected among cockscomb pots. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre Special cat statues attract visitors. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre Hien, her husband, and her husbands family members take photos on the flower road. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre Many families pose for photos at the flower festival. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre Visitors walk along the road with mature corn, which reflects a wish of a successful new year. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre Tom (in creamy 'ao dai,' a Vietnamese traditional costume) and his friends are taken to the flower festival by their parents so that they can have Tet memories in their childhood. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre Tra (L) and her friends bring with them a tripod to take photos themselves. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre Workers complete a lantern wharf where visitors can express their expectations and dreams on the first days of the new lunar year through lanterns. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre Flower pots are continuously transported to the flower road so that workers can complete miniatures before the official opening of the flower festival. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre The flower festival in the Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City will take place from January 15 to 25, 2023, or the 24th day of the 12th lunar month to the 4th day of the first lunar month. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Despite having yet to be inaugurated, a flower festival with the theme Xuan Phon Vinh (Prosperous Spring) in the Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City has attracted multiple visitors.

The flower festival officially opens at 6:00 pm on Sunday.

Being held along Ban Nguyet (Crescent) Lake, the spring flower road is divided into three segments dedicated to Phu (Wealth), My (Beauty), and Hung (Prosperity) themes.

The Wealth segment includes miniatures of bumper crops and red envelopes symbolizing the affluence.

In addition, statues of cats, the zodiac animal of the upcoming lunar year, gold ingots, and bags of golden coins are to be on display in the segment.

Meanwhile, the Beauty section is decorated with miniatures featuring the culture of various countries.

The Prosperity segment shows the development and expectations for a brighter 2023, when Phu My Hung Corporation, the organizer of the flower festival, will celebrate its 30th anniversary.

I come here every year to have good moments with my family and friends. Miniature landscapes are eye-catching and diversified, said Tra, a Phu My Hung resident.

Thuy An, residing in District 1, excitedly said that the flower festival has yet to officially open, but my daughter and I come here to take a stroll and take photos. This is the first time we have been here and feel that Tet is around the corner.

Large stylized golden coins with grains symbolize luck. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

A lucky cat statue is erected among cockscomb pots. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

Special cat statues attract visitors. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

Hien, her husband, and her husbands family members take photos on the flower road. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

Many families pose for photos at the flower festival. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Visitors walk along the road with mature corn, which reflects a wish of a successful new year. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Tom (in creamy 'ao dai,' a Vietnamese traditional costume) and his friends are taken to the flower festival by their parents so that they can have Tet memories in their childhood. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

Tra (L) and her friends bring with them a tripod to take photos themselves. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

Workers complete a lantern wharf where visitors can express their expectations and dreams on the first days of the new lunar year through lanterns. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Flower pots are continuously transported to the flower road so that workers can complete miniatures before the official opening of the flower festival. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

The flower festival in the Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City will take place from January 15 to 25, 2023, or the 24th day of the 12th lunar month to the 4th day of the first lunar month. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

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Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Andre Borges/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Brazilian Supreme Court on Saturday announced that it would be investigating former President Jair Bolsonaro for any alleged role he may have played in the recent attack on Brazil's seat of government.

The probe into Bolsonaro will be part of the larger investigation into the events of the attack.

In a press release, the Supreme Court said that "Bolsonaro's inclusion [in the investigation] aims to determine whether he would have incited the practice of crimes against the democratic state of law."

"From false statements, repeated through social networks, a narrative is formulated that delegitimizes democratic institutions and encourages groups of supporters to attack people who represent the institutions, intending to remove them and replace them with others aligned with the political group of the former president," the Court added.

Though Bolsonaro lost his re-election bid to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the former president did not go quietly. While he would eventually come to accept the results of his defeat  though never conceding his loss  Bolsonaro allegedly spread the baseless claim that widespread voter fraud had cost him the election.

Bolsonaro's supporters had been camped out for days in the nation's capital, Brasilia, following Lula's inauguration. On Jan. 8, they stormed the headquarters of all three branches of the nation's government: the National Congress, the Supreme Court building, and the Presidential Palace, breaking in and ransacking the buildings in a scene that The New York Times and many others noted resembled the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Bolsonaro, who is currently living in the United States, does not appear to have responded to the probe in an official capacity.

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CHISINAU (Reuters) - The president of Moldova, Ukraine's western neighbour, denounced a new wave of Russian attacks on Ukrainian targets on Saturday after missile debris was found just inside the small former Soviet state's border.

"Russias brutal war against Ukraine directly impacts Moldova again. Moldovan border police found rocket fragments near Larga village in northern Moldova," President Maia Sandu tweeted.

"We strongly condemn todays intensified attacks of Russia and stand with those who lost loved ones in Dnipro across Ukraine. Peace must prevail."

At least 12 people died when a missile hit an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

Moldova's interior ministry earlier said missile debris had been found in the north of the country.

Russia did not immediately comment on the report.

Similar incidents in Moldova, which borders Ukraine, have occurred twice before, including in December when police found fragments of a missile that came down in a region of northern Moldova near the border with Ukraine.

Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita decried the violation of Moldovan airspace and said in a statement: "There is no political, historical or moral justification for the killing of peaceful residents and attacks on infrastructure."

The pro-Western Sandu was elected in 2020 and her government has since received considerable financial support from the European Union. This week the delivery of German armoured vehicles for the country's armed forces was announced.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas; Editing by David Holmes, Ron Popeski and Jonathan Oatis)
BERLIN (Reuters) -German armsmaker Rheinmetall could deliver repaired Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in 2024 at the earliest and would need a confirmed order to begin repairs, its chief executive was quoted as saying by Bild newspaper on Sunday.

Germany announced earlier this month that it would provide Ukraine with 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to help repel Russian forces.

But Kyiv has also requested heavier vehicles such as the Leopards, which would represent a significant step-up in Western support to Ukraine. Still, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said earlier this month delivering the Leopard tanks could not be "ruled out".The German army has only around 350 Leopard 2 tanks today, compared to some 4,000 battle main tanks at the height of the Cold War.

For Rheinmetall, repairing the tanks it has in stock - at least 22 Leopard 2 tanks and 88 Leopard 1 tanks - would cost several hundred million euros, Papperger told Bild.

"The vehicles must be completely dismantled and rebuilt," he added.

The firm also has 100 Marder vehicles, Papperger said, but these would also need repairs taking seven to eight months before they could be used.

Rheinmetall did not respond to an emailed request for comment on Sunday.

Germany has become one of Ukraine's top military supporters in response to Russia's invasion after last year, overcoming a taboo that is rooted in its bloody 20th century history on sending weapons to conflict zones.

Still, critics say German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his ruling SPD are too slow, waiting for allies to act first instead of assuming Germany's responsibility as the Western power closest to Ukraine.

Germany's defence industry is banned by law from producing tanks for stock-keeping. Even if production were ramped up, experts say it could take at least two years for new tanks to be ready for use.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Sabine SieboldEditing by Frances Kerry and Raissa Kasolowsky)
The energy watchdog must step in to penalise price-gouging behaviour by energy suppliers, according to the head of the lobbying group representing thousands of pubs, restaurants, hotels and gyms across Britain.

In a letter to the chief executive of Ofgem from Kate Nicholls, the boss of UK Hospitality, which has been seen by Sky News, she urges the regulator to "name and shame" energy companies that have acted "in bad faith" towards business customers.

Her letter comes ahead of a drastic cut in support for energy bills for British businesses, with the government having announced plans for a revised scheme several days ago.

Ms Nicholls was among the business leaders who met Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, for talks about the government's business energy support package in recent weeks.

Her intervention underlines the scale of the concern among private sector bosses about the potential spike in prices, although falling wholesale costs are expected to mitigate the pain, particularly for households, during the coming months.

In her letter to Jonathan Brearley, she said the "dramatic decrease in support for hospitality businesses will be catastrophic for the sector and inevitably businesses will fail".

She blamed this partly on "the behaviour of energy suppliers in the summer and autumn of 2022".

"Businesses were encouraged to move to fixed price deals but could only access very high contracted rates," she wrote.

"As well as extortionate rates, well above wholesale prices, suppliers hiked standing charges, demanded eye-watering deposits from hospitality businesses in particular, and some even cancelled existing contracts."

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Ms Nicholls urged Ofgem to seek new legislative powers to allow businesses to cancel or renegotiate energy contracts, as well as to seek appropriate compensation.

Story continues

She said that energy suppliers that have customers on fixed contracts "at more than double the government's floor price should be compelled to offer a renegotiation of contracts".

The hospitality industry chief also urged Mr Brearley to ban the blanket withdrawal of supply quotes to entire sectors.

Speaking separately, Ms Nicholls said the conduct of some energy companies had been "nothing short of disgraceful".

"It's clear some rogue companies saw the significant intervention by the government to support business as nothing more than a cash cow," she added.
President Yoon Suk Yeol and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan hold a summit at the latter's presidential palace in Abu Dhabi, Sunday (local time). Yonhap



2 countries sign 13 MOUs to broaden ties in energy and defense sectors



By Nam Hyun-woo



ABU DHABI  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will invest $30 billion (37 trillion won) in Korea as part of a pledge made by the leaders of the two countries to elevate bilateral ties to the highest level, the presidential office said Sunday (local time).



The decision came during President Yoon Suk Yeol's summit with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan earlier in the day. Yoon is visiting the Middle Eastern country on the first leg of an eight-day tour to the UAE and Switzerland.



"As an expression of trust in Korea, which keeps its promise under any circumstance, (the UAE) decided to invest $30 billion," Sheikh Mohammed was quoted as saying by Korea's senior presidential secretary for public relations, Kim Eun-hye.



"(I was) deeply impressed by Korean companies which fulfilled contracts despite difficulties including the COVID-19 pandemic," Sheikh Mohammed said. "President Yoon's state visit this time will be a historic moment for the two countries' relations."





A reactor of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates is seen in this undated file photo released by Korea Electric Power Corp. Yonhap



The promise the UAE president referred to was Korea's exports of nuclear reactors for the UAE's Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.



Korea and the UAE signed a deal in 2009 to construct four nuclear reactors for the power plant. Two of the reactors are now in commercial operation, and the construction of the third one will be completed within this year.



"It is almost impossible to finish constructing a nuclear power plant within a promised deadline," a senior presidential official said. "During the past 14 years after signing the Barakah deal, there were many events, but Korea has been constructing reactors within the promised budget and deadline The UAE president said Korea's execution of its promise was miraculous."









Yoon replied: "As the president, I will pay close attention, so that the UAE can reap investment profits and experience sustainable mid- and long-term development."





President Yoon Suk Yeol and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan inspect an honor guard during an official welcome ceremony at the Qasr Al Watan presidential palace in Abu Dhabi, Sunday. Yonhap



The $30 billion investment is the UAE's largest investment promise made to a foreign country. According to Seoul's senior presidential secretary for policy and planning Lee Kwan-sup, the largest national-level investment by the UAE before Sunday's announcement was a $12.2 billion promise with the U.K.



"The UAE's sovereign wealth fund and other investment institutions will invest $30 billion in Korean nuclear power, hydrogen, defense and other companies for an undetermined period, and the Korean government will assist this by setting up a Korea-UAE investment cooperation platform," Lee said.



The Korean presidential office said the investment will involve the two countries joint efforts for future nuclear power technologies such as small modular reactors. The timeframe of the investment is undetermined. But the office said, "The investments will be realized as the two presidents have agreed."



During the summit, the two countries signed 13 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) as their leaders watched. They include the two countries' joint declaration on comprehensive strategic energy partnership, an MOU on strategic defense industry cooperation, a Korea-UAE international oil reserve project, net-zero acceleration program and voluntary carbon market partnership.



"Those MOUs were signed before the presidents, and at least 30 additional MOUs will be signed during Yoon's stay in the UAE," Lee said.



"Through the summit diplomacy, Korea succeeded in drawing a large-scale investment from the UAE, which is a practical outcome of President Yoon's pledge for economy-centric diplomacy," Lee said. "Based on their mutual trust which was built upon the Barakah plant, the two countries have agreed that they will go together for the next 100 years and strengthen their cooperation and friendship for the future generation."





President Yoon Suk Yeol takes selfie with a member of Korean Special Warfare Unit in UAE, known as the Akh unit, in Abu Dhabi, Sunday. Yonhap
HCM CITY  Mondelez Kinh o kicks off a community programme named "See Kinh o, Give Tet," aiming to bring a meaningful and warm Tet (Lunar New Year) atmosphere to unprivileged children across the country.

Under the programme, the company has designed various activities to support more than 1,000 disadvantaged children in shelters across the country.

Accordingly, the children have experienced joyful moments with colourful Tet decorations, lion dance performances, and fun games to welcome the Tet festival.

As part of the programme, the company has given out thousands of gift packs, including toys, stationary and warm clothes to the children for the new year and confectionery products from the companys famous brands, enabling them to have a happy Tet.

It is known that Mondelez Kinh o has deducted 10 per cent of the revenue generated from the sales on the special day 12/12 on two e-commerce channels, Lazada and Shopee, to fund this programme.

Giving and sharing is an integral part of Viet Nams traditions and Kinh o has always stood for keeping our traditions and values alive. With the mission of building meaningful relationships with our consumers and contributing for the community, this year, Mondelez Kinh o gives a meaningful Tet to underprivileged children through the campaign "See Kinh o, Give Tet, said Sameer Yadav, marketing director of Mondelez Kinh o Vietnam.

"See Kinh o, Give Tet" is Mondelez Kinh o's first programme with the participation of the community. To be part of the meaningful programme, consumers purchased the high-quality Tet products of Mondelez Kinh o on the special sales day of December 12. It is a practical contribution showing the Vietnamese tradition of mutual solidarity and love.

Consumers can participate in Kinh os Tet gift buses to bring the entire Tet atmosphere to disadvantaged children by signing up on Kinh o's fan page.

In pursuit of sustainable business development in Viet Nam, Mondelez Kinh o has constantly been making positive and persistent social responsibility contributions to the community over the years.  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday urged the labour, invalids and social sector to be more determined to complete its tasks, towards spreading the spirit of kindness; accelerating human resources developmentl and promoting social progress and justice, and sustainable social development in line with the motto of leaving no one behind.

Addressing a conference held by the Ministry of Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) to review the work of labour, people with meritorious services and social security in 2022 and sketch out tasks in 2023, the PM praised the ministry for its efforts and contributions to the socio-economic development achievements of the country.

He said that the sector must always adapt, innovate, and promptly propose mechanisms, policies related to institutions and coordination for better management.

The leader highlighted that social policies have been well performed and poverty reduction, child protection and care, and gender equality promotion carried out comprehensively and effectively.

However, he also pointed out a number of shortcomings and limitations in the sector, and requested it to continue efforts to deal with them, stressing the ministry must perfect mechanisms and policies, creating a legal corridor and an open environment for people and businesses to easily access policies on labour, employment, and social security.

The sector and localities must ensure the effective and transparent implementation of policies towards people with meritorious services to the revolution, and mobilise all resources to take care of the lives of people with meritorious services, and do well the embellishment and upgrade of works dedicated to martyrs, the PM said.  VNS
By Luong Huong & Minh Phuong

The witty and playful cat, the Oriental zodiac animal of the upcoming Lunar New Year, the Year of the Cat, festival in Vietnamese culture, has become the inspiration for a new collection of lacquer works by sculptor Nguyen Tan Phat from uong Lam Ancient Village on the outskirts of Ha Noi.

The collection includes 2,023 feline statuettes, meticulously crafted from jackfruit wood and covered with lacquer, or from laterite, the indigenous materials of the artists hometown.

This is Phat's third unique collection of artworks inspired by symbolic animals of the lunar calendar. Before the cat collection, he made 1,010 buffalo statues on the occasion of the 1,010th anniversary of Ha Noi in 2021, and 2,022 small tigers to welcome 2022, the Year of the Tiger.

The special feature of the collections is uniqueness  no item looks alike. In his latest collection, the cats are depicted in various positions that showcase their cuteness and playfulness, chasing each other, teasing a mouse, sunbathing on house roofs or climbing trees.

Through this lacquer statue collection, I wish to promote the values of Vietnamese traditional lacquer craft and culture by welcoming 2023 or the Year of the Cat, Phat told Viet Nam News.

The feline statues are inspired by the image of cats in Vietnamese folk art, and the number of the artworks corresponds to the year 2023, which is expected to leave a lasting impression on the viewers.

Interestingly, the cat artworks could have different functions. Besides being decorative items, they can be used as a box, a flower vase, or a tea tray, making images of the animal dearer to art lovers.

To complete a one-of-a-kind artwork, the 40-year-old artist has to work on various steps, from visualising the ideas, chiselling and shaping the wood block, and then covering it with layers of paint.

After it is dried, the item will be polished, inlaid with eggshells or mother-of-pearl and added hand-drawn features like eyes or whiskers. Each artwork takes many days to finish. To save time, he works alternately on several items a day and has one or two people to assist with simple work steps such as painting, sanding and lacquering.

He revealed that the phases of shaping and painting the statues are the most important.

"As an old Vietnamese saying goes: nhat dang nhi da (first shape, second skin), and the statues first and foremost must have a beautiful shape. Then comes its skin or the paint. The more elaborately and meticulously they are painted, the more complete and beautiful they become," Phat said.

Not only different in shapes, the statues are also diverse in styles of sculpture. While some are crafted in realism style, others are depicted in abstraction or expressionism.

"To differentiate them from tiger statues, I have carefully studied the cat figures. The cat's face is always triangular, with big ears, pointed chin, and its tail is long and straight-up," he added.

According to Phat, the image of a cat has inspired him as it is a domesticated animal closely associated with Vietnamese life and loved by everyone, from children to the elderly.

"I have come up with many unique cat figures and positions, but I have been most impressed with the image of cats playing in the sun. That explains why I have created many decorative items depicting cats playing around."

The most impressive and sophisticated work in Phat's feline collection is a set of chairs with different colours and a fish-shaped table, which he has named Bua Tiec Ngay Xuan (A Spring Feast). Patterns inspired by Vietnamese folk art and tales like am Cuoi Chuot (Mice's Wedding) or Chu Be Om Meo (Boy Hugs Cat) are used to decorate the chairs.

"The set showcases the meal of a cat family celebrating a new year. It aims to deliver my wish of a joyful party for every Vietnamese family in 2023, just like these witty and lively cats," he said.

Unlike the previous collections that were mainly exhibited in Ha Noi, the artist has taken his feline artworks further, having them displayed in HCM City last December. Through the eight-day solo exhibition, he introduced the traditional craft to more people in the southern city.

Dedication to ancient craft

Phat was born in Ha Noi suburb's Son Tay Town. As the only lacquer artisan in the town, he has contributed to passing down the craft to the next generation and inspiring young artists in his homeland, as well as creating jobs for dozens of locals.

His greatest desire is not only to preserve and promote traditional lacquer fine art but also to bring this traditional beauty of Viet Nam to the world. His original artisanal artworks have made a great impression on Vietnamese and international art lovers in recent years.

Phat said his passion for art was inherited from his father and grandfather. During his childhood, he followed them to restore heritage buildings in his hometown, like communal houses, temples, and shrines, which exposed him to his first understanding of lacquer art.

His childhood passion inspired him to study lacquer painting at the Ha Noi University of Industrial Fine Arts. After graduating, Phat embarked on his own artistic path. He started a private business specialising in lacquer paintings, lacquerwares, and inlaid and lacquered jewellery in his hometown.

Since then, his artistic career began to flourish, and he has won many awards, such as first prizes in the Ha Noi handicraft design competitions in 2014 and 2019, and the top prize in the Viet Nam Handicraft Design Contest 2020 with the 1010 Lacquered Buffalo Statues project.

Most recently, his feline statue named Meo Xu oai (Cat of oai Land) won third prize in the Viet Nam Handicraft Design contest 2022.

In 2017, he was among the youngest artists honoured as a typical Ha Noi Artisan by the municipal People's Committee.

With great passion and capacity to grasp market trends, Phat has created unique products of his own mark with high value, different from other lacquer products on the market.

He has opened a free vocational workshop at home to spread his passion for lacquer art.

"My free vocational workshop aims to find 'heirs' who can join me in building and transforming uong Lam into a traditional lacquer village," he said.

His creativity space  Phat Studio  has become a must-visit for any tourists to uong Lam Village. There they can contemplate his feline statue collection and other unique lacquer artworks or observe the artist at each stage, from sculpting to lacquering.

They can also join in creating an artwork, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of Vietnamese traditional art. VNS
The number of people keeping up with COVID-19 booster shots in McLennan County is flagging while a new omicron subvariant is establishing dominance statewide.

More remains to be understood about the XBB1.5 variant, but it does not yet seem to have brought a high fatality rate with it, officials said.

Waco-McLennan County Health District Senior Epidemiologist Vaidehi Shah said not much is known about the new variant right now, besides the fact that it has become the most transmissible subvariant of omicrom to date. The World Health Organization is conducting a risk assessment on the new variant that should give the health district more information about XBB1.5. in the next few weeks, Shah said.

The XBB1.5. variant was responsible for 25% of COVID-19 cases nationwide as of Jan. 10, according to Johns Hopkins University. In Texas, federal data shows the variant makes up about 17% of cases, said Chris Van Deusen, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.

So far this month, the local health district has reported seven COVID-19 deaths among McLennan County residents, ages 86, 67, 70, 81, 83, 99 and 36. The health district reported 83 new cases Friday, though Shah said that number only represents part of the real case count.

It is impossible to have an accurate number of daily COVID cases due to the unreported at-home tests and undiagnosed cases, she said.

According to Van Deusen, 56,569 people in McLennan County got the first booster vaccine. Only 19,035 received a second booster, and as of Thursday only 5,641 had received a third.

Dr. Ben Wilson, associate chief medical officer for Waco Family Medicine, said even a mild case of COVID-19 in a young person can absolutely result in long COVID or conditions that remain after a person recovers from the initial viral infection.

More common symptoms range from lingering fatigue and heart palpitations to sleep issues and depression, digestive problems, rashes or dizziness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In less common cases, patients develop symptoms that mimic chronic disorders already considered poorly understood by the CDC, making it difficult for a patients doctors to place what is happening.

People most likely to develop long COVID include people who had a severe COVID-19 case, people who had underlying health conditions, unvaccinated people and those who experienced multisystem inflammatory syndrome during or after their illness.

Many experts point to that as the official reason to get vaccinated, Wilson said.

He said Waco Family Medicine is still giving vaccines, including boosters, mostly to adults.

Wilson said for now it appears the mortality rate of the new variant is low, possibly comparable to the initial omicron wave.

I expect with all the collective immunity across the population that no matter what variant arises, we will continue to see a much lower fatality rate than we did with the delta variant, Wilson said.

The health district is offering vaccines to kids 6 months old and older.

In December, the CDC recommended giving bivalent boosters to children between 6 months and 5 years old. In a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press release about the announcement, the department stated the vast majority of children in that age group have received no COVID-19 vaccines at all.
The story of a Black sharecroppers son in the Mississippi Delta who would go on to a respected career in higher education and become a voice for Black education and empowerment seems like it could fit in civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr.s famous 1963 I have a dream speech.

It is a dream come to life, however, in the person of 96-year-old Van Allen, who has spent 37 of those years in Waco, first as a Paul Quinn College vice president, then as a retiree still active in, and an inspiration to, his community.

Allen, a man of quiet grace and bearing, is quick to share how that dream came about in the convergence of parental support, timely help from others, hard work, unflagging spirit and, well, God.

Theres no other way to say what has happened other than Ive been blessed, he said in a recent interview in his two-story brick home that overlooks the former Paul Quinn College campus, now home to Rapoport Academys Meyer High School and the Waco Multipurpose Facility.

Millions of Americans are remembering and honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, the holiday established in his name and memory. Allen, too, said Kings message and leadership has not lost its validity today.

Dr. King taught us that patience and persistence are important to making progress. He helped us understand better that hardship is often the source of a blessing, Allen said. He showed us everybody has power.

But not everybody has wisdom. The Rev. Marlon Jones, pastor of St. Luke AME Church of which Allen is a member, said Allen is a rich source of wisdom in his community.

From my perspective, the wisdom he has isnt utilized enough, Jones said. You think that people at his time of life would be ready to pass the torch, but thats not necessarily the case with Dr. Allen. He still has his torch and is ready to use his torch to light yours.

Allen was the oldest of seven children born to sharecroppers outside of Hollandale, Mississippi. While the family worked at raising and picking cotton, he became known for his predilection for books and reading, even at an early age. School for Black children was the local Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church, for which families chopped firewood in the summer to heat the church in wintertime.

School only ran five months a year for Black students in rural Mississippi, two months fewer than for white students, and Allen remembers dodging rocks thrown by white kids on buses as he walked to school and they rode to the consolidated county school in Hollandale.

After a short stint in the Navy, Allen managed to make it to college, attending Tougaloo College, a private historically Black college near Jackson, Mississippi. He received a major break and a life lesson at the school when the biology department chair, a white professor, asked her superiors to make Allen her assistant, based on his ability and work ethic.

Her move floored Allen, not only because it was rare for a white person in authority in Mississippi to lobby for a Black student on his merits, but her faith in him opened a new horizon of possibility as a college instructor.

The white professors at Tougaloo, many originally from the North, treated their students with respect, even if that meant they were treated with disdain in nearby Jackson.

Looking back on it, I appreciate what the white faculty at Tougaloo College gave up, he said. They treated us as full-fledged human beings. They called us Mr. and Miss.

Not only did Allen get the assistantship, but his professor also helped secure a study fellowship that paid for graduate studies at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, a state with no prescribed racial segregation, he found fellow students of color tending to stay with their own cultural or ethnic group rather than join together in a larger, more visible group.

Armed with a masters degree in biology, Allen went to teach at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, from 1952 to 1965. While at Bennett, Allen met a visiting preacher and leader in the burgeoning civil rights movement in the South: Martin Luther King Jr. Allen anticipated a second meeting with King, when he returned to the college as commencement speaker, only to find that encounter foiled by a delayed flight.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Allen shifted from teaching to advocacy for Black higher education, working with the Southern Regional Education Board in Atlanta, then the Washington, D.C., based Technical Assistance Consortium to Improve College Services, which he led as executive director.

At a time when a growing push to integrate white state universities threatened to kill off underfunded and resource-starved Black state schools, Allen argued for their preservation and adequate funding.

The United Negro College Fund worked his arguments into its educational material, and Allen provided evidence in the landmark Mississippi case Ayers v. Fordice, which took 17 years to resolve before a final $503 million settlement paid to three Black Mississippi state schools.

The sharp-eyed Allen learned from observation during his time in Washington, D.C. On his visits to Black colleges and universities, he saw the contributions of faculty members who graduated from the Tuskegee Institute. Those faculty members often lived in Black neighborhoods with houses appreciably nicer and better maintained than those around them. The Tuskegee Institute, founded in Alabama with Booker T. Washington as its first leader, required students to master two vocational skills before graduation, and graduates often pooled their skills to build and improve their houses on their own, Allen said.

He also saw Jewish students attending Saturday classes in culture and heritage to prepare them to live in a society sometimes antagonistic to them  preparation Allen felt Black colleges and schools could and should offer for their students.

In 1980, Tougaloo College invited its graduate to serve as vice president for academic affairs, a position he held for five years before Paul Quinn College called him to Waco as a vice president. At Paul Quinn, Allen worked to help students earn their degrees, even as the schools open enrollment policy meant some arrived underprepared for college work. He had less patience for students who backed off from their studies when they became hard rather than resolving to do the work at hand.

The financially challenged Waco college moved to the former campus of Bishop College in Dallas in 1990, but Allen opted to retire rather than follow the college to Dallas. He made sure to secure his college-provided home as his own before the school moved, an he has lived in the home since.

His small home office can scarcely contain the acquisitions of a life in higher education with shelves packed with books and the walls above them blanketed with plaques, certificates, diplomas, awards and photographs. Some of his most recent honors, the Bridge Builder and Living Legends awards, hang on his office door for lack of wall space.

Allens sharecropping siblings moved beyond subsistence farming to respectable careers in health, medicine and mental health services, but he was the only one who made education a career.

Friends say he is not the type to brag about accomplishments or push his advice where it is not wanted and his age has little diminished his firm beliefs in the importance of self-determination, education, equity and faith. The landmark Montgomery bus boycott that King helped organize to push back on the citys racial segregation in 1955-56 could have achieved its goals in less time, Allen said.

They should have done more to show the power of togetherness, Allen said. If Blacks in food service, health care, labor and other essential jobs had refused to work, change would have been faster. Black people have got a power in this country they dont really understand.

Even though Black students have more access to higher learning than Allen did in his youth, Allen said there is still an important role for Black colleges and universities in terms of student support and the transmission of heritage and culture.

Every one of our communities needs a Black college, he said.

Sherman Ayres, active in several Waco community organizations after his retirement from Mars Inc., is a longtime friend and fellow church member. The conversations they often start when sharing a pew at St. Luke sometimes continue into the worship service, he said.

Hes one of these people where wisdom and intellect is in the same person, Ayres said. Hes just an extraordinary human being.
LINCOLN  Nebraska Chamber President Bryan Slone announced the formation of Tech Nebraska, a new, statewide organization to cultivate Nebraskas tech community and drive collaboration, growth and policy.

The Chamber announced the groups formation Dec. 16 at its Innovation and Tech Summit

Tech Nebraska will unite and strengthen Nebraskas statewide technology community by helping drive industry growth and position the state as a leader in the future of technology and innovation, advocate for tech-forward public policies and support the development of a diverse, talented workforce. The organization is in the early stages of formation with senior level information and technology officers joining the founding board, including representatives from Kiewit, Google, Methodist Health System, Union Pacific, Meta, and Workshop, among others.

Nebraska needs a thriving, unified tech sector to help drive its economy, compete for top talent and solve the challenges of tomorrow, Slone said. Its imperative  regardless of whether you run a business in the urban core of Omaha, the shop floor in Columbus or from a pasture in the Sandhills. Every company is a tech company.

The organization is being launched on a solid foundation. Nebraska outputs nearly $4.5 billion in GDP from the information technology sector and ranks in the top 15 states for most tech jobs per capita, a tribute to the work already underway by technology leaders, partners and governmental agencies, Slone said.

Weve grown our Silicon Prairie reputation by leaps and bounds over the past decade, but our tech community hasnt reached its full potential yet, he said.

For example, the Milken Institutes State Technology and Science Index in 2022 ranked Nebraska 34th out of 50th, a modest gain from 38th in 2020. The Milken Index measures state-level knowledge economies, including their capability to Page 2 of 2: Tech Nebraska will unite the states tech community support business formation, job creation, and wage growth. Nebraska also ranked 46th of 50 in the 2022 Global Innovation Indexs most and least innovative states list.

Tech Nebraska will leverage the collective expertise of its members  from McCook to Valentine, Scottsbluff to Omaha  to align with progress in peer states, many of which have had statewide-focused technology associations for decades. It will also partner with existing technology advocates and stakeholders in various regions of the state to build Nebraskas reputation as a top-tier tech state.

In the coming months, Tech Nebraska will continue to recruit new members and begin to set future fundraising goals, as well as hire an executive director and staff.

More information will be made available soon, and a website and social media accounts will launch.

Companies interested in engaging their chief information and technology officers may contact the NE Chamber for more information at nechamber@nechamber.com or 402-474-4422.




Subway and bus services in Seoul will be extended to run until 2 a.m. during the Lunar New Year holiday later this month, the Seoul metropolitan government said Sunday.







According to the city's transportation plans, trains on Subway Line 1 through Line 9 across the capital will be operated through 2 a.m. on the first day of the lunar calendar, which falls on next Sunday this year, and the following day, about two hours longer than usual.







The city's bus operations will also be extended to 2 a.m., while express and outbound buses departing from Seoul will be expanded by about 21 percent per day during the eight-day period starting Wednesday.







On the occasion of Lunar New Year, or Seoul in Korean, many people travel across the nation to reunite with families at hometowns or pay respects to their ancestors. (Yonhap)


CEDAR FALLS  Gloria Kirkland Holmes was a special leader and inspiration who made an impact on children, future teachers and the community around her.

The retired University of Northern Iowa education professor died at age 70 on Dec. 20. Her funeral was Saturday.

A native of Charleston, South Carolina, she worked at UNI for 41 years and leaves behind a legacy centered on the power of education and the importance of culturally responsive schools, said Robin Dada, head of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education.

Kirkland Holmes former colleagues will strive to keep her legacy at the forefront.

She influenced broad understanding and commitment to the education of African-American children, continuing to stress that the educational system becomes more inclusive and more culturally responsive to students of all cultures and background, said Dada.

Kirkland Holmes also taught for 25 years at UNIs former Price Lab School and introduced the Cedar Valley and thousands of children to the National African American Read-In, a day-long event devoted to promoting African-American culture and lifting up black authors and illustrators.

Additionally, she founded the African American Children & Families Conference, which, according to its website, provides high quality and culturally relevant presentations on topics that appeal to faculty, staff, professional colleagues and community friends and neighbors.

According to Dada, spearheading such events demonstrates her commitment to giving her community a deeper level of cultural understanding and acceptance.

While she often wasnt front and center for the events, Dada said she was the force behind the scenes that brought them to life. She connected with different groups and speakers, and brought everyone together, Dada noted.

Shelly Bromwich, a field experience coordinator, first met Holmes while student teaching in her nursery/kindergarten classroom at the laboratory school in 1992.

Holmes shared with her the value in wearing bright colors, as well as singing, dancing and throwing in lots of hands on activities into lessons.

Gloria had a huge impact in that way I developed as a teacher, Bromwich said. I will always be thankful that I was her student teacher. I will always love and cherish the friendship we had, she said.

Clare Struck, a retired professor, was an elementary counselor at the laboratory school and a colleague of Holmes for more than 30 years. She remembers her as an exemplary and visionary educator who always had her eye on the prize  the children she taught  because she viewed each one as a unique treasure.

Her own children had her as a teacher and notes how they were nurtured into joyful and curious learners and caring and conscientious citizens. Her daughter remembers being taken by Kirkland Holmes to be interviewed on the KBBG radio station about what they were learning about Dr. Martin Luther King.

Denise Tallakson, an instructor of elementary education, described her as a champion for early childhood education because she did everything possible to make sure the kids and teachers she came into contact with had success.

She didnt hold back and put in endless hours, Tallakson said. It wouldnt be surprising to get an email from her in the middle of the night.

The two met in 1986 while teaching nursery kindergarten at the former Price Lab School.

She was a great example and advocate for young children and early childhood education, Tallakson said. She taught them to be creative with music and by using movement.

A lot of people had ideas, but she always made them happen, she added. Tallakson also noted that she was a leader who challenged her colleagues to make learning more inclusive.

Another product of Kirkland Holmes was the Shining Stars Girls Project, a program launched in 2013 by local pastors aimed at empowering African American girls.

Outside the educational realm, she was the first lady of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Waterloo for more than three decades. Her husband, Robert Lee Holmes, was pastor of the church during those years. He died at age 72 in 2021.

According to a story about Kirkland Holmes published by UNI upon her retirement, her life centered around defying expectations.

That perhaps was noticed early on when she advanced from segregated 1960s Charleston, where few opportunities existed to get a college education. She came to Cedar Falls to work at the university in 1978.
WATERLOO  Sandie Greco has worked in a mans world for more than 50 years.

Now, shes leaving the city of Waterloos Public Works Department as the traffic operations and animal control director to focus on retirement.

Its time for me to move on and let the younger group command, Greco said. I have no regrets. I gave it my all.

Born in Waterloo, she graduated from Columbus Catholic High School in 1970. But before she graduated, she started at Public Works as a clerk in 1969.

She then went to University of Northern Iowa, but left when she was offered a full-time position with the city. Eventually, she ended up going back to college at Upper Iowa University in 1988 for a degree in management.

Twelve years later, her supervisor promoted her to director.

Grecos most memorable moments are from the people she worked with every day.

Ive worked with these people for so long, theyre my second family, she said. We brainstorm, we work together  were a team, you know?

She also enjoyed the times she got to spend with the people of Waterloo. She said she wishes she got to meet more of the people she served. One way she did get to meet them, though, is through Public Works Day.

Each year, Public Works would open up its facility for people to tour and ride the heavy equipment. She said she loved seeing faces, both kids and adults, light up when riding something like a lift truck.

I think it gives people an idea of what we do, she said. Its not just getting in a garbage truck and picking up garbage. Theres a lot more to it than that. Im gonna miss that.

Apart from spending most of her time at Public Works, she also taught dance to children and adults for 35 years. She said shed work until 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and then head to Dixies School of Dance to teach until 10 p.m.

That was my outlet, she said. Last year, she joined a group of women who performed a dance routine for veterans going on an Honor Flight trip to Washington D.C.

Even though Greco referred to all the current department heads at Public Works as her sons, she expressed excitement about spending more time with her actual family.

She recently returned from a month in Saudi Arabia to see her son Sam and his wife Melanie along with her grandkids. She also has two daughters, Amy and Angelina.

As a woman whos succeeded in a career working mostly with men, shes had some words of advice for her daughters about jobs. She has the same message for all females.

I think any girl who believes in anything can achieve it, said Greco. No matter what field its in, you just have to go for it.

Close Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds hugs her husband First Gentleman Kevin Reynolds at the conclusion of the Condition of the State address, inside the Iowa House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Iowa Senate President Pro Tempore Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, applauds during Gov. Kim Reynolds' Condition of the State address, inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Attendees to Gov. Kim Reynolds' Condition of the State address applaud during the speech, inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber on Jan. 10 at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature on Jan. 10 at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds is escorted into the Iowa House of Representatives, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, to give the annual Condition of the State address, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Photos: Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers the condition of the state address Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds hugs her husband First Gentleman Kevin Reynolds at the conclusion of the Condition of the State address, inside the Iowa House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Iowa Senate President Pro Tempore Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, applauds during Gov. Kim Reynolds' Condition of the State address, inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Attendees to Gov. Kim Reynolds' Condition of the State address applaud during the speech, inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber on Jan. 10 at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Condition of the State address to members of the Iowa Legislature on Jan. 10 at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds is escorted into the Iowa House of Representatives, on Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, 2023, to give the annual Condition of the State address, at the Iowa State Capitol, in Des Moines.
Andy Milone's memorable stories from 2022

A reporters creed is often reflected in the stories he or she writes during a given year.

I let the facts speak for themselves while informing people, but continued to reinforce in 2022 my belief that its not my job to just transcribe government officials discussions and decisions at public meetings.

Instead, reporting involves asking follow-up questions, perusing documents and being in touch with as many people as possible to learn more about whats happening in the community.

Digging up information and providing context is what readers deserve. It gives them a better feel for how decisions impact them and whats coming in the future.

Here are five examples of stories in 2022 involving government in Cedar Falls and Waverly that hopefully made a difference.
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JAKARTA, Indonesia  Widespread opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine demonstrates the strength of a unified response against human rights abuses, and there are signs that power is shifting as people take to the streets to demonstrate their dissatisfaction in Iran, China and elsewhere, according to a leading rights group.

A litany of human rights crises emerged in 2022, but the year also presented new opportunities to strengthen protections against violations, Human Rights Watch said in its annual world report on human rights conditions in more than 100 countries and territories.

After years of piecemeal and often half-hearted efforts on behalf of civilians under threat in places including Yemen, Afghanistan and South Sudan, the worlds mobilization around Ukraine reminds us of the extraordinary potential when governments realize their human rights responsibilities on a global scale, the groups acting executive director, Tirana Hassan, said in the preface to the 712-page report.

All governments should bring the same spirit of solidarity to the multitude of human rights crises around the globe, and not just when it suits their interests, she said.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a broad group of nations imposed wide-ranging sanctions while rallying to Kyiv's support, while the United Nations Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court both opened investigations into abuses, HRW said.

Countries now need to ask themselves what might have happened if they had taken such measures after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, or applied the lessons elsewhere like Ethiopia, where two years of armed conflict has contributed to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, Hassan said.

Governments and the U.N. have condemned the summary killings, widespread sexual violence and pillage, but have done little else, she said of the situation in Ethiopia, where Tigray forces signed an agreement with the government late last year in hope of ending the conflict.

The New York-based organization highlighted the demonstrations in Iran that erupted in mid-September when Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by the country's morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code, as well as protests in Sri Lanka that forced the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign, and the democratic election in Brazil of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over far-right Jair Bolsonaro.

Courageous people time and again still take extraordinary risks to take to the streets, even in places like Afghanistan and China, to stand up for their rights, HRW's Asia director Elaine Pearson told reporters at the report's launch in Jakarta.

In China, Human Rights Watch said the U.N. and others' increased focus on the treatment of Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims in the Xinjiang region has put Beijing on the defensive internationally, while domestic protests against the government's zero-COVID strategy also included broader criticism of President Xi Jinping's rule.

As many Western governments turn away from China on trade toward India, however, Pearson admonished them not to ignore Prime Minister Narendra Modi's own human rights record.

India, under Prime Minister Modi, has also seen very similar abuses, the systematic discrimination against religious minorities, especially Muslims, the stifling of political dissent, the use of technology to suppress free expression and tighten its grip on power.

At a later press conference in Beirut, HRW highlighted economic crises in the Middle East and North Africa that have impacted peoples ability to meet their basic needs and have, in turn, triggered social unrest and violence, sometimes followed by government repression.

Outside of the Gulf, nearly every country in the region is suffering from some kind of major economic challenge, said Adam Coogle, citing a growing currency crisis in Egypt and fuel and electricity crises in Lebanon and Syria. In Jordan, fuel price hikes have led to protests that turned violent.

One of the greatest humanitarian crises continues to be in Myanmar, where the military seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and since then has brutally cracked down on any dissent. The military leadership has taken more than 17,000 political prisoners since then and killed more than 2,700 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Human Rights Watch said peace attempts by Myanmar's neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have failed, and that aside from barring the country's military leaders from its high-level meetings, the bloc has imposed minimal pressure on Myanmar.

It urged ASEAN to engage with opposition groups in exile and intensify pressure on Myanmar by aligning with international efforts to cut off the junta's foreign currency revenue and weapons purchases.

In Jakarta, Pearson noted that the only lasting solution to the Rohingya refugee situation would be holding Myanmar's government accountable for their persecution, and giving the Rohingya the ability to safely return.

Most Rohingya want to go home, but they want safety, they want equal treatment, they want their land back, and they want the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide held to account.

HRW chose Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, as the site to launch its report in the hopes that Jakarta would use the opportunity to push the group to hold Myanmar to account for implementing its five-point peace process, Pearson said.

The Hunted: These are the Ukrainians Russia wanted to find Viktor Maruniak Ihor Kuraian Vlad Buryak Yevheniia Virlych Ilya Yenin Pastor Dmitry Bodyu Serhii Tsyhipa
Many folks have a fascination with numbers and celebrating historical and personal landmarks based on them. Taking advantage of this tendency, I want to begin by indicating how it relates to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 2023.

Sixty-five years ago, while autographing his first book, "Stride toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story," King was stabbed with a letter opener, which nearly punctured his aorta, by a mentally imbalanced woman named Izola Curry.

Sixty years ago, King was arrested and incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama. Eight clergy challenged the Birmingham campaign as unnecessary at that time, and King penned his celebrated Letter from Birmingham Jail, which appeared in his book "Why We Cant Wait" the following year. On Aug. 28, 1963, eight years after the murder of Emmett Till and a day after the death of W.E.B. Du Bois, King gave his very poignant speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom  ending with the marvelous, extemporaneous refrain, I Have a Dream.

Fifty-five years ago, exactly one year after formally coming out against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War  while the Great Societys War on Poverty was languishing at home  King, who was just thirty-nine, was brutally murdered in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was assisting the primarily African-American sanitation workers who were striking for better working conditions and wages.

Today, we are seeing intensifying resurgence of racial discrimination, white supremacy and Christian nationalism; widening of income inequality; killing of unarmed black men and women by police and citizens; challenges to the clear and necessary purposes of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts; persistence of underemployment and unethical hiring/firing processes; and the existence of other injustices which substantiate that the United States is still a place where institutional racism and inhumane bigotry pervade every aspect of quality-of-life indices.

King did not seek the limelight. He wanted initially to be a good country preacher in the south. After being catapulted into and characterized as the quintessential head of the nonviolent revolution, King became desirous of taking a break and entering the academy to teach and to write. However, he felt obligated to respond to numerous invitations to speak and to assist in multifarious campaigns in places across the country.

He dedicated his life to serving and seeking to ameliorate the structures, policies, and services of the United States to become a fair, equitable, and inclusive democratic republic. Often, he would express how he loved this country, but hated how she was drifting away from her highest ideals. He was a true patriot.

The famous writer and poet John Donne had "Songs and Sonnets" published posthumously 390 years ago, in which appears Holy Sonnet 10. The well-known title is, Death Be Not Proud. In it, he addresses Death, and criticizes its haughty nature and ostensible power. The lesson of the poem is that humans ought not be afraid of death.

Because of frequent threats and attempts upon his life, King could not help but to think about his own mortality. He admitted he would like to live a long life; however, his commitment to social justice work compelled him to realize it was more important for a person to find something so meaningful that nothing could deter one from its pursuit  even the specter of death! Since we are all going to die eventually, theres no reason to fear death while advocating for good and righteous causes for future generations, if not our own.

Close Nikole Hannah-Jones smiles after announcing Rodney Anderson as an honorary co-founder of the 1619 Freedom School during a December 2021 open house for the after-school program's new space at the Masonic Temple in Waterloo. Hannah-Jones started the program. Visitors tour the 1619 Freedom School's new space during an open house at the Masonic Temple in Waterloo on Sunday. Visitors applaud during a presentation at an open house of the 1619 Freedom School's new space at the Masonic Temple in Waterloo on Sunday. The classroom space in the 1619 Freedom School's location at the Masonic Temple on Sunday. 1619 Freedom School co-director Sheritta Stokes speaks during the open house of the school's new space at the Masonic Temple on Sunday. A small learning area features murals from artist Cbabi Bayoc. Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones and the Rev. Ray Dial share a laugh on stage during a "homecoming" event and stop on her 1619 Project book tour at West High School on Nov. 23, 2021. Dial taught an African-American history class at West where Hannah-Jones first learned about the year 1619. The crowd applauds as Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones is introduced on stage during a "homecoming" event and stop on her 1619 Project book tour at West High School on Tuesday. Emcee Akwi Nji holds up a copy of Nikole Hannah-Jones' book "The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story" during a "homecoming" event and tour stop at West High School on Tuesday. Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Rev. Ray Dial and emcee Akwi Nji share a laugh on stage during a "homecoming" event and stop on her 1619 Project book tour at West High School on Tuesday. Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones and the Rev. Ray Dial speak on stage during a "homecoming" event and stop on her 1619 Project book tour at West High School on Tuesday. The West High School choir performs during a "homecoming" event for Nikole Hannah-Jones and stop on her 1619 Project book tour on Tuesday. Nikole Hannah-Jones delivers the Constitution Day address at Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on Sept. 16, 2019. Nikole Hannah-Jones delivers the 2019 Constitution Day address, titled "Separate and Unequal: Considering Modern Day Segregation and the American Constitution," to a packed room at Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on Monday night. Nikole Hannah-Jones gives a hug to an audience member before delivering the 2019 Constitution Day address, titled "Separate and Unequal: Considering Modern Day Segregation and the American Constitution," at Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on Monday night. Nikole Hannah-Jones appearances in the Cedar Valley Nikole Hannah-Jones smiles after announcing Rodney Anderson as an honorary co-founder of the 1619 Freedom School during a December 2021 open house for the after-school program's new space at the Masonic Temple in Waterloo. Hannah-Jones started the program. Visitors tour the 1619 Freedom School's new space during an open house at the Masonic Temple in Waterloo on Sunday. Visitors applaud during a presentation at an open house of the 1619 Freedom School's new space at the Masonic Temple in Waterloo on Sunday. The classroom space in the 1619 Freedom School's location at the Masonic Temple on Sunday. 1619 Freedom School co-director Sheritta Stokes speaks during the open house of the school's new space at the Masonic Temple on Sunday. A small learning area features murals from artist Cbabi Bayoc. Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones and the Rev. Ray Dial share a laugh on stage during a "homecoming" event and stop on her 1619 Project book tour at West High School on Nov. 23, 2021. Dial taught an African-American history class at West where Hannah-Jones first learned about the year 1619. The crowd applauds as Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones is introduced on stage during a "homecoming" event and stop on her 1619 Project book tour at West High School on Tuesday. Emcee Akwi Nji holds up a copy of Nikole Hannah-Jones' book "The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story" during a "homecoming" event and tour stop at West High School on Tuesday. Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Rev. Ray Dial and emcee Akwi Nji share a laugh on stage during a "homecoming" event and stop on her 1619 Project book tour at West High School on Tuesday. Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones and the Rev. Ray Dial speak on stage during a "homecoming" event and stop on her 1619 Project book tour at West High School on Tuesday. The West High School choir performs during a "homecoming" event for Nikole Hannah-Jones and stop on her 1619 Project book tour on Tuesday. Nikole Hannah-Jones delivers the Constitution Day address at Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on Sept. 16, 2019. Nikole Hannah-Jones delivers the 2019 Constitution Day address, titled "Separate and Unequal: Considering Modern Day Segregation and the American Constitution," to a packed room at Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on Monday night. Nikole Hannah-Jones gives a hug to an audience member before delivering the 2019 Constitution Day address, titled "Separate and Unequal: Considering Modern Day Segregation and the American Constitution," at Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on Monday night.
The forecast is calling for cold temperatures in Waterloo Sunday. The forecast calls for it to be a nippy 42 degrees. 38 degrees is today's low. We'll see sunshine today, but also cloud cover at times. Sunday's winds could be brisk, with forecast models showing 17 mph wind conditions coming up from Southeast. This report is created automatically with weather data provided by TownNews.com. Visit wcfcourier.com for more weather updates.
This image provided by Naver shows Manish Chandra, founder and CEO of Poshmark, speaking during a press event with the Korean media held in San Francisco and streamed online, Jan. 13. Yonhap



The head of Poshmark, a U.S. social commerce marketplace for fashion, has said the merger with Korean tech giant Naver will give fresh growth momentum to both companies and help them grow into a global player in the world.



"I'm really excited about our integration with Naver, which I believe really creates a lot of potential moving forward," Manish Chandra, founder and CEO of Poshmark, said during a press event with the Korean media held in San Francisco and streamed online Friday (Korean time).



"Not only do we share similar business values, I see the merger with Naver has a key opportunity to build a next stage of growth for both companies."



Earlier this month, Naver completed the acquisition of Poshmark for $1.2 billion and has the U.S. fashion platform under its wing.



Naver, whose business ranges from search engine and online community to webtoon, e-commerce and web broadcasting services, said the Poshmark deal is part of its long-term strategy to build a global portfolio linking Korea, Japan and Europe with North America and to increase its competitiveness in the global e-commerce market.



Founded in 2011, the California-based Poshmark is one of the biggest online shopping platforms stateside, where users can buy and sell new and secondhand clothing, and other home goods. It has over 80 million users.



Chandra, the Poshmark official, said his company has ambition to become a leading e-commerce platform on the world stage and joined Naver on its way to achieve the goal. Poshmark launched overseas business in Canada in 2019 and in both India and Australia in 2021.



"Looking forward, this merger is aimed at creating a global player in online fashion," he said. "At a global level, we are very confident that we have shared vision and values and are very excited to set on a journey to become a global market leader in fashion e-commerce."



He said his company will be provided with new up-to-date features based on Naver's technology and experience, such as Naver's Smart Lens, deep learning-based image search service, and livestream shopping tools.





Poshmark employees sell products live at Poshmark headquarters in Redwood City, Jan. 12. Poshmark plans to upgrade its service by incorporating Naver's live broadcasting technology. The Korea Times photo by Lee Seo-hee
Our state is home to one of the most remarkable places in the country. Chaco Culture National Historical Park and several sites surrounding it are one of only 24 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United States and with an amazing history that long pre-dates the country.

Yet, despite its tremendous importance for descendant Pueblos, other nearby tribal communities and archaeologists, a battle continues to save the Greater Chaco cultural landscape from oil and gas development. But, we are closer than ever to finally protecting this important landscape.

As New Mexico members of the National Parks Conservation Associations southwest regional advisory council, we have long fought for stronger protections for Greater Chaco. The cultural importance of this landscape expands far beyond the existing boundaries of the national park. Outside of those 33,000 acres exist well over 5,000 unprotected cultural sites. These sites are part of our countrys history, and tell a story of the extraordinary and prosperous Puebloan civilization that thrived in the area hundreds of years before Europeans set foot on this continent.

Despite the landscapes incredible history, it has suffered severely from oil and gas drilling, which continues to threaten the small undeveloped portion of the landscape that remains. Associated infrastructure and heavy vehicles also threaten public health and safety.

In late 2021, the Biden administration proposed a 20-year ban on new oil and gas drilling on federal lands in the area to protect its cultural resources and unique history for future generations. Pueblos and tribes, our members, government officials and the general public  in New Mexico and beyond  have shown overwhelming support for these protections. Additionally, a new bill was introduced into Congress last November (which we expect to be reintroduced early in the new Congress) that will permanently protect this special, sacred landscape.

The proposed safeguards are a thoughtful approach to a sensitive issue. Recognizing that there are tribal lands within the proposed 10-mile protected zone, both the administrative moratorium and the legislation are clear that these lands would be exempted from the ban and tribal communities will be able to continue to develop or not develop their land as they wish.

Despite the alarmist complaints from the oil and gas industry that has already decimated much of this landscape, a study by the Bureau of Land Management about the proposed impacts of a 20-year moratorium found that natural gas wells in the area would see a reduction of their output of less than 1%. Oil and gas companies may see a reduction of only 2.5%.

While extractive industry has already taken a heavy toll, there is a priceless cultural landscape and history contained within the proposed withdrawal area yet to be revealed. More than 90% of the federal lands within this area have already been leased to oil and gas companies. The proposed ban of new oil and gas leasing will not undo the damage already done to the region, but the very least we can do is to protect the 10% that remains.

We urge the Biden administration to finalize the leasing ban and Congress to move quickly to enact the Chaco permanent protection legislation.

Kurt Riley is former governor of the Pueblo of Acoma, a member of the Pueblo of Acoma Historic Preservation Office Advisory Board, and former co-chair of the All Pueblo Council of Governors Natural Resources Committee. Jerry Rogers is former associate director for Cultural Resources and Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places for the National Park Service, and former board president of the New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance. Doug Sporn has been a member of NPCAs Southwest Regional Council for over 10 years and member of NPCA for over 25 years. Dave Simon is director of Albuquerque Parks & Recreation Department and former director of New Mexico State Parks.
On Tuesday, lawmakers, state officials and other dignitaries from across the state will descend upon our Roundhouse for the official opening day of our 56th legislative session. And, while the formality and ceremony of our Legislature can feel intimidating, as the Democratic nominee for your next Speaker of the House, I want to remind you that our Roundhouse belongs to you.

When I first entered the Roundhouse over a decade ago as a community organizer and advocate, I saw firsthand how the well-connected walked into offices with ease, while advocates such as myself waited for the opportunity to speak to legislators. I know that some of the best solutions to our biggest problems come from the communities who live those challenges, but struggle to be heard.

Since then, I have proudly witnessed our Legislature make tremendous strides in becoming more open, more transparent and more welcoming to all New Mexicans. I am incredibly grateful to my constituents and my colleagues for trusting me with the opportunity to continue that progress from the Speakers chair. My door will always remain open to anyone who wants to make New Mexico a better place to live, no matter their walk of life or side of the aisle.

A key dynamic to the change we have seen in our Roundhouse is having representation that reflects the diversity of our state and our values. A majority of the representatives in our statehouse are now women and people of color. Diverse representation results in innovative and effective policy.

In recent sessions, we have made incredible progress, working together to pass some of the most transformative legislation in state history  delivering real results for New Mexicans today, while planting seeds for generational change. We delivered historic investments in education, from pre-K to higher ed, more equitable tax policies, such as the state Child Tax Credit, important measures to protect and expand access to health care, and major improvements in our infrastructure and access to broadband throughout the state.

Still, we know that, across our state, too many hardworking New Mexicans are still struggling. So, we will keep diversifying our economy, creating well-paid jobs and moving toward a clean energy future. We will continue fighting for safer communities, stronger schools, healthier families and more opportunities for all New Mexicans.

State lawmakers are now on the front lines of the battles to protect reproductive health care, marriage equality, voting rights and our childrens freedom to learn. Your House of Representatives stands ready to protect your fundamental rights in this session and beyond.

My parents came to this country with a firm belief in the power of the American Dream. Through their hard work, they were able to get ahead and create a brighter future for their children. When granted the honor of serving as your Speaker, I committed to fighting to ensure that every hardworking family in our state can also build a successful life right here in our Land of Enchantment.
As we have New Years Day in the rear view mirror, celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16, and have nine more federal holidays to come this year, you may be wondering, just how are federal holidays established and whats behind MLK Day?

How holidays come to be

Federal holidays are designated by the U.S. Congress. Non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal employees are paid for the holiday. The federal government recognizes 11 holidays; this year, in addition to New Years and MLK Day, we will observe Washingtons birthday on Feb. 20, Memorial Day on May 29, Juneteenth Independence Day on June 19, Independence Day on July 4, Labor Day on Sept. 4, Columbus Day on Oct. 9, Veterans Day on Nov. 10, Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 23 and Christmas Day on Dec. 25.

Many other establishments recognize those same holidays. While it may feel good to have a day off, theres a lot more to it. There is significant effort in the creation of the holidays and the recognition of why the holiday was established.

The first federal holidays were created in 1870: New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The most recent, Juneteenth, was created on June 17, 2021.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established Nov. 2, 1983, to honor civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was born on Jan. 15, 1929. It is a floating Monday holiday, recognized on the third Monday in January.

MLK Day history

Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist and Baptist minister who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. King sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the poor and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

After his assassination, Rosemary Ryan of Kansas City, Kansas, wrote a letter to the Reverend Ralph Abernathy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) expressing her desire for Kings Jan. 15 birthday to be made a national holiday. I want Dr. Kings birthday declared a national holiday to remind the whole world over, for centuries to come, that Martin Luther King Jr. suffered and sacrificed his life so that all mankind may one day live together in brotherhood, Ryan wrote.

Hundreds of other letters and postcards sent to the SCLC echoed Ryans message, along with thousands of petitions gathered from around the country and forwarded to Abernathys attention. By April 1971, the SCLC had gathered more than three million signatures of support. Abernathy led a march on Washington to deliver the signature petitions, including Rosemary Ryans, to Congress, where they became part of the records of the House Judiciary Committee.

King was the first modern private citizen to be honored with a federal holiday. The first congressional push for a holiday honoring King took place just four days after his assassination. John Conyers, then a Democratic congressman from Michigan, took to the floor of Congress to insist on a federal holiday in Kings honor. The bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass, but fell five votes short with a 252-133 count. Conyers continued to introduce the same bill, gaining co-sponsors over the years.

By the early 1980s, the Congressional Black Caucus had gathered six million signatures in support of the holiday to honor King. Many will recall the 1981 Stevie Wonder song, Happy Birthday, about King, which created an upswell of public support for the holiday.

The House took up the bill in 1983 and it passed 338 to 90. Getting the bill through the Senate was contentious. Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina actively opposed the bill. Despite his efforts, the bill passed the Senate by 12 votes. President Reagan signed the bill in November 1983. The first King federal holiday was celebrated in 1986.

How to celebrate MLK Day

The holiday has several purposes; it honors the legacy of King, focuses on civil rights issues and recognizes the use of nonviolence to promote change and calls for public service. The King Holiday and Service Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Aug. 23, 1994. Democratic U.S. Rep. John Lewis and Sen. Harris Wofford introduced the legislation to encourage Americans to find common causes and methods of improving their communities.

Visit nmmlksc.org or call (505) 221-9016 or (505) 222-6466 to find events in Albuquerque, including a march to kick off the celebrations, as well as ceremonies.

Sources: history.house.gov/Records-and-Research/Listing/c_041/; history.com/news/martin-luther-king-jr-day-controversial-origins-of-the-holiday; nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/15-year-battle-martin-luther-king-jr-day\
On the spectrum of mammals they couldnt be more different: A fully grown Bengal tiger is a wild, endangered carnivore in the big cat family that tips the scales at more than 500 pounds. A Chihuahua is a domesticated, naturally anxious toy dog breed that weighs in somewhere between 3 and 6 pounds.

Now, members of both those species are at the center of two unusual animal cruelty cases being investigated by New Mexico authorities.

New Mexico law enforcement officers found a 20-pound tiger cub shoved into a dog crate in a Southeast Albuquerque trailer in violation of federal law and more than 100 sick and filthy Chihuahuas crammed into a van that crossed the center line on U.S. 54 near Vaughn and hit a tractor-trailer rig.

The four-legged victims in both cases deserve not only the care and protection they are now receiving  the tiger is at the ABQ BioPark Zoo awaiting a sanctuary spot, the Chihuahuas are in multiple foster and forever homes across the East Mountain area  but to have their so-called owners prosecuted quickly and fully.

The tiger

According to the Albuquerque Journal story last week, Albuquerque police found a Bengal tiger in a dog crate after following a trail of blood from a shooting Tuesday afternoon in Southeast Albuquerque that left a man injured.

The blood led into a home, near Zuni and Louisiana, where the tiger and crate were found; the injured man was never located. Game and Fish spokesman Darren Vaughan states the obvious  which given the circumstances apparently needs stating  when he says these are wild animals; they are not supposed to be pets, theyre not meant to be domesticated. Possession of an animal like this in the wrong hands, outside of a zoo or some other approved facility with people who know what theyre doing, can pose a danger to the public at large. And possession by those not qualified to care for exotic animals means the animals themselves end up in poor physical condition.

Its also not only dangerous and wrong, its illegal. Laura Hagen, director of captive wildlife for the Humane Society of the United States, notes that last month, President Biden signed the Big Cat Public Safety Act into law, which now prohibits private owners from keeping big cats as pets or breeding them. And she points out that while New Mexico already ban(ned) keeping big cats as pets  cases like this underscore exactly why the Big Cat Public Safety Act is such a critical animal protection and public safety measure.  Strong enforcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of this new federal law will ensure that these incidents become a sad relic of the past.

Also of note is the type of person who would have a tiger in a dog crate. The Associated Press reported in June of monkeys and tigers running wild across Mexico in a show of Mexican narcos fascination with exotic animals. Fox News reported in 2016 the exotic animals acquired by cartel kingpins put a strain on Mexico zoos when the leaders are captured, and Wilson Quarterly reports illegal wildlife trafficking is just another facet of drug smuggling empires, trumped only by drug trafficking and arms smuggling in its size and scale.

Note that when N.M. officials were made aware of another tiger in September, they did not find the big cat but did seize a large cache of drugs, weapons, cash and a 3-foot-long alligator.

The Chihuahuas

As the new year kicked off, according to another Albuquerque Journal story, early Jan. 3 New Mexico State Police officers were called to a head-on collision on U.S. 54. They found a 2000 Chevrolet Astro Van, driven by Missael Rodelo, 40, of El Paso, was traveling south on U.S. 54 when it crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed into a 2022 Freightliner tractor-trailer rig driven by a 41-year-old man.

And while Rodelo and the four van passengers, and the tractor-trailer driver and his passenger, were taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, the 100-plus Chihuahuas crammed into the van were not so lucky.

Santa Rosa Mayor Nelson Harrison Kotiar says officials discovered 64 living and 18 dead dogs in the vehicle, and the scene indicated 108 to 110 dogs had been in it when it wrecked. Officials think some got out through a side of the van that had been ripped open.

Several Chihuahuas have since been found and taken to authorities in the area. And many in the van were filthy, sick and showing signs of neglect and perhaps coming from a puppy mill. None examined was spayed or neutered, many were covered in feces, emaciated and/or dehydrated, with eye infections, road rash, skin conditions and pyometra (a uterine infection from overbreeding and neglect). And several were pregnant.

To help with the dogs theres a GoFundMe account, gofund.me/8cfa0b77, and an adoption event today, Jan. 15, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, 9780 Coors NW, Suite F. For more info, call or text (505) 378-9616 or (505) 519-4151.

The prosecution

No charges have been filed regarding the tiger, and van driver Rodelo was cited for failure to maintain a traffic lane and no insurance. It is important authorities determine who owns the tiger or the home where he was caged, and to fully question Rodelo and the vans passengers to determine who owned the dogs, where they came from and where they were going.

Both cases appear to involve crossing state lines  its highly unlikely the tiger was born here and the van driver is not from New Mexico. Heres to local, state and, if needed, federal authorities ensuring all creatures great and small get justice in these two cases.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
The U.S. agency in charge of jump-starting the production of key components for the nations nuclear arsenal is falling short when it comes to having a comprehensive schedule for the multibillion-dollar project.

The Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday that plans by the National Nuclear Security Administration for reestablishing plutonium pit production do not follow best practices and run the risk of delays and cost overruns.

The federal government has not manufactured plutonium cores regularly in more than 30 years and faces a congressionally mandated deadline of turning out at least 80 per year by 2030.

The GAO describes the modernization effort as the agencys largest investment in weapons production infrastructure to date, noting that plutonium is a dangerous material and making the weapon cores is difficult and time consuming.

NNSA lacks both a comprehensive cost estimate and a schedule outlining all activities it needs to achieve this capability, the report states.

Nuclear watchdog groups have been voicing similar concerns since the federal government first announced plans in 2018 to restart production by splitting the work between Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

At stake are billions of dollars in funding for improving infrastructure at the two locations and thousands of jobs.

Democratic members of New Mexicos congressional delegation have fought to ensure Los Alamos  a once secret city that helped develop the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project  would be among the benefactors of the lucrative mission.

Using documents prepared by the nuclear agency for justifying its fiscal year 2023 budget, the GAO identified at least $18 billion to $24 billion in potential costs to build up production capacity.

However, the GAO, other independent analysts and officials in the U.S. Defense Department all have testified in recent years that NNSA would miss the 2030 deadline, no matter how much funding was funneled toward the project.

The NNSA said in a statement Thursday that it agreed with the GAOs recommendations and that some of the work to implement best practices was underway.

Both the lifecycle cost estimate data and (integrated master schedule) will be updated as needed to reflect the most up-to-date information as the projects and program work progress, the agency said.

More specifically, the agency said in a letter to the GAO that it planned to complete the cost estimate for the overall project by September 2025 and that the schedule would continue to mature over time.

Greg Mello, director of the watchdog Los Alamos Study Group, said Thursday that not having a comprehensive schedule or cost estimate means NNSA does not know what its doing and has little likelihood of success.

How can NNSA produce the required number of pits on schedule or on budget, when NNSA has no schedule or budget? he asked. These are elementary, normal components in any program or project. After more than two decades of preparation, NNSA doesnt have them.

Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, pointed to some of the price tags associated with the project having doubled over the last four years. He said production overall at the two sites could cost at least $60 billion over 30 years with radioactive waste disposal and other environmental and public health concerns adding to the bill.

Until Congress and the New Mexican delegation demand credible cost estimates and schedules, Coghlan said lawmakers should stop rewarding the guilty with yet more money.

That is simple good governance that could help slow our sleepwalk into the new and unpredictable nuclear arms race, he said.

Mello agreed, saying the mission needs to be widely debated in Congress, not just discussed behind closed doors or by those lawmakers who sit on defense committees.

In its report, the GAO outlined the process for making plutonium pits along with a history of how and where the work was done during the Cold War. The long-shuttered Rocky Flats Plant outside Denver was capable of producing more than 1,000 war reserve pits annually before work stopped in 1989 due to environmental and regulatory concerns.

With a long history of leaks, fires and other violations, Rocky Flats underwent a $7 billion cleanup that was finished in 2005.

During the Obama administration, a council made up of defense and energy officials told Congress the nation needed to produce between 50 and 80 pits per year. Congress included a legal mandate for production in a 2015 defense measure that was subsequently approved and signed by the president.

That mandate was later amended to call for the 80 pits in 2030. According to the GAO, some of the construction projects and upgrades needed for the work at Los Alamos wont be finished for several years.
SANTA FE  Two lawmakers are looking to add environmental rights to the state constitution through an amendment that, if passed by the Legislature, would be on the ballot in November.

Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Joanne Ferrary, D-Las Cruces, pre-filed a joint resolution that would add the right to a clean environment and a stable climate to the state constitutions Bill of Rights.

If theres a state action that fails to take the air, land and water into account, then a citizen could file a lawsuit asking the court to order the government to do its duty under the constitution, Sedillo Lopez said.

The amendment is meant to hold government officials at state, county and municipal levels responsible for protecting these rights, but it does not allow anyone to sue for money if the amendment is violated.

Individuals can sue the government to make the state do its job, but theyre not going to get money damages for that, Sedillo Lopez said.

This is the third time she has introduced the proposal, which would also require approval from voters at the next general election. She said it has changed significantly since the first, which was filed in 2021 and patterned after a similar bill in Pennsylvania.

Additionally, the New Mexico Civil Rights Act was passed in 2021, which allowed for monetary damages for civil rights violations. Sedillo Lopez said that made it necessary to explicitly exempt this amendment from that provision.

This bill is not about punishing the state, she said. This is about getting the state to do the right thing.

Several states already recognize environmental rights in their constitutions. Pennsylvania and New York have passed amendments to that effect, and Montana adopted a new constitution in the 1970s which included environmental rights in its Declaration of Rights.

Derf Johnson is the deputy director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, a nonprofit that advocates for environmental protection in the state. He said that the line in the constitution means lawmakers mostly abide by it because otherwise, laws they pass are vulnerable to being challenged. Still, interpretation can change from one administration to another.

Theres this lofty goal set out in the constitution, and then theres where the rubber hits the road in terms of a state agency making regulations and how they interpret and implement that constitution, he said.

He said its not a cure-all, but rather one of many tools, for protecting the environment.

However, skeptics of the New Mexico proposal have expressed concern about unintended consequences, and Sedillo Lopez said shes gotten the criticism that the amendment is too vague.

But she argued her intention is to create a statement of policy that more concrete laws would be passed under, while adding the proposed amendment includes a line securing the right equitably throughout the state.

Thats to address the problem we have in New Mexico of these little sacrifice zones, where pollution affects a community more heavily than others, she said.
Several student populations would move under the districts right-sizing recommendations.

Heres where, when and how far students would have to go:

Duranes Elementary School students to Reginald F. Chavez Elementary School, 1 miles away, and Cochiti Elementary School, about a mile away, in 2025. Duranes would become an early childhood center.

La Luz Elementary School students to MacArthur Elementary School, a mile away, in 2025. La Luz would become an early childhood center.

Kirtland Elementary School students to Lowell Elementary School, about 2 miles away, and Whittier Elementary School, about a mile away, in 2026. Kirtland would be swapped for land on a housing development, which would then become an early childhood center.

Taft Middle School students to Taylor Middle School, about two miles away, in 2024. Garfield STEM Magnet and Community School students who want to move would also go to Taylor in 2024. Taft would become a bilingual magnet school, and Garfield would become a no-boundary magnet school.

Polk Middle School students potentially to Los Padillas Elementary School, which would become a K-8 school, about three miles away. No concrete timeline was given for this move, as plans for the Polk campus havent been fleshed out yet.

Several other schools might see boundary changes, meaning some students may move. Boundaries have yet to be firmed up, but that should happen over the course of this year and take effect in 2024. Here are the schools:

 Tierra Antigua and Sunset View elementary schools.

 Navajo, Barcelona, Rudolfo Anaya and Adobe Acres elementary schools.

 Tony Hillerman and James Monroe middle schools.

 Volcano Vista and Cibola high schools.
An endangered Mexican gray wolf has roamed beyond the species recovery area into the more northern reaches of New Mexico, reigniting a debate over whether the predators should be confined to a certain stretch of the southwestern U.S. as wildlife managers work to boost the population.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday that members of the recovery team have been tracking the lone female wolf and have notified ranchers in the area, although they say its not a threat to human health or public safety.

Wolf-livestock conflicts have been a major challenge of the reintroduction program over the past two decades, with ranchers saying the killing of livestock by wolves remains a threat to their livelihood despite efforts by wildlife managers to scare the wolves away and reimburse some of the losses.

With news of the wolf traveling north of Interstate 40 in New Mexico, state and federal wildlife officials have been reminding people that Mexican wolves are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act and that hazing or harassing the predators is not allowed, unless the wolf poses a threat to human safety.

Collared wolves have trekked north of I-40 only a handful of times since 2015, when the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area was established, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

One of the more well-documented cases involved a wolf that was captured, relocated and later found dead after heading north again. In 2022, there were reports that another female lived for months west of Albuquerque until she moved into Arizona and then back into southwestern New Mexico.

In the latest case, the wolf numbered 2754 dispersed from the Rocky Prairie pack at the end of 2022.

We are monitoring 2754s movements while working with our partners to evaluate management options, agency spokeswoman Aislinn Maestas said Tuesday.

Environmentalists have been fighting in federal court to overturn a requirement that the Fish and Wildlife Service capture wolves that roam north of I-40.

In court documents, environmental groups have argued that using the interstate as the northern boundary for wolf recovery effectively curbs natural dispersal and cuts off access to the Grand Canyon and Southern Rockies. They pointed to the two regions as essential for establishing another population to meet recovery goals.

The Mexican wolf is the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America. According to the most recent survey released in early 2022, there were at least 196 Mexican wolves in the wild in New Mexico and Arizona. It marked the sixth straight year the population had increased.

There is also a small population of wolves in the wild in Mexico.

U.S. officials said they were preparing to begin this years survey in Arizona and New Mexico in the coming weeks.
Albuquerque resident and longtime former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Bones Jones will face Frances Cyril Gane for that organizations heavyweight title on March 24.

UFC President Dana White confirmed the widely reported story Saturday night. Jones-Gane will be the main event of UFC 285 at T-Mobile Arena.

Jones (26-1, one no contest) has not fought since February 8, 2020, when he defeated Dominick Reyes by close but unanimous decision in the 11th successful defense of his light heavyweight title. Later, he renounced the light heavyweight belt and declared his intention to campaign as a heavyweight.

The heavyweight title was vacated when champion Frances NGannou, long at odds with White, was released by the UFC. Gane (11-1) lost to NGannou by unanimous decision in a bid for the title in January 2022.

Since defeating Reyes in Houston, Jones was banned from training at Albuquerques Jackson-Wink MMA by J-W co-owner Mike Winkeljohn after Jones September 2021 arrest in Las Vegas on domestic-violence charges. Jones pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and served no jail time as a result.

Jones will works with Jackson-Wink co-owner Greg Jackson and other members of the J-W team.

MORE MMA: In Las Vegas, Nevada. Albuquerque MMA featherweight Dan Argueta (9-1) defeated Nick Aguirre (7-1) by unanimous decision on a UFC Fight Night card at UFC Apex.

All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Argueta, who trains at Jackson-Wink.  In Prior Lake, Minnesota, Albuquerque welterweight Jalin Fuller (7-2) defeated Scott Writz (6-3) by first-round submission (high elbow guillotine choke) Friday on an LFA card. Fuller trains at Duke City MMA.
POKHARA, Nepal (AP)  A plane making a 27-minute flight to a Nepal tourist town crashed into a gorge Sunday while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard. At least one witness reported hearing cries for help from within the fiery wreck, the countrys deadliest airplane accident in three decades.

Hours after dark, scores of onlookers crowded around the crash site near the airport in the resort town of Pokhara as rescue workers combed the wreckage on the edge of the cliff and in the ravine below. Officials suspended the search for the four missing people overnight and planned to resume looking Monday.

Local resident Bishnu Tiwari, who rushed to the crash site near the Seti River to help search for bodies, said the rescue efforts were hampered by thick smoke and a raging fire.

The flames were so hot that we couldnt go near the wreckage. I heard a man crying for help, but because of the flames and smoke we couldnt help him, Tiwari said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, Nepals Civil Aviation Authority said.

A witness said he saw the aircraft spinning violently in the air after it began descending to land, watching from the terrace of his house. Finally, Gaurav Gurung said, the plane fell nose-first towards its left and crashed into the gorge.

The aviation authority said the aircraft last made contact with the airport from near Seti Gorge at 10:50 a.m. before crashing.

The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepals Yeti Airlines, was flying from the capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) west. It was carrying 68 passengers including 15 foreign nationals, as well as four crew members, Nepals Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France.

Images and videos shared on Twitter showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site, about 1.6 kilometers (nearly a mile) away from Pokhara International Airport. The aircrafts fuselage was split into multiple parts that were scattered down the gorge.

Firefighters carried bodies, some burned beyond recognition, to hospitals where grief-stricken relatives had assembled. At Kathmandu airport, family members appeared distraught as they were escorted in and at times exchanged heated words with officials as they waited for information.

Tek Bahadur K. C., a senior administrative officer in the Kaski district, said he expected rescue workers to find more bodies at the bottom of the gorge.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who rushed to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu after the crash, set up a panel to investigate the accident.

The incident was tragic. The full force of the Nepali army, police has been deployed for rescue, he said.

South Koreas Foreign Ministry said in a statement that its still trying to confirm the fate of two South Korean passengers and has sent staff to the scene. The Russian Ambassador to Nepal, Alexei Novikov, confirmed the death of four Russian citizens who were on board the plane.

Omar Gutierrez, governor of Argentinas Neuquen province, reported on his official Twitter account that an Argentine passanger on the flight was Jannet Palavecino from his province.

The Facebook page of Palavecino says she was manager of the Hotel Suizo in Neuquen city.

On the page, she described herself as a lover of travel, and of adventure tourism. I am passionate about the mountains! Riding my bike in cycling. I love my garden and the countryside. I like to paint! she wrote.

Her account has many photos of her in the mountains.

Pokhara is the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas. The citys new international airport began operations only two weeks ago.

The type of plane involved, the ATR 72, has been used by airlines around the world for short regional flights. Introduced in the late 1980s by a French and Italian partnership, the aircraft model has been involved in several deadly accidents over the years.

In Taiwan two earlier accidents involving ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600 aircrafts happened just months apart.

In July 2014, a TransAsia ATR 72-500 flight crashed while trying to land on the scenic Penghu archipelago between Taiwan and China, killing 48 people onboard. An ATR 72-600 operated by the same Taiwanese airline crashed shortly after takeoff in Taipei in February 2015 after one of its engines failed and the second was shut down, apparently by mistake.

The 2015 crash, captured in dramatic footage that showed the plane striking a taxi as it hurtled out of control, killed 43, and prompted authorities to ground all Taiwanese-registered ATR 72s for some time. TransAsia ceased all flights in 2016 and later went out of business.

ATR identified the plane involved in Sundays crash as an ATR 72-500 in a tweet. According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, the aircraft was 15 years old and equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data. It was previously flown by Indias Kingfisher Airlines and Thailands Nok Air before Yeti took it over in 2019, according to records on Airfleets.net.

Yeti Airlines has a fleet of six ATR72-500 planes, company spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said.

Nepal, home to eight of the worlds 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has a history of air crashes. According to the Flight Safety Foundations Aviation Safety database, there have been 42 fatal plane crashes in Nepal since 1946.

Sundays crash is Nepals deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it plowed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.

The European Union has banned airlines from Nepal from flying into the 27-nation bloc since 2013, citing weak safety standards. In 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization cited improvements in Nepals aviation sector, but the EU continues to demand administrative reforms.

___

This story corrects the surname of Omar Gutierrez, governor of Argentinas Neuquen province.

___

Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Elise Morton in London, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and Adam Schreck in Bangkok contributed reporting.

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Find more of APs Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
Rescuers inspect the site of a plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal, on Jan. 15. AFP-Yonhap





Two Koreans seem to have been aboard a passenger aircraft that crashed in a resort town in Nepal, Seoul's embassy in the Himalayan country said Sunday.







"Two South Koreans are on the list of passengers. We are trying to confirm whether they were actually on board and their identities," an embassy official said.







In Seoul, the foreign ministry said local embassy officials have been dispatched to the site to handle relevant affairs







All 72 passengers and crew members were killed in the crash of the plane near Pokhara International Airport, according to a news report. (Yonhap)






BERLIN (AP)  A village in western Germany that is due to be demolished to make way for a coal mine expansion has been cleared of activists, apart from a pair who remained holed up in a tunnel, police said Sunday.

The operation to evict climate activists who flocked to the site in the hamlet of Luetzerath kicked off Wednesday morning and progressed steadily over the following days. Police cleared people out of farm buildings, the few remaining houses and a few dozen makeshift constructions such as tree houses.

On Saturday, thousands of people demonstrated nearby against the eviction and the planned expansion of the Garzweiler coal mine. There were standoffs with police as some protesters tried to reach the village, which is now fenced off, and the mine.

Environmentalists say bulldozing the village to expand the Garzweiler mine would result in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. The government and utility company RWE argue the coal is needed to ensure Germanys energy security.

The regional and national governments, both of which include the environmentalist Green party, reached a deal with RWE last year allowing it to destroy the abandoned village in return for ending coal use by 2030, rather than 2038.

The Greens leaders argue that the deal fulfills many of the environmentalists demands and saved five other villages from demolition, and that Luetzerath is the wrong symbol for protests. Activists reject that stance.

Police said in a statement Sunday that nearly 300 people have been removed so far from Luetzerath. They added that the rescue by RWE Power of the two people in underground structures continues; beyond that, the clearance by police is complete.

They said that 12 people were detained in connection with Saturdays incidents. Demolition of the buildings in Luetzerath is already under way.

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who joined Saturdays big protest, took part in a smaller demonstration on Sunday, singing and dancing with other activists near the edge of the mine, German news agency dpa reported.

Police said Thunberg briefly sat on an embankment at the edge of the mine and officers carried her a few steps away after didnt comply with calls to move for her own safety, dpa reported, adding that she then went on her way.

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Follow APs coverage of the climate and environment at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
LOS ANGELES (AP)  More rain and snow fell during the weekend in storm-battered California, making travel dangerous and prompting evacuation warnings over flooding concerns along a swollen river near Sacramento.

Bands of gusty thunderstorms started Saturday in the north and spread south, with yet another atmospheric river storm following close behind Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

Up to two inches (5 cm) of rain was predicted for the saturated Sacramento Valley, where residents of semi-rural Wilton and surrounding communities were warned to prepare to leave if the Cosumnes River continued to rise. The warning was downgraded from an evacuation order Sunday afternoon.

Gusts and up to 3 feet (91 cm) of snow were expected in the Sierra Nevada, where the weather service warned of hazardous driving conditions. Interstate 80, a key highway from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe ski resorts, reopened after being closed most of Saturday because of slick roads and snow.

The University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab tweeted Sunday morning that it received 21.5 inches (54 centimeters) of snow in 24 hours. Its snowpack of about 10 feet (3 meters) was expected to grow several more feet by Monday.

A backcountry avalanche warning was issued for the central Sierra, including the greater Lake Tahoe area, through Monday.

The California Highway Patrol rescued three people whose car slid off a rain-slicked road and ended up teetering at the edge of a cliff in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Friday. The occupants of the car were scared for their lives and were in disbelief when they were pulled safely from the car as the vehicles front end hung precariously over the cliffs edge, the highway patrol said in a statement.

We cannot stress this enough. Please ONLY drive if its necessary, the statement said.

Just to the south in Santa Cruz County, the tiny community of Felton Grove along the San Lorenzo River was under an evacuation warning.

The swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County. To the east, flood warnings were in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Saturday to take stock of problems and warn of still more possible danger.

Were not done, Newsom said. He urged people to be vigilant about safety for a few more days, when the last of a parade of nine atmospheric rivers was expected to move through.

Several roads, including State Route 99, were closed because of flooding Sunday in San Joaquin County.

In Southern California, winter storm warnings and advisories were in place for mountain areas, where many roads remained impassable because of mud and rock slides. Two northbound lanes of Interstate 5 near Castaic in northern Los Angeles County were closed indefinitely after a hillside collapsed.

Downtown Los Angeles set a rainfall record Saturday with 1.82 inches (4.6 cm), the weather service said.

The series of storms has dumped rain and snow on California since late December, cutting power to thousands, swamping roads, unleashing debris flows, and triggering landslides.

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in the state and ordered federal aid to supplement local recovery efforts in affected areas.

At least 19 storm-related deaths have occurred, and a 5-year-old boy remained missing after being swept out of his mothers car by floodwaters in San Luis Obispo County.

Dry days are in this weeks forecast for California starting on Tuesday.
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The co-founder of Griselda Records explains that he had to scrap the tour plan because 'unfortunately this time things weren't handled right and that's too far for me to be gone.'

Jan 15, 2023

AceShowbiz - Westside Gunn has canceled his European tour. After making the last-minute announcement, the "George Bondo" rapper informed ticket holders that they won't get a refund because he suffered a $50,000 loss himself.

In a statement shared on Instagram on Thursday, January 12, the 40-year-old stated, "It was nothing more I wanted to do than to start seeing my supporters around the world." He added, "I's def still a dream and I'm gonna work on it [] but unfortunately this time things weren't handled right and that's too far for me to be gone."

"Something isn't right and I'm somewhere I've never been and s**t already not right now," he added. "I haven't even been giving deposits so don't even think I took yall money. People out of $40 I'm out $50,000 I spent just on plane tickets!! So I lost but GOD IS THE GREATEST and hopefully one day I'll see everybody who's reading this one day in life."

"I'm the number 1 guy for our lane who pushes the culture but if it's not right we gotta make it right and unfortunately this situation doesn't have the time to fix," the Griselda co-founder further explained. "So I have somebody working on me coming out soon now and if u ever hear about me coming again from me it's Valid!!!! So get those tickets and I promise u I'll make it up"

Westside went on to emphasize, "But again ti all my supporters I love y'all and if u spent that ticket price your blessings will come back 10fold just know if u don't get your money back I don't have it [shrug emoji]. He then stressed, "And again I REPEAT I can't give u money back I NEVER got paid I'm down 50k of my own money."

Westside was supposed to kick off the "God Is Love Tour" on January 13 in Amsterdam. The trek, which was set to promote his latest album, "10", would conclude on February 10 in Lisbon, Portugal.

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The Moroccan-American emcee, who had his own fair share of beefing with Fiddy, believes that the latter 'kinda created that marketing scheme for a lot of artists to use.'

Jan 15, 2023

AceShowbiz - French Montana sang praises to 50 Cent in a recent interview. When sitting down with Math Hoffa on his "My Expert Opinion" podcast, the "Welcome to the Party" rapper described Fiddy as the "biggest genius in the music industry" for using beef as a marketing tool.

The Moroccan-American emcee talked about his former nemesis after host Math reminded him of Fiddy spying on DJ Khaled's mom. "50 was picking on n***as to pick on n***as. At one point, he was the biggest genius in the music industry," he said. "He would just pick on you and drop a mixtape. Pick on you and drop an album."

"He kinda created that marketing scheme for a lot of artists to use. I mean people did it before him, but he became the mastermind he became the warlord of that," the Coke Boys founder continued. "That's definitely a blueprint for a lot of n***as to learn."

French himself had his own fair share of beefing with 50 Cent. It started back in 2019 when Fiddy scoffed at French after the latter showed off a Bugatti that he bought to celebrate his release from the hospital. Fiddy said the vehicle was not worth flaunting since it's neither new nor the latest model. "You shoulda just got the Uber app on ya phone," he commented. "Put that bulls**t back on that truck."

Fiddy also accused French of faking his streams for his single "Writing on the Wall" featuring Post Malone, Cardi B as well as Rvssian. Clapping back at the "Power" star, the "They Got Amnesia" artist called him a "sensitive dinosaur" and posted a Photoshopped image of the "In da Club" spitter kissing Eminem.

In December 2021, however, French confirmed that they have buried the hatched. He said on "Drink Champs", "Man, let me tell you something. Me, I have no problem with 50 no more after he dropped this BMF joint. That's my favorite s**t," referring to Fiddy's Starz series, "Black Mafia Family".

"Whatever me and 50 ever had -- shout out to 50," the rap star, whose real name is Karim Kharbouch, further shared. "Yeah, me and him, everything is over after BMF. That's the best work ever."

French's interview didn't go unnoticed by Fiddy, who reposted the clip of the talk on his Instagram account. In the accompaniment of the post, the latter wrote, "That was the right answer French, well handled. What beef, I don't remember." He added, "GLG GreenLightGang BMF."

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In the aftermath of Lisa Marie's death, her former husband Michael Lockwood is reportedly determined to fight for full custody of his 14-year-old twin daughters.

Jan 15, 2023

AceShowbiz - Lisa Marie Presley's 14-year-old twin daughters might land at the centre of a custody battle. According to sources connected to the Presley family who have been quoted by TMZ, Elvis Presley's only child's ex-husband Michael Lockwood said it will be a "cold day in hell before he gives up custody of those children."

At the time of Lisa Marie's death aged 54 from a double heart attack on Thursday, January 12, 2023, Finley and Harper Vivienne had been living with her. Michael has 40 per cent custody of the twins while she held 60 per cent.

TMZ added "there are rumblings the star's ex Danny Keough and daughter Riley could also fight to get custody of the children." There's also Lisa Marie's actress mum Priscilla, 77, who rushed to be at her daughter's side after she was rushed to West Hills Hospital, California, after she had her first cardiac arrest at her Calabasas home.

It's thought if a custody battle reaches court, a judge will take into account the children's preferences for who they want to live with due to their age.

Lisa Marie's fourth husband Michael split from her in 2016 and were still locked in a divorce battle until her death this week as he was seeking $40,000 a month in child support. Before Michael, mum-of-four Lisa Marie was also married to Danny Keough, Michael Jackson - who died aged 50 in 2009 from a drugs overdose - as well as actor Nicolas Cage.

In 2021, she asked a judge to "declare her officially single" from Michael after he refused to divorce her following a five-year separation. She was living with her ex-husband Danny, 58, at the time she collapsed on Thursday and he performed CPR on her until paramedics arrived at her house.

He is dad to her actress daughter Riley, 33, and Lisa Marie's son Benjamin, 27, who took his life in July 2020. Lisa Marie married Danny when she was a teenager at a drug rehabilitation centre and they divorced in 1994 days before she eloped with Michael Jackson.

She was also engaged to musician John Oszajca, 48, in 2000, but called it off after she met Nicolas Cage, 59, at a party, whom she married in August 2002 before filing for divorce just months later. She then married Michael Lockwood in 2006 and finally divorced 10 years later.

Lisa Marie died from a second cardiac arrest suffered while she was in hospital and passed away after the family signed a do not resuscitate order on Thursday.

Priscilla said on Thursday night in a statement about her daughter's passing, "It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us. She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known."

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Multiple sources claim the royal family will try to silence the Duke and Duchess of Sussex if both sides meet at peace talks before the coronation ceremony of the new British monarch.

Jan 15, 2023

AceShowbiz - Peace talks between Prince Harry and his family are expected to take place before King Charles' coronation. The 38-year-old prince - who resigned from royal duties with wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in 2020 - has criticized his father and brother Prince William in his memoir "Spare" and promotional interviews for the book, but royal insiders insist they can still reconcile and are hoping there will be a face-to-face meeting before Charles is coronated on May 6 in a bid to stop the occasion becoming " a circus."

"We've got to move on it, and get it done by April. Then, we need to get the wives in. The King needs a clear run for the coronation," a source close to the king, who also knows Harry and Meghan well, told the Sunday Times newspaper. Another source claimed, "They have to invite them in before the coronation, or it will become such a circus and distraction."

The insiders are confident the rift can be fixed, with the help of trusted aides. The first source said, "It's going to take flexibility on all sides, but it can be done, it's fixable."

"It needs Harry over here, in the room with the King and Prince of Wales, a couple of other family members, some of 'his people' he trusts who always had his back, so he doesn't think he's being ambushed. Someone like Elf [Ed Lane Fox, Harry's former private secretary] and Christopher [Lord Geidt, the late Queen Elizabeth's former private secretary]."

"Both sides need to hold their hands up and admit we didn't get everything right, and we got a lot wrong, and we have to say to him 'We understand the pain you've been through.' The King can do it..."

And while William is said to be "burning inside" over Harry's comments, he understands the reconciliation needs to happen for the sake of the monarchy - but his younger brother will need to show some accountability too.

The source added, "He is loyal to the throne and understands what needs to be done for the country. Not everyone here behaved well, but Harry's got to be able to sit down and say 'we didn't behave well either.' That takes a lot of academic flexibility, which Harry isn't great at."

The insiders believe Harry and Meghan - who also released a six-part Netflix docuseries about their departure from royal life - will be asked to "be quiet and get on" with their lives if they want to rebuild their family relationships.

A source said, "They have to now be quiet and get on with their thing in America and Harry has got to realise that it might all go down better there, but here in the UK, people have taken it very badly. You've said your piece, but why are you trying to torch the whole house?"

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The 'N***as in Paris' hitmaker, who was previously married to Kim Kardashian, reportedly tied the knot with the Yeezy architectural designer in private ceremony in Beverly Hills.

Jan 15, 2023

AceShowbiz - The family of Kanye West's new wife, Bianca Censori, has reacted to the couple's secret wedding. One of the Australian designer's relatives said that she was "super happy" for the newlyweds.

While Alyssia Censori informed Herald Sun that she was "super happy for them both," Bianca's sister, Angelina Censoro, told the outlet, "It's very exciting news for both my sister and the family." Angelina added, "But we choose to have some privacy for the time being."

News of Ye and Bianca's shocking marriage broke on Friday, January 13. While the pair reportedly tied the knot in private ceremony in Beverly Hills, it was believed that the union is not legally binding as they haven't filed a marriage certificate.

Following the nuptials, Ye and his spouse reportedly went on a honeymoon in Utah. According to Daily Mail, the embattled star and the Yeezy architectural designer spent time at Amangiri resort last week.

The new couple, however, has returned to Beverly Hills where they were first spotted together on Sunday at the Waldorf Astoria. He was seen sporting a wedding ring during the outing. The two were then pictured having a meal together at the same hotel on Monday.

While Kanye might be enjoying his new chapter now, his ex-wife Kim Kardashian allegedly doesn't approve of his new wife. "Kim hates her," an insider told Page Six of Bianca. "She's pretty. And Kim hates pretty girls."

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The 'Come Outside' emcee, whose real name is Tavares Lamont Taylor, was let go from jail on Thursday, January 12 after he was taken into police custody back in May 2022.

Jan 15, 2023

AceShowbiz - Lil Reese is now free. The "Come Outside" emcee, whose real name is Tavares Lamont Taylor, reportedly has been released from jail seven months after he was arrested on aggravated assault charges.

According to the Harris County Sherriff's Office's online record, the 30-year-old was let go from jail on Thursday, January 12. He was released after one charge against him was dismissed during a pre-trial one day prior.

Reese was taken into police custody on May 19, 2022, and initially denied bond. The Chicago-born artist was hit with two felonies and an additional misdemeanor after allegedly assaulting one of his family members.

In addition, a case against Reese seemingly has been closed out with a "GPE sentence". It means the rapper has been ordered to make some type of payment through Government Payment EXP, a private company that collects fines and court fees by phone and online. However, it remains unclear if the payments were connected to his arrest.

This was not the first time Reese had trouble with the law. In June 2021, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery following a physical altercation with his girlfriend.

Reese was accused of attacking his partner at his Chicago, Illinois home on the night of May 29. The incident allegedly took place after a heated argument turned physical, with the woman telling police Reese pulled her hair and punched her in the face.

Officers responding to calls about the incident noted an injury to her lower lip, and took Reese into custody. He was eventually released on a $10,000 bond.

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Rescue teams work at the wreckage of a Yeti Airlines ATR72 aircraft that crashed in Pokhara, Nepal, Sunday. EPA-Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo



A passenger aircraft carrying 72 people, including two Koreans, crashed in Nepal, Sunday, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. Chances of finding survivors appear to be slim.



According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the ATR-72 plane, operated by Nepal's Yeti Airlines flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara, took off at 10:33 a.m. from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport, with 68 passengers and four crew members aboard. It crashed around 11 a.m. while landing on the runway of Pokhara International Airport. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.



Pokhara is a tourist town in Nepal that is also known as the gateway to the Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail in the Himalayas.



As of 9:40 p.m., Sunday, 68 people had been confirmed dead, according to the CAAN, although it did not elaborate on the nationalities of the recovered bodies.






The Constitutional Crisis that is the Biden regime continues to exceed previous levels of cover-up, denial, and dishonesty. Through it all, media members and other Biden supporters keep getting played for fools, but they always come back for more.

Beginning last year, each version of the Twitter Files revealed in astonishing detail the level of collusion, fraud, cover-up, and corruption between the FBI, the intelligence community, the medical establishment, and corrupt corporate and social media. Most recently, after the story broke that Joe Biden had mishandled classified information, the media ran interference and attempted to spin the whole thing, in comical fashion, as not as bad as Trump.

They knew about the documents discovered at the PennBiden office in November, before the midterm elections. Now there are revelations of a second tranche of classified documents that were found in Bidens Delaware garage and a third tranche found somewhere else.

Journalists should be really, really angry that they have been lied toagainand as they were directed to run interference and damage control for Bidenagain. After all, theyve been thoroughly embarrassed because they have stepped on a rake and have been smacked forcibly in the face with the long handle of inescapable truth. And yet theyve still got Bidens back.

Image: Retro TV with fake news by freepik.

A Special Counsel has been appointed as of midday Thursday, January 12, 2023. Forgive me, but I will not be holding my breath for an honest investigation.

For proper context, I detest being lied to. I consider it to be the worst of all personal insults because one must have an exceedingly low opinion of those to whom they lie, as well as the belief that they are stupid enough to believe their lies.

Hence, the medias lies on behalf of anything and everything the Democrat Party apparatus and its deep state machine have done at the behest of any and every Democrat party interest are infuriating. What is simultaneously dumbfounding is that these people can be relied upon to rush to any Democrat party officials or politicians defense, no matter the charge, without fail. It can be scientifically established as consistent, predictable, repeatable behavior.

Why these people have any patronage, any readers, or any viewers of their media outlets is equally dumbfounding. Nearly everything they say is part of a crafted, manipulated, rehearsed, unified, and fundamentally dishonest narrative.

Is there any integrity in media anymore? Is there any intellectual honesty among those people or, for that matter, their viewers? All those people who have consumed and repeated every lie they have been told for nearly a generation should all be really, really angry by now.

Five months ago, I wondered, after 19 months of predictable results for (Bidens) failed policies, when are Biden voters going to get angry? In a logical, sane world in which people had any measure of integrity and intellectual honesty, Biden voters would be absolutely livid at the lies they have been told, the same lies they have believed and gone forth to re-tell and defend and the way they have been made fools for the whole world to see.

Are Biden voters ever going to understand what the swamp, the deep state, the FBI, the intelligence community, and corrupt corporate media have said and done for these many years? Are those people capable of realizing how they have been played, duped, suckered, and have been told so many bald-faced lies? The corruption, collusion, the election interference, and the lies told to cover it all up go back about as far as one can reasonably recall.

This is nothing new, of course. More than a year ago, I bemoaned that it was a pitiful sight to behold another family member, friend, or neighbor who has lost all ability to reason but instead chooses to remain wedded to the long and ever-increasing list of lies the Democrats tell them. A terribly abusive relationship has been allowed to exist, and those people who are consuming the prescribed daily dose of lies have lost the ability to objectively discern the truth.

The implications of the lies which have most recently come to light are stunning.

As far back as December 2019, the FBI knew about and apparently had possession of Hunter Bidens laptop, which he abandoned in a Delaware computer shop. At nearly the same time, in December 2019, President Trump was impeached in connection with a July 2019 phone call to Ukraines President Zelensky, in which he asked for cooperation investigating Joe and Hunter Bidens potential corruption.

If the FBI had released any information about the laptop or acknowledged an investigation was underway, that would have torpedoed the Democrats impeachment hopes and, instead, would have completely validated President Trumps request for cooperation from President Zelensky. In addition, Joe Bidens political aspirations would have likely ended (the 2020 primaries had not yet begun) had there been an honest and timely announcement of the need for an investigation of the Biden Crime Family.

Joe Biden should never have been the Democrat Party nominee. But the DNC powers-that-be sorted out the cast of goofballs running for president and selected Biden as the nominee. When the New York Post ran the Hunter Biden laptop story, the FBIs little laptop problem could not just go away.

Therefore, acting straight from the 2016 Russia hacking playbook, the FBI plowed the field of corporate and social media and sowed the seeds of Russian disinformation so that if or when the story broke about Hunters laptop and his emails citing 10% for the Big Guy, everybody involved had their plausible deniability, and could spike the story citing adherence to journalistic standards.

Recent opinion polls indicate that honest reporting would have caused voters not to vote for Biden. Therefore, Joe Biden is an illegitimate President. Additionally, because of what has been revealed and, more so, because of what we dont know about what the Biden Crime Family has done and is doing, Joe Biden is a dangerously compromised chief executive, and America is imperiled because of it.

Too many of our fellow citizens, neighbors, friends, and family have believed the litany of lies we have been told. If I were a Biden voter and were faced with the truth of the wholesale corruption, the lies I was told and believed, how I was suckered, duped, and played so that I would not only repeat, but defend their liesI would be furious.

To date, no prominent Democrat, Biden voter, or member of the corporate media has announced that he or she has had enough. No prominent voter has expressed regret for casting that vote. Seemingly, Americas well-being and prosperity are low on their lists. They are unwilling to reject the Democrat partys and the lefts double standards and hypocrisy. Instead, theyre all too happy just being close to the kind of power that can act with impunity, with no fear of accountability, and they do so for no other reason than being able to say they are on the winning team, America be damned.

It matters, though, that those of us on the opposing team, those of us who have remained steadfastly devoted to the Truth, have been vindicated.

Jeff M. Lewis is a Christian, a husband and father, a Veteran and professional pilot who continues to proudly serve America.
Are you a Scapegoat Mama, Papa, Sister, or Brother? Canceled, backstabbed, vilified, manipulated, extorted, boycotted (or if you have money, alternately pursued), deprived of grandchildren, and generally punished by a family member pushing a fictional narrative of victimhood? If so, you are a scapegoat stuck with an instrumental victimist.

Let's get you unstuck. Join the Scapegoat Mamas Fun Club! Membership includes recognizing instrumental victimism; understanding this epoch, rife with victimism and victimhood appropriation resulting from receding loyalty, honor, and gratitude in post-scarcity societies; and understanding the principal purposes of instrumental victimism: 1) the expiation of healthy guilt, 2) malevolent control over others, and 3) revenge.

Instrumental victimism is not a family problem. It is spiritual and moral failing of the victimist, not the family. Freedom for the scapegoat lies in radical acceptance, compassionate detachment, and redrawing family boundaries in a more safe and happy way. Your Fun Club will poke fun at victimists and their machinations and take the bold step of joy and happiness without deferring to or bargaining with the irritant again.

Globalists have finally found the way to unify humanity! Replay the hideous interviews of Prince Harry and Duchess Chicken-Legs. (NASA has actually decoded signals from outer space that appear to say, "Shut up, Harry!") The planet's premier victimism shills, Harry and Meghan, shall be our teaching examples. They actualize the psychospiritual maladies of disloyalty, dishonor, and ingratitude, which are the bases of victimism adaptation.

Instrumental victimism arises when someone who has never known material deprivation or suffered personal or political persecution, has never worked to survive or sacrificed his own comfort, concocts a narrative of victimhood and propagates self-serving complaints and allegations. Victimists take no responsibility for their own errors while blame-throwing fireballs on scapegoats.

Victimism is an artifact of affluent modernity. Poor societies and families rely on loyalty, honor, and gratitude to survive. They cannot afford the narcissistic entitlements of spurious victimhood. The shift from conditions of survival to mass affluence means that sustenance and honor no longer have to be earned, but are claimed as a priori entitlements. Identities, not achievements, are to be honored and protected. The decline of achievement-based loyalty, honor, and gratitude vanquishes character and has caused the Great American Sadness. Its apex is guilt-free, infantile adults who feel justified treating other people miserably while demanding sympathy based on delusions of victimhood.

Adroit victimists distribute personal and impersonal lamentations. Personal involve complaints against family and friends. Impersonal victimism involves trendy sociopolitical grievances: racio-sexio-homeo-transeo micro-woundings ad nauseam.

Scapegoats have diversity. The heartbroken father who didn't pivot fast enough when his daughter became his imaginary son. The grandmother barred from her grandchildren because she stopped supporting baby daddy's drug addiction. Victimism has left millions of parents and grandparents in affluent societies the whipping boys of grown children, including the British royal family.

1. Victimists enjoy guilt-free living despite selfish behavior. Most theories about this civilizational shift don't recognize that the greatest advantage of instrumental victimism is to pre-empt guilt for bad behavior. It enables the pseudo-victim to take everything he can get, while sinking teeth into hands that feed him, absolved of responsibility, gratitude, or reciprocation. Such people are innocents, wrapped in a cocoon of hypocritical virtue and ersatz suffering.

Harry and Meghan swilled millions of pounds in lavish self-aggrandizement, uber-luxurious wardrobe, travels, and trappings and repaid the grieving, dying queen, the British people, and now the new king with attacks, demands, and disloyalty. All they have left to sell to maintain their billionaire lifestyle is filthy laundry, to the highest bidder, without a trace of guilt.

By her affinities, associations, and genetics, Meghan Markle cannot reasonably be identified as a Black. She preferred Anglo-European-American society throughout her life. Nevertheless, when crossed, she rambles from her racism rolodex.

When privileged, pseudo-educated people pontificate about historical American slavery, the lecture is for guilt inoculation, to remove the necessity of service to anyone today. Slavery persists in many places, including deadly human-trafficking in America. But victimhood-kleptos care nothing about slavery. They justify their blindness to it by yapping about 160 years ago.



2. The victimist seeks malevolent control of every relationship.

Harry told People Magazine, "She [Meghan] had a father before this and now she doesn't have a father." This is psychological assassination of Thomas Markle, who is still a father. Markle's fatherhood and grandfatherhood are given by God, not Harry. Harry's children are being harmed by their parents' cancelation of family. Thomas Markle is psychologically exterminated  the ultimate control  because he is not wealthy, so he is of no use to them. If the scapegoat has money or some other use to the victimist, there will be a dance of vilification and mollification to maintain control.

This is why we hear Harry's preposterous babbling about reconciliation. Though by all accounts Thomas Markle was a more active father than Harry's, Harry won't say his own father is not his father. King Charles is enormously wealthy and influential, including over the ducal titles Harry and his wife have dishonored, so the king will be kept with the bit softly in His Majesty's mouth.

3. The psychodynamic of instrumental victimism is revenge. Harry runs his pie-hole so much that the truth occasionally pops out. He complained that his brother didn't understand that "[h]e was not content to be a spare." Harry's rejection of his royal destiny, although one of wealth, adulation, and opportunity for service beyond what most of us can imagine, is the wellspring of his revenge. Similarly, the spider that sat down beside him, the California mean girl, devoid of true values, saw love and service in the royal family and British people and became a howling harpy of revenge.

Remember, dear scapegoats: in family life, if you do the work, you get the blame. This is why Meghan Markle began her revenge campaign with Kate Middleton. The princess of Wales is the Kachina doll of this family, the king and queen consort on her head, husband and children balanced on her arms. After the "Kate made Meghan cry" farce came "somebody around here is racist!" Harry, who claimed the virtually impossible achievement of killing 25 Taliban, all combatants, while shooting "indiscriminately" from a helicopter, says, "It was terrifying having my brother scream and shout at me." Blame-bingeing escalates. Harry is humiliating himself with wimperings about brother manhandling him, a slap to William's everlasting credit. Poor Harry fall down, go boom!

Instrumental victimism is not a family problem, not amenable to family therapy or reconciliation. The victimist's weakness can be cured only by moral honesty, recognition of guilt, repentance, and commensurate amends. This rarely happens because victimism is the prisoner of hypocrisy.

Finding freedom is not an airplane thing; it's a God thing  a chapter in the life span process of God-surrendered acceptance and gratitude for the totality of life, including pests and relatives. Then compassionate detachment. Detachment is the action word. The scapegoat detaches, restricts access, discontinues paying attention to the victimist. Withdrawing attention is different from ignoring. Detachment is a serene mind that permits businesslike communication without emotionality.

Compassion, because the victimist is pitiable. He destroys relationships with the people who care about him and are left with the company of other users and abusers, which is worse than being alone.

If grandchildren are being used as weapons, communicate your love to them in every available way. Never give up. Victimism is weakness. Love gathers strength. Time is always on the side of love.

In the Scapegoat Mama Fun Club, nurture yourself and your true friends. Be active about circling the wagons and asking for the protection you need. Whether in Windsor Castle or your castle, laugh, let go, and be happy.

Image: Matt Brown via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
The internet posters are making hay of the news that Joe Biden had classified documents, obtained when he was vice president and some labeled top secret, stored insecurely in his Washington office at the Penn Biden Center of the University of Pennsylvania (funded by the Chinese government), and at his home in Wilmington, Delaware where Hunter had resided for some time, including at least one document found his garage.

I dont know which post is my favorite, but this one by David Burge (Iowahawk) certainly makes my list:

Just got a smokin' deal on a hot rod project from Craigslist, plus it had some free nuclear codes in the glove box.

Then, of course, theres the never-outdone satirists at the Babylon Bee and the New York Posts photo editors.

The documents reportedly were discovered by lawyers working for Biden -- some of them found before the midterms when Biden tut-tutted about whatever was found during the Mar-a-Lago raid on Trumps home. But the discovery was kept silent until now. Ostensibly the Mar-a-Lago raid was to discover if any documents marked classified -- all of which Trump said he declassified while president and was entitled to do -- were outside the sealed room under Secret Service guard -- you know, like in Melanias underwear drawers which the FBI rummaged through. A raid which was purportedly initiated after a complaint from the National Archives archivist. Biden claimed at the time he had no advance notice that the FBI (read: Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray) had ordered such a raid. I doubt hed remember if he had been told. In any event, he placed the onus on others. He used the raid to excoriate Trump.

During an interview on "60 Minutes" from September, Biden was asked about the viral photograph of top-secret documents spread across the floor by the FBI following the raid of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. "When you saw the photograph of the top-secret documents laid out on the floor at Mar-a-Lago, what did you think to yourself looking at that image?" CBS' Scott Pelley asked. "How that could possibly happen, how one anyone could be that irresponsible," Biden responded. "And I thought what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods. By that, I mean, names of people helped or et cetera."

Biden also claimed he did not know he had those classified documents. Again, given his obvious cognitive decline it may seem plausible to some, though his penchant for lying must be weighed, too, when deciding if this defense is credible. Credible or not, it is not a legal defense for mishandling classified material. Law Professor Jonathan Turley explains why that excuse is not exonerating, and moreover, why the claim appears factually false.

Democrats and the media (I repeat myself here) are rushing to find distinctions between the two cases and Congressman Hank Johnson, a man so ignorant he openly wondered whether Guam might tip over because of military placements there, suggested these documents might have been placed there to harm Biden.

Unfortunately, just as he was floating this preposterous scenario, Bidens lawyers seem to have conceded he inadvertently was responsible.

For Merrick Garland, who oversees the FBI, the discoveries were not a joke. Hes now in the crosshairs of those who, like me, think we are once again seeing a double standard of justice on his watch. (Forget that his predecessors ignored Hillarys mishandling of classified information on an unsecured server; this discovery so near in time puts him and the National Archives on the hot spot.) Why did the archivist raise an issue before the midterms respecting Trump, and never raise any issue about Biden? Why did the archivists complaint trigger a grand jury, subpoenas, and a raid on Mar-a-Lago, yet these new discoveries seem to end with a full acceptance of what Bidens attorneys say they found?

Yes, Garland has tried to pass this off to Robert Hur, whom he named special counsel to look into it, but despite his credentials, Hur doesnt seem to some to be the best choice. For one thing, hes as Deep State as you can imagine:

...those accolades were spoken by none other than disgraced former-deputy attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who conspired with the fellow disgracee Andrew McCabe to wear a wire to catch Donald Trump in a 25th Amendment-worthy meltdown because they hated him so much. Pardon me if I dont swoon. The high government official was at the right hand of the awful FBI Director Chris Wray, who has overseen the complete transmogrification of the bureau from a law enforcement agency to an intelligence entity that spies on Americans. And the man touting his distinguished career is none other than the most ideologically Leftist hack whos ever disgraced the office of the attorney general, Merrick Garland. And thats saying something. Looking at you, wingman Eric Holder. And theres more. Robert Hur is the man who served as the DOJ point man to Robert Muellers special counsel investigation looking into Donald Trumps alleged side hustle as a Russian secret agent -- Double 45. He is the same guy who vetted retired British spy Christopher Steele, a disgraced (sensing a pattern here?) spy who was fired by the FBI (and then used on the QT by his cutout Bruce Ohr) and hired actual Russian spies on behalf of Hillary Clintons campaign to make up information on Trump. [snip] He was Rosensteins lawyer during the Russiagate probe and used his office to block the so-called Nunes memo that described the corrupt law enforcement and Democrat campaign against Trump.

For another, Paul Sperry has more on this swampy appointment:

"BREAKING: FBI Director Christopher Wray's chief of staff Jonathan Lenzner was newly appointed Special Counsel ROBERT HUR's deputy in Maryland. Lenzner's father was Bill and Hillary Clinton's private eye fixer. Lenzner is married to WaPo national editor Matea Gold, both Democrats"

Is it any wonder that people like Larry OConnor believe Hur was chosen to impede congressional Republicans in their own investigations? Even if you disagree with this supposition, you must see that the appointment was to cover Garlands actions against Trump, including his appointment of a special counsel to investigate the former president to make it appear that he was even-handed.

Garland, Wray, and the national archivist are not the only ones squirming right now. Don Surber masterfully establishes on the record the two-step the major media is dancing right now, comparing how they viewed the many fruitless investigations and charges against Trump and how they are reporting the planned investigations of Biden:

"When they won the majority last year, House Democrats promised a barrage of investigations into President Trump and those around him. It now looks more like a continuous bombardment." This time the list of investigations are The Weaponization of Government

Biden Family Businesses

Origins of the Covid Pandemic

China Competitiveness

The Withdrawal From Afghanistan

Border Enforcement

Treatment of Jan. 6 Defendants This time the press coverage is not on the target of the investigations but the investigations themselves. That is because the press knows the investigations of real events, not imaginary events dreamed up by Hillary's opposition research team that could find nothing worse than Trump saying "pussy" in a private conversation to Billy Bush in 2005. The press knows the laptop, the origin of covid and the surrender of Afghanistan are real. They worry that Republicans might actually have something. The press worries that they might actually do something with it.

Its going to be a fun-filled 2023 for media watchers.

Image: Michael Ramirez
The media, especially the social media, say they are very strict about reporting misinformation but that is a lie.

They willingly repeat talking points to push agenda, whether it is about Russian collusion, climate change, or COVID without asking questions when they are pushing an agenda. They are essentially propagandists.

Their COVID death overcounting is one of the best examples of it, they used those overcounted numbers as a cudgel against President Trump.

Now they've changed their story. Here's a column by Dr. Leana Wen, a public health official who's influential in Democrat circles, stating what everyone else knew in a new column for the Washington Post:

We are overcounting covid deaths and hospitalizations. Thats a problem.

In March of 2020, the CDC changed the way they counted deaths from COVID. Instead of only counting deaths that were caused by COVID, they suddenly counted all deaths where a person may have had COVID as caused by COVID.

This was purely misinformation to control the people, to basically get them to capitulate to dictatorial mandates with fear-mongering.

This caused major undercounting of deaths from other causes.

How many children's lives were destroyed because misinformation kept them out of school?

How many deaths from suicide and other causes occurred because people were scared to get tests?

How many old people died alone because children were told they would kill their grandparents and others if they got near them?

Of course, the information from this Townhall piece by Sarah Arnold will mostly be ignored by the media that is still complicit and compliant.

CNN Medical Analyst Admits After Two Years There's Been 'Overcounting' of COVID Deaths "We Are Over-Counting COVID Deaths and Hospitalizations. Thats a Problem, [Wen] acknowledged that 90 percent of patients diagnosed with COVID are actually in the hospital for some other illness. Since every hospitalized patient gets tested for covid, many are incidentally positive, [Wen] wrote, citing Robin Dretler, an attending physician at Emory Decatur Hospital. [Wen] then provided an example. A gunshot victim or someone who had a heart attack could test positive for the virus, but the infection has no bearing on why they sought medical care, she wrote. Shocker. However, that admission is two years too late. At the beginning of [Wen's] column, she expressed skepticism after the CDC released its latest Covid-19 death stats. The CDC claimed that the U.S. is experiencing at least 400 deaths from Covid every day. However, Wren questioned whether those deaths were directly from the virus itself or another illness. At that rate, there would be nearly 150,000 deaths a year. But are these Americans dying from COVID or with COVID? She asked. [Wen] admitted that hospitals are adding Covid to patients' death certificates, but often the virus plays no role at all in how they died. Several critics of [Wen's] article expressed frustration that after two years, the Left is just now admitting they were wrong about so many things regarding the Coronavirus.

So much misinformation about COVID was spread it is hard to know where to start.
Its starting to get lonely in the White House family quarters, as the usual gaggle of political class hangers-on are signaling that they are no longer on Team Biden. And its time for him to shape up or ship out. UPenn Professor Joe and University of Delaware Doctor Jill Biden are seeing signs from multiple directions that the defenders they thought would be with them through thick and thin want them to leave the presidency without running for re-election.

If you want to know what the old school consultant class, the journeymen operatives that have directed Democrat campaigns for the past generation, are thinking David Gergen is a pretty reliable weathervane, blowing with the winds. And he is warning the Bidens that Joe is going to get creamed.

CNN screengrab via Mediaite

Kipp Jones of Mediaite writes on Gergens appearance on CNN Friday:

Former Clinton administration adviser David Gergen believes President Joe Bidens handling of classified documents risks doing very real damage to him. On CNNs AC360, host Anderson Cooper welcomed the veteran political operative on to discuss the issue. Cooper mentioned the potential political fallout of consistent revelations more of documents being found in locations Biden used after his time as vice president. How big a mess is this for the Biden administration? Cooper asked. Gergen responded, Its very, very big. Not legally but politically, its a very, very big deal.

Gergen, naturally, is commenting on the political angle. For the legal/prosecutorial angle on Bidens situation, Robert Muellers pit bull (per the New York Times) is also warning Joe.

Gergen continued

This is a president that was marching upward for the first time in his presidency. He got his numbers up. People are feeling better about the economy. There are all sorts of reasons to believe that he can now present himselfthe fears that people like me have about how old he is and can he govern well? Those fears would be dissipated if he were able to stay on that track. Gergen called the classified documents reporting a gigantic story and questioned why the presidents team did not make more of an attempt to get ahead of it. The Biden people, they may be making a big mistake, Anderson, Gergen said. I may be wrong about this. Theyve done a wonderful job being cooperative with the government, and theyve done it by the books. I dont think sitting there hunkering down now, just acting like its not out there is good. Theyre going to get creamed doing that.

Of course, this could be interpreted as advice to Biden to be more forthcoming. But of course, as any criminal defense attorney will tell a client under investigation by a federal prosecutor, the less you say, the better. Answer direct questions, but only the questions asked, and with the minimum number of words necessary to be responsive. See also:

Muellers pit bull Andrew Weissmann is greasing the skids under Biden

UPDATE: Adam Schiff this morning joined the crew warning Biden. Via Stephen Neukam of The Hill:
A leading Vermont drag queen is legislator Taylor Small, a biological man who identifies as a woman, and professes a strong background in cultural humility education.

Small openly promotes her drag queen activism:

My activism has taken many shapes and forms over the years, but the most notable is my drag persona, Nikki Champagne. Alongside my business partner, Emoji Nightmare, I have had the opportunity to provide Drag Queen Story Hours across the state promoting local libraries and youth literacy.

The pretense of DGSHs is to teach literacy and tolerance for LGBTQ+ people. But tolerance of transgenderism is dependent on a societal acceptance of a novel theory (gender theory or queer theory) which itself is geared toward deconstructing normative gender traditions (and thus the foundations of marriage and family). In gender views, America has shifted from biological science to social-science theory to politicization to gender indoctrination pedagogy in a flash, aimed at young childrens social identities.

In The Marxification of Education, James Lindsay asserts the ersatz sexuality at play during DGSHs is faux education, and that the true motive is to inculcate gender fluidity in young minds. Vermont drag queen proponents prove him correct:

Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) is just what it sounds like -- drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores. DQSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models. In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real.

These bizarre displays create space to groom children in gender pedagogy, feigning education as drag performers feign faux genders. Lindsay draws upon source materials to expose that these childrens burlesque shows are a means of generating a pretext to discuss sex, gender, and sexuality on the disruptive terms given by Queer Theory. Child literacy is merely a pretense, employed to politicize or groom childrens minds for political activism, rulebreaking, and inner emotional confusion.

At the the Vermont PRIDE Center:

Emoji Nightmare and Nikki Champagne, two of Vermonts favorite drag queens, are back with the family favorite Drag Queen Story Hour after nearly a year! The queens will be sure to delight and captivate audience members of all ages as they share stories focused on individuality, activism, gender, creativity, expression, and social responsibility.

In these performances, adults behave like precocious children, while impressionable children are introduced to adult sexual themes. The core purpose is gender-queer pedagogy. As Lindsay relates:

Children are brought to the school library, where they are presented with a clownish adult man dressed as a sexualized woman who reads to them while performing drag. The concept of gender and gender fluidity, and possibly sexuality, is presented to them in a codified form in the person and performance of the drag queen.

Those teaching through drag are well aware that they are queer-groomers. Lindsay quotes a Drag Pedagogy resource:

...drag offers a model for participants to try on many costumes and cosmetics to understand how these elements reinforce or alter their own sense of self [Drag] is grounded in building character, both in the sense of constructing a persona and in better understanding one's own relations to others. This approach can support students in finding the unique or queer aspects of themselves -- rather than attempting to understand what its like to be LGBT.

This Marxist conscientization process is also employed in Critical Race Theory wherein themes of racism and slavery are infused into putative math, history, or other teaching to condition children to see themselves either as oppressed or oppressors, and alienate them from their parents (who are also transmogrified into one of these two divisive categories). Taylor Small is unqualified to educate children. As a state legislator, Small pledges to indoctrinate them in more than gender theory: I will ensure ...that our schools integrate the full scope of all ethnic, racial, gender and other marginalized identities into K-12 curriculum.

Vermonts proponents of DQSH boast indoctrinating intentions:

DQSH promotes reading through the art of drag and creates diverse, accessible, and culturally-inclusive family programming where kids can express their authentic selves and become bright lights of change in their communities. In spaces like this, kids can learn from LGBTQ+ experiences to love themselves, celebrate the fabulous diversity in their communities, and stand up for what they believe in and each other.

Spaces like this create change agents to weaponize against gender and family structure norms, against societal stability, and ultimately against themselves. The goal is not literacy, but political activism -- which is why proficiency in core subjects is plummeting in Vermont. These Story Hours are Nightmare Hours, striking authentic education with bright Hellish bolts of Marxist lightning.
Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Chairperson Yoo Guk-hee talks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Jan. 13. Yonhap



A top Korean official stressed that a nuclear safety review process has not yet finished for Japan's planned release of contaminated water from its hobbled Fukushima Daiichi plant into the sea.



"The government's top priority is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people," Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) Chairperson Yoo Guk-hee said during a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency. "We are reviewing whether Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO)'s plan, approved by the Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), is legitimate."



TEPCO is the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant ravaged by a devastating tsunami in 2011.



In May, Japan's nuclear regulator gave the green light to the planned discharge of a million tons of tritium-laced water from the wrecked nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.



Yoo said his agency had made an inquiry at Japan's NRA about the plan four times and received answers only to some of them.



"It should be verified in an objective and scientific manner whether the discharge facility and plan are appropriate according to its original design, and if a release takes place according to safety standards," he said.



He also said the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety is analyzing water samples from the plant at the request of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and will send the results to the IAEA when completed.



The NSSC will run an independent monitoring system by taking samples from around 40 bodies of water around Korea starting next month, he added. (Yonhap)


Its only taken a week for Joe Biden to lose all three pillars of power that have served to get him elected as president and protected him from the consequences of his incompetence in office. Andrew Weissmann, the ruthless chief of staff of the Mueller special counsel investigation is warning him of his legal jeopardy he faces from the politicized Department of Justice in the wake of leaks about him planning to run for re-election. Political insiders like David Gergen (and in an update, hatchet man Adam Schiff) are letting him know that they will offer tepid at best defense for him. And the last pillar of Democrat power, the corporate media, is not on board Team Biden anymore, either.

See also:

Muellers pit bull Andrew Weissmann is greasing the skids under Biden

Democrat insider weathervane David Gergen warns Biden he is going to get creamed

No less than APs White House correspondent Zeke Miller is warning Biden.

Joe Biden offered himself to Americans as a president they wouldnt have to think about after the tumult of his predecessor. But an excruciating week of awkward disclosures and the appointment of a special counsel to investigate classified records found at his Delaware home and a former office dating to his time as vice president is beginning to strain his claim to competence.

While questions about Bidens competence are no shock to readers of this and other conservative websites, it has been an article of faith in the corporate media that with Trump out of the White House, the adults are in charge again. Except that chief adult is a dolt, never smart in his prime, and is now well into senescence -- a truth that has been regarded as a state secret among his media defense corps. Now that they are admitting he may be noncompetent, the door is open on a flood of embarrassment reaching the pub lic that never watches Fox News or reds conservative publications.

Retired FBI special agent Mark Wauck writes at his Meaning in History site:
Its likely that, as more information about Bidens classified document heist emerges, the Republican House will impeach him. Its even possible that, given that hes become a liability, the Senate, even with its Democrat majority, would then agree to remove Biden from office. However, while Biden will get his just deserts, that doesnt mean the situation in America improves. Indeed, it might get worse.

At this point, theres no question that Biden violated national security laws. Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, wrote:

The reaction to the special counsel appointment by Richard Sauber, the lawyer Biden has brought into the White House to help deal with investigations, was remarkable. He said the president was confident that the special counsel investigation would find that the documents in question were inadvertently misplaced. Thats not a defense to a charge of mishandling classified information. It is tantamount to an admission of guilt. For conviction, federal law requires prosecutors to establish that the defendant was grossly negligent. There is no need to prove that an accused was trying to harm the United States; just that he was trusted with classified information and carelessly flouted the standards for safeguarding it.

So, Joe Biden has admitted that, while he was Vice President and for six years after that, he violated national security laws. Does that constitute a basis for impeachment? Absolutely.

Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution gives Congress absolute power to remove a President from Officefor high Crimes and Misdemeanors. As leftists never tired of pointing out when they thought theyd caught Trump violating national security laws (he didnt), this is as serious a crime as one can commit.

Additionally, impeachment for something like this doesnt preclude an honest DOJ from filing charges against Biden. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states that the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Biden is in big trouble. The question is whether the Senate, where Democrats have a small majority, will elect to pull the plug on his presidency. On the one hand, Biden has announced that hell run in 2024, which is a disaster for the Democrats. One basement campaign, with help from lots of institutional cheating, worked. Its unlikely to work a second time when the candidate is demented and compromised. Moreover, both Trump and DeSantis (who are currently the leading Republican candidates) are very serious threats.

But you know what? If I were a Senate Democrat, Id go ahead and pull the plug on the Biden presidency. Why? Because it leaves them no worse than they were before in terms of the executive office and potentially leaves them much better situated coming into 2024.

In terms of more of the same, remember that the person who replaces Biden if hes driven from office is Kamala Harris. This Kamala Harris:

Kamala: "I think of this moment as a moment that is about great momentum, inspired by, yes, optimismbut also inspired by also our collective effort to see what can be unburdened by what has been.pic.twitter.com/6gO6YZaxtr  Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 12, 2023

Second, Harris will need a Vice President. If I were in the Democrats shoes, I would draft Michelle Obama to be the Veep. Shes claimed that she hates being in politics, but her two biographies, especially the most recent one, say otherwise.

At that point, Democrats have two options. They can let Harris finish Bidens term and then put her out to pasture with Michelle as the candidate. Or they can speed the process by getting Harris to resign (too much pressure or something like that), and installing Michelle in the White House. Her tenure will be less than two years, which means she can run for president in 2024 and again in 2028.

Michelle Obama is, for reasons that consistently elude me, hugely popular. Shes a Black female who is the wife of the much-adored Barack Obama (another form of public adulation that eludes me). And we all knownudge, nudge, wink, winkthat having Michelle in the Oval Office really means that Obama will be back for his fourth and fifth terms (with Biden having been his third term).

This is not a far-fetched theory. Given Michelles popularity and Democrat control over voting processes, its a way more likely scenario than one that sees a corrupt, senile, famously stupid Democrat win the most votes in American history.

It seems that the best thing to do is to leave Biden hanging in the breeze right now, get a Republican in the White House in 2024, along with an honest Attorney General, and then indict Biden for violating national security laws. That keeps America from making a giant leap from the frying pan right into the fire.

Image: Joe Biden (edited). YouTube screen grab.
First, the data on what's happening in Iran.

Start with the count:

Days : 121

: 121 Protests : 282 cities

: 282 cities Fatalities : 750+ estimated deaths, 627 identified by MEK

: 750+ estimated deaths, 627 identified by MEK Detentions: 30,000

Now here's the latest news:

Irans nationwide uprising entered its fifth month following a day of major rallies and demonstrations against the mullahs regime in various cities of what's known as Sistan and Baluchistan province, especially the provincial capital of Zahedan. A large number of locals took to the streets on Friday in the Baluch cities of Zahedan, Rask, and Khash, chanting slogans specifically targeting regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), the paramilitary Basij forces, and other units of the regimes vast crackdown apparatus. People in the provincial capital of Zahedan and other Baluch cities have long been suppressed by Irans ruling regime and have courageously been protesting the mullahs atrocities for decades, especially in the past four months.

Meanwhile, in Tehran, at around 9 a.m. local time on Saturday morning, approximately 500 family members of ordinary inmates held in the regimes prison rallied outside the mullahs so-called judiciary building, protesting the conditions of their jailed loved ones. These family members had travelled to the Iranian capital from different and faraway cities. Some children were seen holding placards reading: Dont execute my father! Authorities dispatched security forces to disperse the crowd based on the bogus pretext that the judiciary is closed today.

In Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province, courageous youths blinded the surveillance camera of Khamenei's repressive forces which was installed in the citys Madar square.

In the Iranian diaspora abroad, NCRIs president-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi reacted to the execution of a former Iranian regime official named Alireza Akbari, stating: Ex-deputy defense minister Alireza Akbaris abhorrent execution, in his own words among IRGC commanders in the Iran-Iraq war and of Badr Brigade, showed the savagery of Khamenei and Raisi (another mullah regime leader) toward even their closest operatives. The U.K. must shut down regimes embassy and cut off ties with it."

More broadly, Irans nationwide uprising marked its 119th day on Thursday as protesters continued their anti-regime campaign with a focus on night rallies.

There are increasing reports of people burning the regimes propaganda billboards and posters of regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, writing anti-regime slogans in graffiti, and using Molotov cocktails targeting various regime-affiliated sites, mostly bases of the brutal and widely detested Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) paramilitary Basij units.

The mullahs regime ruling Iran, in dire need to bring the ongoing protests across the country to an end, has been escalating its crackdown and threats, including issuing an increasing number of death sentences to arrested protesters. After already executing four individuals detained in the recent protests, the ruling regime is faced with a nation determined to continue its campaign for freedom and democracy and refusing to back down in the face of the mullahs repression.

Mohammad Broghani is another arrested protester on death row in in Gohardasht Prison and reports indicate that his death sentence has been temporarily halted. Broghani (and another protestor named Mohammed Ghobadlou) were sentenced to execution after being tortured into coerced confessions and without due process even according to the regimes own laws.

According to reports circulating on social media, regime authorities stationed a large number of security forces out Gohardasht (Rajaie-Shahr) Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran in the early hours of Thursday morning. Activists say this could have been in preparation for the execution of Ghobadlou, one of the protesters arrested in the recent rallies of the ongoing revolution.

According to social media reports, a young girl called Ghazal Ranjkesh, from the southern city of Bandar Abbas, lost her sight in the right eye as a result of being shot by Khameneis repressive forces.

In Tehran, protesters torched a large banner of regimes Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the now-eliminated IRGC Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani, who has been made into a "martyr" by the mullah regime.

Also in Tehran, Locals torched a pro-regime propaganda billboard, protesting the recent executions of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini.

In Shiraz, a city in south-central Iran, protesters attacked a base of the regime's oppressive security forces early this morning local time.

In another development in the United Kingdom, British Member of Parliament (MP) Bob Blackman together with a number of parliamentarians took part in a parliamentary debate about the uprising and the need for the U.K. government to take action against the mullahs. They called on the government to:

compel the Iranian regime to stop all trials, convictions, and executions of protesters.

recognize Iranian people's revolution; and

recognize the Iranian opposition led by NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi and her ten-point plan.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
The summit is over, and it's time to take review of AMLO's "hugs not bullets" policy.

The policy is failing big time. This is the story:

According to a report from Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) leaked to the public by Guacamaya hacktivists, organized crime groups and cartels operating within Mexico have been directly responsible for 64,910 deaths across the country since Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) assumed the presidency in 2018, the highest number of organized crime-related deaths seen in Mexico since it began keeping track of cartel killings in 2007.

Someone did not get the "hugs" memo because the bullets keep flying!

The real problem is that Presidente AMLO cannot stop the violence. It's out of his control because of Mexico's fragile rule of law. In other words, AMLO has to know that the criminal elements run the streets and will get their way. This is why he loves to talk about the change of presidents in Peru or talk generalities with his amigos Biden and Trudeau.

It's Chicago times one hundred! It's what everybody is talking about in Mexico. Let's look at last week. This is from The Guardian:

On Tuesday a shooting near a kindergarten in Sinaloa state left two dead; a video shared on social media showed children cowering under their desks as their teacher tried to comfort them with the music of Taylor Swift. On Wednesday morning another shootout between the military and members of an organized crime gang in the border city of Nuevo Laredo left seven people dead, just over a week after shootouts forced schools in the city to cancel classes. Preliminary figures from the Mexican government show that there have been an average of 78 murders a day this month in Mexico  about three killings an hour.

It will be another brutality next week. That's Mexico today, and that's not something that I enjoy writing. I lived and worked in Mexico in the 1980s. I cannot believe how much the country has deteriorated, especially crime.

AMLO is failing. More specifically, Mexico is failing.

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.

Image: Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador, public domain.
Joe Biden has lost his protection and is now a liability to the cabal that runs the deep state. They are sending metaphorical shots across his bow, warning him that he and Jill will not be campaigning for re-election, and will be lucky to serve out his one and only term as president. Minimizing the damage to the cabal and the Democrat party that is its primary instrument is now the prime directive. The message to Biden is that he can either go out like Nixon or like Lyndon Baines Johnson. The former was driven from office, while the latter read the alignment of the stars and announced that he would not seek re-election to the presidency.

One piece of evidence comes from Andrew Weissmann, who ran the special counsel investigation of Trump purportedly headed by Robert Mueller. Weissmann is well known as a hardball player, labeled a pit bull by even the New York Times. When he signals that someone is in danger, he is not to be ignored. He destroyed the firm Arthur Anderson, costing thousands of jobs by alleging it covered up the crimes of Enron, even though his conviction of the firm was later reversed.

Now, he is warning Joe Biden that he is on very thin ice, and the signal (in my opinion) is clear: get out while you can. Andrew Mark Miller reports for Fox News:

Andrew Weissmann, a top prosecutor in the Mueller investigation into former President Donald Trump, criticized the Biden White House on social media over its handling of classified documents and the media fallout that has ensued. "The WH keeps digging a hole deeper: they have failed to answer so many questions, which is very strange if this is all an innocent mistake," Weissmann, who was known as former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's "pitbull" during the Russia investigation, tweeted on Saturday. "Total number of government docs found and precisely where; and what levels of classification?" The tweet continued. "Why wasn't this all revealed in Nov/Dec?"

Robert Hur, the special counsel appointed to investigate Bidens classified document handling, surely understands Weissmanns signal. He is the other principal audience besides Biden, that Weissmann is addressing. If Biden does not want the force of the special counsel and the rest of the DOJ to fall on him, it might be time to make plans to move back to Delaware on a full time basis, not just weekends, and maybe sooner than January 2025.

Photo credit: Renew America CC BY 3.0 license
So Los Angeles has a new mayor -- the far-left Karen Bass, and it hasn't taken long for changes to kick in, letting the police know she doesn't have their back.

Latest news is this diktat from above, as reported by Fox News:

The Los Angeles Police Department banned the Thin Blue Line flag from public areas within police departments this week over a complaint that the flag represented "violent, extremist views." LAPD Chief Michel Moore defended the controversial move in an email sent to Fox News Digital, saying, "Yesterday, we received a community complaint of the presence of a Blue Line Flag" with "the view that it symbolized support for violent extremist views, such as those represented by the Proud Boys and others." "I directed to have the item taken down from the public lobby. The U.S. flag should be proudly displayed in our lobbies whenever possible. Memorials for our fallen are also authorized in all public spaces," he said.

The banned flag looks like this:

Where'd I take that photo? At a party full of LAPD cops, celebrating the birthday at the home of one of their own. The photo doesn't include the cops, but there were a lot of them.

It was at this party that I learned how much that flag means to these officers, all of whom were black or Hispanic, none of whom were white. This flag is a big deal to them, an emblem of their hard job, an expression of the dangers and death they face, and a rallying point for their reasonable interests.

They want to ban this? Because of one wokester complaint, a complaint from someone who undoubtedly doesn't want any cops whatsoever, a cop-hater, and they are out there, as that's been the party line in the anti-cop wokester-activist community for several years now.

The excuses from headquarters were really pathetic:

Moore explained that a flag displayed in one station's lobby spurred a complaint and he added, "Its unfortunate that extremist groups have hijacked the use of the Thin Blue Line flag to symbolize their undemocratic, racist, and bigoted views." The LAPD chief ordered all flags with the symbol to be removed from public areas. Moore said officers still can display the flag "their workspace, locker door, or personal vehicle." While Moore said he viewed the flag as symbolizing "the honor, valor, dedication, and sacrifice of law enforcement to protect our communities," he said others had undermined the flag with their "racist, bigoted and oppressive values."

Really? Let's hear some names, which naturally, Moore and his ilk didn't give. This has about as much credibility as the Pentagon's hunt for extremists (read: Trump supporters) in the military's ranks, or the FBI's hunt for domestic terrorists among the parents attending school board meetings.

And while we are at it, let's look at the diversity composition of the LAPD these days since policing is so synonymous with white supremacy and that flag the LAPD brass hates so much.

According to Wikipedia:

The claim that flag was white supremacist, accompanied by the dog biscuit thrown to the cops, that they can still display the flags on their personal cars and lockers, pretty well pegs any cop who has such stickers as a white supremacist. After all, if they're going to peg a symbol as white supremacist, why are they allowing it on lockers and cars? Do they allow Klan or White Aryan Brotherhood symbols on cars and lockers of cops, too?

Don't think so.

The concession given is because they know how alienated the cops are by this decision. According to Fox News, a union representing 9,900 Los Angeles police officers fire back with this statement:

"It is difficult to express the level of utter disgust and disappointment with Chief Moores politically pandering directive to remove Thin Blue Line flags and memorials for fallen officers from all public areas within our police stations. This direction came as a result of complaints from anti-police, criminal apologists, and activists who hold too much sway over our city leaders and, unfortunately, our Chief," the Board of directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League wrote in a statement. The union said they "vehemently" opposed "this disrespectful and defeatist kowtowing by our department leadership to groups that praise the killing of police officers and outright call for violence against those of us in uniform. We have directly expressed our outrage to the Chief."

Note that word "vehemently."

We pretty well can tell what the sentiment in the not-so-white ranks is regarding this ban on the only public emblem the cops even have -- and which without, they are all alone out there, no rallying symbol for their lives and welfare.

With the police brass playing politics, as they say, it's pretty obvious that the "politics" here is the politics of the new mayor, Karen Bass, who's a wokester fanatic so leftwing she was rejected by the Biden team for the vice presidency, which handed the slot of the giggly and less competent Kamala Harris instead. Obviously, they've been read the Riot Act by Bass, and are looking to save their skins. The bad part here is that the line officers have been sent a message -- that politicians and the police brass don't have their backs now. Already thousands of officers, including many at that very party, have retired, or retired at their desks. This flag message sends the message in the already crime-plagued city, one of the country's worst, that it's time to quit and move someplace where they want the blue in place and are willing to support the blue.

Image: Monica Showalter
"Saychel" is a Yiddish word for common sense (Google spells it "sekhel"). Consider this term simply aYiddish counterpart for Occam's Razor.

Here are two situations that cry out for the application of saychel by House Republicans.

Rep. Hank Johnson (D.-Ga.) recently theorized that the classified documents found in Biden's garage had been planted. There is as much evidence that the documents were planted as there was of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election to put Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office.

Ah-ha!

Where were Republicans in Congress to throw back at Johnson -- and the Democrats, generally -- that if anyone has been planting disinformation in the media, information eagerly gobbled up by the media, it has been the Democrats, and Twitter has known about the Democrats' disinformation campaign lying about Russia all along, and did not disclose the truth to the American people. If Republicans had saychel, they would have shamed Rep. Johnson and the Democrats and their media lapdogs, days ago -- indeed months, if not years ago.

Why have the Republicans been remiss about the Democrat lies about Russia interference in the 2016 election -- a lie that was apparently originated by Hillary Clinton, who had been recognized 27 years ago by the late William Safire as a "congenital liar"?

Here is a second example how the application of "saychel" could send Never Trump editors to the delete key, to expunge their badly-reasoned, if violently anti-Trump views. A month ago, The Wall Street Journal ran this lead editorial: "The Jan. 6 Inquiry's Not-So-Great Finale."

The editorial, facially, seemed to criticize the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 for recommending to the Justice Department the criminal prosecution of Citizen Trump. The concluding paragraph commented: "In their crusade against Mr. Trump's norm-breaking, Democrats and the press have too often broken norms themselves." (What "norm-breaking" is Donald J. Trump guilty of -- trying to drain the swamp?) For media norm-breaking, merely see Jim Rutenberg's Times August 2016 column urging the media to put aside objectivity in reporting on Mr. Trump.

Indeed, the New York Times, along with its media acolytes, not only broke journalism's norms, they threw those norms to the winds -- bizarrely getting a Pulitzer Award for publishing Big Lies about Mr. Trump. The New York Post was on target, calling " absurd " the Pulitzers given the Times and Washington Post.

Getting back to the Dec. 20 Wall Street Journal editorial seeming to take the Pelosi partisan panel to task, the difficulty with this editorial is in the third paragraph:

"The House Jan. 6 inquiry has done useful work gathering documents and putting witnesses under oath."

And the 16th century inquisitors of Spain were confident they did useful work "gathering dcuments and putting witnesses under oath [accompanied by torture]" in their fight to stamp out religious dissidents, too.

Where were House Republicans, last month, to send torrents of letters to the Wall Street Journal based simply on saychel?

Was this not only a "select committee" but a "very select committee" with seven virulently anti-Trump Democrats and two viciously anti-Trump Republicans who, from the day this anti-liberty panel met, already held that Donald J. Trump was guilty as he was later to be charged?

Four paragraphs from the end of this mealy-mouthed editorial, the editors proclaimed their fidelity to the Never Trump cause:

"Jan. 6 was a disgrace, and Mr. Trump's behavior on that day and since is a reason not to trust him with the Presidency ever again."

The political disgrace afflicting our country, saychel instructs, is the anti-Trump conspiracy that started with his candidacy for president and continues to this very day, two years after he left office, peacefully.

Saychel suggests to this observer that House Republicans should do their constitutional duty and nullify every action taken by the egregious offense to American liberty known as the House Select Committee on January 6, and demand that the January 6 political prisoners held by Biden's Stasi-like Justice Department be released immediately. How the MAGA majority in the country would be elated if the House, led by Kevin McCarthy, showed that the GOP is fully capable of doing the right thing by and for the U.S.A. and the freedom on which it stands.
It has been a tough week for Joe Biden.

It began with classified documents being discovered at Biden's former office at his Washington-based think tank. Days later, Bidens aides discovered more classified documents at Biden's Wilmington, Delaware home.

This led to Bidens Attorney General Merrick Garland appointing Special Counsel Robert Hur to probe Bidens mishandling of classified material.

Yesterday, Bidens aides found five additional classified documents once again at Bidens Wilmington, Delaware home.

CBS News reported that some of the documents discovered at Bidens think tank were marked top secret, which is the highest of the three levels of classification: confidential, secret, and top secret. A leak of top secret information could cause "exceptionally grave damage."

We know the severity of the scandal and the perils to national security associated with it. Such leaks could place lives and U.S. interests in danger. What if a document contained details of undercover U.S. agents operating in enemy territory?

The fact that the Biden family has a record of corruption and ties with U.S. adversaries such as China makes the scandal considerably worse.

But there are many unusual occurrences surrounding this scandal.

We know that government agencies are politicized by the D.C. Democrat establishment. No longer do they operate as watchdogs monitoring the powerful on behalf of citizens. Instead, they are Democrat proxies who eliminate impediments and challenges to Democrats.

Most of the mainstream media functions as the propaganda wing for the Democrats. They dont just follow the same narrative but even use identical jargon to describe any given incident. Words such as collusion or insurrection didnt spread by accident. An adept Democrat wordsmith coined these terms and the media mainstreamed them through repetition.

Both the agencies and the media operate on strict order; the bouquets are for the Democrats, while the brickbats are for Republicans.

This explains why they buried information about the first discovery of classified documents at Biden's think tank. The discovery happened on November 2, days prior to the 2022 midterm elections, but the public learned about it two months later.

The question is why didnt they bury it forever as they usually do when Democrats commit crimes.

You would expect Bidens aides would have worked behind the scenes to either destroy the documents or secretly transfer them back to the National Archives and Records Administration.

The same Bidens aides are concealing the obvious facts about Bidens rapidly declining cognitive abilities, his misgovernance, and his corruption.

Why are they diligently following the rules in this situation?

The DoJ also seems to be displaying the utmost seriousness about the situation by appointing a special counsel.

Usually, such stories are covered by Fox News, the New York Post, Breitbart, etc., while the mainstream media either ignores or dismisses them as right wing conspiracy theories.

But this time, the media covered every discovery in detail and even used sources to reveal the discovery of documents marked top secret.'

CBS News even reported that Democrats inside and outside the West Wing are frustrated with the White House's response to the Biden document scandal.

They still remain Democrat loyalists and hence they portray Bidens and Trumps circumstances as "Cooperation vs. Obstruction." "Misplaced vs. Stolen." "Voluntary vs. Subpoena." "Immediate vs. Search Warrant."

Why do agencies and the news media appear to be suddenly turning over a new leaf?

One school of thought is that the Democrat leadership is growing weary of the declining and inarticulate Biden and seeking a younger puppet in 2024 who can play the part of president more convincingly.

Perhaps the Democrat leadership expected the red wave during the 2022 midterms to cause the Democrats to lose both the House and the Senate by huge margins as well as in gubernatorial races. The Democrat leadership probably thought it would enable them to pressure Biden to not seek reelection in 2024.

But that didnt happen.

Instead, Democrats lost fewer seats under Biden during the midterms than they did under Obama and Clinton. Perhaps this caused Biden, i.e., his handlers, to be deluded about Bidens popularity and think he could win in 2024.

There is another possibility.

We know the Democrats played with the rules of the midterms by allowing mail voting and engaging in other undisclosed practices to allegedly boost voter participation. We also know of voting machines malfunctioning.

Maybe the deal was that the Democrats would rig the elections and let Biden claim credit for the success and declare that his mission was accomplished and not seek reelection in 2024.

But that didnt happen, either.

Perhaps the appointment of a special counsel is meant to bring Biden back to the negotiating table and sign the deal to announce he is not running in 2024 which will cause all investigations to vaporize into thin air

There is another possibility -- that this is a charade.

With Biden, the Democrats have a perfect empty vessel for their unpopular far-left policies. If Biden wins in 2024, it will bring more funding for the Green New Deal, to defend Ukraine, etc. The influx of illegals would continue with many being given voting rights. Their war against political opponents will also continue.

Perhaps the probe is an act of deception to con the public into thinking that Biden and Trump are being treated equally with their respective special counsel probes. Maybe the investigation proceeds quietly and finally exonerates Biden at the propitious moment for him to declare he is seeking re-election in 2024.

This probe on Biden also gives them an excuse to expand their various probes on Trump, when Republicans call it a political witch-hunt, they just point to the probe on Biden.

This should & will be investigated. This occurs commonly & usually results in administrative rather than criminal action. Trump & team would have fared exactly same way had he not delayed, obstructed & potentially lied abt existence of classified records at MAL.



Big difference. https://t.co/PWaXPQI55F  Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) January 9, 2023

There is another possibility about the special counsel investigation.

Perhaps the probe is meant to place a vast shroud of protection over Biden.

The special counsel is likely to begin by probing the White House, Biden's Delaware home, and his former office spaces. The probe will enable the special counsel to prevent others such as House Republicans from accessing the documents and logs or interviewing people, claiming that it would interfere with the investigation and obstruct justice. They could hire agents who look like investigators but are actually fixers. Once the clean-up is finished, the House GOP will be allowed to conduct their investigations which will yield nothing.

There is an unlikely possibility Kamala Harriss advocates in the swamp are involved in this, too. Perhaps Bidens handlers were asking the incompetent and inarticulate Harris to step aside. This led to Harriss proxies masquerading as Bidens aides to expose Bidens mishandling of classified information to the authorities. This could be a warning for Biden's handlers, i.e., if they even think of dropping Kamala, Biden will be gone too for selling secrets to foreign powers and soon there will be President Kevin McCarthy.

Going by the record of the Democrats and their proxies, it is most unlikely that they have suddenly seen the light and are now following a moral path where all are equal before the law.

When something seems too good to be true, it usually isnt.

The Latin phrase Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes comes to mind, which paraphrased in English mean "I fear the Greeks even when bearing gifts."

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
In order for an individual or group of individuals to peacefully survive and interact in society, basic morality or ethical principles are critical.

This is especially true in groups which can include whole nations. Not following basic morality inevitably leads to the destruction or disintegration of the group.

Call this a basic law of nature if you want, but it is primarily applicable to interactions of humans who are, after all, a part of nature.

Trust is the voluntary strong bond or glue which makes peaceful human interaction possible.

Lying and stealing destroys trust and leads to the disintegration of families, organizations, businesses, and nations.

Individuals who lie and steal lose their integrity and become social pariahs.

Our government is currently undergoing a trust crisis with politicians, the media, the FBI, the CIA, the CDC, the FDA, the military, et al. all being caught in unethical practices which threaten national security and the survival of democracy.

Few will deny that lying and stealing is increasing in the U.S.A. Fortunately, lying and stealing governments, such as Russia and China, are also not doing well lately and are gradually heading towards breakdowns economically and politically.

A law of nature among pack or group animals like wolves, who are predators, is that you share the cooperative kill with all members of the group after the dominant predators have satiated their hunger. No one is supposed to steal food from other wolves after the kill but food is judiciously shared among the pack which has a pecking order or hierarchy.

In human society there are predators, too, with some being individual predators or lone criminals and others being group predators or criminals, often called gang members. Clever and ruthless individuals may hide that they lie and steal from society but once their cloak of secrecy over their true lack of morality or ethical principles is unveiled, their reputation suffers, they are caught and imprisoned, or they are ostracized from the group activity which they have participated in.

Gang members who lie and try to steal from each other are quickly either killed or kicked out of the gang as unworthy of participation in gang activity. So, even criminal gangs have strict basic moral or ethical principles which are dont lie to one another and dont steal from one another. Yes, the dominant gang members may get the bulk of the stolen money and goods but they are nevertheless justly shared with gang members according to their own devised laws.



In human society, there are also predatory, or more accurately, competing groups which vie with one other for dominance. Here, too, lying and stealing among organization members is forbidden and many organizations have moral or ethical principles which they must adhere to when interacting with the public or customers at large. Brand loyalty is what businesses need and desire. Legit businesses tend to shy away from unethical practices which may decrease brand loyalty.

Monopoly businesses have been known to cheat their customers through shoddy goods, poor services, or unethical price reductions to bankrupt their competitors. In the long run, these corrupted companies sometimes tend to self-destruct largely due to bad leadership, inefficient worker behavior, a loss of brand loyalty by customers, and innovative small new company competition. Yes, when small companies grow large enough they are often bought up by bigger ones so antitrust laws need greater enforcement in our nation. Unfortunately, antitrust laws are not currently applied to international banks and corporations which are growing more powerful with each passing year worldwide.

One can of course argue that big money or over-concentration of wealth eventually corrupts individuals, companies, organizations, and the government. Further, that there is basically nothing which can be done about this basic law of nature. This is the pessimistic viewpoint. I am an optimist and hope for the day when trust-but-verify will return to the world and also our nation. All we really need is transparency via investigative reporting so that the unethical players in society and the world at large can be uncloaked and ostracized or imprisoned before they do irreparable damage to the nation and the world.

A return to basic moral or ethical principles will be the salvation of the nation and world, if that is still possible. A return to the transparent pursuit of truth without lying and stealing is the eternal struggle of humankind, a pursuit which all moral or ethical humans should be engaged in.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
WHO IS THE FILIPINO IN 2022?

While Triangle of Sadness was enjoying its Cannes premiere in May of 2022, something unrelated and major was happening in the Philippines. 2022 saw the return of the Marcoses to power when Ferdinand Jr. won the presidency in the hotly contested May elections. Despite the well-documented history of corruption and abuse of power during the 21-year reign of former dictator Ferdinand Sr. and first lady Imelda, the infamous political family was able to stage a successful political comeback, one that can be considered a triumph of a decades-long historical distortion via a disinformation campaign.

At the other side of the aisle, the groundswell of the Pink Movement backing former Vice President Leni Robredo, a human rights lawyer, actively resisted the resurgence of the Marcoses. This resulted in one of the most divisive elections the country ever saw, with vote-buying and violence dominating. International observers even called the May 2022 elections not free, honest, and fair.

So what does this have to do with Abigail and the OFW?

During the 1970s, the country saw the further legitimization of overseas work as a remedy to the worsening economic situations in the country. With the expansion of Marcoss systems of corruption (amounting to massive robbery amounting to ten billion US dollars), 52% poverty incidence in 1972, the 1973 oil crisis, political unrest caused by the declaration of Martial Law, and the increasing inability of the regime to give employment to highly educated Filipinos, the government has engineered the labor export program to combat these with foreign remittances.

This was also used by the government to quell the growing political dissent. For others, it became a way to escape the economic and political situation in the country. From 36,035 workers in 1975, the country has seen 266,243 workers deployed overseas by 1986, the end of the Marcos regime.

Once touted as a temporary economic solution, the Philippine economy has become dependent on labor export. This has eased the pressure on the local government to actually create decent-paying jobs within the country as opposed to depending on sending Filipinos abroad. And with all the billions of dollars rolling into the country due to foreign remittances comes the extensive social cost, primarily broken marriages and children with absentee parents.

The story of Abigail and the countless cinematic depictions of the overseas Filipino worker were largely born due to the economic problems during and caused by the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

How ironic is it now that Dolly de Leons Abigail, the most defiant depiction of the overseas Filipino worker yet, was able to blaze a trail in 2022, the same year that the son of the former dictator was able to win the presidency. How ironic is it now that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was able to secure a landslide victory from overseas votes in the 2022 elections despite his father being the instigator of the modern OFW phenomenon, displacing them and separating them from their families.

And how ironic is it now that despite several economic issues the Philippines is facing in 2022 - skyrocketing inflation and unemployment in Southeast Asia, food shortage particularly with salt, sugar, onions, eggs, chicken, and fish, notwithstanding shortages in rice and pork likely to happen in 2023, lackluster disaster preparedness and response to strong typhoons, among other issues - the Marcos administration continues to enjoy healthy approval ratings.

The narratives springing out of cinema during the past few years, often highlight the glaring and growing gap between the rich and the poor - exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a reflection of the global zeitgeist of socio-political unrest, of questioning established authorities, and of asserting ones right to fight to a better life. This is at the core of Triangle of Sadness.

The situation in the Philippines is no different. And now, we look to cinema for visualization of the desire to overhaul the status quo. As de Leon once said:

I wish I could be as brave as [Abigail] or I wish I could stand up to people in power also.

Maybe its time to be a bit more like Abigail. Most especially Filipinos.
Steps needed to prevent recurrences of disasters



The police wrapped up their investigation into the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, referring over 20 low-level officials to the prosecution.



However, it spared three high-ranking officials whom many people believe were responsible for the man-made disaster. The bereaved families of the 159 victims, who were mostly young revelers, also said the probe "cut off the lizard's tail to spare the head."



However, few Koreans appear surprised by the results.



Since the tragedy, which occurred in late October, the government and the ruling party have only been interested in containing the political fallout, trying to protect the Seoul mayor, the minister of the interior and safety and the country's police chief.



In a month-long parliamentary hearing, these officials also showed a total lack of willingness to take responsibility, saying they did not know or remember their critical missions or details. They even overreacted to questioning by lawmakers. Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min asked, "Do you think I was idling away the time?" Yoon Hee-keun, the National Police Agency Commissioner, said, "I can drink on weekend nights. Do I have to make that public?"



These officials were encouraged by their boss. From the start, President Yoon Suk Yeol tried to play down this tragedy. Yoon has yet to issue a presidential statement of apology to the nation. He reportedly told officials to use the word "accident" instead of "disaster." The president said, "They must hold the 'right' people accountable."



It was a de facto instruction for police investigators who had to investigate their superiors in the "self-probe." In this way, the radius of responsibility was bound to narrow sharply  to 23 lower-level officials with the Yongsan District head or district police station chief at the top. However, as German-American philosopher Hannah Arendt said in her book, "Eichmann in Jerusalem," the degree of responsibility may actually increase the farther the decision makers are away from the people who use lethal tools with their own hands.



Replace the term, "responsibility," with "responsibility by omission," and one finds the connection to the Itaewon tragedy. Yoon has virtually made it clear that he would not dismiss  at least for the time being  Minister Lee, who went to the same high school and university as he did.



This situation will only increase the political repercussions in the long term. Yoon must sack his safety minister and national police chief, who inflicted "secondary harm" on families by pointing to some of the victims' problems, as well as by deflecting responsibility.



An increasing number of Koreans find it difficult to understand their leader's inaction.



Yoon's inaction might reflect his loyalty to his subordinates or the political calculation that any concession to his opponents might weaken the presidency. Or the president might think of the disaster as just an "accident by young pleasure-seekers in a foreign festival," as some on the extreme right say. The same people also played down the Sewol ferry tragedy eight years ago as a "traffic accident." Unlike former President Park Geun-hye, Yoon did the least he could, visiting altars for days and consoling bereaved family members.



Any government, or any country for that matter, cannot be considered as being advanced if it makes light of people's lives or appears to do that. Most Koreans felt ashamed when the foreign media described the disaster as "preventable" (had this nation given more value to human lives). The international press criticized the "blame-shifting" officials. Some pointed out that most of the police officers at the time were not near the crowd but rather surrounding the neighboring presidential office to "prevent anti-Yoon protests."



Right-wing groups stress the importance of upholding the nation's reputation or dignity, accusing those on the left of turning a "tragedy into political strife." However, what can hurt the nation's reputation more than the president protecting the officials responsible for a preventable disaster? How can they equate the appeals of the bereaved families for these officials to apologize, take responsibility and face punishment as "partisan bickering?"



On the eighth anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster last year, Yoon, who was president-elect at the time, wrote on his Facebook page, "I believe making Korea safer is the sincerest way to express condolences to the victims."



The first thing Yoon should do to this end is to sack the responsible officials and order a reinvestigation.


Award winners and nominees braved the unprecedented Los Angeles rain to attend the annual Bafta Tea Party on Saturday.

Hollywood stars including Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, Cate Blanchett and Janelle Monae all appeared at the event, which took place at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills.

A staple fixture in the awards season calendar, the Bafta Tea Party in Los Angeles welcomes contenders, members, and guests in the run-up to the EE Bafta Film Awards in London.

Saturday saw torrential rain throughout the day in LA, with special measures taken to ensure the event and hotel stayed water-proof.

It comes one day before the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards, also due to take place in LA on Sunday.

The Bafta longlists were announced on January 6, with sci-fi thriller Everything Everywhere All At Once and Baz Luhrmanns Elvis biopic leading nominations  with 12 apiece.

Everything Everywhere All At Once also led the nominations at the Critics Choice awards, with 14 total.

Michelle Yeoh attended the Bafta event, along with her castmates from Everything Everywhere All At Once (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

The films stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu all attended the Bafta event on Saturday, along with directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.

Austin Butler, who starred in Elvis and was due to attend the event, was noticeably absent, following the death of Lisa Marie Presley.

The US actor said his heart is completely shattered by the news, which was announced on Thursday, two days after Presley attended the Golden Globes where Butler won best actor in a motion picture, drama.

Austin Butler, who starred in Elvis and was due to attend the event, was noticeably absent, following the death of Lisa Marie Presley (Jordan Strauss/AP)

Other attendees at the Bafta event included Fraser  who has earned multiple nominations for his performance in The Whale  and Blanchett, who won the Golden Globe award for best actress in a motion picture, drama, on Tuesday.

The Banshees Of Inisherin, the black comedy-drama written and directed by Oscar-winner Martin McDonagh and starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, scored a total of 14 nods on the Bafta longlists  though none of the films stars were present at the event.

The final Bafta nominations will be announced via a livestream hosted by actors Hayley Atwell and Toheeb Jimoh on Thursday January 19 at midday, with the ceremony due to take place on February 19.
Campaigners have warned of calamitous consequences for trans people and the devolution settlement if the UK Government blocks Scotlands gender recognition law.

LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall has written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to voice its concerns as the UK Government considers legal advice about whether to use its powers to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from becoming law.

MSPs last month passed the Bill by 86 votes to 39, approving reforms which would allow trans people to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC) without the need for a medical diagnosis.

The Bill will also allow 16 and 17-year-olds to apply for a GRC for the first time, and would reduce the amount of time a person has to live in their acquired gender before they can be granted the document.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has voiced concerns about the Bill (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Multiple reports have suggested that the legal advice has given Mr Sunak the legal cover he requires to apply a Section 35 order to prevent the Bill from gaining Royal Assent.

Stonewall said that invoking Section 35 would be a nuclear option and would start a constitutional fight over the devolution settlement for Scotland and Wales.

In a letter to Mr Sunak, Stonewall chief executive Nancy Kelley and its chairman Iain Anderson argued against blocking the legislation.

They said they wanted to urge caution about the calamitous consequences for trans people and the devolution settlement that would come from this decision.

They said that the Bill has already been extensively considered and has no interaction with the Equality Act.

Concerns have been raised about the impact the Bill could have on single-sex spaces, with some critics saying it could put women at risk  a charge the Scottish Government has repeatedly denied.

In their letter, Ms Kelley and Mr Anderson said: We have seen it implied that there are uncertain impacts of the Scotland Gender Recognition Reform Bill on the operating of the Equality Act and its provisions for single-sex exemptions.

This is not true. It does not interact with the Equality Act, and the Scottish Parliament voted on an amendment to explicitly recognise on the face of the Bill that it would have no impact on how the Equality Act operated.

That means there is no change to the single-sex exemptions in the Equality Act.

They also said that the impacts on women and girls have been extensively considered and that safeguards were rightly and extensively considered by Scottish parliamentarians over the course of the Bills passage.

A demonstration was held outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh ahead of the vote on the Bill (Lesley Martin/PA)

Mr Sunak spoke during a visit to Scotland on Friday about his concerns over changes the Bill would enact.

Downing Street officials said on Saturday that the full legal advice to ministers has not yet been reviewed and no decisions have been made.

In their letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Anderson and Ms Kelley said that invoking section 35 is a fight that will only cause harm.

They also warned that it will send a strong and clear message to trans people and those who love and care about them, that this Government views trans people as a threat to be contained and does not respect or value trans citizens.

The Scottish Government says it will vigorously contest any moves to challenge the Bill under the Scotland Act.

A UK Government spokeswoman said: We share the concerns that others  including the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls  have with the Bill, particularly around safety issues for women and children.

We are looking closely at these issues, and also the ramifications for the 2010 Equality Act and other UK-wide legislation.

Our concerns include the protection of single-sex spaces, and the checks and balances included in the process of gaining a legal gender recognition certificate.

No final decisions have been made and we are considering our next steps.
Gov. Kristi Noem called Tuesday for using the states surplus to eliminate the tax charged on groceries and lower other taxes in a State of the State address that steered clear of the hot-button topic of abortion.

The Republican governor, who is seen as a potential contender for the 2024 White House, delivered her address as the Legislatures nine-week session began. All eyes are on what lawmakers might do with the states $423 million surplus.

Noem said that shoppers are astonished" when they arrive at the checkout line to pay for their groceries. She said it is so costly that she has watched many shoppers have to put items back on the shelves because they don't have enough money to purchase them.

South Dakotans need this relief," said Noem, whose executive budget calls for repealing the states 4.5% sales tax on groceries, a move that would save taxpayers $100 million.

Noem was critical of a proposal to repeal the state grocery tax during the final days of the legislative session in March, but this fall, she changed course and made it a centerpiece of her reelection campaign. She has called repealing the tax her top priority for 2023, arguing that the states surplus would cover the revenue loss.

While minority Democrats support the idea, a number of staunch Republicans oppose it, questioning whether the state can absorb the lost revenue.

We will help every single family in the state," she said. And then they have the freedom to decide how to use those dollars to meet their needs in their family.

Sen. Casey Crabtree, the Republican caucus leader, said he also anticipates sales and property tax reduction proposals. He was vague about the legislation's prospects of success.

Well see where it all ends up, he said.

House GOP leader Rep. Will Mortenson said several tax reduction proposals, including the proposed grocery tax cut, will be the subject of debate.

Of course, as a conservative, I would prefer that no one pay any tax," he said. But given that we have limited budget resources, well need to be weighing all these proposals against each other.

Budget-setting during most of Noems first term was filled with state revenues swollen by consumer spending and federal pandemic relief. Lawmakers are also cautioning that those years of plenty  when millions of dollars went to upgrading university campuses and other projects  could soon be over.

Noem also highlighted workforce shortages, noting that the state has 23,000 open jobs. To address that, she called for updating licensing requirements for professional jobs. She said that other states like Arizona that have taken steps to recognize out-of-state licenses have added thousands of workers.

Thats the kind of drastic workforce boost that we need right here in South Dakota, she said.

Noem is also calling for improving paid family leave and creating a way for childcare workers to get benefits.

Under her family leave proposal, state employees could get their entire salary paid for 12 weeks, instead of the 60% that is currently offered for eight weeks. The new policy would cover new births or adoptions, as well as taking care of a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition, or a situation where a spouse is called to active-duty military service.

Her plan also calls for allowing private sector companies to be a part of the states risk pool, which would make it cheaper for them to offer the benefit, and providing $20 million in grants to incentivize them to participate.

Those proposals are key pieces of her goal of supporting families alongside a bid to uphold the states abortion ban, which was triggered by the U.S. Supreme Courts June ruling. Noem, an ardent abortion opponent, faces a challenge to the ban through a citizen-proposed constitutional amendment that could appear on the 2024 ballot. She never discussed the issue directly in her address, though.

Democratic Sen. Reynold Nesiba was critical of Noem for bypassing the issue.

At the moment that a woman needs access to reproductive health care, it is far easier for them to simply go somewhere else if they have the means to do that," Nesiba said. But one shouldnt have to leave the state to be able to have access to reproductive health care.

Noem also notably stepped up her rhetoric against China, touting legislation that would create a board that would review the sale or lease of agricultural land to non-Americans. The move came after she blocked the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from state devices in November 2022 and ordered a review of Chinese investments.

We cant allow Chinese interests to purchase any South Dakota ag land, much less any land near any military base or critical state infrastructure, she said.

____

Associated Press writer Amancai Biraben contributed to this report.
Keith Davis Jr. hugs his wife Kelly during a celebration following his released from custody Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Baltimore, after prosecutors dropped all charges against him. Davis was tried for the same murder four times and was awaiting a potential fifth trial when newly elected State's Attorney Ivan Bates announced his decision to dismiss the case. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP) ORG XMIT: MDBAE201

A Baltimore man accused of killing a security guard in 2015 was freed and had all charges dropped against him after he stood trial four separate times for the crime, Baltimore's new top prosecutor announced Friday.

Keith Davis Jr., who survived being shot multiple times by police when they arrested him, was accused of fatally shooting Kevin Jones, a security guard at the Pimlico Race Course. Davis maintained his innocence throughout the controversial case that raised questions about the conduct of police and prosecutors.

"Todays dismissal is about the prosecutorial missteps of my predecessor in her pursuit of a conviction at all costs," said Baltimore States Attorney Ivan Bates, who took office this month.

How Keith Davis was tried 4 times on the same charges

The dismissal of charges comes as Davis was awaiting a potential fifth trial on the murder charge.

Davis stood trial for armed robbery in 2016 and a jury found him not guilty on all counts except one: illegal possession of a handgun. He was charged days later with Jones' murder, with police saying his gun matched bullet casings from the shooting scene.

The first murder trial in 2017 ended in a mistrial with a hung jury, Baltimore Magazine reported. A second trial in 2018 ended in a guilty verdict, which was overturned because prosecutors didn't disclose a key witness' background, according to the magazine and the website Free Keith Davis Jr. The third trial, also in 2018, ended in another mistrial. Davis was found guilty in his latest trial in 2019, but that conviction was also overturned on appeal in 2021.

CURTIS FLOWERS CASE: How a Mississippi man was tried six times for the same murders

It's not the only time a murder suspect has been tried multiple times on the same charges. In another recent high-profile case, Mississippi man Curtis Flowers was tried six times for the same killings of four people, with the last conviction being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. He was freed in 2019 after spending 23 years in prison and a judge ruled he should receive half a million dollars, the maximum compensation for someone wrongfully imprisoned in the state.

Arrest and shooting by police

The victim, Jones, was shot on June 7, 2015, at the Pimlico track in northeast Baltimore. Hours later, a cab driver flagged down police and said someone had tried to rob him at gunpoint.

Police identified Davis as their suspect and chased him through the streets, cornering him in a garage and shooting at least 33 times at him. He was struck three times, including in the face.

Jones' arrest and shooting prompted backlash, being the first shooting by police of a Black man in Baltimore since the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a Black man whose death in police custody sparked protests in the city.

Keith Davis Jr. embraces supporters as he arrives at a gathering following his released from custody Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Baltimore, after prosecutors dropped all charges against him. Davis was tried for the same murder four times and was awaiting a potential fifth trial when newly elected State's Attorney Ivan Bates announced his decision to dismiss the case. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP) ORG XMIT: MDBAE202

New top attorney criticizes handling of Keith Davis case

In his statement Friday, Bates said he tasked a deputy with reviewing Davis' case, excusing himself from the case because he talked about it while campaigning for his current seat.

Bates' predecessor, Marilyn Mosby, lost in a Democratic primary amid federal perjury charges.

"It is clear that a blatant disregard for the rules of professional responsibility and the law has permeated throughout the attempted prosecutions of Mr. Davis," said Deputy States Attorney Thomas Donnelly.

After the latest conviction was overturned, prosecutors charged him with attempted murder in a different stabbing, prompting a Baltimore judge to find a presumption of vindictiveness behind the prosecution. Those charges were also dropped Friday.

The judge also at one point held Mosby in contempt for violating a gag order in the case.

Kevin Jones' family 'destroyed'

Jones grandmother, Earlene Neals, told The Associated Press she felt blindsided and heartbroken by the news, adding that she was skeptical another suspect would ever be identified.

Our family is destroyed, she told AP by phone. Kevin is getting no justice whatsoever  none.

Neals accused Bates of using the case for political gain.

"I fully recognize the pain and anguish that repeated unsuccessful prosecutions have caused the victim's family, and I truly sympathize with them," Bates said in a statement. "Still, as States Attorney, I have a duty to ensure justice for all, not just the victim but also the accused."

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Keith Davis charges dropped after 4 trials for same Baltimore murder
The stove in Dustin's house  a great place to eat popcorn, drink grape juice and listen to tall tales and tantalizing tidbits of the past. As evidenced by the picture, he was not one for tidiness. December 2015. Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



It is no secret that winters in Korea are cold but, judging from the various diaries and correspondences of Westerners residing in Seoul, the winters of the present aren't as cold as the winters of the past.



In the late 1890s, Horace N. Allen, the American Consul General, described the Korean ondol heating system in fairly glowing terms. He noted that the floors (covered with thick paper and rich brown in color due to the constant polishing they received by the stockings of the owners) were always warm.



I suspect Allen did not spend much time sleeping on the floor or even going about his house in just his socks but he does seem to have been truly impressed with the Korean heating system in regard to Korean-style homes.



However, for the American and Europeans living in Seoul, stoves were the only option "as the paper floors do not answer for foreign use, owing to the fact that our rooms are too large, and our shoes and furniture soon ruin the floors."





Dustin loved to fish, even in the winter. The Mount Baker region of Washington State, 1950/1951. Robert Neff Collection



Allen went on to note that German-made stoves were initially favored but by the mid-1890s, the most commonly used stoves were those made in Michigan. Even some of the more progressive Koreans were purchasing these stoves but he did not expect them to become too popular because of poor shipping methods (resulting in the stoves needing repairs upon arrival) and the high cost of coal.



Whenever I think about stoves in Korea, my mind wanders to the many fond hours I spent around Frederic Dustin's stove on Jeju Island listening to his anecdotes. Some were told with a degree of artistic license but all were entertaining.



Dustin had a long history in Korea  too long to repeat in this article  but his legacy lives on in the maze he established and in the memories of those who loved him.





Dustin apparently did not catch much fish during the winter but did fairly well in the summer of 1950, though none of the fish measured up to his tales. In the late 1960s or early 1970s, Dustin was a fishmonger in Korea. Robert Neff Collection



Some of these tales were about his youth fishing for trout, steelhead and salmon. From the way he spoke, he was one of the greatest fishermen alive, but, photographs don't lie  the fish in the pictures do not match the fish in his tales.



Just prior to joining the military, Dustin worked for a short time at a small logging camp. He was a complete tenderfoot and knew nothing about the industry but he learned a lot that summer and he toughened up. Of course, at this camp, there was a good deal of drinking  perhaps more drinking than actual logging. Depending on his mood, he sometimes portrayed himself as a rough-and-tumble type of guy, but in reality, he was tender-hearted  not above shedding a tear or two.





Dustin in the center with two other lumberjacks at the mining camp in the summer of 1951. Robert Neff Collection



Although he had not served on the front lines (he was a bandsman), there were many experiences during the Korean War that weighed heavily upon his mind. In the streets of Seoul and in some of the villages in Gangwon Province, he encountered children injured and maimed  innocent victims of the war. Surprisingly, the children were still able to smile. Their smiles haunted Dustin in a good way. Nearly sixty-five years later he recalled, "Still in my mind, do I see [their smiles] and cuteness. I guess the young are cute all over the world in peace or war."





Some of Dustin's fellow lumberjacks in the summer of 1951. Robert Neff Collection



After the war, Dustin taught English at Yonhi University (now Yonsei). He recalled:





Dustin at the Maze December 2015 Robert Neff Collection

"The school had returned from Busan a year or so before and there was so much damage. That first fall of '55 was difficult. Many of the classrooms still had no windows and some were missing doors so it was terribly drafty."



And yet, despite the spartan conditions, there were few absentees.



"I often thought it a real personal credit to those students who would arrive in the ubiquitous 'black jeeps' of the day at the front gate and then sit bundled up in those frozen classrooms."



His students had, according to Dustin, "a real fervor for education."



After several years of teaching English, Dustin worked as a gold miner in the southern part of the peninsula. It was difficult but enjoyable work. Although he hated it whenever he was asked what made him fall in love with Korea, I think the mining experience was one of the key factors. In an indirect way, it lead to his success.





Children skating on the ice in Gapyeong in the winter of 1952/53. Robert Neff Collection



Whenever I visited him, he would regale me with these tales as he lovingly stoked his fire  only he stoked the fire; I wasn't smart enough to do it correctly  he never failed to remind me that for his first two decades in Korea he never could recall being warm during the winter. Perhaps that is the real reason why he decided to make Jeju his home: warm winters.



Rest in peace Fred.





Dustin's woodpile by the door and my coffee cup on his chair. The outside denizens  the cats he fed  rarely welcomed me on my visits. Robert Neff Collection





Phone reception  for everyone but Dustin  was usually bad so I often had to walk a short distance down this lonely lane in the middle of the night to make my phone calls. Prior to going out into the dark, Dustin enjoyed reminding me the woods were haunted. The howls of the water deer often gave his tales some credence in December 2015. Robert Neff Collection
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) during an interview on Sunday did not say whether she has spoken to former President Trump about his 2024 White House campaign or whether she would endorse him.

My focus right now has been on 2022, winning the election in November, preparing through transition and getting ready to take office, as I did this past week, Sanders said on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream. I love the president. I have a great relationship with him. I know our country will be infinitely better off if he was in office right now instead of Joe Biden.

But, right now, my focus isnt 2024, its focusing here, in Arkansas, in doing what we can to empower the people of this state, and make sure that Im delivering on the promises that I laid out over the course of the last two years, Sanders added.

Sanders, a former Trump White House press secretary, was sworn in as Arkansas governor last week, becoming the first woman to lead the state. Trump congratulated Sanders in a social media post after she was sworn into office, adding that she is a fantastic person and will be a truly incredible Governor.

When pressed Sunday on when she would decide whether to endorse Trump, she reiterated that her focus is not on 2024.

My focus isnt on 2024, Sanders said. Its on what we can deliver in this legislative session. Im not going to set an arbitrary timeline. Im not really focused on that at all, but focused on what we can do to impact change and deliver on the promises that we made during the campaign season here in Arkansas.

In her first few days in office, Sanders took swift action to ban the term Latinx in government documents and to target critical race theory by requiring state officials to review policies to remove teaching that she says would indoctrinate students with ideologies.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A traffic stop on Interstate 95 turned up 32 bags of methamphetamine pills, several bags of marijuana and a tube of what appeared to be liquid PCP, according to the Sumter County Sheriffs Office.

On Monday, the deputies from the Sumter County Sheriffs Office stopped a rental car being driven by Alexis Daniel Mendez.

Lieutenant Jason Tassone, who pulled over the car, said that the 2022 Toyota 4 Runner was speeding and braked suddenly before he pulled it over for following too closely to the vehicle ahead of it.

When he approached the vehicle, Tassone said that he smelled marijuana. Marijuana residue was in plain view inside of the car, according to a statement from the sheriffs department.

A search of the car, which was was rented in New York and was scheduled to be returned in Miami, found the bags of meth and other drugs wrapped in clothing, the statement said.

The methamphetamine pills are estimated to have a street value of $160,000, according to the sheriffs office.

Sumter Sheriff Anthony Dennis said that he was committed to keeping these dangerous drugs off the street.

Officers also arrested the two passengers, Ezequiel Then-Tejada and Luilly Eugenio Angeles Acosta.

Mendez, Then-Tejada and Acosta have been charged with possession of schedule I drugs and trafficking in meth, 400 grams or more.

All three received a $110,000 bond. Then-Tejada was released after paying bond, while Mendez and Acosta remained at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center as of Saturday afternoon.

The arrest came just days before the South Carolina Attorney Generals Office unsealed a 43-person indictment targeting an Upstate meth-trafficking operation. In a press conference Thursday, Attorney General Alan Wilson described how convicted drug traffickers from inside South Carolina prisons ran command and control for a meth trafficking operation.

Using cellphones smuggled into prison, they coordinated with accomplices, including alleged members of Mexican cartels, to bring methamphetamine from Atlanta into the Upstate via interstate highways, Wilson said.

Thats not to say that it isnt happening in other areas of our state, Wilson said. There certainly are other veins and arteries that run through our state that support that kind of illicit activity.


By Daniel Shin



Tech companies are investing in the metaverse and recognizing the importance of religious communities. Some have already been regularly meeting in the metaverse and conducting religious rituals like baptism. The metaverse will play a key role in religious communities soon. Many questions remain, though, as to whether that relationship will be beneficial for the religious communities or merely help the metaverse platform companies prioritize profits in the name of religious faith at any cost.



Religious communities have long been key players in gathering people in congregations throughout history. Hence, it is not a surprise that religious communities have been actively exploring the true potential of the metaverse during the pandemic. As the Zoom meeting has become the new norm regardless of age, gender, background, and level of digital literacy, the road to the metaverse has been paved with a mix of hype and hope. At the same time, the questions of who owns and governs the infrastructure necessary for meeting and growing faith-based communities in the metaverse raise concerns.



The metaverse is the future of the new communication channel and media that can be compared to the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg. Gutenberg's printing press accidentally collided with the protestant reformation led by Martin Luther and John Calvin, which shaped the modern world. The Internet has already vastly changed the way we interact with our family, friends, and colleagues. Everyone will be connected to everyone else in a much simpler, more humane, accessible, and interactive way as the metaverse emerges. We can conduct part of our personal relationships in the metaverse beyond a physical barrier.



The anonymity in the metaverse can help people feel more confident about themselves, motivating them to share deeply personal issues with others. The metaverse puts everyone behind the avatar. In fact, that helps people in the metaverse to be more true to themselves. Now, VRChat, for example, has more than 25,000 virtual reality communities that include worship and counseling services for a bunch of teens and 20-something. The metaverse can allow members to freely meet without judgment regardless of their physical ability or appearance. For people with social phobia, it is much easier for them to be more actively engaged with others in the metaverse than in a public place of worship.



Ranging from spiritual meditations in fantasy worlds to traditional worship services in virtual liturgy in hyper-realistic and church-alike environments, religious communities can experience a fellowship that is just as genuine as what they used to have at an old brick-and-mortar temple. It is yet quite controversial, though, if religious activities like baptism to the avatar surrounded by their relatives and friends in the metaverse shall be respected as the expression of orthodox religious beliefs and practices in the real life.



My key assumption is that robust religious life will certainly continue to grow within the metaverse. People would first see what the religious communities are trying to do in the metaverse. Later, people will witness how the metaverse is completely reforming the landscape of the religious communities and their regular gatherings for worship. Therefore, we need to tackle many important questions and create dialogues among key stakeholders of the metaverse and religious communities if new religious modalities could emerge in the metaverse and if the metaverse reduces or increases religious and social conflicts that we have never seen before.



We need to deep dive into rather controversial subjects at the juncture of technology, religion, and sociology. We must start dialogues on specific matters such as the civic necessity of religions in the metaverse to build a just world at peace. It shall be done with respect to the rule of law and the need of reorienting the digital platform's moderation approach to center the protection of not only major religions, but also marginalized religious communities in the metaverse.



Leading tech companies like Meta (formerly Facebook) are interested in creating partnerships with leading faith communities to make sure that future communal innovations are taking place on their own platforms and continue to invest in them. The pandemic has also increased the popularity of the metaverse churches like the Robloxian Christians on the Roblox platform. However, what that means for faith communities themselves still remains to be seen. Therefore, for those who are religious and care about the future of religion, they have a lot of work to do.



The metaverse may influence dramatic changes in our social and religious norms. That said, we should lean in and claim our role in shaping the spiritual worlds within the metaverse that is being created. As we enter into the metaverse, we should not also forget about the mental and spiritual harm that people have already experienced in their real life as harassment based on their religious identity, race, gender, or sexual orientation. We shall safeguard people in the metaverse from the menace of bigotry coming from other humans of difference as everyone should stand on equal footing in the metaverse.



The metaverse may redefine what humans and humanity will be. The metaverse could be constructive around faith and spirituality for a diverse set of religious communities in terms of creating a quasi-physical sense of connectedness for widely dispersed people. We can also create a metaverse, which allows religious communities to gather together in unprecedented ways of learning and growing in wondrous spiritual experiences.



I envision seeing more leading religious institutions which start training and nurturing future leaders in the metaverse. They shall not only investigate how faith communities leverage the metaverse to gather people together, but also publish work on how to develop faith relationships on the metaverse with the specific concerns of the moral and political rules and freedom of religious expression.



New religions may emerge. At least, the transformation of old ones in the face of the metaverse is imminent in search of true being and virtual immortality. Regardless of spiritual and ethical tradition, the metaverse should create a safe new space of liberation and peace for an expanding circle of people with different beliefs, seeking to know one another and recognizing differences under their common values.





Daniel Shin is a venture capitalist and senior luxury fashion executive, overseeing corporate development at MCM, a German luxury brand. He also teaches at Korea University.


Photo: Behance / Burov Design

Photo: Behance / Burov Design

Photo: Behance / Burov Design

Before you grab your phone and search for this model, I'd like to point out that what we're looking at is nothing more than a rendering. Nonetheless, it still features elements worth talking about, some Yamaha, some not so much. Who knows, it might even serve as inspiration for the famed manufacturer to apply to future designs. Or, if not, maybe a Yamaha enthusiast will be taken aback enough to make this dream a reality.If the name Burov Design rings a bell, it might be because we have featured their work here on autoevolution, in particular, a modern take on a Ford GT40 and the Type C . Given that we're talking about a two-wheeler, this Moscow-based artist had to take a different approach than with a typical four-wheeler we're used to seeing from him. Let's dive in, shall we?When it comes to motorcycles and even audio equipment, everybody knows Yamaha. It's one of the Japanese Big Four, alongside Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki . The brand has helped define what a cruiser is with models such as the V-Max, which, by the way, was discontinued after 2020. However, cruisers are generally meant for an older audience, and the company didn't have any incentive to come up with a modern-styled cruiser or go even further with a futuristic design.Even the newer two-wheelers respect the brand's original styling, but Burov Design wasn't satisfied with what the market had to offer, so he envisioned a contemporary aesthetic. The project is simply entitled "Yamaha Custom" - as I was breaking it down, I realized that this vehicle might not be so Yamaha-ish. Let me explain. The first thing that caught my eye was the long, hooded headlight, which hides a large LED . It reminded me of another Big Four brand, Suzuki. Specifically, it looks a bit like the lights you'd find on a Suzuki Intruder 1800. Actually, if you put them side by side, you'll discover that more of their elements are similar.For instance, there's the rounded body shape sweeping from the front to the rear of the bike. All components are perfectly aligned to form the curve, further showcased by the vehicle's paint. By contrasting the metallic orange with the black engine block, we can see how the curve runs from the headlight's tip to the tail's end.The tail hugs the back wheel the same way as in the Intruder, although it's cut short and equipped with a relatively small LED stoplight. The plates are on the motorcycle's left side, like on many Harleys. I can't help but wonder how the bike would've looked with "floating" license plates, just like the ones you'd find on a Ducati Diavel. It seems to me like the creator of this concept wanted to keep things minimal and hide possible composite elements.Speaking of minimalism, the cockpit lacks any gauges, meters, displays, or buttons. None of that. Imagine getting pulled over on this bad boy and the police asking you how fast you're going. Jokes aside, perhaps Burov Design focused more on styling and aesthetics rather than making the concept as close to a real bike. Nonetheless, fitting a digital display is a simple solution, as current technology blends all the necessary functionalities.One way the artist makes this motorcycle stand out is the cross handlebars. They also provide plenty of space to attach other accessories. The grips, mirrors, and levers look like what you'd find on a conventional motorbike. On the bike's side, you'll notice that the exhaust pipes are styled similarly to typical cruiser motorcycles and painted in black, just like the other components.The massive wheels give this concept a rather imposing look and are connected to Brembo disc brakes for top-of-the-line stopping power. As for suspension, an inverted fork with a laid-back angle is visible, but we can't see the rear suspension; it's probably a mono-shock hidden underneath the bike's guts.If you were to ride this motorcycle, you'd better keep it on good roads  even though we lack any specs for this project, it's safe to say that it boasts a significant weight. With it distributed in the middle and low to the ground, handling this beast should be relatively easy. However, if you were to even hit a moderately sized crack in the road, your next destination might be a chiropractor, followed by a service center for some new rims.In the end, does it even matter where the artist got their inspiration for this cruiser? Whether it's Yamaha, Suzuki, or any other brand, Burov Design wanted to contribute with a fresh design. Sure, some elements might need a bit of tinkering for real-life application, but this project can serve as a basis for a modern cruiser, possibly for Yamaha.
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Likely with not that many miles on the clock, it was completely destroyed by fire before ending up in the possession of azcycleparts . Now the company will strip it down, source everything that can still be used, and sell the parts online for profit.There isnt that much that can be saved when it comes to the front end, bar the right headlight and quarter panel. However, the right side door and back end still look like they could bring in a few Benjamins. The same cannot be said about the left side, as it was badly damaged in the fire, and so was the interior, which is pretty much beyond recognition.Some of the mechanical parts will live on, and we are curious if the engine can be saved. Still, we reckon that with enough skill and a generous budget, the heart and soul of this Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 can live on in a different car, on the condition that it has enough room under the hood for such a beastly engine, because it is immensely powerful without any modifications. Even better, it has the potential of giving supercars a run for their money, in a straight-line sprint anyway.With a 5.2-liter displacement and a big supercharger attached to it, the V8 pumps out 760 hp (771 ps / 567) at 7,000 rpm and 625 lb-ft (847 Nm) of torque at 5,000 rpm. The thrust is channeled to the rear wheels via a dual-clutch seven-speed automatic transmission, with the Blue Oval stating that a stock version of the Mustang Shelby GT500, from the S550 iteration, needs just 3 seconds from naught to 60 mph (0-97 kph). With a skilled driver at the helm, on a good day, in perfect conditions, it is a 10-second car down the quarter mile.A good supercharged 5.2-liter V8 that used to power a Mustang Shelby GT500 usually retails for over $30,000. Thus, if this one can be saved, then it would bring in a very nice profit, as we dont think that the company specialized in stripping high-end machines and selling their parts online has paid a small fortune for it. Guess were in the wrong business, as there are more profitable ways to make money off cars, right?On a final note, we will remind you that the outgoing Mustang is still listed on Fords U.S. website, in the EcoBoost, GT, Premium, and Mach 1 configurations. The Shelby GT500 has been dropped, and so will the remaining models, as the new generation is getting ready to start arriving at dealers.
Photo: Lurssen

Following the frenzied luxury asset seizures of last year, which started as soon as the first round of sanctions against Russian oligarchs went into effect, its been quiet on the superyacht front. Russian oligarchs , suspected of or accused of funneling dirty money into President Putins war in Ukraine, have either taken their most prized (and movable) assets to safety or have lost some of them to international authorities.In the latter category were mansions and villas, luxury cars and private jets, and superyachts  including some of the worlds biggest and most expensive vessels ever built. The enormous Dilbar , which carries a cost of at least $600 million and is believed to be the most exclusive and outrageous vessel built by Lurssen, is just one example of pleasure craft seized by authorities.With an estimated worth of almost $15 billion, Dilbar has been sitting in Germany since March this year. Compared to its total length of 156 meters (511.8 feet), the Irina VU is positively tiny and almost insignificant, at just 34 meters (111 feet).Irina VU also has something Dilbar doesnt : freedom. This is perhaps the strangest story of the kind this week: the Irina VU superyacht has disappeared . Were not talking about the kind of disappearance act Russian-owned vessels pulled early last year, when they would turn off AIS (automatic identification systems) and would become untrackable, but an actual, physical disappearance.The strangest part is that the superyacht disappeared from dry docking, from a marina in Croatia, in the port of Betina from the island of Murter, while it was in the custody of local authorities. And thats not even the cherry on top: the disappearance actually took place months ago, but authorities only realized it this week. The superyacht sailed off and was replaced by a similarly-looking one, in what is either a classic switcheroo case or the worlds biggest coincidence.Reports in the local media note that an investigation is now underway, involving both local and international organizations. It would first look into how such an embarrassing incident was possible, when the vessel was in police custody  frozen, as is the preferred term. Shortly after Irina VU sailed off and another superyacht came in its place, Irina was broadcasting its location via AIS from Turkey.That is to say, a vessel that was supposedly arrested in Croatia and was unable to move from there, was broadcasting its position from Turkey, clearly on the move. And authorities back in Croatia had no idea about it.According to the State Secretary in the Ministry of the Sea Alen Gospocic, who is overseeing the current investigation, there is a very simple explanation for how this snafu came to be: there is no security to the marina. Gospocic says in a statement that authorities did everything by the book when the superyacht was arrested, which included contacting the owner and letting them know that they could no longer use or dispose of the asset, and then took it to Betina, where it was taken out of the water and put in dry docking.From thereon, the matter was out of their hands, so no one even bothered to check in to see if the yacht was still there. Since there were no guards in position and access to the marina is possible for anyone, it sounds like authorities assumed the owner would simply do as they were told , and leave the boat there.Of course, this was no silly boat that a couple of dudes could lift and launch to water. Irina VU is one of the 20 examples of the 115 Sport Yacht model, which is also known as the Predator 115 from Sunseeker Yachts. Irina VU was delivered in 2012 after completion at the British shipyard, and offers accommodation for 10 guests and 5 crew, a jacuzzi, ample exterior lounging space, and elegant interior entertaining spaces, all wrapped up in an instantly recognizable GRP dark blue hull with a white superstructure.Powered by twin MTU diesel engines, it can travel at a top speed of 26 knots (30 mph / 48.2 kph), and has a range of 1,250 nautical miles (1,438 miles / 2,315 km) when cruising leisurely at 12 knots (14 mph / 22.2 kph). Its not among the biggest or the fastest superyachts out there, let alone among the most luxurious, but with a reported price of 5 million ($5.4 million at the current exchange rate), its definitely beyond the reach of the regular Joe. As of right now, its also outside the reach of Croatian authorities.This is not the only incident of this kind, when a superyacht simply vanishes from docking while presumably under arrest, but its in the running for the most embarrassing
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Increasingly popular though it may be, the Taycan has a history of manufacturing issues that are very abnormal for a manufacturer known for its attention to detail. Over in Australia, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts has announced recall number REC-005598 affecting four units of the Taycan.The obnoxiously long-named department lists two codes  Y1A and Y1B  with the former referring to the four-door sedan and the latter to the five-door shooting brake. It appears the pneumatic springs on the front axle dont meet manufacturing specifications. The department doesnt go into specifics but does mention that the front struts may become dislodged, releasing air from the air springs, therefore resulting in a loss of control.Said concern is a perfect match to the one described by thein recall number 22V-921 . Issued in December 2022, said recall concerns 28 units of the 2021 model year Porsche Taycan manufactured between July 2021 and November 2021.Porsche told the federal watchdog that the retaining ring on top of the strut is prone to come loose due to a groove that was incorrectly machined. The German automaker blames a sub-supplier for the manufacturing issue.Porsche became aware of this problem in November 2022 due to an increased number of field reports alleging dislodged struts. The Audi e-tron GT, which is twinned with the Taycan, was called back as well to the tune of 96 examples produced for model year 2022 in September 2021.Turning our attention back to the Australia-spec vehicles, affected owners are advised to contact their preferred dealership to arrange an inspection and repair of their vehicles. Free of charge, of course. If needed, both front pneumatic spring struts will be replaced. The struts in question bear part numbers 9J1616037 D and 9J1616038 D, according to the manufacturer.In production since 2019, the Taycan is available in two body styles, as mentioned earlier. The shooting brake has two flavors to it, namely the crossover-inspired Cross Turismo and the more car-like Sport Turismo.Based on the J1 platform, the Taycan and its Audi-branded sibling feature a direct-drive unit up front and a two-speed tranny out back. The short planetary first gear provides maximum acceleration, whereas the long second gear is there to maximize efficiency and top speed. Whereas the e-tron GT comes exclusively with two motors, the Taycan is also available in a single-motor RWD guise. Rather than the rear-wheel-drive version with the larger of two battery packs, the dual-motor GTS has the most range.246 miles (396 kilometers) as per EPA testing, that is. Every Taycan is capable of covering more than 200 miles. The Taycan 4S with the standard battery ranks dead last with 206 miles (332 kilometers) to its name.
Photo: General Electric

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: General Electric

Photo: General Electric

Photo: General Electric

Photo: General Electric

We are talking about the train  the marvelous invention that carved the modern world in many ways. It is, perhaps, the only means of land transportation to have transitioned through every milestone stage of the power-generating revolution: the Steam Era, the Oil Boom, and the Electric Frenzy.In many ways, trains paved the path in which the all-mighty automobile came to rule. Just think of today's hybrid cars and remember that trains were hybrid-powered way before this trend was mainstream engineering.And, as far as electrification is concerned, we won't open the debate  it's simply not arguable. Trains benefitted from electrification almost an entire century before Elon Musk opened his eyes to this world.However, with the ever-faster increasing dominance of the personal car (be it luxury or not), the train lost its status as the leading solution for long-distance travel. Sure, the airplane played its part in stabbing the railcar in the buffer, and certainly, there are undeniable advantages of flight over land-bound motility.But what if I told you there was a time when trains looked up to airplanes and drew inspiration from the flying machines? Not from the altitude at which those glided but from a much more engine-interested aspect: the powerplant.Back in the 60s, during the pioneering age of space conquering , the jet engine had established itself as the fast boy's go-to mechanical solution for speed-breaking feats. So, it only came naturally that this new "power sweetheart" would stir the imagination of gearheads.One day in 1965, a railroad engineer named Donald C. Wetzel was enjoying a casual coffee with a colleague, and they started talking about high-speed trains. Sometime during the following year, Wetzel pitched his idea to his company's president, Alfred P. Pearlman. Amazingly, the concept got the green light  on one condition: a 30-day deadline.Wetzel  a former fighter pilot and all-around MacGyver  didn't give the task much thought, as he already had the solution. Strap a jet engine to a train engine and fire it up - it's not rocket science. His "make it work" attitude and airplane background led to a U.S. Air Force surplus shopping session.So in he went to Davis-Monthan Air Force Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, and returned with not one but two fully functional General Electric J47-19 engines repurposed from a retired B-86 Convair nuclear bomber. Much to everyone's amazement, the whole affair cost just $5,000.Wetzel then slammed the twin jets on top of a diesel railcar, and that was it. Well, almost - an aviator at heart, the engineer took his wife's advice and made some modifications. There's a common creed among airmen that "if it looks good, it flies good."Thus, to make the test train look better, a slant-nose front panel - devised by Wetzel's spouse - was fitted. Also, the engines were installed in the front - also a Mrs. Wetzel suggestion. The train - christened "Black Beetle" - was ready for its test run.In July 1966, the car fired up the two jets and roared down the right-of-way between Butler, Indiana, and Air Line Junction, Ohio. The section was a 68-mile-long (110 km) strip of tangent double-track. The railway officials calculated that the jet locomotive would reach 184 mph (296 kph) during the trials.As it turns out, Don Wetzel put his heavy hand on the throttle , and his railcar tore down the tracks at a peak speed of 196 mph (315 kph). However, since the speed traps were set for 184 mph, the daredevil had to ease out when passing the speed-measuring points.Unbeknownst to the American endeavors, the French had established a speed record for jet-propelled trains  202 mph (325 kph) just a few months earlier (albeit not in a regular passenger rail car). Had he known this little detail, Don would have most certainly put the hammer down on his General Electric turbines to steal the crown.Still, his feat set a still-standing speed record for trains in the U.S. - 183.68 mph (295.6 kph) as measured by the official timers. In the video, you can see Don recall his feat and joke about how he set a speed record while hitting the brakes.The milestone set on that day endures as both the fastest Light Rail Vehicle in the U.S. and the fastest jet-powered train in the world. Interestingly, the two bomber powerplants were chosen because " they were the cheapest 5,000-hp engines available." To add to this unlikely quality, Wetzel and his team converted the jets to run on conventional locomotive fuel.That's diesel, which is more viscous than jet fuel. The mechanics had to develop a way to increase nozzle pressure so the diesel would atomize and ignite in the combustion chambers. Easier done than said: a makeshift throttle from a hydraulic flow control valve solved the issue flawlessly.The two combined engines would yield a thrust of 10,400 lbf (46 kN), more than enough to dart the lightweight railcar at breakneck speeds . At one point, the witnesses had the impression that the train  code M-497  had become airborne.Much to everyone's momentarily horror, the dispatcher reported a track-occupied light going off. Typically, that would mean a train was not on the rails, and everyone's hearts skipped a beat. However, the combination of high speed and light mass of the test train led to the light turning off on the command board. Ultimately, the test concluded without incidents, and Don Wetzel powered his way into history.The train never ran again, and the jet engine would go on to power airplanes, cars, fire-fighting machinery , snow-blowers, and boats, but not trains. After the 1966 record, the railcar M-497 was stripped of its jets and used for parts for nearly two decades. In 1984, the rail company scrapped the historic vehicle and an invaluable piece of railroad legend was lost forever.
Seen is LG Electronics washing machine and dryer manufacturing plant in Clarksville, Tenn., Jan. 9. Courtesy of LG Electronics



By Baek Byung-yeul



CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.  After exiting the highway northwest of Nashville, the capital of Tennessee, there is a road called LG Way named to commemorate LG Electronics' first U.S. washing machine manufacturing plant.



LG opened its Tennessee factory at the end of 2018 as part of the home appliance giant's preemptive move to reduce logistics costs, tariffs and delivery times. Since then, the factory has been operating three manufacturing lines to produce front-loading and top-loading washing machines and dryers.



When visiting the factory on Jan. 9, Lyu Jae-cheol, president and head of the company's Home Appliance & Air Solution (H&A) division, said LG added a new dryer manufacturing line in order to expand its presence in the U.S. washer and dryer market.



"We have set up a dryer line to actively respond to premium demand by increasing local production in the U.S., the world's largest home appliance market," Lyu said. "We will expand our dominance in the washer and dryer market in North America by supplying them stably via our advanced manufacturing system."



For the dryer line, LG conducted test operations last September, and recently began mass production. To add the line it invested $30 million and its cumulative investments amount to $390 million. The company said the annual production capacity of the plant is now 1.8 million appliances  1.2 million washing machines and 600,000 dryers.





Robot arms assemble parts for washing machines at LG Electronics' plant in Clarksville, Tenn., Jan. 9. Courtesy of LG Electronics



As the home appliance chief said, the Tennessee factory's automation rate is 63 percent, which is the highest level among home appliance manufacturing plants.



"The Tennessee plant has a similar automation level with our Changwon plant in Korea," Lyu said. The Changwon plant is a core manufacturing facility of the company, producing premium gadgets using highly advanced automation processes.



During a recent visit to the production line, all kinds of machines were producing various parts. LG said the plant was designed to conduct almost every process of device manufacturing in one place, from manufacturing parts to assembly, as it has been difficult for its partner companies to support them because of high wages.



"The Tennessee plant is designed to internally produce various parts inside the company such as metal press processing, plastic injection molding and painting," said Song Hyun-wook, production department leader of the plant.



LG aims to increase the automation rate to nearly 70 percent by the end of this year, to be the best in class in terms of home appliance manufacturing plants.



Thanks to its advanced facilities, the Tennessee plant was chosen as the Lighthouse Factory by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The designation means the plant has faithfully adopted Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.





Seen are automated guided vehicles on the floor of LG Electronics' plant in Clarksville, Tenn., Jan. 9. Courtesy of LG Electronics



A notable scene at the plant was its automated guided vehicles (AGVs), as a lot of vehicles busily carried piles of parts at weights of up to 600 kilograms with robot arms.



"There are around 30,000 QR codes placed on the floor of the factory. A total of 166 AGVs read these codes and automatically deliver the necessary parts for each process," Song said, adding that the vehicles now handle the parts delivery job that humans used to do more than 6,000 times a day.



Vision technology that uses machine learning to acquire parts data and automatically filter out defective parts also contributes to increasing the plant's automation rate, Song said. The company also utilizes big data and machine learning technologies to conduct quality virtual simulations of products.



"The machine learning technology-based vision equipment features many cameras so that they can filter out parts if the workers make mistakes or machines produce faults. With these kinds of systems, we can produce one washing machine every 11 seconds at maximum speed," Song said.





A bird's eye view of LG Electronics washing machine and dryer manufacturing plant in Clarksville, Tenn., Jan. 9. Courtesy of LG Electronics
Photo: Gregory Kloehn

Photo: Gregory Kloehn

Photo: Gregory Kloehn

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These days, we hear and read a lot about tiny homes and other mobile living alternatives from van to bus conversions, and anything in between. Recent developments with the international health crisis and everything it brought along, working from home, the downsizing movement and, not least of all, the housing and economic crisis have propelled the once-niche tiny house movement into the spotlight.Even with the incredible boost to the tiny house movement, which has led to a boost in the range of options available for those planning to transition, tiny house living remains prohibitively priced. Unless youre willing or are skilled enough to do most of the work yourself, tiny living implies a starting cost thats still putting many off.Back in 2011, one man proved that tiny living didnt necessarily have to be expensive. In fact, he showed that you could make a home virtually out of anything with reduced costs, as long as you were brave (or mad) enough to try it, and that you could even put a luxury spin on it, even with an incredibly compact layout. Case in point, a $2,000 city dumpster.That man is artist, designer, plumber, and micro-home builder Gregory Kloehn, based in Oakland, California. His Dumpster Home is now iconic and is often referred to as one of the smallest and most creative examples of tiny living. The micro-home is also mobile , and can travel as far as youre willing to push it. Kloehn put larger wheels under it specifically for this purpose, so it would move around the city at will.As the name says, this home is a dumpster, but one thats been repurposed and fitted with all the comfort creatures of a home. And then some. It features a mini-bar on the door, including servings of olives and other amuse-bouches that go with alcohol, an exterior barbecue, a shower (also exterior), a toilet, a kitchen, a lounge and bedroom (which are one and the same), and a rooftop deck. Finishes are granite for the countertops, hardwood floor, and stainless steel for the kitchen, so it has a real residential feel to it.The Dumpster Home might make even the most passionate downsizers turn their nose at the kind of radical downsizing it proposes, but that would probably not bother Kloehn in the least. As he would explain in 2014 in a series of interviews with some of the biggest media outlets in the U.S., his goal with the project was to prove that you could make a home out of the most surprising and smallest space, especially in a city like New York, where housing was neither easily accessible nor affordable. He would spend the next summers living in the Dumpster Home, as if to prove that it was a practical housing alternative, even for long-term use.It took Kloehn six months to complete the project , which is perhaps a record for him, since turnover is usually much quicker, days. But the result was astounding: the Dumpster Home has running water for the sink in the kitchen and the hidden toilet, as well as the exterior shower, thanks to a six-gallon (22.7-liter) tank. Once you hook it up for electricity, you have working lights and power for home appliances, like a cooler and a toaster oven. The kitchen also has a one-burner propane stove and some counter space to prep meals for one.During daytime, theres a couch in the middle that can seat up to three people. One of the benches hides the toilet, while the others integrate storage. The roof can pop up to reveal windows that allow in fresh air and natural light, and standing height. At night, the couch converts into a bed, and with the roof lowered, the dumpster becomes inconspicuous on city streets.Because theres only so much space inside, Kloehn added a shower on the outside, as well as a propane barbecue. Up on the roof is a deck that can easily support two people; just add a sun umbrella and youre set for a party.The idea of living in a dumpster and calling it a mobile home might come across as an oddity or, at best, some sort of artistic statement of the kind weve seen before, but the goal behind this project was a very serious one. It paved the way for the Homeless Homes Project, which Kloehn ran out of Oakland well into 2016, building micro-houses for the homeless. He only used the Dumpster Home to generate media attention into his initiative of using what he called homeless architecture to design habitats out of trash, which he gave out to the homeless.Kloehn and the community he built designed and delivered dozens of homes for the homeless, and inspired similar projects in other U.S. cities and even abroad. One such micro-home, which was always built either with materials salvaged from city streets or donated by volunteers, took up to a week to complete, at a cost of under $100  sometimes even less than half that amount. As photos in the gallery show, Kloehns micro-homes were both practical and nice-looking, aiming to offer the comfort and security of an actual home , but with a more compact layout, and the possibility of simply rolling it away to a new location.As far as we can tell, the Project is no longer around: social media accounts havent been updated in years, and the official website is offline. Kloehn himself hasnt posted anything about it since 2016, when he was happily reporting the delivery of another batch of new units , with help from the community and his network of volunteers.As for the Dumpster Home, it was last spotted in Williamsburg, where Kloehn was still using it during the summer, before moving back to Oakland for the winter. In 2015, it was offered for rent at $1,200 per month or $200 per night, but whether it had any takers at this rate is unknown. We reached out to Kloehn for an update on his most famous micro-home and the Project is spearheaded, and will update the story when and if we hear back.Until then, heres the Dumpster Home to show that, with the right skill, downsizing and mobile living are simply a matter of thinking outside the
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EV

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These two cars have more than enough similarities. Both are electric versions of vehicles that were designed in India and are also sold in Brazil. In Renaults case, were talking about the Kwid. It became the City K-ZE because it is made in China. This is probably the most crucial difference between these projects: Stellantis prefers Narendra Modi to Xi Jinping.What Stellantis did not manage to dodge was a Chinese supplier. Rumor has it that SVolt will be in charge of manufacturing the battery pack for the eC3. While some Indian websites are cautious and mention that the component will have a capacity between 20and 30 kWh, some others state it will be a 30.2 kWh unit.There is no official word so far about powerful the front motor (the only one in this budget) will be. However, the same websites that are so sure about the battery pack capacity also said the motor would offer 86 bhp and 143 Nm (105.5 pound-feet). That makes the eC3 a stronger option to the City K-ZE , which has a 44 hp (33) motor and a 26.8-kWh air-cooled battery pack.Were curious to see what Stellantis decided to use to cool down and heat up the eC3 battery pack. Cost concerns would make air take care of that task, but reliability requirements suggest a liquid-cooling system would be the ideal choice.India recently became the third-largest car market in the world, losing only to China and the U.S. After it lost Ford, India probably realized that it needs to be competitive in manufacturing electric cars as well to keep the momentum going. After all, just having the worlds second-largest population may turn the country into a promising market for imported vehicles if India does not produce what many see as the only alternative to combustion engines. Tata did its homework by creating the Tiago EV, a car that the Citroen eC3 wants to beat.If the eC3 goes well in India , it may also reach Brazil. Wed expect it to also arrive in Europe at some point. After all, the Renault City K-ZE is sold there as the Dacia Spring. If Renault managed to have seven different cars based on the same project, Stellantis could do much more with its 14 brands. The eC3 would never reach European customers as a C3, but the French brand may give it another name. Fiat, Opel, Peugeot, and Vauxhall are strong candidates to have their own versions of this affordable EV. In India, it is expected to cost Rs1 million, or the equivalent of $12,302, at the current exchange rate.
Robert Price is an Emmy award-winning reporter for KGET-TV. Reach him at RPrice661@gmail.com or via Twitter: @stubblebuzz. The opinions expressed are his own.
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Winter

Image Organize your baits.

No matter what is keeping you from the water, not being able to go fishing isnt a whole lot of fun. Theres no need to be bored, though  there are lots of fishing-related things to do while youre stuck at home. Here are over twenty ideas to get you started.

Organize your baits. Ive fished with guys who just had all their bags of worms tossed into the compartments on their boats. What a mess! When they wanted to re-tie, they had to stop everything and root around to find the right bag of plastics. Use your downtime to get your plastics organized finally. You can group them by type or even by color. If you want to keep them in their original bags, get some boxes that will let you stack them vertically so you can see them all easily. This will save you tons of time on the water. To organize your terminal tackle, try several small tackle boxes where you can store the various things you need for specific techniques. I have boxes for Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, drop shot and split shot rigs, etc. I also have separate boxes for small jigheads. Use a permanent marker to write the sizes of hooks and weights on the bottom of the individual compartments. Change out the hooks on your crankbaits. Buy some good trebles and switch them all out. Touch up the hooks on your bigger jigs and blade baits. If they look a little rusty, use some sandpaper to smooth them out, then sharpen the point. Check over your blade baits. Are any split rings beginning to look a bit stretched out? Is the skirt starting to look a bit limp and bedraggled? Are the blades started to look dull? Now is the time to replace anything that needs to be replaced. If a bait looks sad, you probably wont tie it on, so why not fix it up and make it usable. Clean and organize your boat. Downtime is the perfect time to shampoo the carpets, empty those lockers and organize them, toss any trash, check all the fuses, etc. Use a good cleanser with a UV protectant on the seats, and vacuum the compartments before reloading them. Check your trolling motor and your big motor. Take the props right off and ensure there is no line wrapped around. While at it, grease the shafts and ensure all the parts are in good shape. While cleaning the boat and checking the motors, check your batteries and grease the hubs on your trailer if you have that kind of wheel. Clean the battery terminals and keep them charged up. We have a solar panel that keeps ours on trickle charge. Image Mark a map. Perfect your techniques: put some targets around the yard, use small dishes, place them close to shrubs and fences, etc. Use poles and trees, and walk around the yard practicing pitching and flipping to those little targets. Just use the bait you would typically use. Learn some new knots. I love the Palomar knot, and I can even use one on a big buzzbait, but recently I was taught to tie a great knot to join braid to fluorocarbon. It took a while  knots can be tricky to learn, but knowing a few essential knots is a great skill. There are plenty of videos online and diagrams that you can use. Practice over and over, several days in a row, then refresh your memory every once in a while. Teach your kids to use a baitcaster. This may take a while. Be patient. If you have access to a swimming pool, take some baits out and practice working them in the pool. Some of the best fishermen I know say they spend much time watching how baits move in the water. Throw a Senko out there and see how it moves when it free falls, when you twitch it, and when you let it sink and rip it. Now throw a knock-off and see the difference. Watch a spinnerbait as you slow roll it across the bottom so you can feel the difference when the blades are moving. Picturing what a bait is doing in the water is easy once youve seen it. Get out your hooks and floating baits and see which hooks will allow a bait to float. You may be surprised. Practice some functional workouts that will help you once you get back on the water. For instance, try something like Tai Chi or special exercises for core strength to help with balance. Work your shoulders and arms so you dont fatigue them so quickly when throwing a big bait all day. Practice meditation so you can focus and stay positive when you fish. It does make a difference. Get your boat wrapped. It protects your boat like crazy, so when it comes time to sell and get a new one, youll get top dollar for it. You can wrap the motor if you cant afford to wrap the whole boat. The guys who do the wraps can help you design a wrap that is unique to you. You can also get big stickers made from the same stuff they wrap the boats with, and you may get a great deal on them because they can be made from leftover vinyl from other larger wraps. Learn to use a GoPro. Heres a biggie: learn to use your electronics. I mean, use your electronics. Go beyond the factory settings. Watch videos  you can find them on the website for your graph, but you can also find great tips and information from guys who are masters of their machines. You will be amazed at how much this will help you as a fisherman. Image You can keep the hooks and terminal tackle for specific techniques in smaller boxes. If you are a hunter, you know how important it is to know what your prey likes to eat as much as possible. You wouldnt hunt in an area that doesnt have the food they need, right? Bass are hunters. Bass fishermen are hunters. So use your downtime to learn as much as possible about the prey that bass feed on. Where are shad at different times of the year? What do they eat, and where? What about crawfish? What does their year look like? Find out all you can about what bass eat, and youll be ahead of the curve when finding the bass themselves. Aaron Martens makes a point of studying what bass eat, and so should you. It will not only help you find the bass, but it will also help you choose the right lures to get them to bite. Mark a paper map. If you fish reservoirs where the water level fluctuates, you will be amazed at how things pop out at you if you mark a paper map. I did this for Lake Pleasant, a lake that fluctuates as much as 100 vertical feet yearly. Get a good lake map that shows contour lines and a handful of colored fine tip markers. Start at ten feet below full pool and trace that ten-foot contour line around the lake. Dont stop there  make sure you find any humps that come up to that level away from shore. In the case of Pleasant, I used 20-foot intervals and marked them all the way down to 100 feet below full. When I go to the lake, I check the level as I walk down the ramp (plaques in the concrete mark it). The regular full is 1702. If the lake is at 1640, I use that color as the shoreline when I look at the map. The bonus is that it immediately shows me islands that appear when the lake is at the level, and it also shows me humps that are 10  20 feet under the surface. Those can be dynamite fishing, especially if they dont have marker buoys. This map marking takes a long time, but it is worth it. Now that you have your tackle and baits organized, is there a lot of stuff you dont use? Find a high school, grade school, or college club near you and donate those baits. Those clubs are usually pretty strapped for cash; as a rule, kids dont have a lot of disposable income to use on baits. They will be delighted to have your unused baits  theyll give them out at meetings and tournaments, and those baits will get put to good use. Watch fishing videos online. Need a good laugh? Search for Bill Dance bloopers. Just want some great info? There are tons of informative fishing videos on BassResource  use your downtime to learn even more about the sport you love. Maybe its just me, but I prefer reading rather than watching a video. I can read a whole lot faster than most fishermen can talk. There are hundreds of informational articles on bass fishing on BassResource, and you could spend days, even weeks, reading them all. If youve cleaned and organized your tackle, baits, boat, and trailer, why not show some love to your rods and reels? Clean and oil your reels and re-spool them with new line. Get in the habit of loosening the drag when you put them away to reduce stress on the line and the reel itself. Your rod handles could probably use a good cleaning as well  you grip them with your fishy hands for hours at a time, after all. Cork handles can be cleaned with a variety of things. Some guys use Soft Scrub for really dirty cork handles. Make sure you dont scrub anything metal or the rod blank, or it could scratch. Baby wipes do a great job too, and you dont have to worry about getting that on anything else. If they are really bad, use a bit of sandpaper. Dont forget to check all the rod guides to ensure they dont have any cracks in the ceramic (or even missing ceramic) and check for rust or anything else that could damage your fishing line as it passes through the guides. Study your fishing log. If you havent been keeping one, vow to start once you get back on the water. Keeping a fishing log will make you a better fisherman. You can get fishing log books online or use a spiral notebook. Keep track of weather and details about where and how they were biting.

Keep busy when youre forced to stay off the water  use the time to improve your skills, gear, rig, and body. It will pay off when you can finally wet a line again.
Shin Hak-cheol, second from right, vice chairman and CEO of LG Chem, speaks at the 2022 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Shin will also take part in the 2023 event, which will be held from Jan. 16 to 20. Courtesy of LG Chem



By Baek Byung-yeul



Shin Hak-cheol, vice chairman and CEO of LG Chem, has been elected chair of an industrial consultative body at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the chemical arm of LG Group said Sunday.



The company said Shin now heads the WEF's Chemical & Advanced Materials Industry Governors for the next two years until 2024. The body is comprised of CEOs from around 30 global leading companies, such as BASF and Solvay.



LG Chem noted that this is the first time for a Korean entrepreneur to chair the consultative body, adding that his appointment shows the increased status of Korean industry in the global chemical and material market.



"As the chair of the body, Shin will demonstrate his leadership in the field, discussing major issues in the global chemical industry such as weakening global supply chains and tackling climate change and lead the industry to find countermeasures," LG Chem said.



At the WEF, which will be held from Jan. 16 to 20, LG Chem will try to expand global partnerships in low-carbon business, battery materials and new drug development. The company will meet with more than 10 customers and partners including companies in the energy, metal and healthcare sectors.



"We will strengthen global cooperation within the new economic system that was kicked off due to geo-economic conflict. The company will also create sustainable growth opportunities in eco-friendly materials, battery materials and new drug development for the global market," Shin said.



Shin was also invited to the Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL). He will take part in "Delivering a Growth Agenda in an Increasingly Fragmented World," an economic session led by Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).



In addition, Shin plans to join global leaders' meetings such as the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, which consists of about 140 global companies, such as SwissRe and Ingka Group.


Last of King Tides This Week: Dates Different on Oregon Coast, Washington Coast

Published 01/15/23 at 5:39 AM

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Manzanita, Oregon)  The last round of this season's King Tides will be hitting the Washington coastline and the Oregon coast this weekend, but be aware the dates are different for each this time around. Normally, dates mostly coincide for astronomical highest tides of the year, but this time there are some sizable shifts. (Above: Westport, Wash. during King Tides, courtesy Shian Klassen / Washington Sea Grant)

Once again, experts in both states are hoping to get volunteers out there to photograph what happens.

For all of the Oregon coast and Ilwaco in Washington, king tides happen January 20  22. From South Bend in Washington up to where the Pacific Ocean meets the Salish Sea, king tides hit the Washington coast from January 21  23. Tides will be at 9.5 feet to 10 feet there. Along the inland seas (like Seattle, Olympia, etc), these mostly take place January 22  24.

Long Beach sits somewhere between that dividing line and has major high tides from the 20th through the 25th, with the higher numbers the 23rd through 25th.

On the Washington coast, submit photos to https://mycoast.org/wa. On the Oregon coast, submit them to www.oregonkingtides.net or the projects Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/orkingtide/albums.

King tides is more of a layman's term for what are actually known as perigean spring tides, referring to the highest tides of the year. They are created when the moon and sun line up just right, and their combined gravitational force yanks at the tides much more than any other time of year.

Still, king tides can be duds, so to speak. There are plenty of times they don't live up to their dramatic reputation. Others, they create monsters slamming into the beaches along with flooding, depending on what winter storms do. The last two sessions, the Oregon coast and Washington coast also got hit by major swells offshore, which resulted in more than 30-foot waves.

There are plenty of web trolls and anti-science conspiracy nuts who balk at such headlines online, but they lack the capability to understand some basics about tides and how they're measured. They're spreading misinformation and if you see such claims about wave height not being correct you should ignore it. In fact, not ignoring them can be dangerous for you. If you hit the beach anyway, you could be swept up.

30-foot waves doesn't necessarily mean a wall of water that height is coming onshore. That's how swells are measured offshore, but they get broken down by the slopes of beaches leading up the sands. See wave height on Oregon coast / Washington coast explained.

Whether or not these tides turn out to be beach Godzilla's or tidal kittens depends on all sorts of factors.



Coos Bay, courtesy Robert Moore, Oregon King Tides

In the meantime, those at the Oregon King Tides project and Sea Grant in Washington State are hoping to get photogs out there in good numbers to document the sea rise. These extra bursts of tidal action can be predictors on how climate change is affecting the northwest coastlines, and what they may be like in the future.

The Oregon Coastal Management Program (OCMP) and Washington Sea Grant have created tools to assist communities in planning for these impacts and continues to lead a community science effort documenting the region's king tides.

The key to all this is safety, however. Stay off the beaches during these events and stick to higher ground  and not the edges of cliffs. Those can give way in storms or such tides. If major offshore swells happen, the National Weather Service (NWS) will likely issue high surf advisories or warnings. Heed those.



Seal Rock, courtesy Alex Derr / Oregon King Tides

On January 20  22, the Port Orford area will see the tides at around 9 feet, at different points between 9:30 a.m. to 11: 30 a.m. In Florence, these happen between 10 a.m. and noon at over 8 feet. Bandon will also be in that range. On the northern half of the coast, Netarts will be up around 8.5 feet for those days and Netarts will 10 feet in high tides.

Westport to La Push in Washington will see the tidal action at around 10  11 feet on January 22 through 24.

Exact offshore conditions are not available quite yet from the NWS, but so far the days leading up to king tides are showing some fairly heavy seas at around 15 feet. Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours





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Gleneden Beach, courtesy Bob Loewen Oregon King Tides

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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A Bangladeshi reads a news report on his mobile phone ahead of the Bangladesh general election, in Dhaka, Dec. 20, 2018.

The Bangladesh governments latest purchases of advanced surveillance tools from Israel-linked companies, reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, is fueling fresh concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in the South Asian country.

Bangladeshs acquisition of mass surveillance tools from companies with ties to Israel have previously been reported, but a Haaretz investigation published this week identified four new purchases valued at $12.8 million.

Bangladesh, the worlds third most populous Muslim-majority country, does not recognize Israel, in support of Palestinian statehood, and has an import ban in place against it.

Dhaka has not denied the Haaretz report, except to say the purchases were not directly from Israel. Two days after the report came out, Bangladeshs home minister said his ministry had acquired surveillance technology for lawful purposes.

He was responding to a question from an MP with the ruling Awami League who asked if the government would increase vigilance in the face of what he called local and foreign conspiracies.

The government has taken the initiative to introduce an Integrated Lawful Interception System (ILIS) to monitor social media and thwart various anti-state and anti-government activities, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told parliament on Thursday.

Modern technology like Open Source Intelligence Technology (OSINT) has been added in the National Tele-communication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) under the home ministry to thwart anti-state and anti-government activities, he said.

Shopping spree

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) sharply criticized Khans comments, arguing that in the absence of any specific policy related to cyber surveillance, the advanced tools would erode fundamental constitutional rights related to privacy, communication, and freedom of expression.

In a media briefing, the TIB cited previous examples of private phone chats and conversations of politicians, businessmen, journalists, and opposition figures being intercepted and leaked on social media to embarrass them.

Bangladeshs laws do not require intelligence and law enforcement agencies to obtain permission before conducting cyber surveillance operations against individuals.

A researcher based in Norway linked the recent purchases with Bangladeshs next election, expected in December 2023 or January 2024.

As the election approaches, this shopping spree of sophisticated spyware shows how desperate state agents are to snoop into opposition activists and their strategies, Mubashar Hasan, a Bangladeshi scholar at the University of Oslo, told BenarNews.

Despotic governments use spyware worldwide to crush their respective opposition. And there is no proof that the Bangladesh government will act differently.

The recent purchases reportedly include a spy van said to be capable of intercepting sensitive data, including encrypted messages from WhatsApp, within a specific radius.

Asked about the product, Bruce Schneier, a computer security expert at Harvard University, told BenarNews that vulnerabilities lie more with users devices than with the encrypted messaging apps.

WhatsApp and Signal are  as far as we know  secure, he said. But your phone is not. So if I hack your phone and read your screen, I can read your WhatsApp and Signal messages even though I haven't hacked either messaging program.

BenarNews previously reported on the Bangladesh governments decision to purchase the mobile receptor tool from a Swiss company, which the Haaretz investigation found was acting as a middleman for a Cyprus-based Israeli provider.

Protesters hold placards and a banner during a protest attended by about a dozen people outside the offices of the Israeli cyber firm NSO Group in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, July 25, 2021. [Nir Elias/Reuters]

Appetite for Israeli technology

Israel, a country of 10 million, has one of the most lucrative private surveillance industries in the world.

NSO Group, a cyber security firm based in Israel, recently attracted the global spotlight after revelations about its notoriously powerful spyware being used by countries with dismal rights records.

Despite the bad press, such companies continue to attract customers.

The latest revelations about Israel selling surveillance weapons to Bangladesh follow a sadly familiar pattern. The fact that Bangladesh is a dictatorship is irrelevant for Israeli arms dealers and the Jewish state, said Antony Loewenstein, an Australian researcher whose forthcoming book deals with Israels export of surveillance technology.

In Feb. 2021, Al Jazeera reported that Bangladesh had purchased surveillance equipment manufactured by an Israeli firm that listed Hungary as its country of origin. Al Jazeera alleged that Bangladeshi officers were trained by Israeli experts to use the equipment that can monitor hundreds of mobile phones at one time.

The Defense Ministry in Israel, which regulates the industry, did not answer to Haaretz whether it had granted defense export permission for the Bangladesh sales.

Israeli arms are routinely used as diplomatic weapons. There are barely any credible checks and balances in Israel, Loewenstein said.

In May last year, Bangladesh dropped an except Israel clause from passports, which was welcome by Israeli officials.

However, Bangladesh still insists its policy toward Israel has not changed. Political sensitivity around Israel hasnt waned, either.

Over the last weeks, ruling party leaders and activists have accused Nurul Haq Nur, a prominent student activist, of meeting an Israeli civil society leader, Mendi N. Safadi, in the United Arab Emirates. Nur has denied any such meeting.

Ruling party officials claim Safadi was an agent of Mossad, the Israeli external spy agency, and was plotting with Nur to orchestrate regime change in Bangladesh.

In May 2016, Aslam Chowdhury, a leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was jailed for an anti-state plot after meeting Safadi at an event in India.

A month later, senior officials claimed that attacks occurring at that time in Bangladesh were the result of a conspiracy between Mossad and the BNP  a claim rejected by Israel as utter drivel.

Recently, Bangladeshs Supreme Court canceled the bail earlier granted by a lower court to Chowdhury in the 2016 case.
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
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By Kim Jae-heun



Koreans were found to have spent the most per capita on high-priced bags and other luxury goods, according to a report by Morgan Stanley.



The global investment bank said it estimated that Koreans' total spending on luxury items grew 24 percent to $16.8 billion (208.6 trillion won) in 2022 from a year ago, which is about $325 per person. The per capita figure is far more than the $280 and $55 spent by Americans and Chinese, respectively.



Morgan Stanley analyzed that the high demand for luxury goods among Koreans comes from their increased purchasing power over the years and desire to flaunt their social standing by wealth.



"Appearance and financial success can resonate more with consumers in South Korea than in most other countries," a Morgan Stanley analyst wrote in the report.



A global consulting firm McKinsey's survey also showed only 22 percent of Korean respondents thought it was in bad taste to make displays of wealth, which is comparatively lower than 45 percent of Japanese respondents and 38 percent of Chinese respondents who do.



"Koreans do not like falling behind fashion trends. So when there is a popular brand or hot item, everyone goes after it. Also, they do not like being left out and not wearing what everyone else is wearing. I think this social trend is forcing even those who are not interested in luxury goods to purchase them," a local fashion firm official said.



Luxury firms advertising their products by hiring Korean celebrities as their ambassadors have played a role too.



"Nearly all of the major Korean celebrities are brand ambassadors of the leading luxury houses," Morgan Stanley's report said. K-pop star Jennie of BLACKPINK and rapper G-Dragon are global ambassadors of French luxury brand Chanel and so is actor Lee Min-ho for Italian luxury fashion house Fendi. BLACKPINK member Rose was the face of Dior's HardWear collection, which the fashion house said doubled its sales for the line.



Most global luxury brands have been strengthening their sales networks in Korea. Cartier owner Richmont Group said that Korea has been a leading market, with double-digit sales growth in 2022, year-on-year.


PRIMCYV will be retailed in India at 85% reduction from the current MRP

Dr Reddys Laboratories has acquired the trademark rights of the breast cancer drug PRIMCYV from Pfizer Products India for use in the Indian market.

PRIMCYV is a targeted therapy containing the active constituent palbociclib, a first-in-class CDK 4/6 inhibitor indicated in combination with an aromatase inhibitor for the first-line treatment of adult patients with HR+, HER2- metastatic breast cancer.

Since May 2022, Dr. Reddys has been marketing the drug in collaboration with Pfizer Products India under the brand name PRIMCYV in India. The drug comes in the form of hard capsules in strengths of 75 mg, 100 mg and 125 mg.

Following the trademark rights acquisition, Dr. Reddys will manufacture the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) and finished drug at its state-of-the-art facilities approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

Dr. Reddys is amongst select companies in the world to have conducted a bioequivalence study and received tentative approval from the US FDA for palbociclib. The in-house product will be retailed in the Indian market at a reduction of 85% from the current MRP to increase affordability and access to palbociclib. Dr. Reddys plans to roll out a unique Patient Assistance Programme to support long-term therapy of the patients on PRIMCYV.
Hindsight is a particularly powerful tool for analyzing the Ukraine war, nearly a year after Russias invasion.

Last February, it sounded at least superficially plausible to characterize Russian President Vladimir Putins decision to send troops and tanks into his neighbor as nothing less than an unprovoked act of aggression.

Putin was either a madman or a megalomaniac, trying to revive the imperial, expansionist agenda of the Soviet Union. Were his invasion to go unchallenged, he would pose a threat to the rest of Europe.

Plucky, democratic Ukraine needed the Wests unreserved support  and a near-limitless supply of weapons  to hold the line against a rogue dictator.

But that narrative looks increasingly threadbare, at least if one reads beyond the establishment media  a media that has never sounded quite so monotone, so determined to beat the drum of war, so amnesiac and so irresponsible.

Anyone demurring from the past 11 months of relentless efforts to escalate the conflict  resulting in untold deaths and suffering, causing energy prices to skyrocket, leading to global food shortages, and ultimately risking a nuclear exchange  is viewed as betraying Ukraine, and dismissed as an apologist for Putin.

No dissent is tolerated.

Putin is Hitler, the time is 1938, and anyone seeking to turn down the heat is no different from Britains appeasing prime minister, Neville Chamberlain.

Or so we have been told. But context is everything.

End to forever wars

Barely six months before Putin invaded Ukraine, President Joe Biden pulled the US military out of Afghanistan after a two-decade occupation. It was the apparent fulfillment of a pledge to end Washingtons forever wars that, he warned, have cost us untold blood and treasure.

The implicit promise was that the Biden administration was going not only to bring home US troops from the Middle East quagmires of Afghanistan and Iraq, but also to make sure US taxes stopped flooding abroad to line the pockets of military contractors, arms makers and corrupt foreign officials. US dollars would be spent at home, on solving homegrown problems.

But since Russias invasion, that assumption has unraveled. Ten months on, it looks fanciful that it was ever considered Bidens intention.

Last month, the US Congress approved a mammoth top-up of largely military support for Ukraine, bringing the official total to some $100bn in less than a year, with doubtless much more of the costs hidden from public view. That is far in excess of Russias total annual military budget of 65bn.

Washington and Europe have been pouring weapons, including ever more offensive ones, into Ukraine. Emboldened, Kyiv has been shifting the field of battle ever deeper into Russian territory.

US officials, like their Ukrainian counterparts, speak of the fight against Russia continuing until Moscow is defeated or Putin toppled, turning this into another forever war of the very kind Biden had just forsworn  this one in Europe rather than the Middle East.

At the weekend, in the Washington Post, Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates, two former US secretaries of state, called on Biden to urgently provide Ukraine with a dramatic increase in military supplies and capability It is better to stop [Putin] now, before more is demanded of the United States and NATO.

Last month, the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, warned that a direct war between the western military alliance and Russia was a real possibility.

Days later, Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was given a heros welcome during a surprise visit to Washington. The US Vice-President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unfurled a large Ukrainian flag behind their guest, like two starstruck cheerleaders, as he addressed Congress.

US legislators greeted Zelensky with a three-minute standing ovation  even longer than that awarded to that other well-known man of peace and defender of democracy, Israels Benjamin Netanyahu. The Ukrainian president echoed the US wartime president, Franklin D Roosevelt, in calling for absolute victory.

All of this only underscored the fact that Biden has rapidly appropriated the Ukraine war, exploiting Russias unprovoked invasion to wage a US proxy war. Ukraine has supplied the battlefield on which Washington can revisit the unfinished business of the Cold War.

Given the timing, a cynic might wonder whether Biden pulled out of Afghanistan not to finally focus on fixing the US, but to prepare for a new arena of confrontation, to breathe new life into the same old US script of full-spectrum military dominance.

Did Afghanistan need to be abandoned so that Washingtons treasure could be invested in a war on Russia instead, but without the US body bags?

Hostile intent

The rejoinder, of course, is that Biden and his officials could not have known Putin was about to invade Ukraine. It was the Russian leaders decision, not Washingtons. Except

Senior US policymakers and experts on US-Russia relations  from George Kennan and William Burns, currently Bidens CIA director, to John Mearsheimer and the late Stephen Cohen  had been warning for years that the US-led expansion of NATO onto Russias doorstep was bound to provoke a Russian military response.

Putin had warned of the dangerous consequences back in 2008, when NATO first proposed that Ukraine and Georgia  two former Soviet states on Russias border  were in line for membership. He left no room for doubt by almost immediately invading, if briefly, Georgia.

It was that very unprovoked reaction that presumably delayed NATO carrying through its plan. Nonetheless, in June 2021, the alliance reaffirmed its intention to award Ukraine NATO membership. Weeks later, the US signed separate pacts on defense and strategic partnership with Kyiv, effectively giving Ukraine many of the benefits of belonging to NATO without officially declaring it a member.

Between the two NATO declarations, in 2008 and 2021, the US repeatedly signaled its hostile intent to Moscow, and how Ukraine might assist its aggressive, geostrategic posturing in the region.

Back in 2001, shortly after NATO began expanding towards Russias borders, the US unilaterally withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, intended to avoid an arms race between the two historic enemies.

Unencumbered by the treaty, the US then built ABM sites in NATOs expanded zone, in Romania in 2016 and Poland in 2022. The cover story was that these were purely defensive, to intercept any missiles fired from Iran.

But Moscow could not ignore the fact that these weapons systems were capable of operating offensively too, and that nuclear-tipped Cruise missiles could for the first time be launched at short notice towards Russia.

Compounding Moscows concerns, in 2019 President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 1987 Treaty on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces. That opened the door to the US launching a potential first strike on Russia, using missiles stationed in newly admitted NATO members.

As NATO flirted once again with Ukraine in the summer of 2021, the danger of the US being able, with Kyivs help, to launch a preemptive strike  destroying Moscows ability to retaliate effectively, and upending its nuclear deterrent  must have weighed heavily on Russian policymakers minds.

US fingerprints

It did not end there. Post-Soviet Ukraine was deeply divided geographically and electorally over whether it should look to Russia or to NATO and the European Union for its security and trade. Close-run elections swung between these two poles. Ukraine was a country mired in permanent political crisis, as well as profound corruption.

That was the context for a coup/revolution in 2014 that overthrew a government in Kyiv elected to preserve ties with Moscow. Installed in its place was one that was openly anti-Russian. Washingtons fingerprints  disguised as democracy promotion  were all over the sudden change of government to one tightly aligned with US geostrategic goals in the region.

Many Russian-speaking communities in Ukraine  concentrated in the east, south and the Crimea peninsula  were incensed by this takeover. Worried that the new hostile government in Kyiv would try to sever its historic control of Crimea and Russias only warm-water naval port, Moscow annexed the peninsula.

According to a subsequent referendum, the local population overwhelmingly backed the move. Western media widely reported the result as fraudulent, but later western polling suggested Crimeans believed it fairly represented their will.

But it was the eastern Donbas region that would serve as the touch-paper for Russias invasion last February. A civil war quickly erupted in 2014 that pitted Russian-speaking communities there against ultra-nationalist, anti-Russian fighters mostly from western Ukraine, including unabashed neo-Nazis. Many thousands died in the eight years of fighting.

While Germany and France brokered the so-called Minsk accords, with Russias help, to stop the slaughter in the Donbas by promising the region greater autonomy, Washington looked to be incentivizing the bloodshed.

It poured money and arms into Ukraine. It gave Ukraines ultra-nationalist forces training, and worked to integrate the Ukrainian military into NATO through what it termed interoperability. In July 2021, as tensions heightened, the US held a joint naval exercise with Ukraine in the Black Sea, Operation Sea Breeze, that led to Russia firing warning shots at a British naval destroyer that entered Crimeas territorial waters.

By winter 2021, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted, Moscow had reached our boiling point. Russian troops massed on Ukraines border in unprecedented numbers  in an unmistakable sign that Moscows patience was running out over Ukraines collusion with these US-engineered provocations.

President Zelensky, who had been elected on a promise to make peace in the Donbas but appeared to be unable to subdue the far-right elements within his own military, pushed in precisely the opposite direction.

Ultra-nationalist Ukrainian forces intensified the shelling of the Donbas in the weeks before the invasion. At the same time, Zelensky shuttered critical media outlets, and would soon be banning opposition political parties and requiring Ukrainian media to implement a unified information policy. As tensions mounted, the Ukrainian president threatened to develop nuclear weapons and seek a fast-track NATO membership that would further mire the West in the slaughter in the Donbas and risk engagement with Russia directly.

Turning off the lights

It was then, after 14 years of US meddling on Russias borders, that Moscow sent in its soldiers  unprovoked.

Putins initial goal, whatever the western media narrative said, appeared to be as light a touch as possible given Russia was launching an illegal invasion. From the outset, Russia could have carried out its current, devastating attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, closing transport links and turning the lights off in much of the country. But it appeared to consciously avoid a US-style shock-and-awe campaign.

Instead it initially concentrated on a show of force. Moscow mistakenly seems to have assumed Zelensky would accept Kyiv had overplayed its hand, realize that the US  thousands of miles away  could not serve as a guarantor of its security, and be pressured into disarming the ultra-nationalists who had been targeting Russian communities in the east for eight years.

That is not how things played out. Seen from Moscows perspective, Putins error looks less like he launched an unprovoked war against Ukraine than that he delayed too long in invading. Ukraines military interoperability with NATO was far more advanced than Russian planners seem to have appreciated.

In a recent interview, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who oversaw the Minsk negotiations to end the Donbas slaughter, appeared  if inadvertently  to echo this view: the talks had provided cover while NATO readied Ukraine for a war against Russia.

Rather than a quick victory and an agreement on new regional security arrangements, Russia is now engaged in a protracted proxy war against the US and NATO, with Ukrainians serving as cannon fodder. The fighting, and killing, could continue indefinitely.

With the West resolved against peacemaking, and shipping in armaments as fast as they can be made, the outcome looks bleak: either a further grinding, bloody territorial division of Ukraine into pro-Russia and anti-Russia blocs through force of arms, or escalation to a nuclear confrontation.

Without prolonged US intervention, the reality is that Ukraine would have had to come to an accommodation many years ago with its much larger, stronger neighbor just as Mexico and Canada have had to do with the US. Invasion would have been avoided. Now Ukraines fate is largely out of its hands. It has become another pawn on the chessboard of superpower intrigues.

Washington cares less about Ukraines future than it does about depleting Russias military strength and isolating it from China, apparently the next target in US sights as it seeks to achieve full-spectrum dominance.

At the same, Washington has scored a wider goal, smashing apart any hope of a security accommodation between Europe and Russia; deepening European dependency on the US, both militarily and economically; and driving Europe into colluding with its new forever wars against Russia and China.

Much more treasure will be spent, and more blood spilled. There will be no winners apart from the neoconservative foreign policy hawks who dominate Washington and the war industry lobbyists who profit from the Wests endless military adventures.

Jonathan Cook won the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilizations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israels Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). His website is www.jonathan-cook.net.
Pentagon Press Secretary Gen. Pat Ryder in a press conference on Tuesday stated Training for Ukrainian forces on the Patriot air defense system will begin as soon as next week at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

The training will reportedly take several months.

Breaking news: The Pentagon is planning to bring Ukrainian troops to the United States for training on the Patriot missile defense system, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the development said Tuesday. https://t.co/Dp6GG0pmdY  The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 10, 2023

The Department of Defense would report Ukrainian soldiers would receive hands-on training with the Patriot systems, classroom work and also time testing their new skills in a simulation lab.

 US TO TRAIN UKRAINIAN FORCES IN OKLAHOMA The Pentagon announced today around 100 Ukrainian forces will train to use the Patriot defense system at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Officials say the training is expected to last several months. @OKCFOX pic.twitter.com/cPPd1dwjC9  Dan Snyder (@DanSnyderFOX25) January 10, 2023

Many Americans are concerned of the Pentagons new move and believe it is a National Security concern.

Republican State Senator Nathan Dahm is one of them and even recently filed a SCR2 in an attempt to stop any foreign troops from training on Oklahoma soil.
If you're tired of censorship, cancel culture, and the erosion of privacy and civil liberties subscribe to Reclaim The Net.

Brazil is facing a wave of censorship, targeted towards politicians and commentators that have shown support for President Jair Bolsonaro.

Several targets have had their social media accounts censored in Brazil following a censorship court order from Alexandre de Moraes, president of the Superior Electoral Court and justice of the Supreme Federal Court. De Moraes is known for a string of such censorship orders and for pressuring social media platforms to block politicians and commentators.

Brazilian commentator and podcaster Monark, whose official name is Bruno Aiub, and Federal Deputy Nikolas Ferreira were among those targeted and their accounts were withheld, the term Twitter uses when it suspends an account in response to a court order.

The accounts can still be viewed in other countries, or from within Brazil with the use of a VPN.

Ferreira is a staunch Bolsonaro supporter and Monark has praised but also criticized some aspects of Bolsonaros politics and says he refuses to push any agenda.

Ferreira has 2 million followers and Monark had 1.4 million followers on Twitter.

Ferreiras Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok accounts have also been blocked. He also had his accounts blocked during during the election cycle in 2022, accused of spreading misinformation is his support of Bolsonaro.

In November, Monarks YouTube account was also censored following a decision by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

At the time, Monark said de Moraes was acting like a dictator.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald shared translated details of the censorship order on his Rumble show System Update on January 13th, showing that Facebook, Tumble, Telegram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube all received censorship orders.

Speaking to Greenwald, Monark said that when his channel gets censored by a court order in the country, he isnt given any information about it, or how to appeal, and has now way of defending himself against such orders.

My channel was censored months ago and in that process I didnt have access to any information so I believe in this new process I will not have any information from the government, and no ability to defend myself, Monark said to Greenwald.

My lawyers cannot find any information that help me to defend my case. I dont even know what Im being accused of. This is very unusual. This is not the correct legal process.

Do you have any idea of what laws youve broken? Have you ever been told by Brazilian judges or the Brazilian police, or any other Brazilian authoritiesin the last couple of months, that you are breaking laws, or are in violation of laws, or are in jeopardy of being prosecuted? Greenwald asked Monark.

No, actually I dont know of any law that can prohibit, that can punish me for what I have said in the past months. I never said anything that incites violence, I never did support any type of coup or any type of military intervention. Actually, I was always vocal against it. I believe we can fix this situation in the law, with political activism, and I do not believe in violence in any form.

Jose Medeiros, the Federal Deputy of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, was another of those who had his Instagram and Twitter accounts blocked.

Medeiros, who is considered a prominent supporter of former president Jair Bolosnaro in Mato Grosso, was re-elected as a federal deputy in the November election. On Twitter, he has over 195,000 followers.

His Twitter account displays the message that the account has been withheld in Brazil in response to a legal demand. Meta suspended his Instagram account, but his Facebook account is still active at the time of writing.

In a response to the suspensions on Twitter and Instagram, Medeiros posted three emojis of monkeys covering the mouth, eyes, and ears on his Facebook account.

In an interview on Centro Americas Bom Dia Mato Grosso, Medeiros defended the Bolsonaro supporters who protested at government buildings in the capital Brasilia on Sunday, Jan. 8. During the protests, some protesters stormed Three Powers Plaza, home to the three branches of the Brazilian government. Medeiros said that the protesters should be analyzed individually; all of them should not be labeled terrorists.

It doesnt make sense that people who were there participating peacefully are labeled as terrorists for anti-democratic acts because someone went there and broke it. We need to individualize the behaviors, he said.

The senator of the Brazilian state of Acre, Alan Rick, also had his Twitter and Instagram accounts blocked by the order.

On Twitter, Ricks account has been withheld in Brazil in response to a legal demand.

According to Ricks senators advisory, his Instagram account was not blocked.

During the demonstrations by Bolsonaro supporters last Sunday, Rick tweeted that the protests were peaceful.

They demonstrate the indignation for the election of a president condemned for corruption and that caused so much damage to the country, Ricks tweet read in part.

If you're tired of censorship, cancel culture, and the erosion of civil liberties subscribe to Reclaim The Net.
It is a foregone conclusion that the intelligence agencies of the U.S. government have been weaponized against the American people, throwing the Fourth Amendment and civil rights to the wind. Such activity is historically illegal, but that has not deterred rogue agencies hiding behind a cloak of secrecy.  TN Editor

The FBI revealed how the bureau uses the CIA and National Security Agency to probe the private lives of Americans without a warrant in its updated rulebook, which is the first version made public since the Obama administration.

The handbook, rewritten in 2021, confirms a decade-old leak showcasing the bureaus collaboration with the CIA and NSA for FBI probes that may involve surveillance without court orders against people not accused of any crimes. Such probes are known as assessments at the FBI.

The revelations will fuel critics who have long accused the FBI of abusing its national security surveillance powers.

The FBIs partnership with U.S. intelligence agencies that are focused on foreign threats is expected to get intense scrutiny from the new Republican-run Congress. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Judiciary Committee are digging into how intelligence agencies target Americans. Plans include a new panel to examine the weaponization of the federal government against U.S. citizens.

New information about the FBIs work with other federal agencies and state and local officials is included in the 906-page rule book authored during the Trump administration and revised under President Biden. The bureau published the updated Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide online after rejecting requests to make it public.

The words CIA and NSA are unredacted in section 20.2 of the 2021 rule book, while the full details of the section remain hidden from public view. A leaked 2011 copy of the FBIs rule book without redactions obtained by The Intercept shows that section 20.2 covers name trace requests, which involve formal FBI requests for other agencies to conduct searches of their records regarding subjects of interest.

Information obtained by CIA and NSA searches of their records may be used in assessments and predicated investigations, according to the leaked 2011 rule book.

The FBI assessments are investigations of people and groups that do not require accusations of wrongdoing and need only an authorized purpose and a clear objective, according to the 2021 rule book. The investigations are intended to prevent federal crimes, protect against threats to national security or collect foreign intelligence.

Cato Institute senior fellow Patrick Eddington said the updated rule book shows that the FBI is confident that it will not face consequences for its conduct.

The bureau is continuing to hide the fact that 1) they can and clearly do use informants to penetrate domestic civil society organizations where those informants may, either on their own or at FBI direction, attempt to influence the organizations actions, Mr. Eddington said in an email. And 2) [they] employ searches of CIA and NSA data streams on U.S. persons or civil society organizations absent a criminal predicate via assessments.

Mr. Eddington said both practices should be prohibited by law and Congress will have a chance to do that this year.

The NSA declined to comment and referred questions to the FBI, which also refused to comment.

Read full story here
Nancy Zha, a mainlander working in the toy industry, goes back to mainland China after spending four days in Hong Kong to attend a toy fair, at Lok Ma Chau checkpoint, Hong Kong, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won



By Park Ji-won



HONG KONG  The border that divides mainland China and Hong Kong reopened on Jan. 8, following Beijing's easing of many COVID-19 restrictions, a move that now enables 60,000 people to enter each other's territory every day. Although there have been some visitors to each side during the past several days since the measure took effect, the anticipated influx of mainland Chinese people to Hong Kong is not expected soon, due to a lag in the process of China issuing individual visas to Hong Kong.



"I am so happy to be able to travel to Hong Kong," Nancy Zha, a mainlander working in the toy industry, said at Lok Ma Chau checkpoint on Wednesday after spending four days in Hong Kong since Jan. 8 to attend a toy fair.



It's been almost three years since she visited Hong Kong. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she had visited Hong Kong every year to attend the toy fair.



"Many mainlanders are going to come to Hong Kong. I am one of them," Zha added.



The Lok Ma Chau Control Point, a station accessible by MTR, can reportedly accept the largest number of mainlanders coming to Hong Kong with a daily cap of 35,000. Since Jan. 8, seven border checkpoints, including land crossings at Lok Ma Chau and Man Kam To, as well as sea ports at the Macau Ferry Terminal and China Ferry Terminal, were opened.





Outbound travelers from Hong Kong head to Lok Ma Chau Control Point from the MTR station, Hong Kong, Wednesday. Futian Checkpoint is the name of the Chinese side of the checkpoint. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won



There were not many people at Lok Ma Chau Control Point, however, compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. It was packed with people every day back then. For example, inbound travelers numbered 162,240 and outbound travelers numbered 339,143 on Jan. 24, 2020, according to data from the Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.



There were staff here and there at the checkpoint, holding signs in Chinese and English that read that travelers are required to have "a document valid for travel to the Mainland/a negative nucleic acid test result taken within 48 hours of travel/a booking for the boundary control point (Hong Kong residents and foreign visitors to Hong Kong only)." Some groups of people with luggage could be seen passing through the gate.



Although the border was technically open, it seemed that inbound and outbound travelers were limited to those who already had visas for business or permits to visit their relatives, due to delays in the issuance of necessary permits.



"(Even though the issuance of visas started on Jan. 8,) the process takes a number of working days and it will take some time to actually get a visa to come to Hong Kong," a person who is familiar with the matter said.



The South China Morning Post reported that the mainland Chinese government had yet to "notify travel agencies about resuming tours or offering hotel and flight packages to the city."



The statistics also show that the mainlanders do not account for a significant portion of the inbound and outbound travelers, while Hongkongers account for most of them.



The number of inbound travelers to Hong Kong stood at 46,098 on Jan. 8, while the number of outbound travelers was 62,409, according to the immigration department. Inbound mainlanders only accounted for 10 percent, or 5,046, while Hong Kong residents accounted for most of the figure on the same day. Similar conditions have continued over the last few days. For example, mainlanders accounted for only 6,226 out of 44,486 inbound travelers on Jan. 11, or only 13 percent.





Chau Kwok-hung, a 25-year-old Hongkonger who travelled to Guangdong Province through Lok Ma Chau Control Point, shows the PCR test result that she had to submit to the mainland Chinese government, Hong Kong, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won
Police probe murder of man in Perth

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Queenslands central coast was still being battered by heavy rain on Sunday as a monsoon trough brought severe thunderstorms and heavy falls to the region.

A severe weather warning was issued at 10.15am on Sunday for a 470-kilometre coastal stretch from Townsville down to Carmila.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged residents to avoid driving through floodwaters. Credit: Dan Peled/Getty Images

Heavy rainfall was forecast to continue over coastal areas, including the Whitsundays, parts of the Herbert and Lower Burdekin, as well as the Central Highlands and Coalfields districts.

An alert for potentially life-threatening flash flooding remained in place today and through Monday, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning that six-hour rainfall totals between 100mm and 180mm were likely.
The mother of a leading Iranian-Australian protester has been jailed in Tehran and interrogated about her Australian relatives in what her family and experts fear is part of a wider attempt to silence Australias pro-democracy protesters.

Her Melbourne-based family members, who requested anonymity due to fear of retribution against their mother, told this masthead she was arrested on December 20 by government forces that have killed an estimated 520 protesters, arrested nearly 20,000 and began executing demonstrators.

The family of an Australian Iranian protester say the womans mother has been imprisoned in Tehran. Credit: Scott McNaughton

She was at her work and four plain-clothed officers showed up and abducted her, her son said. My brother went everywhere trying to find her. They said we havent arrested her, we dont know anything.

Then after two days she called and said she is ... at Evin Prison. My mother made clear to my brother they have asked many questions about us. We have been very active [in demonstrations] here.
Police on inflatable paddle boards have joined the forces air wing and the State Emergency Service in the search for a man missing at a section of the Yarra River in Melbournes outer east.

Investigators have been told the 39-year-old man was with friends at Taroona Reserve, Warrandyte on Saturday when he walked down a path toward the river by himself about 3pm.

His friends later tried to find him before contacting police to report him missing.

The area is part of the Warrandyte State Forest. One side of the river is a popular walking track for locals and the other is covered by dense bushland.
Seen here is the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport's Terminal 1, west of Seoul, Jan. 3. Yonhap



China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December, offering hard numbers for an unprecedented surge that was apparent in overcrowded hospitals and packed crematoriums, even as the government released little data about the status of the pandemic for weeks.



Those numbers may still underestimate the toll, though the government said the ''emergency peak'' of its latest surge appears to have passed.



The toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19 since Dec. 8, the National Health Commission announced. It said those ''deaths related to COVID'' occurred in hospitals, which means anyone who died at home would not be included in the numbers.



The report would more than double China's official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 death toll, a narrow definition that excludes many deaths that would be attributed to COVID-19 in much of the world.



China stopped reporting data on COVID-19 deaths and infections after abruptly lifting anti-virus controls in early December despite a surge in infections that began in October and has filled hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients. Hospitals in Beijing across the country have been overwhelmed with patients, and funeral homes and crematoriums have struggled to handle the dead.



The World Health Organization and other governments appealed for information after reports by city and provincial governments suggested as many as hundreds of millions of people in China might have contracted the virus.



Infection numbers now appear to be falling based on a decline in the number of patients visiting fever clinics, said a National Health Commission official, Jiao Yahui.



The daily number of people going to those clinics peaked at 2.9 million on Dec. 23 and had fallen by 83 percent to to 477,000 on Thursday, according to Jiao.



''These data show the national emergency peak has passed,'' Jiao said at a news conference.



Whether China truly has passed a COVID-19 peak is hard to assess, said Dr. Dale Bratzler, chief COVID officer at the University of Oklahoma and head of quality control at the university's hospital.



''That's difficult to know,'' Bratzler said. ''China quarantined people indoors, there are many people unvaccinated, the people are vulnerable.''



Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease physician and professor of public health at the Yale School of Public Health, said the number of COVID-19 deaths China is reporting may be a ''significant underestimation'' because of how they define them.



''They're using a very narrow case definition for (COVID) deaths,'' Ko said. ''They have to have respiratory failure ... in order to be counted as a case you have to be at a place where they can say you fulfilled all the requirements, and that's at a hospital.''



Hospitals in China, Ko said, are located mostly in large cities where COVID outbreaks have been reported, not in isolated rural areas.





Medical personnel prepares a patient for an intravenous therapy on a corridor of a hospital, in Shanghai, China, Jan 13. EPA-Yonhap
Health experts are calling for a rethink of Australias COVID-19 approach after a new study showed one in 10 people will end up with long COVID.

According to the report, published on Friday in the academic journal Nature Reviews Microbiology, at least 65 million people worldwide already have long COVID, or post-COVID conditions, which is when symptoms persist for more than 12 weeks after the initial infection.

It is estimated more than 10 per cent of those who catch COVID-19 will experience chronic health issues, with women aged between 30 and 55 particularly at risk.

Long COVIDs symptoms vary but can include severe fatigue, brain impairment and nervous system dysfunction, as well as nausea and shortness of breath.
For the first time, some of Western Australias most prestigious schools will cost parents more than $30,000 annually, as fees rise by a record average of 4-5 per cent across the state.

Christ Church Grammar, Methodist Ladies College, Presbyterian Ladies College and Scotch College have all hit more than $30,000, with other private schools in Perth not far behind  the top 10 most expensive are now all above $25,000 for a years tuition.

Thirty grand a year. Are they worth it? Let us know in the comments.

In 2022, some Perth schools hit more than $30,000 but this is only when additional costs were factored in.

Education payment business Edstarts chief executive Jack Stevens said this year, schools nationally would increase their fees between 4 and 10 per cent  higher than the average 2-3 per cent rises in previous years.
WA Police have launched an investigation into the death of a man in Yokine, in Perths north, on Saturday night.

Homicide Squad detectives are calling for information from the public about the 47-year-old mans death.

About 10:35pm, St John WA notified police they were attending a unit complex on Alexander Drive where a man was believed to be seriously injured and unresponsive.

Upon arrival at the scene it was confirmed he was deceased.
To support the massive growth in the aviation sector, the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) has extended a credit of Rs 6,630 crore for the development of six major airports in the country and looks forward to increasing its exposure in the coming years, said its managing director P R Jaishankar.

Bullish on the growth of the aviation sector in the country, he said, the IIFCL also given in-principle approval of Rs 638 crore for the development of a greenfield airport in Andhra Pradesh.

Over the past few years, India has seen massive growth in the airport sector, with increasing investments from both government and private sector, thanks to a rising proportion of middle-income households, infrastructure build-up at leading airports and supportive policy framework.

"With an aim to finance development of world class airport infrastructure in India, IIFCL has, till date, sanctioned Rs 6,630 crore to six major airports in India in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai, Noida (Jewar) and the newly developed Manohar International Airport in Goa," Jaishankar told PTI.

IIFCL is present in almost all major airports of the country, he said.

"These airports are of national importance and have been facilitating and improving connectivity across the nation. We are committed to supporting the government in its mission to improve connectivity for the masses and lower down the logistics cost to benefit the economy at large, he said.

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He further said, IIFCL will continue to extend its support to develop world class airport infrastructure in India and exploring opportunities in funding the greenfield airport projects, as well as Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul (MRO) facilities under PPP mode by way of term loan, subscription to bonds, refinancing, or credit enhancement etc.

Highlighting the importance of the airport sector, Jaishankar said it holds the potential to provide a huge positive impact on the economy, with an economic multiplier of 3.1 and employment multiplier of 6.

To meet the growing demand for air travel in India, he said, it has become imperative to increase the capacity of airport infrastructure.

According to reports, investments worth over Rs 85,000 crore are in the pipeline for airport infrastructure in India during FY23 FY27.

This includes ongoing capacity expansion at major private airports, investments by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) of Rs 25,000 crore for development of AAI-operated airports, around Rs 30,000 -35000 crore is 21 new greenfield airports across the country and about Rs 17,000 crore by the Adani Group towards development of six airports acquired from AAI.

India is the 7th largest civil aviation market in the world and is set to become the world's 3rd largest aviation market in terms of passengers by 2024. India plans to open 100 additional airports by 2024 and aims to increase the number of operational airports to 190-200 by FY'40.

Further, as per National Monetization Pipeline (NMP), he said, 25 airports including Bhubaneshwar, Varanasi, Trichy, Indore, Raipur, Calicut, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Patna, Madurai, Surat, Ranchi, Jodhpur, Vijayawada, Vadodara, Bhopal, Tirupati, Udaipur, Dehradun and Rajahmundry have been earmarked for leasing over the years 2022 to 2025 under Public Private Partnership (PPP).


Two key infrastructure projects are being blamed for the havoc in Joshimath  NTPC Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Electric Project (HEP) and the Char Dham national highway project. The Union power ministry has come out in support of its wholly owned power generator NTPC, backing its claim that the hydropower project had no role in the land subsidence. As the crisis worsens in Joshimath, with residents being relocated in the aftermath of rapid land subsidence, claims and counterclaims are flying thick and fast.



He added a committee constituted by district magistrate (DM) Chamoli concluded in August 2010 that there was no ground evidence of any instability induced by HRT excavation using TBM. Construction of the tunnel on this stretch (at over 1 km from Joshimath town) has been completed in August 2011. Construction of the tunnel in rock mass at a depth of around 1 km causes no impact on the surface ground, including flora and fauna. There are no signs of sinking around the tunnel alignment at the overground surface, Kumar said in his letter. In a letter to the chief secretary of Uttarakhand, Union Power Secretary Alok Kumar said the land subsidence in Joshimath was a very old issue, dating back to 1976, and the construction of the 4x130 megawatt Tapovan Vishnugad HEP started only in 2006 by NTPC. The project includes the construction of a concrete barrage at Tapovan (15 km upstream of Joshimath town). The head race tunnel (HRT) of the project is not passing under Joshimath town. The tunnel is at a horizontal distance of around 1.1 km away from the outer boundary of Joshimath town and vertically around 1.1 km below the ground level. Construction of the tunnel in this stretch has been done through a tunnel boring machine (TBM), which causes no disturbance to the surrounding rock mass, read the letter by Kumar.



Joshimath is situated at 6,000 feet in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand and is in seismically active Zone V  a region with a high risk of earthquakes. According to the seismic zoning map of the country, Zone V is seismically the most active region and approximately 11 per cent area of the country falls under this category. In any landslide-prone location, construction activities like hydropower and highways make the location more unstable. With the ringing of the new year, all hell broke loose in Joshimath as houses developed massive fissures. This was followed by the subsidence of land in the hill town.

Also Read Joshimath subsidence: PMO holds review meeting with Uttarakhand officials Experts point to old fault lines as Joshimath hits 'point of no return' Joshimath: SC declines urgent hearing, says institutions working on it Govt declares Joshimath as landslide, susbsidence zone; here's why Hitachi Energy to supply transformers for NTPC renewable energy park Breather for Natco in Novartis cardiac drug case from Delhi High Court Pending deal approvals: Industry participants flag lack of quorum at CCI Ready homes likely to hit 6-year high in 2023, says Anarock report Instamart tests Swiggy's appetite for biz growth amid rising losses Advertising slowdown likely to weigh on IPL this year, say experts



Previous flood events aggravated the erosion along the left bank of the Alaknanda river, adversely affecting the stability of the slope on which Joshimath town is situated, the letter said. According to a satellite-based report by the Indian Space Research Organisation, slow subsidence of up to 9 cm has been recorded in Joshimath town for seven months, between April and November 2022 and 5 cm in the past 12 days alone. Kumar in his letter referenced the MC Mishra Committee and DM Chamoli Committee reports, suggesting several reasons for the crisis  from subsurface seepage erosion by natural drainage to underground saturation resulting from poor sewerage.



SC to hear subsidence plea on Monday At least 15,000 residents in the town are now being relocated. Several hotels are also being dismantled as part of the governments drive to stabilise the area.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking the courts intervention to declare the crisis in Joshimath a national disaster. On January 10, the SC refused an urgent hearing of the plea, saying there are democratically elected institutions to deal with the situation.


ReNew Power is investing Rs 2,000 crore to set up solar cell and module manufacturing units in Gujarat and Rajasthan, its Chairman Sumant Sinha said.

The company is also exploring investment opportunities in Uttar Pradesh to expand presence in the country, Sinha, who is also the founder and CEO of ReNew, told PTI.

The country is moving towards becoming Atmanirbhar in solar cell and modules, he said.

"Rs 2,000 crore is already being spent by ReNew," the chairman said in reply to a question if his company is exploring investment opportunities in the space of solar cell and module manufacturing.

A solar cell and module manufacturing unit with an annual capacity of 2 gigawatt (GW) is being set up in Gujarat, he said.

Another unit for manufacturing of only solar modules is being set up in Rajasthan with a 4 GW annual capacity, Sinha said.

Also Read Green hydrogen will not be limited by borders: ReNew Power Founder & CEO IndusInd Bank re-appoints Sumant Kathpalia as MD & CEO for 3 years ReNew Power reports Rs 10.4 crore loss in April-June quarter of FY23 ReNew signs pact with Microsoft India to supply 150 MW green energy ReNew Power to invest Rs 30,000 cr to scale up green capacities: Chairman No word yet from RBI on regulatory leeway for HDFC twins' merger IT firms see 14-20% topline growth in Q3, raise guard on uncertainties Software company CircleCi confirms hackers stole data of some customers Regional carrier Flybig starts flight service from Itanagar to Guwahati IIFCL extends Rs 6,630-cr loan for development of airports: MD Jaishankar

The company aims to make the Gujarat unit operational by December quarter next fiscal year, and the unit in Rajasthan is planned to start in the first quarter of 2023-24.

When asked whether the company is also looking to invest in Uttar Pradesh, he replied in the affirmative.

"We are exploring the areas (investment opportunities) in UP," Sinha informed.

ReNew Power, a subsidiary of ReNew Energy Global Plc, is one of the largest renewable energy independent power producers (IPPs) globally.

Projecting Uttar Pradesh as the ideal investment destination for businesses, the state government ministers and officials converged for a roadshow in the national capital on Friday in the run-up to the Global Investors Summit in Lucknow next month.

Sinha did not divulge any further information with respect to investment plans in Uttar Pradesh.

Cell and modules are the key components for manufacturing of solar panels which are further used in setting up of solar projects.

With an aim to promote domestic manufacturing, the government in 2021 imposed 40 per cent basic customs duty (BCD) on solar modules and 25 per cent on solar cells effective April 1, 2022.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Saturday that "even if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah visit Karnataka hundreds of times, the BJP would not win the upcoming assembly elections in the state".

Speaking to the media during a programme, Kumaraswamy said "the people are frustrated with the BJP".

"There will be no impact on Amit Shah's visit to Mandya. If you want, write it down. JD-S is going to win all the seven assembly seats in Mandya district," he said.

"The state BJP leaders are going to elections only in the name of PM Modi. Congress leaders are projecting Bharat Jodo Yatra. We are seeking votes on the basis of programmes.

"In 2006, JD-S had won 58 seats. In 2008, 2013 and 2018 the party had fought single-handedly in the absence of big leaders," Kumaraswamy said.

Out of 45 assembly constituencies where Pancharatna Yatra was taken up in the state, the JD-S will win in 40 seats, he said.

Also Read Kannada groups ask Karnataka govt to follow TN model, stop Hindi imposition JD(S) to grow beyond old Mysuru, get majority in K'taka polls: Kumaraswamy JD(S)' Kumaraswamy airdashes to Telangana to join forces with KCR Role of regional parties to be important for 2024 LS polls: Amartya Sen Western Ghats as eco-sensitive zone: Experts slam those opposing move We want to conduct survey of Joshimath: Disaster management department Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti blames NTPC for land subsidence EC invites parties for demonstration of prototype Remote EVM on Jan 16 Russia to evacuate astronauts from ISS in coming weeks amid emergency Govt committed on quota issue: Karnataka CM amid protests by Panchamasalis

"Karnataka is a resourceful state. The government is in the grip of outside forces," he added.

--IANS

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The fog blew up and over the bridge leading into Ocean City as the minutes ticked down to the start of the Ocean City Board of Education meeting Jan. 4. The newly elected board members huddled in a side vestibule of the high school waiting to go in.

In the front lobby, Jakob Pender and others dressed in rainbow-themed Pride tops also waited.

It was the first meeting where the new members would be installed: Three parents who campaigned against New Jerseys new standards for teaching health and sexual education and on conservative values, and who were endorsed nationally by Moms for Liberty.

The group set off alarm bells after appearing Sept. 8 in a city park alongside a pastor who railed against homosexuality and mocked gay marriage, but they unseated three school board incumbents: a hand surgeon, an internal medicine doctor and an attorney for Pfizer Inc.

Ocean City is called Americas greatest family resort. But in the fog of winter, what is really going on a block from the beach and the boardwalks gentle amusement rides?

Is Ocean Citys goal to uphold an image of surfers and sun-kissed beach days, an idyllic girl-meets-boy beach romcom, a stubbornly dry town founded by Methodists where discussions of gender identity, sexual orientation, pronouns, and pride are just irritants to a greater notion of how the town sees itself?

Who really gets to decide what it means to be, as the mascot is called, a Red Raider?

After the seismic school board elections, these questions are reverberating on the island, where about 11,000 people live year-round, and on Facebook. The district of 2,000 students also draws from Longport, Upper Township and Sea Isle City.

At that Sept. 8 rally, the pastor Gregory Quinlan railed against homosexuality and said Jesus Christ defined marriage, defined family, defined sex, adding, Do you see LGBTQIA-XYZ anywhere in that definition? (to which the crowd shouted an emphatic no, according to reports). Now the new board members who attended the rally are in a position to make policy.

Feelings were raw Jan. 4 as the factions met across the U-shaped tables at the school library, both the new members and the queer community asking for tolerance and acceptance.

I have to say, Oh my gosh, what am I doing sitting here?  said Liz Nicoletti, one of the newly elected members. This is not something I wanted to do in my life.

She recalled pulling her sons out of a Christian school and placing them in Ocean City, which then shut down during the pandemic. She said she was a stay-at-home mom, the best job, and mused about becoming a pickleball instructor, her husband urging her to get a job. She bristled when people chuckled.

I know, were on the conservative side of things, she said. But we care. Please dont laugh at me. Because thats disrespectful. We all deserve respect. All of us. Even me.

Lauren Knopp, a student representative on the board, told the room: Students of this district are very stressed about the scenario thats been happening, and Im not going to leave here without everybody knowing that.

A tourist town

The debate echoes others in schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Bucks County, where the school boards in Pennridge and Central Bucks passed resolutions banning teachers from advocating political and social policy issues in school, including displaying Pride rainbow flags, or in Radnor, where a group of parents filed a police report about the controversial book Gender Queer, available in Radnor High Schools library.

Nicoletti and her running mate, Catherine Panico, won three-year terms, along with local attorney Kevin Barnes. Robin Shaffer won a one-year seat.

Nicoletti, Panico and Shaffer want to overturn a 6-5 vote in August under the previous board approving New Jersey standards for sexual education, with guidelines that include discussing gender by the end of second grade and types of intercourse by the end of middle school. Districts can set their own curricula and lesson plans; parents can also opt their children out.

But newly elected school board President Chris Halliday, an Ocean City architect and father of two children, ages 6 and 8, said he does not expect the issue to be raised again and is confident the district is implementing the states guidelines appropriately.

He said he also does not anticipate a vote on a teacher advocacy ban similar to the one adopted in Central Bucks, and in general hopes to move on to broader issues of academics and student well-being.

Its been a little diffused, he said of ongoing debates. Theres been a lot of discussions and apologies. We want to make sure our teachers feel supported.

Its a tourist town, he added. We welcome people.

Liberty & Prosperity

The three new board members have been mentored by longtime area conservative Seth Grossman, who runs the Liberty & Prosperity Group and in 2018 narrowly lost an election to Rep. Jeff Van Drew, when Van Drew was a Democrat.

Van Drew, now a Republican in the House majority, announced he is sponsoring legislation called My Child, My Choice that would require parental approval before topics related to gender identity, sexual orientation and transgender studies were taught.

At the meeting in the high school library, the sides squared off in familiar fashion, and the discussion continued, to the point of exhaustion, on the Facebook group OCNJ School Discussion, administered by Shaffer.

Pender, a 2022 graduate studying physics at Rutgers, has painstakingly sought to counter those who have spoken out against considering a persons choice of pronouns, gender identity, nonbinary students, and stressed the importance of teaching about sensitive topics in public schools, and respecting peoples wishes.

Its like a family town, Americas No. 1 resort, Pender said. They dont want anything to do with sex. Parents dont want to deal with any LGBT issues; thats taboo to them. We want everyone to be heteronormative and cis gender. Thats more the vibe.

Sex education saves lives, added Pender, who came out as nonbinary after graduation and uses both he and they pronouns. Sex education has always been geared toward heterosexual people. I just think its important that kids learn that heterosexual cis gender doesnt mean normal. Thats basically it.

Shaffer, whose resume includes time as a counterterrorism analyst at the U.S. State Department and senior insider-threat analyst at the Defense Department, is an Ocean City transplant from Maryland, where he served as a special-education vice principal.

Shaffer, who lost a vote to become president of the school board, apologized to anyone who was hurt by the pastors words. He said he looks out at the audience at school board meetings with nothing but love.

I like to see the seats occupied. I like to see people engaged in our meetings, he said.

He said people have asked him to bar Pender from the Facebook group, but he has not.

He said the issue with the state standards is age-appropriateness.

It has more to do with values and my role as a parent, as a dad, Shaffer said. Are children emotionally ready to receive certain instruction at certain points in their life? Thats where I have a real problem with pushing some of these concepts down to age 5.

He said he was not looking to bury any hard truths of the town in the sand. He was also transparent about losing a Maryland administrative appeal in 2012 of a Calvert County school board ruling that placed a letter of warning in his file accusing him of inappropriate physical and verbal interactions with an unruly student while a vice principal.

I moved my family to Ocean City because I believed in the idyllic Ocean City, he said. He said he was not unaware of problems beneath the towns veneer, like the multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment lodged against members of the Ocean City Beach Patrol.

I will not be a party to sweeping problems under the carpet to appear to be a Hallmark Channel town, he said.

I just think there are some forces at play right now that push limits, he said. I know teachers who dont feel comfortable teaching some concepts that are better left to parents.

To those alarmed by their election, he said: I think our actions will speak louder than our words. Theyre going to be pleasantly surprised.

(c)2023 The Philadelphia Inquirer

Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.inquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has foiled another Pakistani attempt to smuggle drugs and weapons to India, by shooting down a drone in Punjab's border region, officials said on Sunday.

The BSF fired 7 rounds at the drone after its movement was detected late on Saturday night in Kalia village of Tarn Taran district, alongside the India-Pakistan border.

A search operation has been launched in the area.

This is the second instance this month where a drone arms drop attempt was prevented by the BSF.

On January 3, the troopers fired 15 rounds at a Pakistani drone after hearing its noise in Kalia village and drove it away.

--IANS

Also Read Pak drone spotted close to border in Punjab, returns after BSF opens fire BSF fires at Pak drone detected along IB in Jammu; search launched BSF boosts vigil along Punjab border amid repeated Pak drone incursions Drone sales turnover soars 3.6 times to Rs 319 cr in 2021-22 on PLI policy IND vs PAK Asia Cup Highlights: Rizwan, Nawaz win a thriller for Pakistan Joshimath crisis: Sushma Swaraj opposed dams on Ganga to 'save' Uttarakhand Air India starts direct flights from Amritsar to London: Raghav Chadha Be future-ready, learn lessons from Russia-Ukraine war: Rajnath tells Army Two more hotels lean towards each other in Joshimath, wider cracks appear J&K avalanche: Army evacuates stranded workers from Zojila tunnel project

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Democratic Azad Party (DAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad has said there cannot be any "groupism in his party like that in the Congress", and that there was a need to promote a culture of merit and teamwork.

Azad, a former J-K chief minister, was on Saturday addressing the first meeting of the newly appointed office bearers and executive committee members of the party, which he floated in September last year after ending his five-decade-long association with the Congress.

We cannot have groupism in our party like the Congress. We need to promote the culture of merit, appreciation and teamwork, he said.

Nepotism, favouritism and culture of groupism are not acceptable, he stressed.

Azad directed the members to promote the core agenda of the party and reach out to the public at the grassroots.

Our agenda of peace and development must reach every person of Union Territory. We need to engage with the people at ground level and make our workers understand about our ideology and agenda, and also highlight their problems he said.

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Azad, however, said land, jobs and the restoration of statehood are the primary issues that the DAP is focussing on.

Statehood, jobs and land rights are the issues that we shall fight on primary basis and it is the duty of our newly elected office bearers to make the general public aware of it and subsequently take them on board in this political fight, he told the office bearers.

A party leader said the issue of the administration order regarding vacating of the state land allotted under the Roshi Act and Kanchari land was also discussed.

In a circular issued on January 9, Commissioner Secretary, Revenue Department, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri directed all deputy commissioners to ensure 100 percent removal of encroachments from state land including Roshni and Kahcharai by the end of January.

Terming the order as unfortunate, Azad said he had provided the land under the Roshni scheme as the chief minister to the poor, needy and landless for building houses and cultivation but now the prevailing regime is snatching it and that too in harsh weather conditions.

He said the people of Jammu Kashmir are the first beneficiaries of its resources.

Be it jobs or land, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have first rights over it. The government must understand it and spare the poor and landless people, Azad said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday paid tribute to the 'known and unknown' army personnel who have made the supreme sacrifice for the country.

"Numerous army personnel have sacrificed their lives protecting our borders, flag, motherland and people. On Army Day, I offer my 'Shradhhanjali' [tribute] to all the known and unknown army personnel who have sacrificed their lives," Shah said during his address at the inauguration and launch of several development projects in Gujarat's Gandhinagar on Sunday.

He also took to Twitter, terming the Army as 'synonymous' with valour and courage.

"Indian Army is synonymous with valour and courage. On #ArmyDay, I extend my greetings to soldiers, veterans and their families. India is proud of our Army for their resolve to keep the nation safe. We salute our Bravehearts and bow down to their supreme sacrifices," he said in a tweet.

On the occasion of 75th army day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, conveyed his wishes to serving Army personnel as well as ex-servicemen.

PM Modi took to Twitter saying, "On Army Day, I convey my best wishes to all army personnel, veterans and their families. Every Indian is proud of our Army and will always be grateful to our soldiers. They have always kept our nation safe and are widely admired for their service during times of crisis."

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Meanwhile, at the flagging off ceremony of Vande Bharat Express between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam in Hyderabad, PM Modi said: "It is also Army Day today. Every Indian is proud of the Army. Indian Army's contribution towards the security of the nation and its borders, its valour is unparalleled."

President Droupadi Murmu also paid tribute to the sacrifice of the army personnel.

"On Army Day, let us recall countless stories of Indian Army soldiers' sacrifices! They have always pushed the frontiers of valour and courage and also acted as saviours in times of calamities. I salute all brave soldiers of the Indian Army and their families on this occasion," the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.

Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande conveyed felicitations and warm wishes to All Ranks of the Indian Army, Veterans and their Families on the 75th Army Day.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh saluted the "indomitable courage, bravery, sacrifices and service of army personnel".

"Greetings to all Indian Army personnel and their families on #ArmyDay. The nation salutes their indomitable courage, valour, sacrifices and service. We are proud of the Indian Army's efforts to keep India safe and secure," he tweeted.

Army Day is celebrated to acknowledge the importance of the Indian Army and honour each soldier of our country for their selfless service.

On this day in 1949, the Indian Army got its first chief in Field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa, who took over as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Francis Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India.
The Sri Lankan Navy welcomed the Indian naval ship INS Delhi, which arrived in the north-eastern port city of Trincomalee on Sunday, with 390 crew members on board on a two-day official visit.

The INS Delhi is 163.2 metre-long, and is the lead ship of her class of guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy.

It comes days ahead of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's visit to the island nation, scheduled between January 19 to 20.

During the ship's two-day stay, the crew will participate in numerous programmes organised by the Sri Lanka Navy, with a view to promoting cooperation and goodwill between the navies of both the countries.

Such naval exercises enable both countries to overcome common maritime challenges, through enhanced cooperation.
Tamil Nadu BJP state president K. Annamalai has urged the state police chief C. Sylendrababu to immediately arrest DMK leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy for abusive and defamatory language against Governor R.N. Ravi.

The Tamil Nadu Governor's office had referred a complaint with the Chennai city police Commissioner, Shankar Jiwal for action against the DMK leader for using abusive and defamatory language against Ravi.

In the complaint, Raj Bhavan deputy secretary, S. Prasanna Ramaswamy said that the video of Shivai Krishnamoorthy abusing the governor had gone viral. He stated in the complaint that the action of the DMK leader attracts Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Cyber cell deputy commissioner Krishna Sruthi in the letter to the Governor office said that the video was legally scrutinised and that it would amount to action under Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC.

Police sources told IANS that the complaint along with video has been forwarded to the additional chief secretary (Home) for further action .

--IANS

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In the wake of the land subsidence crisis in the Joshimath area of Uttarakhand's Chamoli, a wall collapsed in Joshimath's Marwari village on Sunday, a local told ANI.

The wall collapse incident reported by locals occurred in Jaypee Colony around 11 am.

Following the wall collapse incident, authorities deployed Men and Machinery to rebuild the wall.

"The work is in progress. Workers have been deployed to rebuild the wall. They are facing some issues. I was not here when the wall collapsed," Prabhas, a local said while talking to ANI.

Earlier, Cracks have started to appear in Sharana Chai village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district which is prone to cloud bursting and stone-falling incidents.

"The walls started to crack first time in 2007. Then in 2013 and 2018. There was a cloudburst incident in 2018. Earth collapsed due to leakage from a company in 2007. Water had flooded around 700 canals then. Natural calamities like stone falling and cloud bursts repeatedly keep happening here," Dalip Singh Pawar said while talking to ANI.

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"There was a water leakage incident a few years ago. It happened in 2007. Due to water leakage, the house started to cave in and submerged. In case of low magnitude earthquake whole village will be severely affected," Said another resident.

"Today, Joshimath is on the brink of collapse, Tomorrow, the whole of Uttarakhand will be destroyed," he added.

Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha on Sunday inspected the landslide-affected areas in Uttarakhand's Joshimath and said that there has been an uptick in the number of cracks, but no new areas have faced damages.

The Secretary inspected areas including Auli Ropeway, Manohar Bagh, Shankaracharya Math, JP Colony along with geologists and senior officials.

Speaking to ANI, Sinha said that the teams are conducting tests to ascertain if there is any particular pattern of developing cracks.

"Relief and rescue operations are being conducted. There has been an uptick in the number of cracks in some places. Cracks haven't developed in new areas. There is a minor increase in the cracks of approx 1mm but we are monitoring them. We are also finding a pattern so that in the future there is no damage. All teams are conducting tests whether there is any pattern developing of the cracks. After the tests, we will take action based on it. The cracks have increased, but there is nothing to worry about," he said.

"The Central and state governments are making combined efforts during this period. Our all teams have reached here for investigation & now their research will tell what is the reason behind it. After that action will be taken on the same accordingly," Sinha added.

He informed that the geophysical study of the affected area is being done by the NGRI Hyderabad. NGRI is studying the underground water channel. After the study, the geophysical and hydrological map will also be made available by NGRI. These maps will be useful for Joshimath's drainage plan and stabilization plan.
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) organising secretary Amos Chibaya and Budiriro legislator Costa Machingauta were arrested in Harare yesterday alongside 23 other party members while attending an internal party meeting held at the legislators residence.

Anti-riot officers besieged Machingutas house, stopped a private internal party meeting and barricaded the road leading to his residence.

Machingauta, his wife, children and other party members were beaten before arrest. There were no charges laid against the arrested persons who were taken to Budiriro 2 Police Station and kept in cells.

Baton-wielding officers turned the zone into a no-go-area, with residents forced to use alternative routes home.

CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere confirmed the incident.

Zanu PF knows they can never win a free and fair election in Zimbabwe, Mahere said.

This was a private, internal meeting. The Maintenance of Order and Peace Act does not apply.

That law only applies to public meetings in a public place. Zanu PF must stop abusing the police to stifle competition.

Mahere revealed that lawyer Kudzai Kadzere, who was rendering legal assistance to the arrested CCC members, was also arrested and was badly beaten.

She said the charges against Kadzere were unclear.

Police confirmed the arrests of members of the Citizens Coalition for Change, Zimbabwes main opposition political party, and said a detailed statement would be released following investigations.

It was an unsanctioned gathering according to the local authority, who is the officer commanding Budiriro, police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said.

I am receiving numerous reports that people were beaten, we will release a full statement in due course.

Police allegedly fired teargas at the gathering, and beat up several opposition members before they were bundled into a police truck, Mahere added.

Zimbabwean law requires political parties to notify authorities two weeks before holding a political meeting.

Zanu PF must stop abusing the police to stifle competition, Mahere said.

She alleged that over 60 CCC meetings had been unconstitutionally banned since the formation of the party a year ago.

Mahere said this happened in areas that include Gokwe Kabuyuni, Gutu, Chirumhanzu, Murewa, Seke, Birchenough, Insiza, Matobo, Binga, Hwedza, UMP, Ngundu, Marondera, Chipinge, Kariba, Chihota and Mahusekwa.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is accused of using security forces such as the police and the military as well as draconian laws to close down the democratic space.

CCC, whose leader Nelson Chamisa, is expected to challenge Mnangagwa in this years elections has borne the brunt of the clampdown while other opposition parties are allowed to organise their programmes without interference from the police. Standard

* Additional reporting by Reuters
Regulatory and internal market barriers of China are some of the major impediments which impact India's exports to that country, economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said on Sunday.

"India must take up all market access issues faced by its exporters with China on a priority basis. India may consider applying mirror regulations to imports from China," it said.

China uses four significant barriers besides customs duties to regulate imports from countries like India and those barriers include regulatory, internal market, trade defense, and political, it said.

"China stifle competitive imports from India through complex regulations," the GTRI said



Quality and standards of products cannot be a problem as India exports to over 100 countries, including the US and Europe, GTRI said.

Citing an example of the pharma sector, it said India imports 90 per cent of bulk drugs or APIs (active pharma ingredients) from China and allows easy access through a simple registration system.

A firm also needs to register its product with the specified Chinese authority, which means submitting many documents, including details about the firm and its products. There is also a requirement of meeting the inspection, product testing, and quality certification.

Also Read GTRI suggests 7 steps for Indian traders to make full use of FTA with Aus Indian exports will be impacted by weak global demand in 2023: GTRI What is a regulatory sandbox? Binding commitments on new issues in FTAs may hamper India's exports: Rpt India-Australia FTA to help bilateral trade cross $70 bn in next 5 years India's counter response shows country won't be coerced by anybody: EAM Telangana seeks funds in Union Budget for various industrial projects Customs dept monitoring toy imports, newer modus operandi adopted: CBIC Karnataka's 'pro-people' budget likely to be presented on Feb 17: CM Bommai RailTel bags Rs 170.11cr contract from Puducherry govt for Smart City

But in China, registration takes one to three years and Chinese authorities conduct tests again at the time of imports and China cancels registration even if one batch has issues, it added.

"China uses trade to meet political ends," it said, adding an exporter would also have to clear extra barriers to sell goods in the Chinese market as the country always gives preference to its domestic firms.

Further, it said that India's imports from China are in line with global trends as other countries too have similar levels of imports.

"While India must contain imports, the real issue is not high imports but India's low exports to China," it said.

According to the data of Chinese Customs, India's exports to China fell from USD 28.1 billion in 2021 to USD 17.48 billion in 2022. India's imports from China rose from USD 97.5 billion 2021 to USD 118.5 billion in 2022.
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New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANSlife) Young talent from over 80 different nations competed for the coveted crown in the most anticipated pageant in the world, Miss Universe 2022, which was held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

R'Bonney Gabriel of the USA was crowned Miss Universe 2022. Amanda Dudamel of Venezuela was named as the first runner-up, and Andreina Martinez of the Dominican Republic was named as the second runner-up.

India's Miss Diva Universe 2022 Divita Rai, who wore an exquisite silver, champagne, and gold ombre gown designed by celebrated fashion designer duo Falguni and Shane Peacock, entered into the prestigious Top 16 category, making her motherland very proud.

Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu in a message to Miss Universe 2022, said: "Remember to live this year to the fullest because tomorrow is never promised. Namaste Universe."

--IANS

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The plane was carrying 68 passengers  15 foreigners, including five Indians  and four crew members, who included two pilots and two air hostesses.

A passenger aircraft carrying 72 people, including five Indians, crashed while landing at the Pokhara International Airport in Nepal on Sunday, according to the Nepalese media. A report in The Himalayan Times said at least 32 bodies have been recovered from the crash site so far and rescuers are still working to find survivors.


The National Development and Reform Commission will crack down on illegal activities including spreading false information, hoarding and price gouging to keep the iron ore market stable, the agency said Sunday in a statement. Chinas top economic planner will tighten supervision of iron ore pricing after the steelmaking ingredients surge in recent months.



Some information providers were summoned by the NDRC over publication of old or false news that confused the public and had an adverse impact on the market, according to the statement. The companies were told to carefully verify their data and ensure they dont drive up prices.

The commodity has rallied hard in recent months fueled by optimism over a potential demand surge as Chinas economy recovers from pandemic disruptions. Iron ore futures in Singapore closed Friday at $125.50 a ton, the highest since June.

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Authorities in China are also seeking to bolster their influence over iron ore pricing in the longer term by consolidating purchases on behalf of about 20 of the countrys largest steelmakers. A new state-owned company called China Mineral Resources Group is poised to become the worlds biggest buyer of the material as soon as this year, people familiar with the situation said last month.


Russia fired 33 cruise missiles on Saturday, of which 21 were shot down, according to Gen. Valerii Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukrainian armed forces
Indian-American doctor Nirav D. Shah, who played a pivotal role during Covid-19 pandemic, has been appointed Principal Deputy Director at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC).

Shah, 45, who serves as the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), will report to US CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in his new role starting March.

"In my new role, I will be honored to serve not just Maine, but the entire nation and carry forward the good work that we have done here. As I prepare for this next step, I thank the people of Maine for taking care of me, as I've always asked them to take care of each other," he said in a statement.

Shah was appointed to Maine CDC in 2019 with the mission of rebuilding the agency and the State's public health infrastructure.

"Dr Shah has been a trusted advisor to me and an extraordinary leader of the Maine CDC. But even more than that, he was a trusted advisor and a leader to the people of Maine during one of the greatest public health crises of our time," Maine Governor Janet Mills wrote in a tweet.

She added in her statement that Shah spoke calmly and directly to the people of Maine, many of whom were scared and uncertain, and answered their questions with "compassion, empathy, humor, and a clarity".

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Shah's appointment as Principal Deputy Director comes as part of a planned, broader overhaul of that agency announced by the US CDC Director in August of last year.

Born to Indian immigrants, Shah grew up in Wisconsin, and attended the University of Louisville where he majored in psychology and biology.

He studied economics at Oxford University and enrolled in medical school at the University of Chicago in 2000. Shah completed his Juris Doctor in 2007 and his Doctor of Medicine in 2008 -- both from the University of Chicago and was a recipient of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans.

--IANS

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